Publications by Tag: Consumer Products
Blog
What Actions are Needed to Achieve Sustainable Fashion Consumption?
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
Over the past several months, BSR and the Danish Fashion Institute have been working toward a “NICE Consumer” framework to drive collaboration on sustainable fashion consumption. To gather ideas, we’ve conducted research, held three webinars, and organized three in-person workshops in Stockholm, London, and Copenhagen. Read more
In the Spotlight: Wastewater in China’s Textile Industry
Andy Chen, Associate, Advisory Services
With the rapid growth of China’s economy, textile exports tally about US$212 billion, accounting for 34 percent of total market share. Accompanying this development is (quite literally) an unwanted byproduct: wastewater—approximately 2.5 billion tons annually, according to one report. Read more
The Journey to Sustainable Fashion Consumption Has Begun
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
At the first of our three webinars on the NICE Consumer project last week, about 45 participants from industry and civil society provided their questions and input via several polls and questions to the presenters. Read more
NICE Consumer: The Future of Chic
Jonathan Morris, Associate, Advisory Services
How can we advance the idea of sustainable fashion consumption? When you start to look at the problem from the outside, it seems deceptively simple. Like many sustainable products, all we need is more durable, ethical garments that meet the needs and wants of consumers. Read more
Learning the Right Lessons From the Apple Story
Aron Cramer, President and CEO
A decade ago, Apple made a splash with its “Think Different” advertising campaign. Today, with Apple in the headlines concerning labor conditions in its supply chain, it’s time for all of us to think different about how to improve the lives of the millions of workers making the products that drive our global economy. While it’s tempting to point to particular companies as the core of the problem, the reality—and the solutions—are much broader and much more complex. Read more
Playing by the Numbers for Sustainable Consumption
Vijay Kanal, Director, Information and Communications Technology Practice, Advisory Services
From the popularity of Robert Parker's wine scoring system to Consumer Reports’ products rankings, consumers love numerical scores. The reason is simple: They help buyers make informed decisions. Read more
HERproject: A Perspective From Primark
By Libby Annat, Senior Ethical Trade Manager, Primark
Note: This is the second blog in a three-part series highlighting the impact of HERproject in Bangladesh. The first blog explored impacts within and beyond factory walls through the stories of HERproject peer educators. This blog shares a participating brands’ perspective on health and business impacts she has seen, and the third blog profiles one of our NGO partners. Read more
Sharpening the Terms of the Debate About the Sustainable Consumption of Fashion
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
Every once in a while, something magical happens to transform a boring conference call into an inspiring debate. Last week, the Advisory Group to the NICE Consumer project (a group that represents Marks and Spencer, H&M, Vivienne Westwood, WGSN, and PPR) met virtually to officially kick off the project, and the mix of industry experience, visionary thinking, and critical questions were explosive. Read more
Here’s Looking at You, Hollywood
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
A strange and wonderful thing happened on the way to the Golden Globes this year. Both on the carpet and online, a bit of “green” began to sprout through the red carpet. And with it, high fashion, television and movie production, and celebrities took one small step toward sustainability. Read more
Introducing the ‘Nice Consumer’: Can She Lead Us to the Sustainable Consumption of Fashion?
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
Many smart and opinionated people are split on the answer to the question of whether less is more, which has become central to the sustainable consumption debate. Read more
Can We Afford Our Constant Consumption?
Ted Howes, Director, Advisory Services
Thanksgiving. I love this holiday. The opportunity to sit down with family and friends, enjoy one another’s company, and share a feast is indeed something to be thankful for. In my family, we always go around the table sharing what we’re grateful for. It’s a profound moment of connecting and appreciation for what we have, and it often turns out that we’re thankful for the small things—the ones we can’t purchase. Read more
During Tough Economic Times, Is It Time to Focus on the Fundamentals?
At the BSR Conference this year, I moderated a lively, insightful, and solutions-focused panel on “Child Labor, Culture, and Compliance.” Given the breadth of private, public, and civil society experience among our panelists and the audience, we were able to come up with some concrete solutions, including the sharing of effective monitoring tools and early-warning systems to pick up and respond swiftly to instances of child labor, and to outline what good remediation looks like—which, in this instance, is about giving a child laborer his or her life back. Read more
Collaborative-Consumption Markets Create New Opportunities for Economic Inclusion
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
The rise of technology platforms is creating business opportunities for new producers and micro-entrepreneurs. Read more
Why Did the ‘Tweenbot’ Cross the Road? (To Teach Us About Kindness)
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
At the Museum of Modern Art’s ambitious new exhibit, “Talk to Me” (curated by Paola Antonelli, who spoke at the BSR Conference 2010), visitors are greeted by a “Tweenbot,” a small, cardboard-covered, constantly moving robot that depends on the kindness of strangers to reach its final destination. Videos show the Tweenbot maneuvering through Washington Square Park as passersby rescue it from potholes, protect it from dangerous streets, and usher it toward its goal. Read more
Audits Are Falling Short for Women
Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject
Last month, the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights (formerly the National Labor Committee), released a report documenting widespread human rights abuses at a factory in Jordan that supplies apparel products to international buyers. Among the allegations were numerous reports of sexual abuse by facility managers, highlighting a history of abuse by one manager in particular. Buyer responses, to date, have been to cite their commitments to rigorous auditing protocols and established social-compliance standards. Read more
Where BSR Will Be in June
June is shaping up to be a busy month for BSR staff around the world. Here’s a few of the place we’ll be—and events we’re hosting. We hope to see you there! Read more
A New Tool for Sustainable Product Design
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
This week, I had the opportunity to see a demonstration of Autodesk’s new Eco Materials Adviser, a tool the company developed with Granta Design that is intended to help product designers make better decisions around material choices. Since the majority of a product’s life-cycle impacts are determined during the design phase, the tool has the potential to help create smarter, cleaner, and more efficient products. Read more
Can Certification Schemes Collaborate to Raise Sustainability Standards?
