Big Data Revolution

CHAPTER 8: CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY

CITY OF LONDON

COVERING JUST ONE square mile and providing employment for 400 thousand people, the City of London is a leading global financial center. A total of 588 foreign companies are listed in London, representing 20 percent of the global foreign equity listings. According to the 2014 “Cities of Opportunity” report conducted by multinational professional services network, PwC, London was named as the best city overall and the only city to finish first in three out of the ten indicators: economic clout, technology readiness, and city gateway. These indicators are based on publicly available data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other national statistics organizations. While cities compete for the highest rankings on different indicators, big data is also providing a detailed perspective of the activities of corporations and helping to quantify sustainability.

One of the major hallmarks of the 21^st century is the level of interconnectivity that now exists due to the ease of travel, virtually free voice and video communication, and global trade networks. There is no doubt that innovations brought about by the Internet, mobile telephone, and social media have made the planet appear smaller than ever before. While we all enjoy instantaneous contact with family, friends, and colleagues from wherever we happen to be situated in the world, it is important to ask what effect, if any, these changes are having on the private ...