All Articles About Governance & Accountability

Blog: Success in Rio? That’s For Us to Decide

Aron Cramer, President and CEO

The Rio+20 Summit on sustainable development is still weeks away, and yet many already have proclaimed the event a failure. That verdict is based on outdated assumptions about the nature of change. In fact, a 21st century success in Rio remains possible. Read more →

Posted: June 4, 2012 | Topics: Governance & Accountability, Leadership

BSR Insight Article: Advocating a Shift to Sustainable Capitalism

In the face of climate change, water scarcity, poverty, and other challenges, it’s time for a shift to sustainable capitalism, according to a white paper published last month by Generation Investment Management, a firm cofounded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The authors of the paper suggest that the new paradigm maximize long-term value creation by reforming markets to address real needs and consider all costs. They recommend five key actions for businesses to spur adoption and accelerate this framework: * Identify and incorporate risks from stranded assets. * Mandate integrated reporting. * Move away from issuing quarterly earnings guidance. * Align compensation with long-term sustainability performance. * Encourage long-term investing with loyalty-driven securities. The paper also identified additional areas that merit ongoing attention, including reinforcing sustainability as a fiduciary issue, creating advisory services for sustainable asset management, and integrating sustainability into business education at all levels. Read more →

Posted: March 6, 2012 | Topics: Governance & Accountability, Investor Perspective, Reporting & Communications, Strategy & Integration

BSR Insight Article: Increasing Gender Diversity in the Boardroom

A new group of institutional investors, governance experts, and executives from U.S.-based companies including Campbell Soup and the Hopgood Group launched the 30% Coalition last week to promote the idea of securing a minimum of 30 percent women on Fortune 500 company boards by the end of 2015. Read more →

Posted: February 28, 2012 | Topics: Governance & Accountability, Women & Sustainability

BSR Insight Article: UN Report: Government Must Help Align Sustainability

The UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability’s new “Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing” report—which builds on the seminal 1987 Brundtland Report—contains a host of recommendations to put sustainable development into practice worldwide. Recommendations for governments include: Read more →

Posted: February 10, 2012 | Topics: Community Engagement & Development, Governance & Accountability

BSR Insight Article: CSR in Saudi Arabia: Q&A With BSR Partner Nailah Attar

Cammie Erickson, Manager, Global Partnership Development

With support from a multiyear grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, BSR has worked to introduce CSR strategies to companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Through this initiative, we partnered with Nailah Attar, a Saudi Arabian businesswoman and activist, to expand the CSR offerings of her ECO Consulting business, which serves both Saudi and international companies operating in the country. Read more →

Posted: February 10, 2012 | Topics: Economic Development, Governance & Accountability, Human Rights