The Sustainability Learning Forum

Self-assessment Regarding Respect for Human Rights

Christian Coutin, SEB Groupe
Marianne Tisserand, SEB Groupe
SEB Groupe

As world economies become globalized, the new challenge is to ensure that multinational corporations can be held accountable not only for the impact of their activities on human beings but also for their respect of Human Rights. To date, there is no supranational legal institution with the appropriate means to enforce human rights in a mandatory way. Companies that agree to assume responsibility do so voluntarily. But for an international firm, ensuring that Human Rights are respected can be quite difficult. The standards developed to protect people’s rights were originally drafted for states, so additional practical steps are required to apply those standards to companies and to develop concrete ways to implement and track them within a corporate environment. more[...] login_required

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Corporate Sustainability - The Way Forward

Natalia Gonchar, Sakhalin Energy Investment Company
Sakhalin Energy

Sakhalin Energy has based its activities on a strategy of sustainable development. It allows the company to achieve business goals while taking into consideration the potential environmental and social impacts on its employees and on local communities. It is fair to say that such an approach means no operational or technological decision is made without adequate environmental, health,and social assessments of the potential impact of the Sakhalin-2 Project. more[...]

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How Can We Do Good and Do Well? Just Ask!

Editorial Team

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that goes something like, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” more[...] login_required

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How Can We Do Good and Do Well? Just Ask!

Frank Stokes, AMEC

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that goes something like, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” The message is clear: Education has a longer-lasting benefit than charitable donations alone. more[...]

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The Bayer Climate Program

Dr. Wolfgang Große-Entrup, Bayer Group
Bayer Group

“I consider climate change to be the most pressing challenge facing the world today,” declares Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG. “After all, climate change endangers the natural basis of all our commercial and social actions.” The consequences for company policy are clear – in this time of global financial and economic crisis in particular, it is crucial that companies set a course that will steer them towards sustainability. This also involves making a clear commitment to climate protection. As part of its comprehensive climate program, Bayer is working to develop solutions across a range of areas that will enable the company to make a contribution to tackling the challenges posed by climate change. more[...]

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Carrefour Commits Itself

Hélène Jessua
Carrefour Group

Since 2001, Carrefour Colombia has adhered to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) program for the voluntary, gradual eradication of illicit plantations. In another project, in Bangladesh, the focus is on the workers of controlled products suppliers. Training helps them learn more about their labour and Human Rights. more[...] login_required

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For You, for Us – Carrefour Commits Itself

Hélène Jessua
Carrefour Group

Since 2001, Carrefour Colombia has adhered to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) program for the voluntary, gradual eradication of illicit plantations. In another project, in Bangladesh, the focus is on the workers of controlled products suppliers. Training helps them learn more about their labour and Human Rights. more[...]

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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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Carrying the Torch for Global Compact Principles

Stephan Howeg, Adecco Group
Lilian Furrer
Adecco Group

The availability, nature and conditions of work are central to the wellbeing of individuals, families, economies and societies the world-over. ‘Work’ is the core business of Adecco Group, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions, with over 31,000 people dedicated to enabling more than 500,000 colleagues to work every day with clients in over 60 countries. more[...] login_required

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Social Entrepreneurship in Times of Crisis

Mirjam Schöning, Schwaab Foundation

"At the end of the day, corporations are citizens too, and they should commit themselves in the same way good citizens would. It's important to emphasize here that other social forces must be involved: there's always at least one organization that is already implementing an idea, someone who has found a better approach to a certain segment of the population or an innovative solution to the same problem." more[...] login_required

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Ethics and Business: Ensuring Credibility

Prof. Andreas Suchanek, Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL)

"Ethics, in the form of a shared basic understanding of “right” values, such as dignity, freedom, justice, etc., are the foundation of the social market economy. Competition and legal foundations, both of which are essential for a market economy, lose their ability to function when people lose trust, and maintaining trust is always (also) a matter of the responsibility – or more generally: practiced values – of those active in the market economy." more[...] login_required

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Has the Triple Bottom Line Failed, Mr. Elkington?

John Elkington, SustainAbility

Success and failure are relative, of course, reflecting initial expectations and ambitions. In coining terms like “environmental excellence” (1984), “green consumer” (1986), or “triple bottom line” (1994), I was simply trying to help us all expand our minds for new possibilities. more[...] login_required

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Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Institute of Management

more[...] login_required

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United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

United Nations

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) is being organized in pursuance of General Assembly Resolution 64/236 (A/RES/64/236). The Conference will take place in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. It is envisaged as a Conference at the highest possible level, including Heads of State and Government or other representatives. The Conference will result in a focused political document. more[...] login_required

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5th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Institute of Management

The series of CSR-Conferences has established itself as the world's premier international forum for exploring the global themes of corporate social responsibility in all its manifold dimensions. Every two years since 2004, leading academics, executives, policymakers, and representatives from civil society organizations from around the world have been meeting in Berlin to debate key questions from a diverse range of cultural perspectives and professional viewpoints. more[...] login_required

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