Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2010

Global Compact 

International Yearbook 

2010

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2 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2010

GC International Yearbook 

Foreword 

H.E. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General 

“ 

Over the past decade, companies in the United Nations 

Global Compact have done much to advance the corporate 

responsibility agenda and support the mission of the United 

Nations. As environmental and social issues have become more 

prominent, both as material challenges and real opportunities, 

businesses are beginning to understand the tangible value of 

responsible practices – for their own long-term success and for 

the benefit of societies and markets everywhere. 

The Global Compact has contributed much to this development. 

More than any other such initiative, it offers space for experimentation, 

a forum to share good practices, and fertile ground 

for collective action to tackle some of the world’s most pressing 

challenges – from climate change and poverty to humanitarian 

disasters. As we gear up for the Summit on the Millennium 

Development Goals at UN Headquarters in September, business 

needs to play a vital role not only in reviewing progress, but in 

accelerating our efforts. If engagement in the Global Compact 

is any indication, I am confident that the private sector is up to 

the task. 

This second edition of the Global Compact International Yearbook 

shows the wide scope of what businesses are doing to turn principles 

into practice. We can see the tremendous potential of business to 

make a lasting positive impact on the environment, on the lives of 

employees and on the development of communities. At the same 

time, these activies and initiatives remind us how much more 

can and must be done to achieve our vision of a more inclusive 

global economy. As the Global Compact enters its second decade, 

” 

it is my hope that this Yearbook will be an inspiration 

to bring responsible business to true scale. 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2010 3

FOREwORD 

3 

H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, 

United Nations Secretary- 

General 

6 

10 th Anniversary 

10 th ANNIVERSARY 

6 

10 

20 

24 

The Global Compact at 10 – 

Review and Outlook 

Georg Kell 

Messages: 

Bill Clinton, Rajendra Pachauri, 

joschka Fischer, Huguette 

Labelle, Tensie whelan, Klaus 

Töpfer, Ernst Ligteringen, 

james Gifford, Paul Dickinson, 

Heidemarie wieczorek-zeul 

The Global Compact 

2000 - 2010 – Shaping Corporate 

Responsibility 

Andreas Rasche 

Milestones 2000 - 2010 

Matthias Stausberg, 

Elmer Lenzen 

34 

Biodiversity 

BIODIVERSITY 

34 

Make or Brake Year for 

Biodiversity 

Achim Steiner 

42 

Access and Benefit 

Sharing is Paramount 

to the Future of 

Biodiversity 

jane Smart 

46 

Two Years Applying 

the Corporate 

Ecosystem Services 

Review 

john Finisdore 

38 

Involving Business in the Fight to 

Save Life on Earth 

Ahmed Djoghlaf 

44 

Environmental Initiatives Can Be 

Good For Business 

Daniel C. Esty 

50 

European Business and 

Biodiversity Platform 

Shulamit Alony

BEST PRACTICE 

Corporate Citizenship 

52 

57 

60 

MDGs 

64 

66 

68 

The Organizational 

Implementation of Corporate 

Citizenship 

Dorothée Baumann, 

Andreas Georg Scherer 

From Global Compact to 

Global Leadership 

V. Kastauri Rangan 

Global Core Labour 

Standards Are More Important 

Than Ever 

Thomas I. Palley 

Goals and Targets – Overview 

On the Eve of the MDG Review 

Summit 

Anita Sharma 

Social Entrepeneurship in Times 

of Crisis 

Mirjam Schöning 

52 


Sections 

178 

192 

194 

News from Africa, 

Asia / Australia, Europe, 

North and South America and 

the Middle East / North Africa 

Region 

Imprint 

Ten Principles 

70 

72 

76 

78 

80 

82 

84 

86 

90 

94 

96 

105 

98 

100 

102 

104 

106 

110 

114 

116 

120 

122 

124 

126 

128 

130 

132 

136 

138 

140 

142 

144 

146 

148 

150 

152 

154 

158 

160 

162 

164 

166 

170 

172 

174 

176 

Overview & Classification 

Acciona 

Adecco Group 

Amec 

Argos 


BASF 

Bayer 

Bosch 

Bradesco 

BSH 

Camposol 

Carrefour 

Coop 

Copagaz 

Copeinca 

Deutsche Bank 



Eni 

Folkam 

Grundfos 

Hathay Bunano 

Henkel 

ICA 

ISA 

KPMG 

Lufthansa 

Manpower 

Mansour Group 

MRCB 


Nestlé 

Novo Nordisk 

Océ 

Otto Group 

Petrobras 

Puma 

REN 

Siemens 

SKF 

Tata Chemicals 


The TMS Group 


Volkswagen

6 


Agenda 


The Global 

Compact at 10 

Review and Outlook 

Looking back at the past 10 years, the United Nations Global 

Compact has left its mark in a variety of ways, helping 

shape the conversation about corporate responsibility and 

diffusing the concept of a principle-based approach to doing 

business across the globe. 


By Georg Kell 

Numbers only tell one side of the story, impressive as they 

may be. Since its humble start with 44 companies, the Global 

Compact has mobilized nearly 6,000 businesses in over 135 

countries – of all sizes and from all sectors – to align their 

strategies and operations with its 10 universal Principles. 

