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Blog | Wednesday June 10, 2020

Today and Tomorrow: COVID-19 and the Increased Relevance of Corporate Sustainability

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With the spread of COVID-19 creating a crisis that is unprecedented in living memory, there is not an element of our lives that has remained unaffected. And this is especially true for business. 

At GlobeScan and BSR, we spend our time working with some of the largest businesses in the world. We wanted to understand both the immediate effect on the sustainability efforts of the companies we work with and also to begin to understand what long-term implications they are anticipating as a result of the pandemic. 

To that end, we surveyed 102 companies across our global networks. 

In the short term, sustainability teams have been involved in the response to COVID-19 in a myriad of different ways. When we asked what was the most important role that the sustainability function has played so far, respondents highlighted community engagement (19 percent), providing advice and support to the business (14 percent), stakeholder engagement (13 percent), health and safety activities (10 percent), and philanthropy (10 percent). 

The survey results show that one of the biggest longer-term outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic may be a marked increase in the importance of corporate sustainability. Four in ten respondents (40 percent) say that the crisis will increase both the relevance and expectations for sustainable business. Moreover, over a third (36 percent) say that the agenda for sustainable business will change as existing priorities increase in prominence and new issues arise. 

Resilience is having its moment, as more leaders recognize the strategic value of sustainable business models which improve their company’s ability to anticipate and prepare for fast-moving, unexpected shocks. It will be worth watching the extent to which business leaders continue to see sustainability as a primary source of strategic advantage and as a driver for rebuilding the global economy. 

Resilience is having its moment, as more leaders recognize the strategic value of sustainable business models which improve their company’s ability to anticipate and prepare for fast-moving, unexpected shocks.

When asked which elements of their company’s sustainability strategy would be most affected, over four in ten highlighted supply chains (44 percent), with others mentioning inclusive growth (31 percent), climate action (29 percent), and philanthropy (28 percent). 

It is worth noting the reported impact on inclusive economic growth. In our 2019 annual State of Sustainable Business Survey, this area of the sustainability agenda has traditionally been a lower priority, behind climate, human rights, and workers’ rights. It will be interesting to see whether inclusive economic growth becomes a more important corporate priority given the monumental business and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Given the significant impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, it is perhaps not surprising that almost half of respondents (47 percent) are anticipating budget cuts for their sustainability efforts within the next 12 months. By comparison, at the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, we asked a question to a similar cohort of businesses and just under a third (31 percent) said that they were expecting a budget cut. It will bear watching whether this downward pressure will be alleviated by the countervailing recognition of the increased relevance of sustainability to business longevity and success mentioned above. 

While many sustainability teams may be more challenged when it comes to resources, it comes at a time of great urgency for many of the sustainability issues that companies are facing. The crisis and its impacts will continue to create demands on companies to build more resilient businesses while also addressing systemic challenges facing society, including racial and income inequality, the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas economy, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), human rights, and overall health and well-being.   

It is already becoming clear that going “back to normal” is neither likely nor desirable. The challenge for us continues to be meeting the moment while building for the future, and the work of sustainability teams remains essential. Sustainable business can be a catalyst for the change that is needed, and sustainability professionals will need to rise to the leadership challenge that is before them. We have seen it happen before. We hope it happens again. 

Blog | Friday September 20, 2024

Addressing the Conflict Between Growth and Sustainability: Q&A with Jo Swinson

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Ahead of Climate Week NY, Jo Swinson, Director at Partners for a New Economy (P4NE), discusses the tension between traditional growth models and sustainability goals and how businesses can work together to explore new ways of measuring economic success.

Can you introduce yourself, and tell us how your background as a political leader informed your decision to lead Partners for a New Economy?

Since the earliest days of my political career, I have been convinced of the need for alternative measures of economic success. Back in 2006, I explored the flaws of GDP growth as an indicator of quality of life, and in 2009, I co-founded the UK Parliament’s cross-party group on Well-Being Economics. This idea wasn’t new—as far back as 1968, Robert F. Kennedy memorably noted: “It [GDP] measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”

Later, I saw that the disconnect between the promise of economic prosperity and the precarity of people’s lives can lead to resentment of the current system. The ensuing backlash has torn at the fabric of our society and undermined faith in our democracy.

In 2020, I was looking for a new challenge. Combining my political experience with my long-standing desire to change economics, leading P4NE was a perfect match. The goal of an economy that serves people and the rest of nature is ambitious, but possible.

Growth is the foundation of our current economic system. How does our economy need to transform for humanity to thrive in the long term?

We’re primed to think of growth as a good thing—it’s deeply embedded in our economics and culture. As a society, we need to support the growth of many things—living standards and food security, health and well-being, the skills and creativity of our people, access to nature and green spaces.

For humanity to thrive, we need to understand and measure not just the quantity of growth, but also the quality of that growth: Is it in the sectors, regions, and countries where the growth is needed? What environmental risks is it driving or mitigating? How are the benefits being shared, both within our societies now and with future generations?

The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report (2024) cited the top risks over the coming 10 years as all being environmental: from extreme weather events to natural resource shortages.

We are biological creatures, and we depend on earth’s life-giving processes. We cannot survive without a thriving natural world: an economic system that destroys it is doomed to fail.

What we measure determines what gets done. Business knows this—it’s why KPIs exist.

We need a regenerative economic system where our success metrics include planetary health, equity and the well-being of all people, now and in the future.

In BSR’s recent report, The Elephant in the Sustainability Room, we explore the tension between growth and sustainability targets. Why is this topic so important for business right now?

We know business leaders are wrestling with this question. The competing demands of a science-based approach to sustainability and shareholder expectations of an exponential growth model create a genuine, systemic tension.

We know it’s hard. Business leaders are operating within the constraints of the current system, while looking ahead to a future that will inevitably be very different. We know from recent experience with the pandemic how rapidly so many aspects of the economy can be upended. That gives some insight into a future world of "polycrisis," with all the uncertainty that will bring.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries 2023 report The Emperor’s New Climate Scenarios said we could expect 50 percent of GDP destruction by between 2070 and 2090, given current rates of climate change. That’s a massive disruption, a huge loss of value, that will shape the coming decades. This is why this topic is so important now. Business needs to be ready to be part of the solution.

