The information on this page will help you get started with your sustainability research assignment.
Access the links to find information about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and lists of ESG companies. This might give you some inspiration for the company you want to focus on.
The box on Locating Company Information will walk you through using library databases and websites to learn more about ESG, Sustainability, and more.
Finally, take a look at the APA citation guidelines for more information on how to create sources, including how to cite an annual report and images you might use in your PowerPoint.
As you look through the resources, make sure you use your critical thinking and information literacy skills to evaluate the information you find.
"ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. ESG investing refers to how companies score on these responsibility metrics and standards for potential investments. Environmental criteria gauge how a company safeguards the environment. Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and communities. Governance measures a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights."
Library databases are a good place to look for articles about business or business practices. Business Source Elite is an article database that contains articles from business publications. Search for issues like sustainability, diversity, pollution, or global warming.
Business Insights contains articles, but also contain company information, including financial reports and market research.
Statista is a database of data, statistics, and reports. Search for ESG and see what you can discover about companies and investors.
Use the links below or access these databases from the A-Z Database list.
With over 460,000 company profiles, including 2,000 with deep links to related content and statistical data, Gale Business Insights: Global provides daily updates to keep up with the ever-changing corporate landscape. Includes: Profiles of every U.N. recognized country including 90+ Economist Intelligence Unit reports; SWOT reports (quarterly updates), GlobalData industry research reports; Plunkett industry reports; market share and business rankings; company histories and chronologies; global company, country, and business topic overviews with quick links; full-text articles; case studies; business executive video interviews; interactive LiveCharts; and more.
Provides full text for nearly 1,100 business publications
Statista is a global data and business intelligence platform with an extensive collection of statistics, reports, and insights on over 80,000 topics from 22,500 sources in 170 industries.” www.statista.com
Finding Public Company Information
Investor relations pages have all of the information the company wants to share with investors. You'll find financial information, annual reports, and information about their values and practices (including sustainability, diversity, and more).
Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor
Yum Brands: https://investors.yum.com/corporateprofile/default.aspx
Waste Management: https://investors.wm.com/
Finding Local Company Information
Small business aren't required to disclose the same information publicly traded companies are. They also aren't reliant on investors, so they may not sure as much about their practices.
To find information on local companies, make sure you choose a company that is actually a small business (and not a franchise or a branch of a larger organization). Then, look carefully at the website. It might not be obvious but many companies to provide information related to sustainability.
Scot Forge https://www.scotforge.com/
Apple Creek Flowers https://applecreekflowers.com/
To cite an Annual Report, use the following construction:
Name of Company/Group. (Year of Annual Report). Title of report. DOI or URL
Example:
Hess Corporation. (2018). Annual report. Hess Corp. https://investors.hess.com/static-files/f0375fc7-bcbb-4b34-a984-c17c26cde53a