Yet, much remains to be done: Globally, there are some 77,000 

transnational corporations, with millions of suppliers. The 

world is far from the universal adoption of corporate responsibility 

as a strategic and operational management paradigm. 

Nevertheless, there has been a marked shift in the ways in 

which multinational corporations and small and medium-size 

enterprises alike are looking at environmental, social, and 

governance issues. 

With this shift, there has also been a recalibration of the larger 

debate over the role and responsibility of business. When the 

Global Compact was introduced – in the wake of vigorous 

anti-globalization protests, fueled by highly publicized corporate 

scandals of the 1990s – corporate responsibility was 

often treated as a purely moral issue, largely driven by NGOs, 

activist groups, and the media. Ten years on, the ethical case 

for acting responsibly remains as solid as it was then, but it 

has been complemented by an increasingly compelling business 

case. This business case is bolstered by investors and asset 

managers that look at environmental and social risks through 

the lens of fiduciary responsibility; by national regulators 

who are increasingly demanding non-financial performance 

information and seek to strengthen good corporate governance; 

and by an emerging global movement of conscious 

consumers who are placing a premium on more sustainable 

products and services. 

Moreover, the business case is not just about minimizing risks 

– and thus the potentially hefty price to pay when things go 

wrong. It is also about discovering new opportunities, developing 

innovative business models, and opening new markets. 

Success stories of hybrid technology, organic agriculture, microfinance, 

or pro-poor products and services, to name a few, 

are valid indicators that the focus of business has shifted from 

morality to materiality. In many ways, corporate responsibility 

today is about the tangible value of values. 

The Global Compact has often been among the first to spot 

these trends, and we have spent much effort on creating the 

proper engagement platforms to advance the debate, identify 

good practice, foster collective action, or inform and shape 

sensible public policy. The Growing Sustainable Business 

initiative, the Principles for Responsible Investment, Caring 

for Climate, or The CEO Water Mandate – all inspired by or 

launched with the Global Compact – are clear expressions of 

the initiative’s important position at the nexus of public and 

private spheres, global advocacy and local implementation, 

individual leadership and true scale. 

On a related note, the Global Compact has played a critical 

role in easing some of the often serious tensions between 

civil society organizations and business. Under the roof of the 

United Nations, in a non-threatening space for constructive 

dialogue and learning, both sides have discovered that there 

is more common ground than previously thought and that 

there is room to move from confrontation to cooperation. In 

quite a few remarkable cases, this has not, as many thought, 

forced NGOs to compromise their missions, and it has not 

come at an added cost for business. 

Throughout the Global Compact’s evolution, the United 

Nations itself has learned to reevaluate and restructure its 

relationship with business. Most member states now encourage 

private-sector engagement by UN agencies, funds, and 

programs. This is a sea change. 

Only a decade ago, bringing business to the United Nations 

raised much suspicion. As an inter-governmental body, the 

UN was at times ill-prepared or even reluctant to involve the 

private sector in a meaningful way in its mission – despite 

the fact that much of the organization’s founding philosophy 

had stressed the vital role of commerce and trade as pillars of 

stability, development, and peace. 

Now, there is a common understanding and consensus that 

global challenges require concerted, collective efforts involving 

business as an indispensable partner. It is for this reason 

that the General Assembly has, in successive resolutions, 

stressed the contribution that the Global Compact can make 

8 


Agenda 


Georg Kell addresses the United Nations Private Sector 

Forum in September 2008 as Secretary-General 

Ban Ki-moon, and Kermal Dervis, Administrator of the 

UNDP, listen. 

to bring about more inclusive markets and advance sustainable 

development. 

As an initiative engaging some of the world’s largest corporations, 

the Global Compact naturally has had to face some 

opposition and criticism. And admittedly, it took some time 

to find a proper modus operandi that would safeguard the 

initiative’s integrity, while ensuring accountability and transparency 

of the corporate commitment. It also required frequent 

clarification of what the Global Compact is and what it is not. 

Nevertheless, we have remained true to our original mandate 

and mission: The Global Compact is, first and foremost, a platform 

for dialogue, learning, and partnership. Participation does 

not imply perfection. It simply means that an organization is 

willing to align with UN values and engage in activities that 

advance UN goals. As such, the Global Compact does not pass 

judgment or regulate corporate behavior. Of course, this has 

at times caused misunderstandings or even frustration, but it 

has always been an intentional policy to keep the entry barrier 

low, so that those that face serious challenges can join the 

conversation, learn from others, and improve. And we stand by 

this approach, as long as a sincere commitment to constructive 

dialogue and disclosure can be ascertained. It is for this purpose 

that the Global Compact introduced a mandatory reporting 

policy in 2005, requiring all participating businesses to issue 

an annual public Communication on Progress. The fact that 

nearly 1,800 companies have been publicly expelled from the 

initiative for repeated failure to disclose their practices has 

not been a detriment to the Global Compact’s mission, but 

rather strengthened its credibility. 