We often hear about regulatory and legal barriers to companies exploring alternative business models. What concrete actions can business take given these constraints? Are there different implications for companies in different sectors?

Business is increasingly scrutinizing its role in protecting our planet and the need to make a net-positive contribution to people’s well-being. There are many tools available across all sectors to build such practices: Climate Scenario Analysis with BSR, international standards of best practice from B Corp, and Doughnut Economics Lab’s Business Tools, to name a few.

Where there are legal or regulatory barriers, one of the most important things business can do is to advocate for change. When I was a UK Business Minister, it was so much easier to build the political momentum for legal changes—on corporate transparency on emissions, or stronger protections for vulnerable workers—when business voices were speaking out in support.

The key question is what does a successful business of the future look like? Anticipating a more volatile world with ecological crises now baked in, businesses need to think about whether their purpose, business models, governance and ownership structures are fit for the future. An example of a business with a future-focused purpose is Natura & Co, who have put their "Commitment to Life" at the heart of every aspect of their business targets. On governance, Faith in Nature have innovated by giving nature a seat on the board.

Much of the work being funded in this field is supporting economists, academics, and activists. What would you say to your peers in philanthropy about the need to mobilize the business sector to move “Beyond Growth?” What more can philanthropy do to galvanize bold action from companies?

To mobilize, we need to build understanding. Whilst everyone’s stake in the future is clear, even the words "beyond growth" can be divisive and misunderstood.

At the moment, it’s the most forward-looking companies and philanthropists who are taking the lead. Patagonia’s 2022 announcement that "Earth is now our only shareholder" signaled a reimagining of their corporate structure. Still unapologetically for-profit, they give 98 percent of those profits to The Holdfast Collective—a philanthropic nonprofit dedicated to defending nature.

Of course, no single business or person has all the answers. Philanthropy can create space for business to engage with going "beyond growth," to show leadership, and be celebrated for that. We need business to work with investors to shape a truly sustainable future, and we need legislative and regulatory changes to support and encourage the business sector in their collective efforts.

BSR works with its network of 300 members, as well as civil society, philanthropy, and government to advance bold, meaningful action on key sustainability issues at a systematic level. To explore this topic in greater detail, join BSR and Forum For the Future during New York Climate Week, where we will be hosting a dialogue between business and philanthropy on “Addressing the Conflict Between Growth and Sustainability.”

Blog | Friday April 10, 2020

COVID-19 and Our Future World

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BSR has partnered with Polecat since 2017 to deliver real-time corporate reputation and ESG intelligence from global online and social media discourse.

Yasmin Crowther, Polecat's VP of Strategic Insight, collaborated with Charlotte Bancilhon, Associate Director, BSR, to analyze the top ESG Issues and Sectors arising in global discourse about COVID-19 over the last fortnight. This blog post draws on the key findings:

1. Procurement of medical supplies is the top online media topic, followed by concern for impacted workforces and labor practices. Public opinion on social media indicates high expectations of businesses to play a positive role in the COVID-19 response, including to protect employees, provide fair benefits, and pay taxes.
2. Social media is also focused on potential healthcare solutions, but pays acute attention to issues of diversity and inclusion, with strong responses to the stigmatization of ethnic minorities and characterization of COVID-19 as "the Chinese virus."
3. The industrial sector receives most online scrutiny for the economic impacts of COVID-19 as well as for the ways in which business models are pivoting to provide solutions. Firms across sectors are making investments to support communities—from access to IT to ensuring food security and emergency relief.
4. Conversations about climate change have not been hampered by COVID-19 but reframed. The depth and scale of the current pandemic is being compared to the climate crisis, with a renewed focus on building resilient communities and businesses.
5. There is a new focus on biodiversity with growing attention to how wildlife carries infectious diseases and the risks of destroying natural habitats which force animals into ever closer proximity with humans.

Coronavirus coverage across leading ESG Topics and Sectors for the two weeks to 8 March 2020

The main headline in the Financial Times this weekend read: "Global economy set for sharpest reversal since Great Depression." Although businesses are not all equal in face of the crisis, it is clear from our review of online and social media discourse that businesses are being scrutinized for how they are considering the welfare of their employees, communities, and partners before profits. A recent survey found that 90 percent of respondents expect businesses to partner with governments and relief agencies to address challenges, while long-standing debates on climate and stakeholder capitalism are being powerfully reframed. There is an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to show leadership and purpose:

Response to Medical Imperatives

We are glimpsing what is possible when urgent social need comes first—when the imperatives are the procurement of ventilators, face masks, vaccines, and testing kits. Around the world, auto manufacturers like Ford, GM, Fiat, and Nissan are collaborating with healthcare specialists to deliver tens of thousands of medical ventilators in a matter of months. The pharma sector is investing billions to co-fund vaccine research and clinical testing, and some of the world’s best-known beauty brands and beverage companies, like Estee Lauder, LVMH, L’Oréal, and Pernod Ricard, are turning their facilities to the production of hand sanitizer for frontline medical staff. Meanwhile, the fashion industry, from luxury brands to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are making facemasks, and household names like Unilever are donating hundreds of millions of dollars of soap, sanitizer, bleach, and food to support health organizations globally.

Support for Communities

After the medical imperatives, come the community concerns of ensuring care for vulnerable people in their homes; that we all have enough food and that we have the digital infrastructure – the networks, connectivity and data—vital to working from home and maintaining contact with family and friends whom we may not see for months. Food companies like Mondelez are donating tens of millions in financial aid and in-kind support to community partners advancing critical food stability and emergency relief. Retailers are setting aside dedicated time every day for the elderly to shop and providing free home deliveries for the most vulnerable. Tech companies are lifting data caps and promising not to cut off supplies if payments are overdue or missed.

