Ceres (organization)

Last updated
Ceres
Formation1989;35 years ago (1989)
FounderJoan Bavaria
Type Nonprofit
22-3053747
Legal status 501(c)(3)
Focus Sustainability
Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts
Region
United States
MethodAdvocacy
Staff
Approx. 130 [1]
Website https://www.ceres.org/

Ceres is a non-profit sustainability advocacy organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, and founded in 1989. [2] As of May 2017, its president is Mindy Lubber.

Contents

History

Ceres was founded in 1989 when Joan Bavaria, then-president of Trillium Asset Management, formed an alliance with leading environmentalists with the goal of changing corporate environmental practices. She named the organization the "Coalition for Environmentally Responsible EconomieS", or CERES. Ceres was the ancient Roman goddess of fertility and agriculture.

That same year, following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, CERES announced the creation of the Valdez Principles (later renamed the CERES Principles), [3] a ten-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be publicly endorsed by Ceres companies.

In 1993, following lengthy negotiations, Sunoco became the first Fortune 500 company to endorse the Ceres Principles. Since then, over 50 companies have endorsed the Ceres Principles, including 13 Fortune 500 companies that have adopted their own equivalent environmental principles. [4]

In 2003, the organization rebranded itself as "Ceres". [5]

On January 27, 2016, Ceres and the United Nations Foundation convened the seventh Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations in New York, attended by more than 110 institutional investors who collectively represented more than $22 trillion in assets, with a goal of doubling global investment in clean energy by 2020. [6]

Ceres principles

First published in the fall of 1989, the Ceres Principles are a ten-point code of corporate environmental ideals to be publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic. [3] The 10 Ceres Principles are:

Key accomplishments

Awards and recognition

In 2007, Ceres was named one of the 100 most influential players in corporate governance by Directorship magazine. [10] Ceres was a recipient of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006, [11] as well as a recipient of the Fast Company Social Capitalist Awards in 2008. [12]

See also

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References

  1. "Staff".
  2. "Investing in sustainability". Khaleej Times. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Ceres Principles". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23.
  4. "Homepage". Archived from the original on 2009-05-30. Retrieved 2009-06-19. Ceres website
  5. "2003 Ceres Annual Report" . Retrieved 2017-05-06. Ceres website
  6. "Global investors mobilize action in wake of Paris Climate Agreement". January 27, 2016. Retrieved 2017-05-06. United Nations website
  7. "Homepage". Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2009-06-17. Ceres website
  8. "Ceres Investor Network". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-19. INCR Home Page
  9. "Trillions turn green: Investment dollars flow to climate change, clean tech". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  10. "Directorship Honors the 100 Most Influential Players in Corporate Governance". Directorship Magazine. December 11, 2007. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  11. "Skoll Foundation Awards $16 Million to Nonprofits Around the World in Support of Social Entrepreneurship". Skoll Foundation. March 14, 2006. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  12. "The 2008 Social Capitalist Awards: Ceres". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-06-19.

Further reading