As the Global Compact enters into its second decade, the big 

question is what lies ahead. Today, the world economy is still 

reeling from a financial and economic crisis of momentous 

proportions. Global challenges, from climate change to natural 

resource constraints and widespread, abject poverty, are not 

likely to be resolved in the near future. Consequently, there 

is much uncertainty over the fate of the global market and 

the prospect for sustainable growth and prosperity. Are we 

entering a new era of protectionism and narrow-minded national 

policies that threaten to roll back the advances in global 

integration made in the past two decades? Or will we be able 

to chart a course to sustainability where responsible business 

is a critical catalyst? What does it take and how can we best 

support efforts to make this happen? Where will leadership 

come from and what pathways should we follow? 

While much of the answer depends on political will and capacity, 

the Global Compact is committed to doing its part. If its 

first 10 years were about raising awareness and stimulating 

positive organizational change, the next decade will be about 

turning principles into practice; mobilizing tangible – individual 

and collective – action; cultivating issue leadership and 

local networks to bring good efforts to true scale; and further 

intensifying public-private collaboration, so that effective 

business solutions can stimulate positive policy responses, 

which, in turn, will help improve the enabling environment 

for responsible practices to grow. As business leaders meet in 

New York this June for the Global Compact Leaders Summit 

2010, the Summit’s motto becomes our shared mission: The 

time is now to build a new era of sustainability. 

Georg Kell is Executive Director of the 

United Nations Global Compact. 


messages 

wILLIAM jEFFERSON CLINTON 

I am pleased to contribute to the 2010 International Yearbook as it 

commemorates the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Global 

Compact. 

When it was established in 2000, the UNGC ushered us into the new millennium 

with clear guidelines for engaging the global marketplace in socially 

responsible business practices. In the decade since, thousands of businesses 

around the globe have embraced the principles put forth by the UNGC. Today, 

it is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It has transformed 

the landscapes of industry, commerce, technology, and finance, while proving 

true the notion that we can all do well while doing good. 

william jefferson Clinton was the 

42 nd President of the United States from 

1993 to 2001. 

In our increasingly interdependent global society, we must find ways to move 

forward into the future together in the interest of our common humanity. It 

is our duty to use the positive forces of interdependence – like the principles 

encouraged by the UN Global Compact – to make our world more equal, more 

stable, and more sustainable. Now more than ever, businesses have the power 

to affect positive change in civil society, and it is in everyone’s interest that they 

do so. When businesses around the globe practice good corporate citizenship 

by respecting human rights, promoting fair labor, fostering environmental 

stewardship, and opposing corruption, we go a long way in building networks 

that transcend borders, reflect shared benefits and shared responsibilities for 

problems, and create a genuine sense of community where we can manage 

our differences by celebrating them. 

As we work together to expand the marketplace of ideas and discover practical 

new ways to address our world’s most pressing challenges, I am optimistic about 

the future. I believe we’re living in a time of the greatest human potential in 

history, but we have a responsibility to offer all people the chance to succeed. 

When everyone is given the opportunity and tools to imagine and 

build brighter future, our global society will fulfill its promise and 

grow immeasurably stronger. 

10 


Agenda 


Rajendra Kumar Pachauri 

I am delighted to write on the occasion of the UN Global Compact’s 10th 

anniversary 2000 - 2010 and the publication of the Global Compact 

International Yearbook 2010. The UN Global Compact has clearly 

exceeded all expectations that were generated when it was first launched. It is 

becoming increasingly clear that the most intractable problems facing human 

society – particularly those related to human-induced climate change and 

the degradation of the earth’s ecosystems – can only be solved if business and 

corporate organizations become an important part of the solution. The UN 

Global Compact has not only extended its reach to cover the most important 

business organizations across the globe, but has also articulated these problems 

effectively and inspired all the organizations involved in taking action to solve 

these problems. What began, in my view, as a collective effort for the exercise of 

corporate responsibility has now become a mainstream activity for corporate 

organizations as a whole. It is becoming increasingly clear – based on 10 

years of pioneering work by the UN Global Compact – that business itself can 

succeed only under conditions where it realizes and exercises its responsibilities 

to society. The Global Compact International Yearbook 2010 is an excellent 

resource and valuable piece of documentation to provide good partnership 

practices and create benchmarks on the basis of which others can confidently 

create their own plans and programs in making contributions to society. 

Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri is Chairman 

of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change. 

I would like to particularly highlight the importance of the corporate sector in 

meeting the challenge of climate change. Not only is it essential for corporate 

organizations to understand and assess the impacts of climate change in the 

areas where they operate but also, if possible, to provide support to organizations 

that can create adaptation measures that are specific to these impacts, 

on the basis of which adaptation measures can be taken in hand. Realizing the 

importance of such efforts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change set 

up a trust fund with its share of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize funds. Corporate 

organizations have been invited to donate to the trust fund so that in some of 

the poorest and worst-affected countries, we can build capacity and scientific 

expertise by which programs for meeting the challenge of climate change in 

these countries can be drawn up on the basis of solid scientific knowledge. 

Corporate organizations can also take the lead in mitigation measures and 

the evolution of technological solutions that would move the world toward a 

low-carbon future. 

I would like to convey my best wishes and congratulations to those who 

have been involved in the growth and development of the UN Global 

Compact and in leading its activities over the past 10 years. 


messages 

jOSCHKA FISCHER 

Sustainable development is, simply put, a synonym for successful 

globalization – that is, a globalization that enhances our well-being 

comprehensively and therefore passes the test of time. As foreign minister 

during the time of the founding of the Global Compact 10 years ago, I 

wholeheartedly welcomed this voluntary, business-driven initiative. With its 

“esprit des corps,” it was a crucial impetus for committing the business community 

to the imperatives of responsible business practices. 

joschka Fischer served as German 

Foreign Minister from 1998 to 2005. 