Flexible work forces

At the same time as businesses strive to pivot to the realities of a world in lockdown, the longer-term consequences will reshape work life within many sectors. Employees around the world are being asked to adapt to working from home or being furloughed. A recent ILO report found that more than 4 out of 5 people (81 percent) in the global workforce of 3.3 billion are currently affected by full or partial workplace closures. But while some sectors, such as airlines, are registering massive layoffs, others, such as retail, are hiring. Around 40 percent of the world’s passenger jet fleet is now in storage, with firms like Air New Zealand reporting an expected contraction of at least 30 percent over the next year, as its revenue falls from just under US$6bn to US$500m. In the U.K., laid-off airline cabin crew with first aid training are being pursued by the NHS to work in support of nurses and doctors in hospitals across the country. It is hard not to wonder if the experience will compel a permanent change in career as the perceived value of frontline workers is set to soar, with UK political conversation on the need for better pay already igniting. Meanwhile in the U.S., the reduction in emergency departments and routine hospital programs to cope with COVID-19 means some frontline staff are actually getting pay cuts.

Science at the Center

Perhaps most powerfully, coronavirus has put expert opinion and scientific fact center stage. We do not want or need the opinion of literati—we care mainly for the epidemiologists, virologists, and medics who tell it as it is. Twitter has redefined its definition of harm to address content that "goes directly against guidance from authoritative sources of global and local public health information" and is removing tweets that spread dangerous misinformation about COVID-19. Facebook is investing an additional US$100 million in local journalism to support reporting on the pandemic.

Climate Change at the Fore

There is much that is positive, but what does it all bode for how we think about the future more widely? Many articles use the lens of climate change to consider future possibilities—balancing the immediate enforced environmental benefits of cleaner air and birdsong with longer-term choices. As The New York Times writes:

The efforts to revive economic activity — the stimulus plans, bailouts and back-to-work programs being developed now — will help determine the shape of our economies and our lives for the foreseeable future, and they will have effects on carbon emissions that reverberate across the planet for thousands of years.

In an interview with New Scientist, Greta Thunberg said:

If one virus can wipe out the entire economy in a matter of weeks and shut down societies, then that is proof that our societies are not very resilient. It also shows that once we are in an emergency, we can act and we can change our behaviour very quickly.

Reframing of Biodiversity and Disease

Conversations about climate change and biodiversity haven’t been killed by COVID-19, but they are being reframed. Tigers with COVID-19 make the front page, along with wide-ranging discourse about potential threats to and from other animals. Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme, has cautioned on the proximity of wild animals to humans as a cause of disease—with 75 percent of all emerging infectious diseases coming from wildlife. Her message is that failing to look after the planet is a failure to look after ourselves: global warming and the destruction of habitats for farming, mining and housing all drive wildlife into contact with people in ways that increase risk of cross-infection. Aaron Bernstein of the Harvard School of Public Health has said:

The separation of health and environmental policy is a dangerous delusion. Our health entirely depends on the climate and the other organisms we share the planet with.

The emerging imperative is for more joined-up thinking and fewer artificial silos, for business strategies to go beyond just cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the delivery of resilience in the face of a global crisis.

The Battle for Hearts and Minds

The political message to societies in lockdown is that we are "all in it together"—that our individual sacrifices are essential for the greater good and to safeguard the vulnerable. On social media, there are strong reactions to behaviors that undermine diversity and inclusion, particularly when it comes to stigmatizing minorities and characterising COVID-19 as "the Chinese virus." Online, the emphasis is largely that "we are all in it together." We are, but there is also an abyss being observed between the experiences of haves and have-nots. Social isolation in a roomy home with a garden is very different from lockdown in a high-rise block, let alone the difference between established and emerging economies. COVID-19 is shining an unforgiving light on how we are all the same and also how lives are so different and that we turn our backs on one another at our collective peril.

Our Post-COVID-19 World

The tension that seems to be strongly in play when it comes to imagining a world after COVID-19 is whether the impetus to collaborate and put science and society first endures or whether more protectionist and nationalist policies assert themselves. Conversations to build back better are emerging, as demonstrated by the group of French parliamentarians who have launched a national consultation to prepare “the day and the world after” COVID-19 under the hashtag #LeJourdAprès, in reference to the Hollywood hit The Day After Tomorrow. BSR is inviting member companies to engage in thinking ahead to build a different future.

Already, multiple corporate conversations are trying to scope the future landscape, with speculation that flexible working and reliance on digitization will not spring back to the status quo—that the future has somehow been rapidly accelerated—and that new priority and investment will need to go towards ensuring more inclusive and resilient economic strategies if we are not to bear the cost of more damaged societies.

As Arundhati Roy wrote in the Financial Times over the weekend:

The Pandemic is a portal. We can choose to walk through it with our dead ideas. Or we can walk lightly, ready to imagine another world.

This blog was written and produced in collaboration between Polecat and BSR.

Blog | Tuesday April 20, 2021

Science: A Human Right for Our Times

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Science is having a moment.

Despite extensive misinformation about COVID-19, vaccines have been developed at an extraordinary speed.

Despite continued skepticism about the science of climate change, new energy technologies are positioned to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

And despite myths about health impacts, a fifth generation of mobile network technology (5G) will make possible new internet of things and machine-to-machine applications.

Each of these cases demonstrates how significant science is to the role of business in enabling the realization of human rights and how it will likely grow substantially over the decades to come.

There are two key forces shaping the growing importance of the right to science for business:

• The expanding role of the private sector in all types of scientific research, which includes artificial intelligence, agricultural research, food science, biotechnology, nanotechnology, energy, genetic engineering, and communications technology.
• The undeniable significance of science in addressing or contributing to global challenges such as climate change, public health, and access to information.

The right to science is found in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which sets out the right to “share in scientific advancement and its benefits,” and Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which sets out the right “to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.”

However, while these Articles are written for states rather than the private sector, we were struck by the lack of literature exploring the right to science and the role of companies.

Further, while the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) clearly apply to all business activities, the focus of the business and human rights field to date has largely been on business operations and value chain relationships rather than on research and science. In this context, the publication last year of a new General Comment No. 25 on the Right to Science by the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights was a significant development.

For this reason, and using General Comment No. 25 as a foundation, today we are publishing a new BSR primer on the right to science and the role of companies. The BSR primer sets out the following seven priorities for business:

1. Science should be deployed in the service of the universal enjoyment of human rights.
2. The right to science applies to everyone.
3. Human rights due diligence should be undertaken on research, including whether research should be undertaken in the first place.
4. Companies need diverse research teams and relationships.
5. Companies should provide the public with accessible information concerning the risks and benefits of science and technology so that informed decisions can be made.
6. Companies should deploy approaches based on informed consent.  
7. The right to science has limits, especially when it may be deployed or misused for nefarious purposes.