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
Last week, company leaders, government representatives, NGOs, and certifying bodies gathered at the Just Means’ Certification, Consumption, and Change conference—which focused on the future of ethical product certification and eco-labels—to push for greater cooperation and consolidation among sustainability certification processes. Panel discussions—which included members from certifying organizations such as Forest Stewardship Council, Green-e, Fair Trade, and the Rainforest Alliance—explored challenges related to giving consumers simple, user-friendly market signals to drive more sustainable purchasing habits. Read more
The Truth About the Migrant Worker Recruitment Process
Guy Morgan, Director, Advisory Services
Last week, Laura Ediger and I were in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, to study the recruitment process of semi-skilled workers who migrate to Malaysia each year to work in the ICT and apparel sectors. As part of our Migration Linkages initiative which seeks to uphold the rights of migrant workers in global supply chains, we are looking at countries of origin to understand the process by which workers find jobs, sign contracts, and leave their villages on extended work visas abroad. Read more
Jugaad Solutions for Sustainable Design
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
Jugaad is a Hindi term that means clever and resourceful. It describes a way of getting a job done by using easy-to-find materials, typically in collaboration with others. In Western terms, jugaad could be a kind of crowd-sourced innovation that makes efficient use of scarce resources or reused materials to help improve living conditions. Read more
What Conflict Minerals Regulation Means on the Ground
Amaya Gorostiaga, Manager, Advisory Services
I recently returned from a trip to Kigali, Rwanda, where I attended a regional conference on mineral certification—an effort to create responsible supply chains for “conflict minerals” mined from the African Great Lakes Region. Through the discussions, I learned where the region stands on promoting transparency and good governance in the artisanal and small-scale mining sectors, and the implications that recent legislative efforts would have on companies operating in, or sourcing from, the region. Read more
The Consumer Behavior Gap: Lessons from 3CS Conference
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
According to the Corporate & College Collaborative for Sustainability (3CS), millennials—the demographic ranging from late teens to late twenties—will make up 50 percent of the workforce in just four years. With a mission of leveraging the role of millennials as future leaders of more sustainable business, 3CS focuses on enhancing sustainability curriculum in undergraduate education. Read more
HERproject Takes to the Field in Kenya
Jennifer Schappert, Associate, Advisory Services
During my most recent trip for HERproject with colleague Ryan Flaherty, the term "fieldwork" took on a whole new meaning—we found ourselves suiting up in boots and smelling roses. Ryan and I traveled to Naivasha (an hour northwest of Nairobi) to lay the groundwork for expanding HERproject into the cut-flower and food-processing industries in Kenya. Traditionally, BSR’s HERproject—a factory-based program that provides peer-to-peer health education to female workers—has operated in factories in the garment and information technology (IT) sectors. Read more
Conflict Minerals Regulations and Round Two of Multi-Stakeholder Responses
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
In advance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deadline for comments on proposed conflict minerals reporting rules, a multi-stakeholder group facilitated by the Responsible Sourcing Network has developed a set of comments on the SEC's draft regulations. The comments encourage greater clarity and specificity in certain parts of the regulations, and more importantly, highlight the need to support the continued sourcing of verifiably conflict-free minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and surrounding region. Read more
Taking Worker Rights to Scale—So What If There Isn’t a Business Case?
I just returned from Singapore, where (thanks to the generous support of the Levi Strauss Foundation) we convened a leading group of worker rights training organizations from around the world to collaborate on ways to scale and deepen the impact of their daunting and difficult in-factory work. Read more
Mapping Sustainability Trends for Apparel, Mills & Sundries
Julia Nelson, Manager, Advisory Services
At the recent Apparel, Mills and Sundries Working Group meeting in Shenzhen, China, the 65 attendees from global brands and their strategic suppliers took turns mapping labor, environmental, and economic trends that are impacting their ability to achieve socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and profitable textile and sundries production. Read more
Retailers, Shopping Bags, and Getting Ahead of the “Green Police”
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
An Earth Day Riddle: How Are Teenagers Saving Gas with their iPhones?
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
It’s Earth Day (or Earth Week for those of you who have been celebrating since Monday), and I’ve been thinking about companies and products that have found a niche in addressing the sustainability challenges we face today. Read more
H&M: Mainstreaming Sustainable Materials in Apparel
By Adrienne Cademenos
H&M’s Garden Collection—which features sustainable fibers throughout the line—hit stores on March 25. A bright green hang tang—including a 30-word description with a link to more information online—marks clothing made with organic cotton and linen, recycled polyester, and Tencel (an environmentally preferable organic fiber). The Garden Collection aligns with H&M’s wider commitment to organic cotton and sustainable fashion plans for 2010, and prices for the new line remain consistent with other H&M products. Read more
Losing a Friend and Colleague: Neil Kearney
Aron Cramer, President and CEO
Neil Kearney, the general secretary of the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers' Federation, the main global apparel workers' union, died unexpectedly today in Bangladesh at age 59. Read more
What’s in a Label? Gap’s New Clean Water Wash Messaging
Stop by any Gap Inc. store this month, and you’ll come across their new jean line—the “1969 Premium Jean”—a brand touted as “born to fit.” While these new jeans are marketed to fit and feel better, there is something extra special about this denim line: Turn the jeans inside out and you will see on the inside pocket a new “Clean Water Wash” label including a message stating that the water used to wash and dye the jeans was treated to meet safety and quality standards before being returned to the environment. Read more
Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Index: A World Changer?