While networks like the Global Compact do not solve problems by themselves, 

they have been essential in stimulating action on many levels. And though we 

are far from total adherence, the Compact’s canon of Principles has become an 

important reference point for companies all over the world. In setting up this 

platform within the UN structure, we owe much to Kofi Annan’s conviction 

that the private sector has both a crucial role to play and holds a responsibility 

for achieving sustainable development. 

As a veteran of the green movement, I am particularly delighted that today 

we stand on the verge of an epoch-defining breakthrough for renewableenergy 

technologies, and am also delighted to be a contemporary witness of 

this encouraging development. However, long-term evidence has shown that 

voluntary, non-binding agreements alone are incapable of achieving environmental 

or social targets. They will always be limited by the intrinsic logic of 

global competition. We need both governments and an effective multilateral 

structure to drive new investment patterns and allow the potential of 

the private sector to unfold. I encourage businesses to strengthen their 

call for politicians to play their part. 

12 


Agenda 


Huguette Labelle 

In 2004 when the Global Compact added the 10th Principle, the anticorruption 

movement gained a singularly important ally as well as 

a powerful platform for tackling corruption across the globe. With 

more than 7,500 organizations in 130 countries, no other initiative can boast 

similar geographical reach and such a wide range of participants, including 

so many small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Transparency International (TI) is delighted to have been an instrumental part 

of the multi-stakeholder Global Compact working committee that collaborated 

on drafting the 10th Principle. Its introduction in 2004 represented a landmark 

event as TI had long argued that the other nine Principles required a commitment 

to anti-corruption and transparency to make their implementation 

successful and effective. But the current global crisis only heightens the need 

for a global approach to eliminate corruption and a global commitment to 

transparency. The wide reach of the Global Compact makes it a key platform 

for the dissemination of best practice in the business community worldwide. 

This Yearbook is another step in this direction. 

Huguette Labelle is Chair of 

Transparency International. 

TI looks forward to maintaining its close working relationship with the Global 

Compact. In December 2009, we jointly published Reporting Guidance, which 

was specifically designed to help Global Compact signatories report on their 

compliance with the 10th Principle in their annual Communication on Progress. 

The Guidance was developed in the spirit of the Global Compact as a means 

to help companies and other signatories to fulfill their commitment to the 

Ten Principles of the Global Compact as well as to strengthen their internal 

operations and enhance their reputation. At the same time, the Guidance 

will allow this progress to be measured: transparency and accountability 

in action. We congratulate the Global Compact Initiative on what 

has already been achieved in the past decade and look forward to 

its future successes. 


messages 

TENSIE wHELAN 

Congratulations to the UN Global Compact on a decade of successfully 

engaging the private sector in sustainable development – a goal we at 

the Rainforest Alliance share. As an organization aimed in large part at 

transforming business practices worldwide, we especially appreciate the Global 

Compact’s efforts in tracking and formalizing private sector commitments 

to environmentally responsible and sustainable practices. Working together 

with the UN Global Compact in 2007 to develop and test a methodology that 

companies can use internally to analyze their investments in sustainability, 

we created metrics that address both tangible and intangible values created 

through certification, sustainable production, and sustainable procurement. 

These metrics have proved extremely useful for businesses hoping to capture 

the financial results of environmentally responsible choices. 

Tensie whelan is President 

of The Rainforest Alliance. 

The work of the Rainforest Alliance and many other environmental organizations 

is facilitated and reinforced by the Global Compact. UNGC commitments, such 

as those aimed at combating climate change and water pollution, are critical 

in the drive for increased conservation and sustainability. The magnitude 

of the environmental problems we face today will require stronger cooperation 

among the UN, the private sector, and organizations such as the 

Rainforest Alliance. We look forward to working together to transform 

business as usual into true sustainability. 

14 


Agenda 


Klaus Töpfer 

For 10 years the United Nations Global Compact has been one of the most 

important UN initiatives to sharpen the international discussion about 

sustainable development, human rights, and environmental stability, 

including global warming. The various initiatives and stories concerning the 

activities of the Global Compact were first documented in the Global Compact 

International Yearbook 2009. It was a special pleasure for me to follow the 

best practice examples and different approaches of the Global Compact that 

were described in the first edition. The implementation of the Ten Principles 

of the Global Compact makes the UN Family a more sustainable sphere and 

motivates people all over the world to change their lifestyles as well as their 

consumption and production patterns in ways that create a better future. 

Prof. Klaus Töpfer, former Undersecretary 

of the United Nations, was Director of the 

United Nations Environment Programme 

from 1998 to 2006. 

