Connie Hedegaard has made the following statement: “Today the United Nations Global Sustainability Panel launched its report. The world must decide now what to do with it: either take it as another report for another shelf or take it as a serious wake-up call and act. ... lees meer

The global sustainable business market will reach a tipping point in 2013 triggering rapid market expansion, according to new research findings from independent analyst firm Verdantix. Market forecasts analysing spending patterns of more than 2,500 global firms find that growth rates of investment in sustainable business programmes will be between 50% and 100% higher in 2013 than in 2011. Total spend on sustainable business programmes by $1bn revenues firms in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US markets alone will hit $60 billion in 2013. ... lees meer

Statement Minister Jacqueline Cramer, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, The Netherlands at the UNEP governing Council, Panel “Global Crises: national chaos-Towards a green Economy, Nairobi, February 17th 2009. ... lees meer

Research findings developed with Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, Net Impact and World Business Council for Sustainable Development assess trends and best practices in corporate responsibility communications. ... lees meer

While a majority of North American firms in the survey (almost 60 percent) have a documented corporate-level sustainability strategy, just over one-third (36 percent) have adopted a formal sustainability strategy for the supply management organization-a crucial step in ultimately being able to deliver on their sustainability promises. ... lees meer

The increase of social and environmental responsibility by business, linked to the principle of corporate accountability, represents an essential element of the European Social Model and of Europe’s strategy for Sustainable Development, according to the European Parliament which adopted an own initiative report by Richard Howitt (PES, UK) on Corporate Social Responsibility. The report underlines that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies should be promoted on their own merits, neither as a substitute for appropriate regulation in relevant fields, nor as a covert approach to introducing such legislation. Agreeing with the Commission of the term, the EP defines CSR as “the voluntary integration of environmental and social considerations into business operations, over and above legal requirements and contractual obligations” The Commission is called upon to encourage dissemination of good practice resulting from voluntary CSR initiatives and believe that the Commission should also consider establishing a list of criteria for enterprises to respect if they claim to be responsible. ... lees meer

Companies can turn regulatory compliance and heightened corporate governance efforts into opportunities that create value for their businesses, according to a new report from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). ... lees meer

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is nothing if not a mouthful. But the jargon disguises a very simple idea: that rather than being narrowly focused on the pursuit of profit at the expense of all else, businesses should behave responsibly in the course of their profit-making, taking into account their wider role and impact on society. ... lees meer