Launch of the NZBCSD Youth Employment Guide

EVENT REMINDER - Launch of the NZBCSD Youth Employment Guide

Date: 31 March 2003
Time: 7.00-8.30 pm
Venue: Level 22, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower, 188 Quay Street, Auckland If you have not RSVP'd, and wish to attend, please do so to Claire McShane mailto:office@nzbcsd.org.nz

The Warehouse Qualifies for Storebrand Investment's Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Products

The Warehouse has earned Storebrand Investment's BEST IN CLASS status for its leading environmental and social performance. It therefore qualifies for investment by Storebrand Principle Funds.

Only those companies ranking in the top 30 percentile of Storebrand's environmental and social performance analyses qualify for the Best In Class qualification mark. These companies can then use the mark for marketing purposes etc.

Storebrand Investments is a Nordic specialist asset manager. They offer a range of Norwegian, European and global equity and fixed income products, including high quality SRI products. They also provide general and SRI advice to pension schemes, private and public sector institutions, private individuals and companies within the Storebrand group see http://www.storebrand.com/storebrand/nyaapen/STBCom.nsf/home.html>http://www.storebrand.com/storebrand/nyaapen/STBCom.nsf/home.html.

ICANZ Professional Development Event - Adding Value through Sustainable Development

The Institute of Chartered Accountants is running a series of courses to examine sustainability reporting and why it should be implemented. For an organisation to be sustainable it must be financially secure. Likewise it must minimise or eliminate its negative environmental impacts, and it must act in conformity with social expectations. These three factors are highly inter-related. Sustainable development reporting (SDR) or triple bottom line reporting is one tool that forward-thinking businesses are using to progress towards a more strategic approach, addressing all business contributions to society’s economic, environmental and social objectives in an integrated way.

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) 2002 Annual Review

The WBCSD's 2002 Annual Review: From Words into Actions is now available.

Energy Federation coordinates greenhouse gas reduction research programme

The Energy Federation of NZ is coordinating a major World Energy Council research programme aimed to help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Asia Pacific region. The first study in the programme involved promoting foreign investment in the Tararua Windfarm Project in return for carbon credits.

"Green Building" Conference

New Zealand companies are increasingly fielding requests from consumers wanting to know more about the environmental impact of buildings and building materials. They are seeking further information on how wood products rate against other alternatives. Consumers are making choices that reduce energy use, reduce the use of non-renewable materials, and reduce pollution caused by the manufacture of materials. They are looking to minimise the impact or “environmental footprint” of their building activity. Key speakers from forest products, building, construction, engineering and architectural companies will combine at the “Green Building” two-day conference in Auckland on 16-17 June 2003.

Good Reading - Warren Buffett's Chairman's Address on Berkshire's Performance, Corporate Governance and The Role of the Audit Committee

Warren Buffett's Chairman's Address in Berkshire's annual report is an insightful and entertaining read. It discusses, among other things: The company's performance The role of and suggested rules for the Audit Committee Corporate governance Below is an extract from the corporate governance section on page 15 ... "Both the ability and fidelity of managers have long needed monitoring.

Indeed, nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ addressed this subject, speaking (Luke 16:2) approvingly of "a certain rich man" who told his manager, "Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest no longer be steward." Accountability and stewardship withered in the last decade, becoming qualities deemed of little importance by those caught up in the Great Bubble.

As stock prices went up, the behavioral norms of managers went down. By the late '90s, as a result, CEOs who traveled the high road did not encounter heavy traffic.

Most CEOs, it should be noted, are men and women you would be happy to have as trustees for your children's assets or as next-door neighbors. Too many of these people, however, have in recent years behaved badly at the office, fudging numbers and drawing obscene pay for mediocre business achievements.

These otherwise decent people simply followed the career path of Mae West: "I was Snow White but I drifted."

In theory, corporate boards should have prevented this deterioration of conduct. I last wrote about the responsibilities of directors in the 1993 annual report. (We will send you a copy of this discussion on request, or you may read it on the Internet in the Corporate Governance section of the 1993 letter.)

There, I said that directors "should behave as if there was a single absentee owner, whose long-term interest they should try to further in all proper ways." This means that directors must get rid of a manager who is mediocre or worse, no matter how likable he may be.

Directors must react as did the chorus-girl bride of an 85-year old multimillionaire when he asked whether she would love him if he lost his money. "Of course," the young beauty replied, "I would miss you, but I would still love you." ...

EU signs up to energy tax plan to help environment

European Union finance ministers signed up to common rules to tax energy products aimed at helping the environment after Austria lifted a reservation, Greek Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said. For more detail visit Planet Ark website Source: Planet Ark daily environment news (www.planetark.org)

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