It is a special honor for me to congratulate the Global Compact in the International 

Yearbook 2010 on its 10th anniversary. The Principles of the 

Global Compact are still the guidelines for every responsible person and any 

company whose aim is to create a world of humanity and justice. And they 

provide a vision of a better future for humans who live in harmony with their 

neighbors and explore the ecosystems and the nature around them. In our 

times, questions of poverty, natural disasters, the threat of climate change, the 

protection of human rights for fundamental freedoms, and the fight against 

hunger are addressed in the Millennium Development Goals. Access to clean 

water, fresh air, and healthy food is not granted to every human being. As 

long as those requirements to realize the right to develop (Rio Principle 3) 

are not fulfilled, the work and the aims of the Global Compact will not be 

achieved. So I hope that over the next 10 years the Global Compact International 

Yearbook will show us the good progress being made toward achieving 

these goals. I will go on working hard, believing in the assumption that one 

day a better, more human, and sustainable life can be made possible. In this 

spirit I wish the Global Compact success over the next 10 years and 

promise to follow their activities in the Global Compact International 

Yearbook every year. 


messages 

ERNST R. LIGTERINGEN 

As the United Nations Global Compact celebrates its 10th anniversary, 

it serves us well to reflect upon the substantial advances made in the 

corporate commitment to sustainable development over the past 10 

years in which the UN Global Compact has played a crucial part. 

The landscape has changed significantly since 2000, when corporate responsibility 

was outlined in the Principles of the Global Compact and reporting 

on sustainability performance was in its infancy. Now we have a landscape 

where many thousands of entities underwrite the Global Compact’s Principles 

and communicate that commitment – a landscape where governments, as in 

Denmark for example, refer to the UN Global Compact and to the Global Reporting 

Initiative (GRI) as a way for companies to demonstrate their sustainability 

performance. We have a landscape where stakeholders routinely expect from 

their companies disclosure on environmental, social, and governance performance. 

I have no doubt that a great deal of what has shaped these developments 

is the UNGC-GRI partnership. 

It has been three years since the appearance of the joint UN Global Compact / 

Global Reporting Initiative publication, Making the Connection, which links 

the “what to report” of the Communication on Progress to the “how to report” 

offered by GRI’s Sustainability Reporting Framework. Since then, this fruitful 

collaboration has continued to deliver results for users – most recently in the 

area of delivering better guidance to companies on reporting human rights. 

Ernst R. Ligteringen is Chief Executive of the 

Global Reporting Initiative. 

In a new decade with new needs, UNGC and GRI’s common vision of a sustainable 

economy will offer a platform for realizing the value of sustainable 

development: facilitating sustainable outcomes, requiring material 

performance disclosure, and making that information accessible for 

today’s and tomorrow’s stakeholders. 

16 


Agenda 


James Gifford 

There is now a critical mass of institutional investors who believe management 

of corporate responsibility is important to the long-term financial 

success of their investments. Hundreds of investors are now integrating 

a range of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues in 

decision-making processes, as well as in the ongoing dialogue they have with 

investee companies. In the last 10 years, the UN Global Compact has become 

one of the most important frameworks used by the investment community to 

evaluate companies’ performances across a whole range of ESG issues. 

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) are aspirational guidelines for 

institutional investors on how to integrate ESG issues into investment processes, 

and were initially conceived as a natural extension of the UN Global 

Compact, designed for investors rather than companies. Since their launch 

in April 2006, over 700 signatories have signed the Principles, representing 

assets of around $ 20 trillion. 

James Gifford is Executive Director of 

Principles for Responsible Investment. 

The PRI work side-by-side with the UN Global Compact to encourage investors 

and companies to move in tandem toward more sustainable capital markets. 

For example, in October 2008, a group of 52 PRI signatories across four 

continents called on thousands of listed companies to participate in the UN 

Global Compact. By November 2009, hundreds of companies had joined as a 

result of that letter, constituting one in four of all the publicly listed companies 

that signed up to the Global Compact in that period. 

Additionally, for three consecutive years, leading PRI signatories have contacted 

hundreds of UN Global Compact participant companies regarding the publication 

of a Communication on Progress report. The investors have commended 

the best reports and challenged those “laggard” companies that did not submit 

a report to do so. Last year, that engagement resulted in around half of the 

“laggard” companies subsequently submitting their reports. 

PRI signatories have also leveraged a number of Global Compact initiatives 

focused on issues such as corruption, water, and conflict-resolution as a platform 

to engage with investee companies. 

In short, the impact of the UN Global Compact within the global investment 

community has been of great significance in its first 10 years. Investor use 

of the Global Compact as a framework for dialogue with investee companies 

and within investment analysis has dramatically increased in recent 

years, and the Compact is set to play a vital role within the investor 

community for decades to come. 


messages 

PAUL DICKINSON 

On this, the UN Global Compact’s 10th anniversary, I am delighted 

to extend my congratulations and contribute to the Global Compact 

International Yearbook 2010. The UN Global Compact has for 10 years 

worked to ensure that markets, commerce, technology, and finance advance in 

ways that benefit economies and societies around the world. It has done this 

by moving business toward greater accountability and transparency, which 

are vital for driving change. 

As the world’s largest voluntary reporting system on climate change, we at the 

Carbon Disclosure Project are increasingly seeing business begin to prepare 

and take action. Companies who understand that climate change is going to 

shape the business models of the future also understand that it is an issue that 

must be factored into the business practices of today. Business has the ideas, 

investment potential, and innovation required to tackle this problem and the 

UN Global Compact offers a framework to help companies continue to 

advance. This is vital work in moving us toward a more sustainable 

global economy and I wish you every success for the next 10 years. 

