The Sustainability Learning Forum

How Geopolitical Change Alters Social and Environmental Standards

Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland, University of Applied Sciences, Konstanz

With the design of the ISO 26000 norm, the ISO picked up suggestions proposed by their own consumer organizations pertaining to social responsibility in companies operating in global markets. In June 2002, the consumer policy committee met to discuss this subject. In the run-up to this meeting, a report entitled The Desirability and Feasibility of ISO CSR Standards was created. The first ISO meeting was held in 2004 in Sweden and determined that the standard would not be a corporate social responsibility (CSR) but an SR standard. more[...] login_required

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The long history of cooperation between ISO and the UN

Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze, United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)

Interview with Sergei A. Ordzhonikidze. He was Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) from March 2002 until March 2011. more[...] login_required

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The Power of Voluntarism

Dr. Elmer Lenzen

In today’s corporate responsibility debate, so-called soft laws are omnipresent. They seem to be the best solution to combine a maximum of social responsibility with a minimum of public interference. Their rise is closely connected with the age of globalization. more[...] login_required

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A Global Compact for Development

United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)

Emphasizes the second objective of the Global Compact by articulating how companies can support development objectives through their core business; strategic social investments; advocacy; partnerships and collective action. Available Global Compact platforms for business to support development goals are identified and examples of how companies are already contributing to this agenda are showcased. (Source: UNGC) more[...] login_required

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Blueprint For Corporate Sustainability Leadership

United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)

The Blueprint offers companies a model for achieving higher levels of performance and generating enhanced value through the Global Compact. It provides an action plan in three core areas: (i) integrating the Global Compact ten principles into strategies and operations; (ii) taking action in support of broader UN goals and issues; and (iii) engaging with the Global Compact. The Blueprint identifies best practices in each of these dimensions, with a total of 50 criteria for leadership. Designed to inspire advanced performers to reach the next level of sustainability, the Blueprint sets targets that all companies should work towards in order to ascend the learning and performance curve. more[...] login_required

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UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

Editorial Team

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Norm-based exclusions: how responsible investors handle controversial companies

Novethic

Novethic analyses the investment policies of around thirty French and Northern European investors and draws up the major trends of norm-based exclusions practices which consists in excluding from portfolios companies that have been called into question because they have violated international conventions on social or environmental issues. Even it is gradually gaining ground in France, the process still involves a limited number of companies. more[...] login_required

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Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability

Dr. Elmer Lenzen

Global interconnectivity lets consumer markets constantly grow together. Modern communication technologies accelerate this phenomenon: The brand image as well as the self-perception of any company lies in the hands of millions of people using social media or their buying power. more[...] login_required

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Systematic and Holistic Program for a Balanced Industrial Ecology

M Bhaskar, TÜV Rheinland Group
Dagny Buehler-Thierfelder, TÜV Rheinland Holding
TÜV Rheinland Holding

In Karnataka, one of the fastest-growing states of India, officials have become aware of the increasing pollution and exploitation of natural resources by the major industries and the growing population. Indian energy production has risen over 20 percent since 2000; during the same period, CO2 emissions went up by nearly 30 percent. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has identified 118 companies – the majority small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – from all the main industries that are using resources inefficiently and are polluting the environment. More than half of the companies are located in the district of Bangalore and are a constant threat to the ecological balance of the region. more[...] login_required

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Systematic and Holistic Program for a Balanced Industrial Ecology

M Bhaskar, TÜV Rheinland Group
Dagny Buehler-Thierfelder, TÜV Rheinland Holding

In Karnataka, one of the fastest-growing states of India, officials have become aware of the increasing pollution and exploitation of natural resources by the major industries and the growing population. Indian energy production has risen over 20 percent since 2000; during the same period, CO2 emissions went up by nearly 30 percent. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has identified 118 companies – the majority small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – from all the main industries that are using resources inefficiently and are polluting the environment. More than half of the companies are located in the district of Bangalore and are a constant threat to the ecological balance of the region. more[...]

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Cleaner Production Program in SMART

Ismu Zulfikar , PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk
PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk

As one of the largest integrated palm plantation companies in Indonesia, PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk (“SMART”) harnesses best management practices in administering its operations to produce sustainable palm oil in accordance with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (“RSPO”) Principles and Criteria (“P&C”). fertiliser in the estate after being treated in the waste water treatment plant to decrease several parameters in accordance with the Indonesia Minister of Environment Decrees No. 28 and No. 29 Year 2003; and iii. Shell and fiber of husks from fresh fruit bunch, the solid waste from the mill, are used for fuelling the boiler and turbine, to increase energy efficiency. more[...] login_required

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Action In the Supply Chain

Dr. Alexandra Hildebrandt
Arcandor AG

Since the nineties, retailers have been paying more and more attention to social Responsibility in the Supply Chain. As there was extensive agreement on establishing common criteria of their individual procurement guidelines, it was only logical for them to pursue a cooperative effort. Originally under the umbrella of the Foreign Trade Association of the German Retail Trade (AVE), these efforts developed at the European level into the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). more[...] login_required

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Corporate Responsibility in Times of Crisis

Georg Kell, United Nations Global Compact

2008 will be remembered as the year of crises. The breakdown of financial institutions and markets and the subsequent worldwide economic downturn have put the spotlight on issues that the United Nations Global Compact has long advocated as essential responsibilities for modern business and today’s global markets: comprehensive risk management, long-term performance, and ethics. more[...] login_required

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European Commission backs ISO 26000

The ISO International Standard ISO 26000 is one of the three documents being recommended by the European Commission (EC) on guidance for European enterprises to fulfil their commitment to social responsibility. more[...] login_required

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Global Compact International Yearbook 2011

Dr. Elmer Lenzen

Over the last several years, the United Nations has become a trailblazer in promoting corporate responsibility. “In the 11 years since its launch, the United Nations Global Compact has been at the forefront of the UN’s effort to make the private sector a critical actor in advancing sustainability,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the 2011 edition of the Global Compact International Yearbook. more[...] login_required

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