These seven priorities will become important as new dilemmas about science emerge over time. For example: 

• When is it right to abandon research priorities on account of potential future harms arising from use of the research, even if the same research has the potential to bring benefits too? If the research continues, what are the right mitigation measures to address potential future harms?
• How should responsibility for addressing adverse human rights impacts be distributed between the entity undertaking the research and the entity using it?
• What responsibility do scientists have to explore the human rights risks and benefits of their research?
• How much research should be published openly in the public domain when there is risk that the research may be abused to cause harm?
• What incentive structures will both respect the material interests of the author and spread the benefits of scientific research?

These are not easy questions, and we believe they will benefit from further exploration, debate, and dialogue using both the spirit and the letter of the UNGPs.

The right to science is a right for our times. We hope that our new primer becomes the basis of exploring in more depth how this right can be respected, protected, realized, fulfilled, and enjoyed.

Blog | Wednesday April 21, 2021

Joining the UN Generation Equality Forum is Smart Business

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As the world grapples with the impacts of a global pandemic with women on the frontlines, the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for actors around the globe, including the private sector, to come together to build an ambitious agenda to empower women and girls. BSR, The B Team, and Women Win/Win-Win Strategies are working together to engage the private sector in making meaningful commitments to promote gender equality at the Forum. We connected with BSR member PayPal to hear more about its role as a GEF Action Coalition Lead and what motivated it to take part in the Forum. 

There’s been a lot of excitement for the Generation Equality Forum, for which PayPal is a private sector lead. Can you tell us more about the Forum and why companies should engage?

The Generation Equality Forum (GEF) is a civil society-centered, multi-stakeholder global gathering for gender equality. Part of the Forum includes the launch of six innovative and multi-stakeholder Action Coalitions. The Action Coalitions engage governments; women’s, feminist, and youth-led organizations; international organizations; and the private sector to catalyze collective action, drive increased public and private investment, and deliver concrete, game-changing results.

PayPal is proud to be a private sector leader in the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights. We believe there’s a strong case for other companies to join us and engage with the GEF.

First, engaging with the GEF is an efficient way to send a strong message to your investors, board, customers, government stakeholders, and employees that your company is committed to ESG outcomes for a more just, equitable, and prosperous future.

Second, without the expensive membership fees of many global communities, your employees will have an opportunity to engage with a dynamic, multi-stakeholder set of actors jointly dedicated to turbo-charging practical change in the world on gender equality and the rights of women and girls. You can join others at global and regional events to amplify the Commitment Maker’s role and contribution in accelerating results on the SDGs.

Third, it is a unique learning exchange and collaboration opportunity across the Global North and Global South. You can learn about what works to advance change on gender equality and women's and girls’ rights. Once you develop the muscles of gender equity, you can cross-apply this acumen to other types of equity and diversity, whether it’s race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or beyond.

And this is on top of the deep, evidence-based, and data-driven business case. Gender equality is a critical component when considering that closing the gender gap could increase global GDP by 35 percent.

Why has PayPal chosen to engage with GEF and the Economic Justice Action Coalition?

At PayPal, we believe that now is the time to reimagine money and democratize financial services. Every person has the right to participate fully in the global economy. We feel an obligation to empower people to exercise this right and improve financial health. As a leader in digital financial services, we believe in providing simple, affordable, secure, and reliable financial tools and digital payments. With this company mission, it was a no brainer for PayPal to apply to serve on the leadership group of the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights.

I was barely six weeks into my new role when I pitched the opportunity to PayPal senior leadership. It was a Friday night, and before Monday morning, I received not only a green light, but also strong support from our senior leaders (including our President and CEO, Dan Schulman) to submit our letter of interest. We are honored to have been selected to serve on the leadership group of this Action Coalition and to be among a small group of private sector companies that are engaged in the overall Generation Equality Forum.

Advancing gender equality, specifically on the topic of Economic Justice and Rights, is not new to PayPal. We have pursued opportunities to improve outcomes across our stakeholders, including our employees, consumers, merchants, and supply chains. We have made progress in areas like gender pay equity and championing policies that promote workplace and economic equality for women. We are excited to explore the potential of leveraging our products, data, and platform for further impact.

The decision to get involved aligns with our values as an organization and allows us to bring focus and prioritization to the urgency of the gaps, especially as we all strive to overcome the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Engaging with the Generation Equality Forum is an efficient way to send a strong message to your investors, board, customers, government stakeholders, and employees that your company is committed to ESG outcomes for a more just, equitable, and prosperous future.

What kind of recommendations are the Action Coalitions making?

Launched at the Mexico City Generation Equality Forum, the draft Action Coalitions Global Acceleration Plan includes recommended actions, and you can add your thoughts to influence the objectives of the Action Coalitions.   

To give you an example, one of the four subthemes of the Action Coalition on Economic Justice and Rights is on productive resources. Namely, the Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition urges action to expand women’s access to and control over productive resources through increasing access to and control over land, gender-responsive financial products and services, and the number of firms owned by women by 2026. Under this action, we've identified three strategies to advance this ambitious goal:

• First, we must eliminate gender-discriminatory policies, adopt and implement laws and policies, and ensure strategies and investments are underway that realize women’s and girls’ access to and control over productive resources and assets.
• Second, we must support platforms representing women’s groups and scale infrastructure that measurably expands women´s access to and use of productive resources, including affordable capital, financial services, digital products, internet, energy, and equitable access to government services and benefits.
• And third, we must identify and challenge harmful social norms, stereotypes, and practices impeding women and girls from equitably controlling and benefiting from productive resources while fostering positive attitudes validating women’s empowerment and economic contributions.

I really want to emphasize the unique and far-reaching impact of the digital opportunity. Gender-intentional investments in digital payment and ID infrastructure are key to building forward, differently. We imagine more inclusive, resilient, and gender-intentional financial systems that enable women's financial inclusion and women's economic empowerment. Digital payments help women manage time poverty, give women agency, and provide more privacy and increased safety than cash.

Gender-intentional investments in digital payment and ID infrastructure are key to building forward, differently. We imagine more inclusive, resilient, and gender-intentional financial systems that enable women's financial inclusion and women's economic empowerment. Digital payments help women manage time poverty, give women agency, and provide more privacy and increased safety than cash.