The halls were abuzz with energy and excitement as some 2,000 Wal-Mart suppliers and associates gathered in their Bentonville, Arkansas, office auditorium (not to mention overflow rooms and offices worldwide via teleconference) for the official announcement of the much-leaked Sustainability Index (PDF). Read more
BSR Insight Articles
Worn Out: How Fashion Can Inspire Sustainable Consumption
Jonathan Morris, Associate, Advisory Services
Last November, Paris-based PPR unveiled the world’s first complete environmental profit-and-loss account for its Puma brand, offering consumers a behind-the-catwalk glimpse into some of the sustainability impacts of their trainers and tracksuits. The company has now committed to extend the practice to all of its luxury, sports, and lifestyle brands, including iconic luxury houses Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta, by 2015. Read more
Improving Worker Well-Being: A Case Study of Levi Strauss & Co.‘s Supply Chain Approach
Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services; Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject
Consider two stories that illuminate challenges in the typical approach to supply chain compliance today: Read more
Report Calls on Global Apparel Companies to Address Water Pollution in China
Five environmental organizations—including China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, founded by Ma Jun, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday—sent letters to the CEOs of 48 apparel companies, calling on them to address wastewater pollution and the inefficient use of water in their Chinese supply chains. Read more
Eco-Rating Electronics Products: Has the Time Come?
Vijay Kanal, Director, Information and Communications Technology Practice, Advisory Services; Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
How safe from toxic substances is that cell phone my children are playing with? How energy efficient is it? And what kind of take-back program does the manufacturer offer at the phone’s end-of-life for safe recycling or disposal? Read more
Using Games to Spur Greener Behaviors
While companies struggle to find new ways to get customers to embrace sustainability, one industry expert has arrived at an engaging approach: games. Read more
Four Key Sustainability Trends in Retail
The Retail Industry Leaders Association’s first sustainability report on the industry’s environmental, social, and community impacts features company case studies and identifies four key trends: Read more
2012: Sustainability Steams Ahead in Uncertain Times
Aron Cramer, President and CEO
History moved fast in 2011, even as the economy was stuck in neutral, and 2012 promises to be a wild ride. Exactly how it will play out is hard to say. 2011 provides ample evidence of how difficult it is to foresee specific changes: Last January, few anticipated the Arab Spring, and Hosni Mubarak was ejected from office before the end of February. And early in 2011, any mention of the "Occupy Movement” was more likely to be considered a good name for a new indie rock band than one of the most potent political forces seen in years. Read more
Helping Your Suppliers Improve Their Sustainability Efforts
Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services
To increase the reach of sustainability efforts, companies are using sophisticated questionnaires, scorecards, and indices as tools for supplier engagement. However, companies often superimpose their own sustainability goals on suppliers without considering how these tools could enable stronger governance structures, systems, and strategies for suppliers. Read more
HP, Dell, and Nokia Top Greenpeace’s Green Products Ranking
Greenpeace’s 2011 “Guide to Greener Electronics” ranks 15 leading mobile phone, TV, and computer manufacturers on their policies and practices to reduce climate impacts, produce greener products, and make their operations more sustainable. HP, Dell, and Nokia top the list of the greenest manufacturers, while LG Electronics, Toshiba, and RIM take the bottom three ranks. Read more
The Sustainability Opportunity in Product Obsolescence
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
On the last day of the BSR Conference 2011, Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn noted that we have about five years to address the world’s critical sustainability challenges. But to do this, he added, we need new business models. Read more
Reflections From the BSR Conference 2011: We Have the Will—and the Power—to Act
Kara Hurst, Vice President
In his opening address at the BSR Conference 2011, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore talked about the “functional insanity” of CEOs and CFOs who choose short-term gains over long-term sustainability. He referenced a study in which these leaders were asked what they would do if they were given a chance to make an investment that would increase their company’s profitability and sustainability—with the catch being that they would miss their quarterly targets. Eighty percent said they would not make the investment. Read more
A Practical Guide to Social and Environmental Compliance in the Licensing Industry
Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services
BSR’s new guide—created with the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association and BSR’s Licensing Working Group (which includes representatives from Hasbro, NBCUniversal, Time Warner, and the Walt Disney Company)—helps the licensing industry promote social and environmental standards among a complex network of licensors, licensees, agents, suppliers, factories, and retailers. Read more
Re-Scaling for the New Local
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
In the next decade, rapidly growing urban regions will need redesigned infrastructure, goods, and services to match peoples’ needs and work within planetary constraints. New efforts to track well-being and happiness, ecological systems under stress, and community and culture shocks like forced water restrictions and food-safety scares are driving people to pursue more resilient solutions such as low-impact housing, off-grid water and energy, seed-sharing programs, and community-supported agriculture. Read more
Who’s the Champion? Why We Need to ‘Prototype’ Sustainable Consumption
Ted Howes, Director, Advisory Services
Sustainable consumption remains the next big challenge in sustainability. Without recounting impending resource scarcity and the population boom, the macro trends show that we’re heading into a very different world. While leading companies have focused on reducing the negative environmental and social impacts on the supply side for years, those efficiency gains will get us only part of the way to a sustainable society. And so attention now swings to the demand side. Sustainable consumption, at its core, is trying to resolve the tension between limited resources and consumer demand. Read more
Climate Change Adaptation: Building Resiliency
Tiffany Finley, Associate, Advisory Services
Today, BSR is releasing the final four industry briefs in its “Climate Change Adaptation” series, which provides insight on climate-related risks and opportunities, actions companies are taking, and recommendations for how companies can lead their industries’ adaptation measures. Read more
The Future of Business-NGO Relationships
In my new role as BSR’s Director of Stakeholder Collaboration, I am focused on building relationships with NGO colleagues globally to bring their insights to our member companies and develop next-generation stakeholder engagement approaches that are outcome based and take into account trends in the field. BSR created this position to deepen relationships with civil society and foster collaboration between stakeholders and business. Read more
Investing in Factory Workers’ Mental Health and Well-Being
Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services
In response to the reported rise of suicides among Chinese factory workers, leading companies are investing in employee-assistance programs (EAPs)—including mental health education, diagnostic services, and counseling—to help workers and their families balance work- and personal-life demands, while also improving productivity. While common in North America, EAPs are emerging as important tools for addressing the root causes of mental health issues among workers in China. Read more
Why Is Living Wage So Complex?
