The Sustainability Learning Forum

Corporate Social Innovation is the New Corporate Social Responsibility

Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen

A new trend in international development has paired some unlikely business partners: development finance institutions and impact investors are working with large multinational corporations to fund projects that advance both development and business agendas. more[...]

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Yeatman, Perry

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CSR & Innovation (R&D)

Innovation is not just about technological change. Business model innovation is important, too, and there is increasing adoption among small entrepreneurial and large multinational firms of alternative business models that support a value proposition aligned with sustainable goals. more[...]

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Ten Lessons from Innovation Studies for a Sustainable Paradigm

Prof. Dr. Paul Dewick

Sustainability goals, such as those associated with the the post-2015 development agenda of the United Nations, have to be translated into new commercial products and services as well as different ways of making and delivering them that replace less-sustainable alternatives. This is the role for firms intending to profit from innovation while meeting sustainable goals. Sometimes these innovators are small entrepreneurial firms that see sustainable products as an ideal niche in which to start a new business venture. Sometimes these innovators are large firms that have identified opportunities where customers and/or technologies are new. Successful innovation at the firm level contributes cumulatively to industrial structural change in a process known as “creative destruction.” Through this process, a new paradigm can emerge, within which sustainable economic growth flourishes in an inclusive manner consistent with the goals of the United Nations post-2015 agenda. more[...] login_required

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Dewick, Paul

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Responsible Lobbying

Dr Stephanos Anastasiadis, Royal Holloway, University of London
Dr Sigrun M. Wagner, Royal Holloway, University of London

Lobbyists paying elected representatives to place questions in the UK parliament. Arms manufacturers giving South African officials BMWs in exchange for armaments contracts. Smoke-filled back rooms featuring stuffed brown envelopes. No wonder lobbying has a bad name. But these are not images of lobbying: They depict corruption, albeit in a policymaking setting. These actions are morally suspect and usually illegal. They also contravene the UN Global Compact: Principle 10 requires the combating of corruption. In fact, lobbying is far more often about committee meetings, reports, and other unspectacular activities. Lobbying can be understood as the focused provision of relevant information, with the intention of influencing public policy or process. Corporate lobbying is not just important for companies; it helps create better public policies, and can therefore have real societal value, despite its bad press. more[...]

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Young and Old: The Best Connection

Dominique Alhäuser, Weidmüller Interface
Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG

Actively encouraging junior staff as well as the more experienced is sustainability in action for the family-owned company Weidmüller, and it is also a way to counteract the effects of demographic change. more[...]

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When Women Do Better, Economies To Do Better

Mara Swan, ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup

Few companies have helped empower women like ManpowerGroup – both inside and outside our organization. As the world leader in innovative workforce solutions for 65 years, ManpowerGroup was one of the first employers to bring women into the workforce decades ago and remains a pioneer for women today. We not only provide experience and employment opportunities to women that they previously may not have had access to, but equally important, we nurture a culture that respects how diversity of thought inspires the productivity, innovation, and collaboration companies need in the Human Age – an era of certain uncertainty requiring flexibility and new approaches to work. more[...]

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Buildings Need Effective Air Filters

Myriam Tryjefaczka, Camfil Farr Group
Camfil Farr Group

Air is free and necessary for life. The quality of air also has a direct impact on quality of life: The cleaner the air we breathe, the healthier we are, and the better we feel and perform. Unfortunately, healthy air is becoming a scarce commodity, especially in the larger and more densely populated cities of the world. The most common air pollutants, such as airborne particulate matter (PM), ozone, and nitrogen oxides, are known to cause respiratory problems, heart diseases, and other illnesses. A recent study by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that long-term exposure to this air pollution can also affect brain development, reproductive health, circulation, and diabetes. more[...]

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Family Friendly Enterprise: Slovenia Leads The Way

Prof. Wayne Visser, Kaleidoscope Futures

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China's Workforce in 2015: Better Trained, Better Paid, Better Protected?

The Conference Board

According to a new report from The Conference Board, China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan (FYP), encompassing 2011–2015, signals a new focus in the country’s development on “human factors” — from improving education to boosting consumer spending and reducing inequality. Reading the Tea Leaves: The Impact of China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan on Human Capital Challenges investigates the latest FYP, finding strategic planning and program implementation lessons for multinational corporations preparing for the Chinese economy and Chinese workforce of the future. more[...]

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Are Americans working too much?

Prof. Andrew Crane, Schulich School of Business

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HIV and Bangladeshi Women Migrant Workers - An assessment of vulnerabilities and gaps in services

International Organization for Migration

This study provides a good basis for initiating further research and discussion on issues concerning migration health in general – and migration and HIV/AIDS in particular – for government policymakers and other stakeholders involved in the process of making migration safe and beneficial for all. more[...] login_required

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Wellness for All: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally

Novo Nordisk
Scott Dille, Novo Nordisk

NovoHealth is a worldwide company program seeking to develop a workplace culture that promotes and supports healthy living for all employees – an opportunity for Novo Nordisk to practice what we preach. NovoHealth inspires healthy living among Novo Nordisk employees as a means to prevent Type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle-driven diseases. NovoHealth gives us an exciting opportunity to bring the organization together across the globe, support our colleagues, address our social responsibility as an employer, and improve business performance. more[...] login_required

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Greening of Saline and Alkaline Sediments

Editorial Team

Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL), which was established in 1939, today is the second largest producer of soda ash in the world with manufacturing facilities across four continents. TCL’s journey as a synthetic soda ash manufacturer began in Mithapur, on the coast of Gujarat, on India’s west coast, and for many years Mithapur represented the sum total of TCL’s soda ash manufacturing. Over time TCL’s Mithapur production volume has grown from 80 tons per day in 1944 to its current level of 2,400 tons per day. The volumes of wastes generated from its operations have grown as well. Solid waste disposal was one of TCL’s biggest concerns. Before setting up the cement manufacturing plant that converts these effluent solids into cement in 1993, all the solid waste generated was stored in a corner of the factory site called Malara. more[...]

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