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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Enter New Markets Using CSR
With offices in 74 countries and annual sales of DKK60.7 billion (about US$12 billion), Denmark-based Novo Nordisk is the clear market leader in diabetes, its focus area. Yet when company leaders decided to enter the diabetes market in China, they did so not just with products but with a long-term strategy focused on health, economic development, and the environment. Like many other company leaders, they understood that CSR could support Novo Nordisk’s growth in China.
This week, BSR’s Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology Practice Director Mark Little and Advisory Services Associate Adam Lane share ideas on how companies in any industry can use sustainability strategies to enter new markets.
Next, we outline recommendations based on our work with Nokia in Beijing on how companies can work together to build larger-scale, cost-effective programs that address issues such as recruiting and retaining workers.
And we highlight the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s new guide to valuing corporate ecosystem services.
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In Depth
Using CSR to Enter New Markets
By Mark Little, Director, Healthcare, Advisory Services, BSR; Adam Lane, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
With more leading companies using CSR strategies to support growth in new markets, BSR recommends an approach that allows the company to focus on core business objectives, invest in local infrastructure, and use information collected in the field to adapt its global business strategy.
Read more →
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Spotlight
How Companies Can Collaborate to Improve Factory Labor Issues
By Adam Lane, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
In the Beijing Development Area (BDA), an economic zone with a high concentration of factory workers, companies are facing severe challenges such as recruiting and retaining workers—issues that prevail in similar manufacturing regions across China.
To address these issues in the BDA, BSR is working with Nokia on ways to collaborate with other companies at the local level to build larger-scale, cost-effective programs that benefit both workers and factory managers. Based on our research (Chinese version available here), we recommend that companies work together to:
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Improve worker living conditions by upgrading or subsidizing accommodations, expanding transportation options, and providing recreational activities for free or at a reduced cost.
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Deliver joint trainings for workers on personal-development topics such as managing stress and professional-development issues such as machine repair or welding, and for HR and production line managers on issues such as conflict management and communications skills.
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Improve employee retention by working with labor agencies to reduce costs related to recruitment, increase the quality of new recruits, and improve the management of staffing and production schedules.
On May 18, BSR, Nokia, and other stakeholders will gather in Beijing to design an initiative to address these issues. To attend this event or to learn more, contact Adam Lane.
Toolbox
WBCSD’s New Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s “Guide to Corporate Ecosystem Valuation” helps business leaders understand the value and benefits of ecosystem services such as fresh water, food, fiber, and natural hazard protection. They can use this data to manage risks and opportunities and make more informed decisions that align financial, ecological, and societal objectives.
The guide is divided into two parts:
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Screening: Several questions will help company managers decide if they need to conduct an ecosystem valuation.
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Methodology: A five-stage process (scoping, planning, valuation, application, embedding) and 12 principles will help managers:
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Calculate how the impacts of different scenarios will change the value of ecosystem services.
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Place a value on the total benefits of ecosystem services.
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Assess the distribution of ecosystem services costs and benefits across different stakeholder groups.
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Determine sources of revenue and compensation packages related to ecosystem services benefits and losses for stakeholders.
BSR’s Ecosystem Services, Tools, and Markets Working Group will be releasing a comparison of similar tools later this month. For more information, contact Linda Hwang.
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