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In This Issue
Editor's Note
The Quiet Revolution in Corporate Environmental Performance Expectations
Today, it is becoming more important for companies to consider how their operations are affecting the “natural infrastructure” upon which we all rely. Put another way, companies need to look at how they are impacting and depend on ecosystem services—fertile topsoil, a relatively predictable climate, and coastal protection from storms— that provide the raw materials for business.
The good news is that more sectors are embracing the concepts of ecosystem services. And yet there is progress to be made.
This week, we give you a preview of our upcoming report on ecosystem services, with a look at the progress we have made; the challenges faced by government, investors, and companies in adopting an ecosystem services approach; and the questions that still need to be answered when putting the concept into practice. In a future article, we will highlight how some leading companies have chosen to approach ecosystem services.
Also this week we share highlights from a recent workshop on what lies ahead for business and human rights. And we share findings from a report on the rise of CSR policies in the European Union.
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In Depth
The Quiet Revolution: The Changing Expectations of Corporate Environmental Performance
Kit Armstrong, Senior Advisor, BSR
An ecosystem services approach could revolutionize how companies manage environmental performance. With increasing integration of ecosystem services from government, investors, and business, the concept finally is coming of age.
Read more →
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Spotlight
What’s Next for Business and Human Rights
By Christine Bader, Human Rights Advisor, BSR
At a recent workshop I convened at Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics (where I’m a non-resident senior fellow), experts from the UN Working Group on business and human rights, corporations, NGOs, investors, and academia discussed what lies ahead for business: * While the focus for the last six years was on developing shared expectations (in the form of the UN Guiding Principles), now a very different set of skills and coalitions are needed to implement those expectations—for example, to emphasize outreach to the global South and capacity-building for companies, governments, and NGOs. * The debate has thus far largely focused on extractives and manufacturing, which historically have presented the greatest immediate threats to human rights. Technology and finance are among the sectors that should feature more prominently going forward. * Multistakeholder dialogue is critical because no single party can solve these challenges alone. Research, collaboration, and dialogue—much like this workshop—must be sustained. _For more information about how BSR helps companies implement the Guiding Principles, including through a new Human Rights Working Group, contact Faris Natour._
Toolbox
Europe’s CSR Public Policies on the Rise
CSR policies in Europe are growing, according to the second working paper to come out of the Impact Project, a multistakeholder initiative that aims to measure the impacts of CSR in Europe. The “Analysis of the National and EU Policies Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact” paper suggests a burgeoning relationship between CSR and government policies. The paper cites an increase in the number of policies designed to engage business in addressing international issues including human rights, climate change and sustainable development. Other examples of the spike in CSR: * Endorsement through rhetoric * Subsidies and tax incentives * Collaboration with business and civil society organizations * New accounting and reporting standards The authors did not find much evidence of interest in assessment and indicators of CSR performance; they noted it was unclear whether this reflects a general view that government should not micromanage CSR, or a view that governments have a greater interest in the symbolic power of policy.
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