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In This Issue
Editor's Note
BSR Report 2009: ‘Innovating for Sustainability’
To coincide with today's launch of the BSR Report 2009, "Innovating for Sustainability," BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer shares his perspective on four critical steps required for companies to lead in sustainable business today: set priorities, question assumptions, take risks, and, as we have learned from recent crises, get the basics right.
Covering one of the most tumultuous years in the global economy since BSR was founded in 1992, our Report offers our insights on the state of sustainable business today and includes case studies from our consulting and grants work, as well as highlights from BSR’s research, Conference, and membership.
Also in this edition of the Insight, we cover a recent survey by GlobeScan and SustainAbility on what experts deem the top sustainable development challenges, and the U.S. State Department's "2010 Trafficking in Persons Report."
If you have feedback on anything in today's newsletter—including the BSR Report 2009—we'd love to hear from you. Email us at bsrinsight@bsr.org.
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In Depth
Leadership for Sustainable Business
By Aron Cramer, President and CEO, BSR
Business leadership—one of the central themes of the newly released BSR Report 2009—is more important than ever in solving the world’s sustainability challenges. BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer shares his perspective on the four critical elements of leadership that are required now.
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Toolbox
Identifying Human-Trafficking Risks in Supply Chains
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
The U.S. Department of State's "2010 Trafficking in Persons Report" provides in-depth assessments of and recommendations for 177 countries, with the aim to eliminate modern slavery. The report also outlines key trends, the challenges and successes in identifying and protecting victims, and the need for governments to incorporate anti-trafficking policies in response to natural disasters.
The report can help companies identify areas of risk related to trafficking and prevent trafficking in their supply chains by taking the following steps:
- Take accountability for all labor and pledge to monitor compliance, remediate noncompliance, and verify those actions by an independent third party.
- Publicly disclose mechanisms for providing independent, unannounced, and thorough audits.
- Provide effective complaint procedures.
- Provide clear guidelines to ensure that security forces are not used to intimidate, hold, or abuse workers.
- Guarantee the mobility of all workers by forbidding any confiscation of official documents.
- Commit to providing restitution and other forms of remediation for victims.
Quick Hit
Experts Rate Top Sustainable Development Challenges
Globescan and SustainAbility's "Sustainability Survey 2010" polled approximately 1,200 sustainability experts globally from the corporate, government, academic/research, and service sectors on critical sustainability issues, climate change, and what is required to be a sustainability leader.
In response to one question asking experts to rate their top sustainable development challenges, the survey revealed that water-related issues will predominate until 2015.
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During our first sustainable consumption workshop, participants tasked with spending $5 in New York came back with coffee, bananas, and new ideas about the business opportunities in meeting consumer needs within the confines of planetary boundaries.