Global alliance aims to advance corporate sustainability performance

Ted Senko, KPMG’s Global CEO of Climate Change and
Sustainability, said the alliance provides a milestone for the globally
recognized benchmarking and consulting offering in the sustainability
arena.

“The alliance is invaluable for CFOs and Heads of
Sustainability wishing to truly understand where they rate today; and
the most effective way to maximize sustainability performance and
investor appeal tomorrow,” said Mr Senko.

Under the alliance,
specialist investment boutique SAM, will independently analyze a
company’s sustainability performance against benchmarks established by
global leaders in its sector. KPMG Climate Change and Sustainability
professionals will independently review, assess and enhance a company’s
sustainability strategy using the benchmark analysis compiled by SAM.

Michael
Baldinger, SAM’s CEO, said companies that can effectively manage risks
and seize opportunities related to sustainability trends exhibit better
capacity to prosper in the long run.

“Today, more than ever,
sustainability trends such as climate change, resource scarcity or
demographic change shape the competitive environment and have become a
significant factor for investors, particularly when making longer term
investment decisions. With our impartial company benchmarking reports,
we help companies to understand their sustainability performance against
their peers.”

“CFOs and investors alike recognize that effective
sustainability strategies are evidence of sound management. Such
strategies demonstrate an increased readiness to adapt to changing
markets and respond to customer needs. Similarly, investment
professionals can no longer afford to underestimate the value of
intangibles such as the quality of management, intellectual and human
capital when performing fundamental analysis,” said Mr Baldinger.

Jose
Luis Blasco, a partner with KPMG’s Climate Change and Sustainability
practice in Spain said the outcome of this process is a way for CFOs to
understand whether they are getting a return on their sustainability
investment.

“KPMG’s services can help companies improve
performance by identifying leadership characteristics, gaps and
opportunities in their sustainability strategy.

Companies often
introduce a variety of initiatives to incorporate sustainability into
the business. For CFOs and investors, the crucial strategies are those
which directly impact bottom-line performance by strengthening skills,
increasing efficiency, attracting the best talent or opening new avenues
of revenue. The challenge is in understanding the competitive
environment in order to implement their strategy in the most effective
way,” said Mr Blasco.

To learn more about SAM’s Sustainability Services, please visit: www.sam-group.com/services.