In This Issue
Editor's Note
UN Global Compact and Sustainable Supply Chains
The UN Global Compact Leaders Summit last week marked the 10th anniversary of the Global Compact, which was launched with 44 businesses and now has more than 6,000 corporate signatories—indicating significant progress in companies’ senior-level commitment to sustainability.
This week, we report back from the summit, where BSR president and CEO Aron Cramer was among 10 leaders honored.
In our feature article, BSR's Blythe Chorn and Cody Sisco share emerging trends in sustainable supply chain management, based on a guide BSR produced with the Global Compact.
Next, we highlight a report released at the event that offers recommendations on how CEOs can integrate sustainability into company strategy and operations.
And finally, we hear from Ban Ki-moon and other leaders at the event, who expressed optimism about the future of sustainability.
On an unrelated but important note, you should have received BSR's annual Member Survey last week. Your input is valuable and will help us improve our services and content. Please take the approximately 15 minutes needed to fill out the survey and provide us with your feedback by July 9.
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In Depth
Emerging Trends in Supply Chain Sustainability
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A new guide from BSR and the UN Global Compact highlights best practices and emerging trends that will help companies build and refine their approaches to supply chain sustainability.
Read more →
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Toolbox
Study: CEOs Cite Sustainability Importance, Strategy Integration Challenges
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
Ninety-three percent of the 766 CEOs surveyed in a new Accenture and UN Global Compact study believe that sustainability is critical to their companies’ future success, and 96 percent believe sustainable business practices should be integrated into companies’ strategy and operations.
Of the CEOs who cited execution as their main sustainability challenge, 49 percent said the complexity of implementation across functions is the most significant barrier to a truly integrated strategy. To overcome this challenge and others, the report recommends that CEOs:
- Actively shape consumer awareness, attitudes, and needs to create a market for sustainable products and services.
- Generate new knowledge, skills, and support among employees for sustainable development.
- Work with investors to ensure that the value of sustainability initiatives can be demonstrated through traditional metrics.
- Measure sustainability's impact on core business drivers and embed sustainability into individual performance frameworks across the organization.
- Work with government to create a clearer and more positive regulatory environment for sustainability.
On the Record
UN Global Compact Leaders Discuss Future of Corporate Responsibility
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Nearly 1,500 business and other leaders gathered at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010 in New York last week to discuss how the Global Compact and corporate responsibility will evolve over the next 10 years.
Several leaders expressed optimism about the state of sustainability:
"Let us recognize that investments in the Millennium Development Goals are investments in sustained economic growth—business will flourish only if people do."
—Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General, United Nations (June 23, 2010)
"Today, the business philosophy has changed. … Cost, quality, and availability have become minimum requirements. Business ethics and social responsibility have become the key factors in enhancing competitiveness and sustainable development."
—Wang Zhongyu, President, China Enterprise Confederation (June 23, 2010)
"The Global Compact has been built over the past 10 years, person by person, company by company, country by country. … We strongly believe that we have reached a point, which is close to a tipping point ... where these principles are truly embedded in markets everywhere."
—Georg Kell, Executive Head, United Nations Global Compact (June 23, 2010)
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Ensuring minimum standards for responsible business conduct within any company is a large undertaking. The challenge of extending those standards to suppliers and sub-tiers of supply chains is complex and evolving, which is one of the reasons this work can be so interesting, frustrating, and rewarding.