All Articles About Strategy & Integration

BSR Insight Article: Going from ‘What’ to ‘How’ in Sustainable Procurement

Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services

Making sense of the increasingly dizzying array of product certifications, labels, data and other sustainability initiatives is a challenge, even for experts. While the best of these efforts provide comprehensive, accurate data on a product's many sustainability attributes, it can be exceptionally difficult to synthesize the data and judge the relative "sustainability" of different products. Procurement professionals face the additional challenge of integrating these criteria into purchasing decisions that must also account for traditional considerations like cost, quality, and delivery. Even initiatives such as the Sustainability Consortium, which takes a comprehensive, science-based approach to conveying the full lifecycle of products' sustainability impacts, will need to be applied to thousands of products that companies purchase before the system can realize its full impact. So how can companies start using the information from the Consortium and other initiatives to evaluate things like light bulbs, bath towels, or milk? How can companies begin to unpack and compare the lifecycle sustainability attributes of the products they procure? If a light bulb is Energy Star certified, is that the best indicator of its overall energy efficiency? If a bath towel was made with certified organic cotton, but that cotton was shipped from Uzbekistan to Saskatchewan, is it considered sustainable? If a gallon of milk is hormone-free but made on a factory farm, is it healthier for humans, or is that benefit outweighed by the fact that it's polluting the soil? A single product might be rated on as many as 20 to 30 sustainability metrics covering issues from natural resource extraction, material inputs, manufacturing, carbon footprint, waste, water use, packaging, and more. BSR's Center for Sustainable Procurement (CSP), an initiative funded by Hilton Worldwide, is examining how procurement professionals can more effectively and efficiently integrate sustainability considerations into their day-to-day purchasing decisions. Read more →

Posted: July 3, 2012 | Topics: Environment, Strategy & Integration, Supply Chain, Sustainable Consumption

Blog: Five Best Practices in Human Rights Reporting

Chloё Poynton, Manager, Advisory Services

A year ago this month, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed new Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Many companies are beginning to incorporate the Guiding Principles into their human rights strategy but have been left wondering how best to report on their activities. Read more →

Posted: June 29, 2012 | Topics: Human Rights, Strategy & Integration

Blog: The New Geographies of Sustainability: The Wholesome Power of Enlightened Business

Bharat Wakhlu, Resident Director, The Tata Group, New Delhi

Linked to a BSR initiative, this three-part series asks guest experts from emerging economies for their opinions on the role and future of business in sustainability: Enlightened companies today understand that society can grow wholesomely when they act responsibly. Read more →

Posted: June 22, 2012 | Topics: Economic Development, Leadership, Strategy & Integration

Report: The New Geographies of Corporate Sustainability

Drawing on research and insights gathered from UN Global Compact workshops in Brazil, China, and India in March to May 2012, this discussion paper asks whether there are specific approaches to corporate sustainability in the three emerging economies and how these approaches may influence global discourse and action. Read more →

Posted: June 19, 2012 | Topics: Economic Development, Governance & Accountability, Leadership, Strategy & Integration | Download (PDF)

Blog: The New Geographies of Sustainability: The Role of Business in Indian Society

Vasanthi Srinivasan, Chair, Corporate Governance and Citizenship, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Linked to a BSR initiative, this three-part series asks guest experts from emerging economies for their opinions on the role and future of business in sustainability: While in a meeting with senior government officers, I posed the question, "What has changed in the government in the last decade?" Among the many changes they mentioned, engaging with the private sector for public-private partnerships emerged as a significant area of opportunity and concern. Read more →

Posted: June 19, 2012 | Topics: Economic Development, Leadership, Strategy & Integration