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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Corporate Environmental Performance in Practice
Following up on our feature last week on the increasing integration of ecosystem services within government, investors, and business, BSR Research Manager Linda Hwang reports on how some companies are approaching ecosystem services—either by integrating the idea into decision-making processes at a high level or by applying ecosystem services to specific activities.
She also notes the main barriers for companies that aren’t using an ecosystem services approach. And she outlines three interesting scenarios that could happen in the future—including a case in which seemingly disparate grassroots organizations (think Occupy Wall Street and Earth First!) join forces to hold companies accountable for cross-cutting issues, from economic inequality to environmental destruction.
Speaking of cross-cutting issues, KPMG’s report on the 10 “megaforces” affecting business over the next 20 years provides some compelling fodder for discussion.
And we report back on a session Europe Director Farid Baddache led at Produrable on how companies are implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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In Depth
Corporate Environmental Performance in Practice
Kit Armstrong, Senior Advisor, BSR
In the second piece of our two-part series on ecosystem services trends, we look at the two main ways companies have adopted this approach, the three biggest barriers for companies that have decided not to adopt it, and three scenarios we think could take place in the future.
Read more →
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Toolbox
KPMG Report Picks 10 Sustainability ‘Megaforces’
Population growth, material resource scarcity, climate change, and energy and fuel are among the issues in sustainability that could have significant impact on the business landscape over the next 20 years, according to a recent report by KPMG International. The “Expect the Unexpected: Building Business Value in a Changing World” report outlines 10 global sustainability “megaforces” that are putting the world on a development trajectory that is “not sustainable.” Others on the list include water scarcity, wealth, urbanization, food security, ecosystem decline, and deforestation. (The report is 180 pages; the executive summary is here.) The report notes that all of these forces are interconnected, and insists that in order to manage the risks, businesses must use a systems thinking approach that addresses the ways megaforces relate to each other. Specific recommendations include: * Companies should turn strategic plans into ambitious targets and actions for sustainability supply chain management. * Companies should seek collaboration with business partners on sustainability issues. * Governments should increase collaboration with the private sector.
On the Record
Challenges of Applying the UN Guiding Principles
At the CSR and Leadership Produrable conference in Paris last week, BSR’s Europe Director Farid Baddache facilitated a discussion on how to apply the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The panel comprised representatives from EDF, BNP Paribas, the French government, and two NGOs. Panel participants noted the challenges in applying human rights principles and due diligence across departments throughout a company while reconciling a more industry-specific understanding of the material issues. They added that engaging with stakeholders on the ground is a key component of successful ownership of human rights issues. _“The way the regulatory frameworks applicable to European companies are getting increasingly consistent with the UN Guiding Principles encourages companies to transition from a reactive issue management to a proactive reasonable management of human rights risks.”_ —Michel Doucin, French government ambassador on CSR (March 28, 2012)
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