Roger McElrath, Manager, Advisory Services
Ever since the United Nations adopted its new human rights framework, companies have had an added impetus to ensure that the treatment of their employees, workers in supply chain partners, and people in local communities is just and in accordance with international standards. Read more
Leading Retailers Discover the Power in Numbers
By Adam Siegel, Vice President, Sustainability and Retail Operations, Retail Industry Leaders Association
Retailers today are doing a great deal to engage their employees on sustainability, from hosting sustainability fairs at their headquarters to putting together employee videos, intranet sites, blogs, and volunteer days. Through these efforts, these companies have reaped many benefits: They have generated innovative ideas for running different business segments, brought new products to the shelves, and saved money. Read more
BSR Around the World
From helping the world’s largest shipping company develop a sustainability strategy to building a multi-stakeholder coalition to address the challenge of conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we work with business in all sectors and regions to redefine leadership in sustainable business. Read more
Partnership Innovation: It Takes a Supply Chain to Improve Women’s Health
Over the past six weeks, I have traveled from meeting to meeting in Washington, D.C., Bangkok, and Geneva to develop opportunities for BSR to partner with funders and others to provide resources to tackle challenges as diverse and broad as childhood nutrition, climate change adaptation, and energy efficiency. These discussions have gotten me thinking about the importance of innovative partnerships in addressing big challenges, and how business can be more effective in its work with government, civil society, and even private funders. Read more
Climate Change Adaptation for the ICT and Consumer Products Sectors
For the consumer products and ICT sectors, climate change has the potential to disrupt supply chains, damage critical assets and infrastructure, and create new customer needs. The latest reports in BSR’s "Climate Change Adaptation" series—which provides insight on climate-related risks and opportunities for a variety of industries—include practical examples of actions companies are already taking, as well as recommendations on how company leaders can improve their business’ resiliency. Read more
Best Buy CEO: Sustainability Will Drive ‘More Robust Outcomes’
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
In his recent keynote address at the Boston College Corporate Citizenship Conference, Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn discussed the company’s new sustainability strategy, which includes four key elements: creating an inspiring workplace, driving greater product stewardship, developing new solutions for sustainable lifestyles, and creating greater access to digital connections. Read more
Improving Product Sustainability Performance
According to Parametric Technology Corporation's recent white paper, companies must embrace "design-for-the-environment" strategies that allow them to remain competitive—and stay ahead of new sustainability requirements—by improving the environmental performance of their products. Read more
Conducting Site-Level Human Rights Impact Assessments
Alejandra Martin, Manager, Advisory Services
Although more than 270 companies have human rights policy statements in place, few have implemented the policies, and even fewer have conducted human rights impact assessments at the site level. These assessments are particularly relevant for companies operating in remote areas where local governments and civil society have limited experience interacting with the private sector. Read more
The Case (Book) for Responsible Labor
Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services
BSR's new "Stories From the Field" provides a reader-friendly collection of 14 case studies from our DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project in Central America and the Dominican Republic, which BSR created and led to make the business case for responsible labor in the region. Read more
Stories From the Field
Interview with Richard Feinberg, Professor, University of California, San Diego, by Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
Terry Nelidov, project manager of BSR's DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project, recently talked with University of California, San Diego Professor Richard Feinberg, a senior advisor to the project, about his insights gained from developing the case studies for it in BSR’s new compendium “Stories From the Field.” In excerpts below from the conversation, Professor Feinberg highlights both overall learnings from the three-year project and practical tools that companies anywhere in the world can apply to their labor and competitiveness strategies. Read more
Prosperity on a Crowded Planet: BSR’s Next Phase of Work on Sustainable Consumption
Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services
By nearly any measure, our current consumption patterns are not sustainable. The 2010 World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Index—which reflects changes in the health of the planet’s ecosystems—shows a drop by about 30 percent since 1970, and its 2010 Living Planet Report concludes that we are now using 50 percent more natural resources than Earth can sustain. This decline is already stalling progress addressing the needs of the more than 1 billion people who still lack adequate food, clothing, and shelter. As the population continues to grow, from 7 billion today to 9 billion in 2050, we need to shift to a more sustainable form of consumption that meets people’s needs without overtaxing natural resources. Read more
Women and Sustainability: Integrating Women Into Your Business and Sustainability Strategies
Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject
Growth in women’s income, education levels, and labor participation rates makes them essential participants in the global economy, and engagement with women and girls increasingly critical to sustainable growth for every industry. Women contribute to the private sector’s social license to operate; market, crop, and supply chain stability; a talented and stable employee base; and market growth and innovation. Additionally, investments in women have a multiplier effect, as women are more likely to reinvest in education, health, and economic activities at the community level. Read more
New Cell Phone Ratings Increase Transparency for Consumers
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
GoodGuide, which provides information on the social, environmental, and health impacts of a variety of consumer products, recently launched its 2011 rankings of cell phones. The company rated 576 cell phones using criteria including environmental and social performance at the product and company levels. These rankings are also available via a mobile application, which allows consumers to browse, search, or scan barcodes to see detailed information for more than 70,000 products and companies. Read more
Will Old Europe Become the New World of Sustainability in 2011?
Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
European companies, government officials, and civil society representatives have tended to scoff at their American cousins’ approach to sustainability, and also at the perceived fundamental disregard for the environment and human rights in BRIC countries. But as we make our way into 2011, I sense a shift in Europe toward a more somber mood, similar to the sobriety that comes to a soccer team the day after an unexpected defeat by a mignon competitor: heads down, feet dragging, and a realization that something different has to be done. Read more
State of Green Business 2011
GreenBiz's fourth annual "State of Green Business" report presents the top 10 trends and 20 indices for measuring how well companies are improving their environmental performance. According to the report, green business did not die during the recession; rather, companies are diving deeper and investing in longer-term sustainability initiatives. Read more
Greenpeace Ranks Green Electronics for 2011
Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services
Greenpeace just released its third "Green Electronics Survey"—which assesses the greenest electronics products that will be available in 2011, and ranks 18 leading electronics manufacturers on three criteria: removing toxic substances, responsible take-back of their end-of-life products, and energy efficiency. Read more
Responsible Sourcing Network Helps Companies Combat Human Rights Abuses in Supply Chains
Corporate accountability NGO As You Sow recently launched the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) in an effort to combat slavery and other human rights abuses in corporate supply chains. RSN provides a space for companies, investors, NGOs, and other stakeholders to share best practices and take coordinated action. RSN is presently working to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry, and addressing the conflict minerals trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—where profits help fuel one of the world's bloodiest conflicts. Read more
Social Purpose Drives Consumers’ Purchasing Decisions
Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services
According to the fourth annual Edelman goodpurpose® study, social purpose is more important than design and innovation or brand loyalty as a purchase trigger when quality and price are the same (see graph below). The survey—conducted annually in 13 countries among more than 7,000 adults—explores consumer attitudes around social purpose, including their commitment to specific social issues and their expectations of companies. Social purpose, according to the survey, is critical to marketing because it allows companies to engage with consumers on a deeper level. Read more
Doing Business With China’s New Generation of Workers
Wei Dong Zhou, Vice President, Broad Group
In December 2009, Time magazine unveiled its short list for Person of the Year. Though the Chinese worker was eventually a runner up to Ben Bernanke, the second-place nomination belies huge changes sweeping across China, as “new generation” workers aspire to more than just higher wages and better working conditions. As we learn from a discussion with BSR’s China Director, these workers represent a significant shift taking place that has implications for global companies, consumers, and 800 million workers in a country that no longer wants to be “the sweatshop of the world.” Read more
Back to Basics for Tackling Consumption—With a Twist
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
All of us buy, use, and dispose of a wide variety of products every day. Some products we buy out of habit, and others are purchased only after extensive deliberation. Some of our purchases are made daily—like grabbing that double shot of espresso at 3 p.m.—while others occur only once a year or once in a lifetime. What this means is that consumers’ decision-making varies tremendously depending on the context. For companies, recognizing the unique contexts in which people make purchasing decisions can increase the likelihood of affecting those decisions, and ultimately steering people toward more sustainable choices. Read more
‘Green Guides’ Help Steer Environmental Marketing
Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released its draft guidance on environmental marketing, which helps marketers avoid misleading customers—and avoid FTC actions against them. Read more
BSR Review Launches With an Issue on Sustainable Consumption
Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services
BSR recently launched the BSR Review, a bi-monthly publication with strategies, tools, and opinions developed by BSR on a given theme central to business. Read more
Business and Sustainable Consumption: The Call to Action
In London last week, at BSR's second workshop on business' role in promoting sustainable consumption, representatives from the apparel, food and beverage, telecommunications, and chemicals industries discussed issues such as product design, consumer engagement, and what to do with a product at the end of its use life. Read more
The Path to ‘Conflict-Free’: Risk Management or Responsibility?
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
With recent headlines about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) broadcasting strong claims like “Break the Link Between Laptops and War” and “Death by Gadget,” it’s easy to get the impression that the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is solely responsible for the violence in that country. These articles generally focus on the association between “conflict minerals” (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) used in ICT supply chains and the ongoing violence in the eastern DRC that has contributed to the deaths of more than five million people during the past 15 years. Read more
How Can Companies Use Life-Cycle Metrics for Sustainable Consumption?