These Action Coalition commitments sound inspiring. How are companies thinking about the commitments they can uniquely contribute to support the Generation Equality Forum outcomes?

In a panel hosted by The B Team, BSR, and Women Win/Win-Win Strategies to explore how companies can accelerate gender equality, Celine Bonnaire (Kering Foundation) and Michelle Milford Morse (UN Foundation, Girls and Women Strategy) joined me in a clarion call for the private sector to seize this moment.

The ask is to do something, and the opportunity to draft your corporate commitment is now. The private sector has so much to gain by participating, and we have an astounding level of capital, well beyond the financial commitments when we engage our employee base, our consumer base, and our collective might.

I would push us to think creatively about our different types of capital. For example, the private sector can leverage other types of capital beyond financial capital to help women businesses grow.

• Network capital—we can help women-owned businesses get to market
• Human capital—we can form partnerships to mobilize capacity building of skills specific to their business models and sectors
• Intellectual capital—we can enable technical assistance to support evidence-based and data-driven decision-making  
• Reputation capital—we can share the halo of our brands and voice

I would also leverage the Generation Equality Forum to be the action-forcing enabler to not only put gender equality on the list of company priorities, but also to raise it to the top of the list. Create urgency with fear of missing out on this global movement. Mobilize your employees and customers so the decision-makers say yes quickly to unleash funding, evolve policies and processes, sex-disaggregate the data, and mainstream gender transformational interventions.

There are multiple ways for interested companies to get involved in the Generation Equality Forum. This includes: becoming a Commitment Maker; participating in the Generation Equality Forum Public Conversation; and taking part in the Paris Generation Equality Forum (June 30-July 2).

Blog | Friday June 1, 2018

Where BSR Will Be in June 2018

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BSR staff are on the move at sustainability-related events around the world this month. From our own “Redefining Sustainable Business” event series to Sustainable Brands, the BBB Forum, and Devex World, here are the events we’ll host, attend, and speak at this June.

What We’ll Host

• June 6: BSR will hold a members-only webinar on how artificial intelligence is delivering new insight and foresight on trends, stakeholders, and issues that can help companies enhance decision-making and build trust. Sustainability Management Managing Director Alison Taylor will speak.
• June 7: The HERproject team will host the second Brand Convening of 2018 in Hong Kong. HERproject Director Christine Svarer, Manager Cherry Lin, and Manager Marat Yu will speak.
• June 13: The Healthy Business Coalition will host a Sustainability Matters webinar on how companies can track and scale healthy business programs. Senior Vice President Laura Gitman will speak.
• June 21: BSR will host the first event of our invitation-only “Redefining Sustainable Business” series on business and the 21st-century social contract in New York. President and CEO Aron Cramer and Sustainable Futures Lab Director Jacob Park will speak.
• June 21: Managing Director Tara Norton and Manager Charlotte Bancilhon will host a half-day convening in New York about how embedding environmental, labor, and human rights considerations into supply chain finance mechanisms can help achieve business and sustainability goals.
• June 28: Information and Communications Technology Associate Director Michael Rohwer and Manager Kelly Gallo will host our San Francisco “Redefining Sustainable Business” event on the future of sustainable business in the Bay Area.

Where We’ll Be

• June 1: Managing Director Elisa Niemtzow will attend the 1.618 Sustainable Luxury Biennale in Paris.
• June 4: Rohwer, Manager Nate Springer, and Manager Berkley Rothmeier will attend Sustainable Brands 2018 in Vancouver. Springer will speak in the session "Science-Based Targets: Lessons from Retailers for Retailers."
• June 4-5: Cramer will attend the BSR board meeting in Paris.
• June 5: Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) Program Director Cecilia Müller Torbrand will present a paper on maritime corruption to the International Maritime Organisation in London.
• June 5-6: Taylor will attend RI Europe 2018 in London.  
• June 6: Associate Director Giulio Berruti will attend the launch event of the RE-Source platform and IRENA's Global Reference Index for Corporate Sourcing of Renewable Energy in Brussels.
• June 7: Manager Margaux Yost will moderate the panel “Gender and Workplace Safety in the Supply Chain” at IDH4Gender in Nairobi.
• June 11: Norton will be the keynote speaker at the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs discussion forum, “Digitization and Responsibility in Global Supply Chains” in Vienna.
• June 12: Gitman will moderate a panel of sustainability leaders at the BBB Forum on Corporate Responsibility in New York.
• June 12: Director Angie Farrag-Thibault will facilitate an Airlines, Shippers, and Forwarders meeting organized by BSR in Düsseldorf. Berruti, Springer, and Associate Gareth Scheerder will participate in the event.
• June 12: Associate Director Cecile Oger and Manager Byron Austin will host the Healthcare Working Group in-person spring meeting in our Paris office. 
• June 12-13: Associate Léa Farnier will attend the ADEME Climate meeting in Paris. 
• June 12-13: Manager Magali Barraja will speak on the panel “Bridging the Gap—Getting the Business Benefits of Gender Equality” at the amfori Unleash Opportunity annual conference in Amsterdam. Manager Cliodhnagh Conlon will attend.
• June 13: Manager Mark Williams will join as a special guest panelist in an online stakeholder forum focused on SDG 8 hosted by GlobeScan.
• June 13-15: Farrag-Thibault, Berruti, Springer, and Scheerder will facilitate the Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) members meeting in Bonn, Germany. 
• June 14-15: Cramer will attend a meeting of the Global Climate Action Summit Advisory Committee in New York.
• June 18-23: Director David Wei and Manager Samantha Harris will attend the Adaptation Futures Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. Harris will present BSR’s research on private-sector climate risk and resilience.
• June 19-20: Berruti will attend the event “How Business Can Measure the Impact—and ROI—of Corporate Sustainability” in London.
• June 20-21: Farrag-Thibault, Human Rights Director Peter Nestor, and Associate Michaela Lee will facilitate the Building Responsibly members meeting and stakeholder convening in London.
• June 21: Associate Director Karlyn Adams will speak on behalf of Green Freight Asia on sustainable logistics as competitive advantage at the International Smart Logistics and Supply Chain Congress in Singapore.
• June 21: Director Jeffrey Crawford will attend Devex World 2018 in Washington, D.C.
• June 25: Farrag-Thibault will participate in the Transforming Heavy Transport workshop at WBCSD in Geneva.
• June 26-27: Manager Ouida Chichester will speak on a panel on “Solutions to Women’s Employment in Extractives” at the World Bank’s Gender and Oil, Gas and Mining: New Frontiers of Progress, Challenges and Solutions conference in Washington, D.C.
• June 29: Müller Torbrand will attend the SeaTrade Awards ceremony in London; both MACN and CCWG have been nominated for the CSR award.

