ABSTRACT
The sustainability of the economic, social and environmental systems of the world will be determined to a considerable extent by the decisions and actions of the board members and/or owners of the world's largest corporations. Business organizations, particularly the larger global ones, have wide-ranging impacts on our lives and they play roles in public services such as education and health. Institutional investors have a fiduciary responsibility to individual investors, pension funds, insurance companies and other types of institution to manage funds for long-term value and tend to adopt a balanced risk profile. Private equity (PE) firms have been growing in scale and reach. Whereas hedge funds look for undervalued or overvalued companies to buy or sell their stock, PE firms look for undervalued companies in order to transform the company itself. Sustainability reports based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework can be used to benchmark organizational performance, demonstrate organizational commitment to sustainable development, and compare organizational performance over time.