Virginia Terry, Manager, Advisory Services
Now in its third year, the World Economic Forum's (WEF) sustainable consumption work is moving toward tangible actions in three different work streams: engaging consumers, exchanging innovation, and life-cycle metrics. Read more
Business Opportunities in Sustainable Consumption
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Not long ago, Southern California Edison conducted an experiment aimed at lowering household energy use. The utility company gave its customers ambient orbs that glowed red when their energy use was high and green when use was low. Within weeks, energy use in this pilot group declined by 40 percent during peak periods. Read more
Why Good Labor Practices Are Good for Business: Lessons From BSR’s DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiven
Alison Colwell, Manager, Advisory Services; Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services
Read part two of our series on responsible labor here. Read more
HERproject Report Reveals Positive Impacts on Women and Business
According to BSR's new report on HERproject, our factory-based women's health initiative has provided positive benefits for business and significantly improved women's health awareness, leadership skills, and relationships with their employers. Read more
Virtual Sustainability Summit Showcases Smart ICT
"Smart ICT" is the first in a groundbreaking virtual event series focusing on sustainability in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The event—co-sponsored by BSR—will feature an innovative format with virtual auditoriums for presentations, meeting rooms for networking, and an exhibit hall. International thought leaders, policymakers, advocacy groups, and experts will discuss concrete strategies on how the ICT sector can provide profitable opportunities and solutions to create a low-carbon society. Read more
Guest Perspective: GreenBiz on Ten Trends Shaping the State of Green Business
By Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com
“We’re still here.” Read more
HERproject Update: Promoting Women’s Health in Pakistan
Last month, an appreciation ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan, celebrated the accomplishments of HERproject, a BSR initiative that raises female factory workers’ awareness of general and reproductive health issues. Read more
Sustainable Business Models: Time for Innovation
Imagine that when you buy a pair of jeans you’re offered an agreement to sign before you pay: “I hereby promise to cold-wash, line-dry this clothing item, and own it for at least three years or ensure it is given away for someone else to enjoy.” When you sign, you are rewarded instantly with a coupon for cash back. The rebate is the estimated financial value of the carbon-dioxide emissions you save by avoiding hot-water washing, and by machine drying your jeans over the lifespan of the item. The clothing company is able to provide this discount by aggregating its consumers’ carbon credits and selling them on the open market. This model provides financial incentives for both the clothing company and the consumer to alter behavior. Read more
Indigenous People and Business: Meeting Expectations
Chris Nolan, Manager, Advisory Services
With 370 million indigenous people worldwide, international standards defining the basic rights of these people—including the ILO 169, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standard 7—are increasingly relevant for industries such as extractives, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Read more
Not Just for Heavy Emitters: Why Climate Change Matters to Every Company
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
Recently, BSR has fielded inquiries from a range of member companies asking how climate change is relevant to their business. The timing of these questions is obvious: With prospective climate change legislation and policy discussions in the United States and elsewhere, intensive international negotiations culminating later this year, and ongoing stakeholder interest, companies are scrambling to develop or boost their climate change strategies, assess their internal and supply chain emissions, and examine the potential risks and opportunities throughout their operations, value chain, and industry. Read more
Report Identifies Goods Produced with Child or Forced Labor
Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights
The U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) identified 122 goods from 58 countries that are produced in violation of international labor standards regarding forced and child labor. Read more
The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals
Clean Production Action's "Green Screen for Safer Chemicals" is the first open-source tool to help companies and governments identify substances that are less hazardous for humans and the environment. Companies can use the tool—which focuses on hazard reduction, rather than controlling exposure—to assess the inherent hazards of the chemicals they use in their products and find safer substitutes, while governments can use the tool to support legislation on phasing out chemicals of high concern. Read more
U.S.-China Climate Commitment at WEF Opens Door to Business Opportunities
Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
Last week at the World Economic Forum in China, the United States and China announced a commitment to a cooperative clean energy plan that includes a trillion dollar market for low-carbon technology, special economic zones, and research and development to scale up renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and smart-grid markets. Read more
A New Path for Worker Rights
Over the past 10 years, the Levi Strauss Foundation (LSF) has provided grants to further the rights and responsibilities of more than a million workers in more than 20 countries. Read more
Behind Gap’s New Label
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
As a member of BSR's Sustainable Water Group (SWG), Gap Inc. has spent the last five years creating and evolving its Clean Water Program for its denim laundries worldwide. Last week, the company’s Gap brand launched its new denim collection—1969 Premium Jeans—which, for the first time, features a "Clean Water Wash" label indicating that the water used to wash and dye the jeans was treated to meet safety and quality standards before leaving the denim laundry. Read more
Sprint’s Latest Phone Paves Way for Greener Products
Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
Sprint's recently released Samsung Reclaim is the latest example of the company's efforts to improve the environmental impacts of its products and services. According to Sprint, this phone—made from 80 percent recyclable materials—is the first phone in the United States constructed from "eco-friendly bio-plastic materials." Read more
Companies Plea for Democratic Resolution in Honduras
Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services
In a good example of public policy engagement in support of human rights, four leading apparel brands and retailers sourcing from Honduras collaborated with the Maquila Solidarity Network to respond to recent political instability in that country. Below is an excerpt from their letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that underscores the importance of using democratic processes rather than military action to resolve domestic disputes. Read more
Rising Above the Noise of Greenwash
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Despite countless indicators that today's "battered consumer" is seeking deep discounts and shopping for necessities only, consumer demand for environmentally friendly products is on the rise, according to National Geographic and Globescan's 2009 Greendex survey of consumers in 17 countries. Read more
BSR and Wal-Mart Build Energy Efficiency in China
For the past six months, BSR has been working with Wal-Mart to improve the energy efficiency in 200 of the company's Chinese factories by 20 percent by 2012. As a panelist at Wal-Mart's recent Sustainability Milestone Meeting, I shared the following lessons from this work: Read more