Blog | Thursday May 3, 2018

Where BSR Will Be in May 2018

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This month, as we prepare to launch registration for the BSR Conference 2018 (stay tuned, and join our mailing list if you want to hear about it!), we’re also hosting, attending, and speaking at several other sustainability events around the world.

From the UN climate negotiations in Germany, to the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, to events about the Global Climate Action Summit, here’s where we’ll be in May.

What We’ll Host

• May 3: Senior Vice President Eric Olson, Consumer Sectors Director Jorgette Mariñez, and Manager Byron Austin will host a dinner with sustainability leaders to discuss a shared agenda for 21st-century business in Chicago.
• May 15: President and CEO Aron Cramer and Manager Kelly Gallo will host an event at the Salesforce Offices in San Francisco for businesses to learn more about the Global Climate Action Summit and opportunities to engage.
• May 16: Cramer and Gallo will host a webinar to share information about the Global Climate Action Summit. This webinar will be held at two times for our global audiences.
• May 16: We will celebrate our 10th anniversary in New York with a happy hour.
• May 24: Our Paris office will hold a BSR Connect event on the French due diligence law and the strategic importance of a human rights impact assessment for companies as part of their vigilance plans.

Where We’ll Be

• April 30-May 10: Climate Director David Wei, Manager Samantha Harris, and Associate Katie Abbott will attend the UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany.
• May 1: Sustainable Futures Lab Director Jacob Park and Manager Jonathan Morris will attend the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures' U.S. Scenario Analysis Conference, hosted by Bloomberg LP in New York.
• May 4: Maritime Anti-Corruption Network Program Director Cecilia Müller Torbrand will speak at the 3rd Annual Global Anti-Corruption and Compliance Summit in Amsterdam.
• May 4: Manager Salah Husseini will speak on the 49th Symposium on International Relations panel entitled “Protecting Workers’ Rights: A Global Perspective on the Role of Business and Other Stakeholders” in New Haven, Connecticut.
• May 9: Harris will moderate a panel during the UN climate negotiations on “The Role of Women in Climate-Resilient Supply Chains” in Bonn.
• May 15-16: Senior Vice President Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen will moderate the session on “Digitalization and the Future of Fashion” with Spencer Fung, CEO of the Li & Fung Group, at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. Managing Director Elisa Niemtzow will attend the event.
• May 16-17: Managing Director Tara Norton will attend the World Procurement Congress 18 in London.
• May 16-17: Morris will attend the Luxe Pack New York creative/luxury packaging tradeshow in New York.
• May 16-18: Managing Director Dunstan Allison-Hope and Associate Michaela Lee will attend RightsCon in Toronto. Allison-Hope will moderate a panel on the new frontier for law enforcement relationship reporting.
• May 17: Associate Director Michael Rohwer will speak on conflict minerals reporting at the Silicon Valley Conflict Minerals and Human Trafficking Forum in Sunnyvale, California.
• May 17: Sustainability Management Managing Director Alison Taylor will speak at the Transparency International 8th Annual Day of Dialogue in Toronto.
• May 21-25: Manager Berkley Rothmeier will attend the Sustainable Apparel Coalition annual meeting in Vancouver.
• May 23-24: Manager Lauren Shields will speak in sessions on gender equality and workers’ voices at the 2018 Global Sustainability Standards Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
• May 29-30: Taylor will attend the OECD Forum in Paris.
• May 31: Cramer will deliver a keynote speech at the Global Mining Human Resources Forum in Toronto.

Blog | Tuesday November 12, 2019

The State of Sustainable Business 2019: Toward a Critical Decade

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When BSR launched its first State of Sustainable Business survey with GlobeScan in 2008, it would have been inconceivable for influential corporate leaders and major investors to engage in a very public, candid, and existential conversation questioning the future viability of capitalism, the foundation of our economic and social systems for the past three centuries.

Fast forward to 2019: We see influential CEOs declaring that “capitalism as we know it is dead” and calling for a new capitalism that values purpose alongside profit. The CEOs of the Business Roundtable have essentially called for a redefinition of the purpose of a corporation, embracing a form of “conscious capitalism” in which the need to deliver value to all stakeholders has surpassed the previously unchallenged primacy of shareholders. 

These are welcome and long-overdue conversations and developments and provide a particularly compelling backdrop for us to unveil the findings of our 11th annual State of Sustainable Business survey, which includes responses from business leaders representing 125 global companies—half of BSR’s global membership network. As it has been since its launch, the survey features the perspective of the business leaders who do sustainability work daily inside some of the largest and most influential companies in the world.

This survey is also our last before we move into the 2020s, and as many companies had sustainability strategies with a 2020 end date, we wanted to find out how our members think they fared. More than half of BSR companies surveyed reported having a sustainability strategy with a 2020 end date or milestone, but only 45 percent of those said they considered their company to have achieved a great deal of success in reaching their objectives—which suggests we are off track to achieve global sustainability targets. 

We need business to dramatically increase its sustainability ambitions over the coming decade. 

Given the urgency of bending the curve on emissions and lifting communities and people out of poverty while supporting fundamental human rights, the message here is clear: We need business to dramatically increase its sustainability ambitions over the coming decade. 

Furthermore, to truly achieve the sustainable change we need, significantly more effort must focus on a company’s value chain. Half of respondents say their efforts to address sustainability within supply chains have been ineffective—though they report being more effective in cases where they have been able to apply new technologies like blockchain.

One of the more interesting findings was that while a majority of companies plan on embedding sustainability more deeply into the business, less than half will be emphasizing long-term value creation, and fewer still are focused on trying to influence policy-making frameworks. 