Paul Dickinson is Chief Executive Officer of 

the Carbon Disclosure Project. 

18 


Agenda 


Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul 

Ten years ago, when the UN Secretary-General initiated the Global 

Compact in New York, no one expected to see the global economic 

developments that we face today. And today, when we are battling the 

consequences of the global economic crisis, we must respect the ten principles 

of the Global Compact more than ever and promote them internationally. 

We must tirelessly defend the fundamentals for a functioning international 

economy and working environment: the attainment of human rights, respect 

for the ILO’s core labour standards, environmental protection and the fight 

against corruption. 

In the past decade, the Global Compact has developed into a permanent institution. 

In an increasingly interconnected world, with oversight from consumers, 

the media and civil society, no corporation that acts globally today can afford 

to defy universally accepted basic values for long. Many companies—especially 

in the consumer goods industry—know that they are no longer evaluated solely 

on what they produce, but also on how they carry out production. 

Yet the proportion of low-wage jobs without social security is still rising: in Asia, 

this number is at 30 percent today, and in some parts of Africa it is 80 percent. 

This is no time to slacken our efforts on decent work. Against the background 

of the global economic crisis, we must also ask those financial services providers 

who are already committed to the Global Compact how they have implemented 

its principles and whether they have contravened them. All participants in the 

Global Compact must subject themselves to scrutiny. 

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul served as 

German Development Minister from 1998 

to 2009. 

The Global Compact must be further developed for the future: the general principles 

must be expanded into sophisticated binding rules and obligations. 

Only in this way can we put the goals of the pact into practice: reducing 

poverty, ensuring peace and supporting our environment. 


THE GLOBAL COMPACT 

2000 - 2010 

SHAPING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY 

Over the last 10 years, the Global Compact has grown significantly, 

both in terms of the number of participants and their engagement. 

While only a handful of companies and NGOs met on July 26, 2000, 

at the UN Headquarters in New York to launch the Global Compact, 

today (as of February 2010) more than 7,300 business and nonbusiness 

participants are part of the initiative. 

20 


Agenda 


By Prof. Andreas Rasche 

Historically speaking, the Global Compact reflects a true rapprochement 

between the United Nations and the business 

community. The underpinning belief of the Compact – that 

there are interdependencies between the agenda of the UN 

system and the activities of businesses – sounds more appealing 

than ever in today’s global economic context. Shaping 

the post-crisis environment in a constructive manner 

suggests a reemphasis on the fact that global markets have 

to be embedded in shared values and long-term business 

practices. This will require questioning long-held assumptions 

and redefining the role of business in global society. 

Like any rapidly expanding organization, the Global Compact 

has to reflect on its achievements, spot emerging trends, and 

address its challenges. 

Achievements: Looking back 

The surveys conducted for the Global Compact Annual Reviews 

show that participants have advanced their corporate 

responsibility practices over time, while, concurrently, implementation 

gaps remain a reality. However, the Global 

Compact’s achievements can also be discussed when looking 

at how the initiative has influenced corporate responsibility 

as a societal phenomenon. 

Shaping the debate: 

By the end of the last century, corporate responsibility – though 

prevalent among most large national and multinational corporations 

– was a fairly disentangled phenomenon. Through 

its 10 universal principles, the Global Compact structured the 

debate without being overly regulative and thereby destroying 

the possibility for innovation. As continuously highlighted 

by its executive director, Georg Kell, the Ten Principles act as 

a “moral compass,” offering guidance to business and nonbusiness 

actors for them to reflect on and advance their operations 

and strategies. In particular, small and medium-sized 

enterprises (SMEs) have entered the corporate responsibility 

domain through the Global Compact. SMEs, which are often 

part of global supply chains, play a pivotal role when thinking 

about how to implement corporate responsibility practices in 

the local context. 

Being global and local: 

The Global Compact has succeeded in building a truly global 

initiative that is, at the same time, rooted in local action. 

Through its numerous Local Networks, the Compact built 

bridges between abstract universal principles and contextualized 

action on the ground. Many Local Networks were set up 

in countries or regions where multi-stakeholder collaboration 

had been a largely unknown phenomenon. The Compact has a 

particularly strong foothold in essential economies like China 

and India, both of which play a significant role when looking 

at the issues covered by the Ten Principles. By now, China 

and India are among the largest Local Networks and provide 

a significant share of the overall signatory base. 

Cooperation, not confrontation: 

There can be no doubt that single actors will not solve the 

existing global challenges. Isolated action cannot be the answer 

to multifaceted and dynamic problems. The Global Compact 

has proven to be a platform to channel the collective voice 

of business in the context of many well-known issues (e.g., 

climate change and water sustainability). Many public-private 

partnerships have been initiated under the umbrella of the 

Global Compact. Sustaining and deepening these partnerships 

is critical to induce change on a local level. The last 10 years 

have shown that to stimulate change in the context of the Ten 

Principles, there needs to be cooperation between a diverse 

set of actors. The Global Compact offered a much-needed 

“discursive space” for such cooperation to prosper. 

Trends: Staying tuned 

Over its years of existence, the Global Compact has shaped 

and, at the same time, has been shaped by a variety of trends. 

Throughout its rather short history, the initiative has witnessed 

a fundamental change in how, where, and which businesses 

handle corporate responsibility issues. 