Events
BSR’s Great Debates | Facing the Dilemmas of Sustainable Development
On the occasion of its 20th birthday, BSR is hosting a series of debates bringing together leading decision makers and thought leaders to discuss how companies can address the dilemmas and complex issues of sustainable development and CSR. Learn more
Stress-testing the NICE CONSUMER Framework on Sustainable Consumption of Fashion
Introducing the NICE CONSUMER Project and the Draft Framework on Sustainable Consumption of Fashion
The Danish Fashion Institute and BSR are proud to introduce The NICE CONSUMER, a vision and framework for sustainable consumption of fashion, based on research and dialogue among stakeholders of the fashion industry. Learn more
BSR Conference 2011: Leadership Required
Leadership in business is changing fast. In today’s global, integrated, and transparent world, business is expected to do more than deliver shareholder returns. At its best, business is a creative force and an integral player in delivering prosperity for 9 billion people, applying game-changing technologies for social benefit, and radically reducing our use of natural resources. Learn more
Hazardous Chemicals Substitution and Elimination
Consumers and policy makers are increasingly concerned with the environmental and health impacts of hazardous chemical substances. This has led to the tightening of regulations all over the world and has also driven consumers to turn to safer products. All such moves put pressure on companies to actively seek solutions that allow them to make products with less or no hazardous chemicals. Learn more
Responsibility in the Licensing Industry
BSR is hosting this seminar on the topic of responsibility in the licensing industry at this year's Licensing Show in Las Vegas. The two-hour seminar is part of the efforts of BSR's Licensing Working Group, and is open to all attendees of the conference. Learn more
Nanotechnology: CSR Implications and Stakeholder Expectations
Join BSR for a panel discussion on nanotechnology and how it could affect the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and food, agriculture, and beverage industries. The discussion will include an introduction to this new technology, an overview of some of the ethical, environmental, and social implications, and insights from a recently conducted pilot project with stakeholders on their expectations for the development and use of nanotechnology. Learn more
Reports
Actions to Enable Sustainable Fashion Consumption
This document—the culmination of BSR and the Danish Fashion Institute's NICE Consumer project—provides a set of policy options on sustainable fashion consumption that we recommend the European Commission and the Danish EU Presidency design and implement to ensure progress in partnership with industry and civil society. Read more
The NICE Consumer Framework for Achieving Sustainable Fashion Consumption Through Collaboration
In our second report for the NICE Consumer initiative, the Danish Fashion Institute and BSR have created a framework on the sustainable consumption of fashion that is intended to inspire and drive coordinated action and innovation over the long term. Read more
NICE Consumer Research Summary
Consumers can play a pivotal role in transitioning the fashion industry toward more sustainable business models. To this end, the Danish Fashion Institute and BSR have collaborated on the NICE Consumer project to create a framework for sustainable fashion consumption. Read more
Migrant Workers and Health—The Role of Business
Migrant worker health is increasingly important for companies following the UN‘s endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the identification of migrant workers as a group specifically requiring protection related to health. Business is expected to adopt or establish standards and procedures to support the protection of individuals belonging to specific groups, including migrant workers. Among these principles, Principle 121 states, ―with respect to the International Bill of Human Rights, additional standards for vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers and their families, should be considered to prevent adverse human rights impacts. Read more
Good Practices for Complying with Licensors’ Social and Environmental Requirements
This guide serves as a starting point for licensee executives and professionals to understand how they can meet licensors’ requirements related to social and environmental compliance. It also provides guidance on how licensees can improve working conditions within their direct and contract manufacturing operations and supply chains. Read more
Protecting the Rights of Garment Factory Workers: A Train-the-Trainer Resource
In this document, you will find lessons and advice from pioneering factory trainers and organizations that the Levi Strauss Foundation is honored to support, in pursuit of protecting the rights of apparel factory workers. We invite you to grapple with and test this resource—and by offering your feedback and advice, join us on this journey toward improving the lives of factory workers around the world. Read more
Adapting to Climate Change: A Guide for the Consumer Products Industry
This primer on climate change adaptation in the consumer products (CP) industry summarizes how CP companies are reporting on climate change risks and opportunities. It outlines current and emerging best practices and guidance for CP companies on how to develop a proactive approach to climate change adaptation, and makes recommendations. Read more
Maximizing Benefits From a Sustainable Supply Chain
Leading companies are working to improve the social and environmental performance of their supply chains by building closer relations with suppliers, developing supplier capacity, and identifying and investing in opportunities for improvements along the supply chain. Read more
Stories From the Field
"Stories From the Field" provides a reader-friendly collection of 14 case studies from our DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project in Central America and the Dominican Republic, which BSR created and led to make the business case for responsible labor in the region. Read more
Beyond the Factory Gates: How Brands Improve Supply Chain Sustainability Through Shipping and Logistics
BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) produced this report, which includes an overview of CCWG tools used for benchmarking performance, estimating average CO2 emissions for global trade lanes, and understanding the environmental challenges and opportunities in the sector. Read more
Conflict Minerals Reporting Regulations: Who is Covered?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) draft conflict minerals reporting rules will have significant implications for a range of corporate sustainability issues. BSR has prepared this issue brief to help companies understand how they may be affected and whether they may have to respond. Read more
Sustainability Trends in the Container Shipping Industry
This report—based on more than 30 interviews with the international container shipping industry’s biggest customers and stakeholders—provides a summary of the industry's key sustainability challenges and explores how leading companies can turn these potential business risks into opportunities to develop new services, improve operating models, and deepen customer loyalty. Read more
The New Frontier in Sustainability
Framed for years as a limitation on business, sustainable consumption—an economic system that allows all individuals to meet their daily needs without disrupting the planet’s healthy ecosystems—actually represents the new frontier of sustainability for business. In a world where our consumption patterns outpace the planet’s ability to regenerate resources by 30 percent, companies that figure out how to deliver value with radically reduced material inputs will be well-positioned for success. Our new report outlines how business can promote sustainable consumption by addressing parts of the value chain cycle that have been overlooked in first-generation sustainability efforts: product design, consumer engagement and use, and end-of-use. Also included are strategies that will help business redefine core activities through the multiple lenses of innovation, education, collaboration, and measurement to create to systemwide changes to consumption. Read more