While about half of companies report a “fair amount” of focus on public policy across all issues, with human rights and climate change drawing somewhat more attention than inclusive growth and women’s empowerment, we do see an opportunity for companies to make it more of a focal point. Given the significant business influence over policy frameworks and the urgency of achieving sustainability goals, we hope to see more companies speaking out strongly on these vital issues.

Another noteworthy insight is that investor interest has become a major driver of corporate sustainability efforts overall. While reputation risks and customer/consumer demand continue to be identified as the most important drivers of company sustainability efforts, professionals citing investor interest as one of key drivers of sustainability efforts has increased significantly over the past year, with 40 percent citing it as a top three driver, up from 25 percent in 2018.  

The integration of sustainability into the core of business strategy continues to be an opportunity for more ambitious company action. Despite continued CEO focus—more than half of companies say sustainability is among their CEOs’ top five priorities—and rising investor interest, little has changed in the past three years in the level of self-reported integration of sustainability into the core of the business.  

Overall, 66 percent of companies say that sustainability is at least fairly well integrated, exactly the same as it was in 2016. Integration of sustainability into strategic planning and into products and services is being pursued by only about half of the companies surveyed. 

Climate change, ethics and integrity, diversity and inclusion, and human rights remain the top sustainability priorities for companies. 

As we move into the 2020s, the survey also revealed that climate change, ethics and integrity, diversity and inclusion, and human rights remain the top sustainability priorities for companies. 

However, in 2019, climate change has emerged from the pack, making a significant jump with more than 50 percent of respondents citing it as a “very significant” priority over the coming year. Company leaders exploring how they can move toward net-zero carbon emissions, while also assessing their climate risk scenarios, are no doubt also well aware of the increased sense of urgency expressed by scientists and other experts and the surge of public demonstrations demanding urgent action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.   

It is worth noting that despite its ranking as a top corporate priority, the survey reveals minimal movement in the number of companies setting an internal price on carbon.  Only 31 percent of companies either already have, or are moving to implement, an internal carbon price. In addition, only one-third of companies say they are focused on managing climate change through tier-2 suppliers and supply chains. Most businesses with science-based targets will need to address these emissions as part of the global effort to bend the curve on emissions and limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Companies are becoming more interested in deepening their relationship with stakeholders. 

Finally, we were heartened to discover that companies are becoming more interested in deepening their relationship with stakeholders. As we noted in our report, Five Steps to Stakeholder Engagement, earlier this year, we are living in an era of increased investor interest, widely accepted international agreements, heightened public transparency, and a digital media environment in which information is shared at lightning speed. Stakeholder engagement is more important than ever, and the fact that companies are taking it seriously is good news indeed.

We will be looking forward to connecting with our own stakeholders, including our members and other partners from business, civil society, and the broader sustainability community, at the BSR Conference 2019 in San Jose this week, where The New Climate for Business will take center stage. We’ll discuss our common challenges, and the opportunities for stepped-up corporate action on sustainability as we prepare for the critical decade of the 2020s.

Blog | Wednesday September 14, 2022

“And” May Be the Most Important Word

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Editor's Note: We are living through a time of profound and accelerating change. Our world has been rocked by a series of disruptions: COVID-19, war and social conflict, rollback of rights and democracy, and now high inflation and the risk of recession. These developments have jolted society and business.

To help our 300+ member companies navigate this volatile environment, we're releasing a series of blogs to build insight into how to shape business approaches that address this unique moment. Following last month’s piece on the role of business in combating societal fragmentation, today we focus on how new laws, regulations, and standards mark the beginning of a new era.

We’ll conclude with a deeper dive into how BSR’s 2025 strategy can help your company to navigate these turbulent times—and how you can collaborate with our global network to push us further, faster, to achieve a more equitable, just world for all.

The field of just and sustainable business stands at the threshold of a new era.

Governments are establishing new laws and regulations that will inevitably reshape the way companies address sustainability risks and opportunities, including how due diligence is conducted, how decisions are made, and how risks are disclosed. 

The twin EU directives on reporting and due diligence, the SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rule, and revisions to Japan’s Corporate Governance Code promise to be especially influential.

Standards-setting bodies are accelerating progress toward harmonized reporting frameworks. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) brings together standards for disclosing the impact of sustainability on enterprise value creation, while the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has integrated the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and continues to evolve sustainability standards. 

The GRI is also known for collaborating with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and for co-creating the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which will become mandatory under the CSRD.

However, the dialogue about how companies can navigate this new era of decisive change often emphasizes binary choices.

Does today’s focus on “applying the standards” limit more entrepreneurial approaches to just and sustainable business? Will the emphasis on “ensuring compliance” overshadow more ambitious priorities and become a tick-box exercise? Does the instinct to cover everything listed in the new standards undermine the principle of materiality and the company’s ability to focus on what’s most important?

Rather than seeing these as “either-or” options, we believe that “and” is the most important word for this new era of just and sustainable business. 

While we recognize the obvious tensions inherent in these binary questions, we believe this can be creative rather than destructive. We encourage companies to see this new era of just and sustainable business as an opportunity to define new approaches. 

Entrepreneurship AND Standards

When BSR was founded in 1992, there were no sustainability standards, and everyone in the field needed to be an entrepreneur. We made everything up as we went along, trusting our instinct, using our values as a guide, and creating new approaches based on first principles. Thirty years later, we have standards left, right, and center, and everyone in the field has become hyper-focused on “how we apply the standard in practice.” In doing so, companies risk getting trapped in believing that there is only one “right” approach to just and sustainable business, with little innovation.

It is essential to find a final balance. We can be entrepreneurs and continue exploring ways of doing things better than before, and we need to apply standards so that we can adhere to collective expectations. Indeed, some of the best innovation happens in constrained conditions, so let’s view these new standards as helpful design constraints.

Ambition AND Compliance

Before this new era, compliance efforts made an important but somewhat limited contribution to the field, mainly showing up in labor standards, environmental management, and anti-corruption. By contrast, companies had a huge blank canvas upon which goals could be established, strategies launched, and sustainability reports written. Today, the tide of new standards and regulations raises the standard for everyone and ensures that all companies will undertake a certain amount of “just and sustainable business”—for example, the CSRD will push nearly 50,000 companies in the EU to consider sustainability as part of board discussions.