Globalizing corporate responsibility: 

Corporate responsibility – which up until a few years ago 

was largely a concern only of Western multinationals – has 

evolved into a truly global phenomenon. Especially emerging 

economies like China and India have entered the corporate 

responsibility universe and started to build up localized 

knowledge and best practices. This development highlights 

the need for increased collaboration, not only among multiple 

stakeholders, but most of all across continents and regions. As 

corporate responsibility practices have turned global, so have 

many of the problems underlying the debate. 


From philanthropy to strategy: 

Corporate responsibility has turned from philanthropic action 

into a strategic and operational concern. Corporations join the 

Global Compact for reasons of risk mitigation and opportunityseizing, 

and not primarily for brand differentiation or public 

relations. The 2008 Global Compact Implementation Survey 

finds that corporations are aiming at integrating environmental, 

social, and governance (ESG) issues into their corporate 

strategies and value chain activities. Isolated philanthropic 

activities, as good as their intention may be, are not driving 

the agenda anymore. 

Linking financial markets: 

The link between financial markets and corporate responsibility 

is growing stronger. The Global Compact, through its 

engagement in the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), 

has significantly supported this process. A swiftly growing 

community of asset owners and asset managers commits to 

considering ESG issues in their investment decisions. The recent 

global financial crisis has reinforced the need for long-term, 

sustainable investment strategies over short-term considerations. 

While improved governance of financial markets cannot solely 

rest on voluntary initiatives like PRI and needs to be backed 

up by legislation, there is no doubt that further recognition 

of ESG issues by the investment community would act as a 

strong driver of the corporate responsibility agenda. 

Challenges: Moving on 

Every organization faces challenges in shaping its strategy and 

future positioning. Accepting these challenges means being 

willing to learn. The Global Compact has addressed many of 

its challenges, largely because of its dynamic and non-bureaucratic 

organizational design. For instance, it introduced the 

Communication on Progress (COP) reporting requirement and 

delisted those participants failing to disclose their practices 

and results. However, a variety of challenges remain. 

Improving implementation: 

The 2008 Global Compact Implementation Survey revealed 

various implementation gaps. In a world of globally interconnected 

value and supply chains, the Compact’s principles have 

to move beyond corporate headquarters. The contribution of 

subsidiaries and supply partners has to be deepened when 

thinking about how to put the Ten Principles into practice. 

This will require advancing businesses’ corporate responsibility 

policies and further developing existing management 

practices. The 2008 Implementation Survey identified only 8 

percent of all participants as “advanced” performers, with the 

majority of participating businesses ranking as intermediate 

performers. The key challenge will be helping “beginners” 

to scale up their corporate responsibility performance, while 

maintaining the strong position of the “advanced” companies. 

Deepening implementation not only requires ample resources 

but, above all, management know-how and the understanding 

that corporate responsibility issues reflect a key strategic 

priority. Creating such know-how requires, among other things, 

the ability to identify and report on quantitative metrics that 

reflect a company’s performance with regard to ESG issues. As 

it is commonly said in management jargon: What you cannot 

measure, you cannot manage. 

Developing issue platforms: 

To consider the contextualized and interconnected nature 

of corporate responsibility problems, the Global Compact, 

together with other organizations, has developed issue platforms 

to give participants a chance to demonstrate leadership 

regarding responsible investment (PRI), climate change (Caring 

for Climate), water sustainability (CEO Water Mandate), and 

responsible management education (The Principles for Responsible 

Management Education). While all these initiatives 

have gained momentum, it is also clear that large-scale action 

depends on more participants joining these issue platforms. 

Change comes from well-coordinated individual and collective 

action; expanding the signatory base of Global Compact issue 

platforms is crucial for this change to occur. 

Advancing Communication on Progress reporting: 

Disclosure on implementation progress is one important way 

for corporations to demonstrate commitment to the Global 

Compact. While approximately 7,000 COP reports are already 

available on the Global Compact website for public review, it is 

also clear that the overall quality of reporting has to improve. 

Only a small number of companies are using established 

disclosure frameworks, like GRI G3. The challenge is to not 

only report on corporate policies and unconnected projects, 

but to show clear evidence of “on the ground” impacts based 

on measurable and transparent indicators. So far, the Global 

Compact was forced to delist over 1,800 companies (as of 

February 2010) for failure to submit a COP. While most multinational 

and large national companies have experience in 

non-financial reporting, disclosing information on the implementation 

of the Ten Principles is new territory for many SMEs. 

22 


Agenda 


Assisting companies that are seeking further information and 

practical guidance on high-quality non-financial reporting is 

a key challenge to get the most out of the Communication on 

Progress requirement. The bottom line is that without a more 

rigorous approach toward annual disclosure, it will be hard 

for stakeholders (e.g., investors) to judge whether and how a 

company performs with regard to the Ten Principles. 

All of these challenges point to a common topic: achieving 

and managing sustained growth (a) in terms of the quantity 

of business and non-business participants, and (b) in terms 

of the quality of their engagement. Such growth is necessary 

since Global Compact participants still represent a rather 

minor share of corporate activity throughout the world. Mainstreaming 

corporate responsibility practices and addressing 

the Ten Principles on a larger scale is only possible if more 

corporations engage more intensely in the Global Compact. 

