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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Five Sustainability Lessons From Private Equity
Private equity firms—known for their rigorous focus on producing returns for investors—are emerging as sustainability leaders, particularly when it comes to integrating sustainability into investment decisions and management.
This week, we offer a preview of one of our BSR Conference 2012 sessions on what other companies can learn from the approach of leading private equity firms in applying sustainability to generate and protect value.
Also this week, we look ahead to Qatar’s large-scale development for the 2022 World Cup and share highlights from our new report on how companies involved in all phases of implementation can safeguard migrant workers’ human rights. And we offer insights on why Ernst & Young has added “sharing the benefits” to its annual list of business risks facing the mining and minerals industry.
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In Depth
Generating and Protecting Value Through Sustainability: Five Lessons From Private Equity
By David Korngold, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
How do leading private equity firms apply sustainability to generate and protect value, and what can other companies learn from their approach?
Read more →
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Toolbox
Protecting Migrant Workers’ Rights for the 2022 World Cup
By Julia Beier, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
In preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, hundreds of thousands of international migrant workers will travel to Qatar to build extensive infrastructure from scratch. While Qatar has legal provisions in place to safeguard worker rights, human rights experts have raised concerns that these rights could be undermined.
As part of the Migration Linkages Initiative, BSR has published a new report that outlines how companies involved in all phases of implementing the World Cup—from planning, to construction, to execution—can safeguard migrant workers' human rights:
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Education: Conduct due diligence on the potential human rights and business risks of employing migrant workers.
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Engagement: Explore partnership opportunities with the Qatari government, peer companies, and the local community to effectively uphold migrant workers' rights.
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Expansion: Apply lessons from the engagement process to structural issues related to the recruitment and employment of migrant workers across the region and for global sporting events.
Spotlight
(Not) Sharing the Benefits: A Business Risk?
Ernst & Young's most recent annual report of business risks facing the mining and minerals industry has a notable addition this year: "sharing the benefits."
While many of the top 10 risks address social and environmental performance, including resource nationalism, social license to operate, and fraud and corruption, the addition of "sharing the benefits" signals a shift in how companies understand their role in the countries and communities where they operate. This change has happened in part because more stakeholders and communities expect companies to outline how they will share the profits and economic opportunities that result from large-scale capital projects.
BSR's engagement with companies in the sector reinforces the role of sustainable local benefits in companies' social impact and stakeholder-engagement approaches. As highlighted in last year's BSR Insight feature article by Michael Oxman, companies can manage these "benefits sharing" risks by linking commercial and social performance to objectives that seek out long-lasting, mutually beneficial outcomes for the company and key stakeholders.
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