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Major Investment Companies Launch Initiative With U.N. to Address Global Social, Environmental Issues

Twenty of the world's largest investment companies – including Credit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Morgan Stanley – have launched a program in partnership with the United Nations "Global Compact" that will seek to make the consideration of social and environmental issues – including human rights and climate change – part of mainstream investment analysis and decision-making. The chief executive officers of the companies, representing $6 trillion in assets worldwide, officially backed the initiative, "Who Cares Wins", at a summit of business leaders at UN Headquarters in New York City. The companies agreed to begin work "connecting financial markets" to environmental, social and governance criteria, and agreed on steps to bring other actors in the financial world, including stock exchanges and pension funds, into accord on how these factors could become standard components in the analysis of corporate performance and investment decision-making. "Investment companies, which contribute the fuel to the global economy, increasingly recognize that analyzing the corporations they recommend and invest in on the basis of social and environment issues must be central in their work", said Gavin Power, senior advisor at the United Nations Global Compact. "It is clear that in today's world, businesses that ignore issues […]

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Shaw to Cease Production of Polyvinyl Chloride

Shaw Industries Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company and the world's largest carpet manufacturer, announced it will stop making Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) carpet backing, effective at the end of this year. Driving the decision is the growth of EcoWorx, a non-PVC carpet backing introduced in 1999. Over the past four years when presented with a choice, customers self-selected the new technology, which reached 70% of Shaw's total carpet tile production by year-end 2003. Shaw received acknowledgement for EcoWorx from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a recipient of the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. The honor recognizes Shaw for developing a carpet tile that may be sustainably recycled and has less embodied energy than traditional PVC carpet tiles, while maintaining equal or greater performance. "We see sustainability as an essential business practice for our corporation, our suppliers and our customers — recognizing that need, we created a product unmatched in the industry," said Randy Merritt, executive vice president of marketing for Shaw Industries. "EcoWorx meets customer demand for a PVC alternative product and provides a sustainable flooring solution that makes good economic, functional and environmental sense for all stakeholders." Demonstrating Shaw's commitment to sustainability and innovation, EcoWorx was the result […]

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