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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Addressing Water Issues in China
In China, local governments, communities, and consumers are putting more pressure on factories to clean up their waste streams and use less water, prompting global companies to work with their suppliers to take action.
In late 2010, BSR worked with members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition to assess the extent of known pollution incidents by their suppliers, and our Sustainable Water Group supported the development and implementation of global standards for water quality in line with Chinese laws and international norms.
This week, BSR’s Laura Ediger and Ryan Flaherty report on how companies can meet standards for water quality in China and manage water scarcity.
Also this week, we share a graphic from the World Economic Forum on the “most systemically important global economic risks,” as well as the connections between them, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s first sustainability report on the industry’s environmental, social, and community impacts.
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In Depth
The New Reality of Water in China: Informed Activism and No Guarantees
By Laura Ediger, Associate Director, Advisory Services, BSR; Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
With the changing political, regulatory, and consumer climate in China, more companies are considering how they can clean up their waste streams and use less water.
Read more →
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Quick Hit
WEF Report Reveals Top Global Risks
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
Based on a survey of 469 experts from industry, government, academia, and civil society, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) new “Global Risks 2012” report examines 50 global risks across five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal, and technological.
As illustrated in the image below, one issue in each category was identified as having the greatest systemic importance: severe income disparity (economic), greenhouse gas emissions (environmental), global governance failure (geopolitical), unsustainable population growth (societal), and critical systems failure (technological). The report also features three risk cases that describe the links between groups of global risks, and how they are likely to develop over the next 10 years.
View a larger image here.
Source: Thomson Reuters Blog coverage of the World Economic Forum’s “Global Risks 2012, Seventh Edition”
Toolbox
Four Key Sustainability Trends in Retail
The Retail Industry Leaders Association’s first sustainability report on the industry’s environmental, social, and community impacts features company case studies and identifies four key trends:
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Partnerships matter: Accelerating progress on energy reduction, sustainable product improvements, proper supplier labor conditions, and more requires working with nonprofits, academics, and governments as well as suppliers, customers, investors, vendors, and communities.
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Sustainability can lead to growth: Recognizing sustainability as an opportunity—not just a cost- or risk-reduction measure—can encourage innovation, differentiate the company, and spur new product and market development.
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Improvement requires systems: Continuous improvement means developing management, measurement, and IT systems for environmental impacts, supplier scorecards and management training, employee training and engagement, energy- and waste-reduction goals, and sustainability reporting.
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Transparency is critical: Disclosing activities, strategies, goals, challenges, and data can help companies formalize their sustainability efforts, increase public accountability, and engage in dialogue with stakeholders.
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