Building Long-Term Solutions: Retail Shopping Bag Impacts and Options
The purpose of this report is to provide a high-level understanding of the environmental impacts of different kinds of bags, and to identify the types and magnitudes of environmental impacts associated with each kind of bag through a literature review of four publicly available life-cycle assessment studies. Read more
Moving the Needle: Protecting the Rights of Garment Factory Workers
Advancing workers' rights at a factory level requires more than implementing a supplier code of conduct. In this report--commissioned by the Levi Strauss Foundation--BSR presents stories, lessons learned, and best practices from innovative NGOs working inside garment factories to promote workers' rights and responsibilities. Read more
Understanding and Preventing Greenwash: A Business Guide
Do you trust business? Read more
International Labor Migration: The Responsible Role of Business
With 90 million people migrating globally for work every year, learn about the key migration trends that affect your company—and the solutions for improving working conditions along your supply chains. Contact us to learn more about this initiative or get involved in our working group. Read more
Aligned for Sustainable Design: An A-B-C-D Approach to Making Better Products
Beyond Compliance: Assessing Water Management Practices and Opportunities in Chinese Apparel Factories
Eco-Promising: Communicating the Environmental Credentials of Your Products and Services
This business briefing is intended to help managers in consumer- facing companies to communicate the environmental credentials of products honestly and convincingly. We examine why businesses are increasingly using environmental messaging on products, how different formats (such as eco-labels) have developed, and the risks and challenges associated with making environmental claims. Read more
Competitiveness and Corporate Responsibility in the Jordanian Apparel Industry
Women's General and Reproductive Health in Global Supply Chains
Women between the ages of 18–25 comprise the vast majority of workers making products for export from the developing world to the developed world. They often work in environments where access to information about reproductive health, as well as critical services, is lacking. Read more
Changing Labor Demograhic Trends and Their Implications for Responsible Business
Case Studies Report
BSR Membership: A Global Network of Sustainability Leaders
BSR is proud to support and partner with our powerful network of member companies, who share with us a focus on building a just and sustainable world. We work every day to provide our member companies with value based on the insights, expertise, and relationships we’ve built through years of hands-on work in the field. Learn more
Best Buy: A Focus on Delivering Solutions and Sustainability
We analyzed more than 60 issues and conducted more than 60 interviews to create a strategy and goals focused on four Best Buy priorities: Product Stewardship, Sustainability Solutions, Access, and Inspired Workplace. Learn more
Walmart: Improving Supplier Energy Efficiency
In 2008, Walmart committed to improving the energy efficiency of its top 200 suppliers’ factories in China by 20 percent by 2012. With the aim not only to benefit the environment but also to help suppliers become more competitive, Walmart sought to replicate the success it has had in Europe and the United States in increasing supply chain efficiency. In China, however, the company found that its suppliers often prioritize overall growth over increased energy efficiency. As a result, operations managers commonly lack the necessary incentives and know-how to achieve efficiency improvements. An additional challenge in China is the lack of a developed professional energy-efficiency industry to provide equipment and data-measurement tools that make this process easier in other regions. To help overcome these barriers, Walmart enlisted BSR’s help. Learn more
Starbucks Coffee Company
Starbucks has set the bar high with an ongoing commitment to ethical and environmental sourcing. As modeled by their coffee practice, Starbucks regularly invests in understanding the complex production landscape behind its products. So before they launched a new line containing cocoa—which is sourced primarily from regions in West Africa that rely on forms of child labor—the company needed to learn more about the potential social and environmental impacts of the production. Lacking direct relationships with suppliers, they reached out to BSR to connect with global stakeholders. Learn more
Sustainability Matters
Stories From the Field: The Business Case for Better Working Conditions
To ensure responsible labor practices—in both farms and factories—business leaders should start by meeting basic government, buyer, and corporate standards. However, companies should also look for how investments in better working conditions can improve their bottom lines. Learn more
Preparing for the 2011 Proxy Voting Season
Proxy voting is an important tool that many investors use to show their support for ESG issues, with a goal of garnering attention for areas they view as critical to a company's business.
Learn moreConflict Minerals and Corporate Responsibility
Pending U.S. regulations will require companies to report on "conflict minerals" in their supply chains, with the goal of severing the link between trade in tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold and the illegal funding of militants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the same time, NGOs are encouraging corporate action on this issue, companies are asking their suppliers for mineral-sourcing information, and industries are defining due diligence efforts. Learn more
Global Trends in Chemicals Policies
There is increasing evidence that some industrial chemicals found in common household goods cause human disease and have negative environmental impacts. A lack of information to help buyers—from individual consumers to global companies—choose the least hazardous chemicals and products has led to calls for major reforms in industrial chemicals policies worldwide. Learn more
Understanding and Preventing Greenwash
In this webinar, you will learn about the key themes from BSR's new report, "Understanding and Preventing Greenwash: A Business Guide," cowritten with U.K.-based Futerra. Learn more
Responsible Transitions: Managing Factory and Site Closures in the Economic Crisis
In this webinar, learn strategies and solutions to manage factory or site transitions in a responsible way and to assist communities that are most impacted. Learn more
BSR Review
Women and Sustainability
In response to a question about Saudi Arabia's economic competitiveness in 2007, Bill Gates famously announced to the gender-segregated audience: "If you're not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you're not going to get too close to the top." View email publication
Sustainable Consumption: The Next Frontier for Business
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the BSR Review, our bi-monthly update on issues central to sustainable business. Each edition of the BSR Review features a collection of BSR's best work—including reports, articles, blogs, webinars, and op-eds—on a particular topic. View email publication
Other Publications & Events Tagged, Consumer Products
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- Sustainable Investment in China Article [ 0 ]
- Sustainability Matters [ 6 ]
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