Ceres (pronounced "series") is a non-profit, American network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges, such as global climate change. Founded in 1989, its core mission is integrating sustainability into capital markets.
In 2007, Ceres was named one of the 100 most influential players in corporate governance by Directorship magazine.[1] Ceres was a recipient of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006,[2] as well as a recipient of the Fast Company Social Capitalist Awards in 2008.[3]
Ceres is based in Boston, Massachusetts. As of 2010, its president is Mindy S. Lubber.
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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, after the 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; see [www.ceres.org/principles]), a 10-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 dropped the CERES acronym and rebranded itself as "Ceres".
First published in the fall of 1989, the Ceres Principles are a 10-point code of corporate environmental ideals to be publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic.[5] The 10 Ceres Principles are:
Ceres Coalition: A coalition of investors, environmental organizations and public interest groups with the shared goal of increasing corporate responsibility. It is the largest coalition of its kind in North America. It focuses on areas such as accountability, disclosure, and improvement of environmental and social performance.
Ceres Companies: Companies that work with Ceres to improve their environmental and social performance and integrate environmental and social factors into their business strategies.
Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR): Is a network of investors and financial institutions coordinated by Ceres that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change.
Industry: Ceres works with oil companies, insurance companies, and companies in the electric power sector to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and assess environmental risks.
Engagement and Disclosure: Includes the Global Reporting Initiative, the creation of the facility-reporting pilot project, and the Ceres-ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards.
Business For Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP): BICEP is a co-operative group of consumer facing businesses coordinated by Ceres whose primary goal is to call on the U.S. government to pass progressive energy and climate legislation. BICEP currently has 20 members.