On the other hand, we fear that the focus on compliance risks is detracting from the original intention, purpose, and spirit of laws, regulations, and standards being implemented. We risk forgetting why we do what we do.

We need to have the discipline of compliance and stand up to the increased scrutiny that will accompany it, but we must also stay true to our transformative ambition and not shy away from the bold goals, innovation, and systemic change that are needed to achieve a just and sustainable world and build resilient businesses for long-term value.

Materiality AND Comparability

Over the past two decades, it has become abundantly clear that companies should focus resources on the most significant issues, no matter how materiality is defined by a company. But while the concept of materiality features prominently in the laws, regulations, and standards of the new era, we hear from BSR member companies a countervailing trend—the instinct to limit legal liability and not to be “caught out” leads to a quest for companies to cover every potential issue referenced in every law, regulation, and standard. Call it the “C.Y.A. approach” to just and sustainable business. 

We need to achieve both. BSR believes that a “comply or explain” approach to disclosure will give companies the time and space to put meaningful and rigorous policies and new systems in place for material issues.

We are struck by the sheer reach, ambition, and comprehensiveness of the laws, regulations, and standards that are a defining feature of this new era of just and sustainable business. We urge companies to pay close attention to them because they will surely transform the field of just and sustainable business, impact a company’s business strategy and day-to-day operations, and dramatically change how sustainability is governed within companies.

However, we believe that this important focus on standards, compliance, and comparability should not be accompanied by a rejection of the entrepreneurship and ambition that got us this far. We encourage companies to take creative approaches to the tensions that will undoubtedly arise and seek to achieve both the letter and the spirit of laws, regulations, and standards. 

At BSR, we are working with our member companies to map regulatory requirements and assess their preparedness. We also help our member companies develop the ambitious strategies, goals, and targets necessary for a just and sustainable future.

Blog | Thursday July 14, 2022

Delaying Climate Action: The Challenges of Moderating Climate Misinformation on Social Media

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Misinformation about climate change has been around for decades, mostly in the form of climate denialism. Today, climate misinformation is focused on seeding doubt about climate science and the measures that are taken to mitigate climate change. Examples include: suggesting that the consequences of global warming may not be as bad as scientists claim, arguing that climate change policies are bad for the economy or national security, describing clean energy as unreliable, or claiming that no action will be able to halt climate change.

These varying manifestations of climate misinformation all have the same outcome: delaying climate action.

Earlier this year, the IPCC drew attention to the impacts of climate misinformation for the first time:

Vested interests have generated rhetoric and misinformation that undermines climate science and disregards risk and urgency. Resultant public misperception of climate risks and polarized public support for climate action is delaying urgent adaptation planning and implementation.

Social media brings both opportunities and risks to the climate science dialogue. Scientific information related to climate change is accessible to larger populations through social media platforms—including real-life experiences of affected populations. On the other hand, social media can significantly undermine climate science by allowing for the rapid and widespread sharing of misinformation through user-generated content and online advertising. Social media platforms are also just one part of the information ecosystem, which also includes news media and professionally created entertainment.

At a point when delays in climate action may lead to catastrophic and irreversible harm, companies must address climate misinformation urgently and decisively. 

In 2021, Ford Foundation, the Ariadne Network, and Mozilla Foundation commissioned a research project to explore grantmaking strategies that can address issues at the intersection of environmental justice and digital rights. As part of this project, BSR wrote an issue brief on the role of social media companies in creating, shaping, and maintaining a high-quality climate science information environment.

The brief explores the specific challenges of moderating climate misinformation. We describe some of these challenges below:

• Climate Misinformation Is Happening in “Subtler” Ways and Is Increasingly Intersectional.
  While outright climate denialism is easy to refute, it is more difficult to identify subtle ways of spreading climate misinformation—such as claims that green policies are too costly. The response to climate change is a topic of political debate, making climate misinformation closely tied to politics, elections, and the larger civic space. These intersectional ties help grow the reach of misinformation and take it to different levels that can be difficult to anticipate.

• Existing Content Moderation Frameworks Are Not Sufficient in Addressing Climate Misinformation.
  Most of the content moderation principles and frameworks used by social media platforms today were written to address immediate harms related to hate speech, incitement to violence, and other objectionable content, and they are not as applicable for scientific misinformation that may be associated with broader, longer-term harms.

• Content Removals May Not Be Adequately Effective in Fighting Scientific Misinformation.
  While the removal of content is effective in fighting harmful content such as hate speech, scientific misinformation may require different approaches. Platforms should not only rely on content removal but also focus on tactics to reduce the visibility of misinformation and display high-quality information to inform users.

• Climate Misinformation Is Political and Is Backed by Institutions.
  Since the 1980s, climate disinformation campaigns have been largely driven by the fossil fuel industry’s intentional efforts to undermine climate science. Today, climate misinformation can still typically be traced to fossil fuel interests. In addressing climate misinformation, it is important to consider the material incentives of the producers of such content.

In our brief, we make recommendations to social media companies, as well as civil society actors, and funders. These include the addition of climate misinformation under content policies, applying content moderation frameworks to climate misinformation, strengthening fact-checking capabilities, investing in user resiliency, and increasing scrutiny on advertising by oil and gas companies. We envision a high-quality climate science information environment that supports informed public debate, ambitious business action, and science-based policy making.

Social media companies have made significant commitments to reduce the climate impacts of their businesses (i.e., reducing GHG emissions), but they also have a responsibility to address the potential harms that they may be connected to through climate misinformation on their platforms. 

Civil society groups and funders have an essential role to play in holding companies accountable for their actions or omissions to address climate misinformation and keep this topic on the agenda. Among these actors, it is our observation that environmental groups are less familiar about the practical challenges, complexities, and nuance of misinformation, and the content governance community is less familiar with how climate information can adversely impact our collective efforts to address the climate crisis. These communities would benefit from increased collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Fostering a deeper understanding of this topic across sectors will not only help remove one of the biggest barriers in the way of climate action, but it will also broaden our understanding of scientific information, and how human rights may be impacted online. 

BSR will continue to work with social media companies, civil society groups, and funders on this topic. Please reach out if you’re interested in connecting with us.