This, however, will create a variety of management challenges 

for a network-based organization with scarce financial and 

non-financial resources. Local Networks, through their capacity 

on the ground and contextualized knowledge of participants, 

will play a pivotal role in managing the sustained growth of 

the initiative. 

The Global Compact is well-equipped to cope with these (and 

other) challenges. If we look up the word “compact” in Webster’s 

Third New International Dictionary, we are told that it 

reflects “an agreement, understanding, or covenant between 

two or more parties” echoing “a degree of strength.” If business 

and non-business actors remind themselves of this degree of 

strength and their common belief in the significance of the 

Ten Principles, there is no doubt that the Global Compact will 

successfully shape corporate responsibility practices throughout 

the next decade. 

The Global Compact and sustainable capitalism 

Renowned management thinker Peter Drucker (1909–2005) 

once said that “Management is doing things right; leadership 

is doing the right things.” While it is still unclear what 

precise long-term effects the multiple crises had on corporate 

responsibility, there is no doubt that to change present business 

practices, we need both management and leadership. We need 

inspiring leaders who fundamentally rethink existing business 

models and align them with the changing economic realities. 

And we need managers who turn this vision into reality by 

developing and implementing new business practices. 

When leadership and management commingle in this way, 

there is a good chance that we may see the rise of what Al Gore 

and David Blood call sustainable capitalism (see Wall Street 

Journal, November 5, 2008, page A23). The Global Compact 

provides a web of universal values that can underpin such a 

new form of capitalism, values emphasizing the long-term 

effects of business decisions and good governance of markets. 

Sustainable capitalism is based on the convictions that future 

economic growth depends on true business innovations (and 

not juggling with enormous sums of money); that externalities 

will have to be internalized (and not ignored); and that 

reflections on the purpose of business in global society need 

to move to the heart of management practice (and not be 

perceived as an add-on). 

Sustainable capitalism, if taken seriously, requires a different 

way of thinking and, as a consequence, a new set of leadership 

skills. Managers need to look at the global economy and the 

embedded business practices from the perspective of systems 

thinking. The global economy affects and is affected by many 

interrelated systems – for instance, but not limited to: the 

natural environment, financial markets, political leadership, 

civil society, and business practices on the ground. These 

systems interact, often in unpredictable ways. If we want to 

avoid stumbling from one crisis to another, we need to identify 

the interaction effects among these systems and discuss how 

to address the resulting risks. We need a more holistic way 

of thinking about existing and future problems. Otherwise, 

solutions will reflect only isolated actions. 

Developing sustainable capitalism means to not let short-term 

thinking drive out long-term practices. Corporations participating 

in the Global Compact agreed to be part of a long-term 

understanding of capitalism and to work toward inclusive 

markets based on a set of 10 universal principles. No doubt, 

transformative actions and changes require, above all other 

things, hard work. This, of course, represents a fundamental 

challenge, but as Thomas Alva Edison already acknowledged: 

“There is no substitute for hard work.” 

Andreas Rasche is Assistant Professor of 

Business in Society at Warwick Business 

School, University of Warwick, UK. 


miLestOnes 

UN GLOBAL 

COMPACT 

MILESTONES 

in september 2000 world leaders came together at united 

nations Headquarters to adopt the united nations millennium 

declaration, committing their nations to a new global 

partnership to reduce extreme poverty. 

2000 

July 26, 2000: Launch of the global compact at High-level 

meeting held by un secretary-general with 44 companies 

attending 

Following a call to action by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the 1999 world Economic Forum in Davos, the 

operational phase of the UN Global Compact was launched on july 26, 2000, at UN Headquarters in New York. The 

preceding months had seen much discussion over the mandate, role, and purpose of a UN initiative to promote corporate 

responsibility. As agreement had been reached earlier on a set of Nine Principles covering human rights, labor standards, 

and the environment, the Secretary-General decided to convene a high-level event bringing together business executives 

with the leaders of UN agencies, funds, and programs; global civil society organizations; governments; and labor 

and employers’ organizations. Initially signed by 44 companies, the new initiative called on business to put the Nine 

Principles into practice, join the UN in partnership projects to advance sustainable development, and report annually on 

progress made. In December 2000, the UN General Assembly underscored the role of business in its resolution A/55/215 

(Towards Global Partnership). The newly formed Global Compact Office, a small section within the Secretary-General’s 

Executive Office, was to become the hub of the initiative, with Georg Kell named Executive Head. 

The Global Compact’s launch was followed by the historic UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, which led to 

the creation of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Millennium Declaration, issued by the largest-ever 

gathering of heads of state and government, stated that “only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared 

future, based upon our common humanity in all its diversity, can globalization be made fully inclusive and equitable.” 

24 


Agenda 


At the initiative’s operational level, four distinct areas of concentration had emerged, following extensive discussions and 

consultations among stakeholders: Policy Dialogues – to explore critical issues relevant to business implementation of the 

Global Compact; the Learning Forum – a platform for the exchange and discussion of corporate practices and experiences; 

Networks – to advance the Global Compact’s work on the local level; and company initiatives and partnerships – to leverage 

the resources and relative strengths of business in support of UN goals. 

In October 2001, the Global Compact concluded the pilot phase of its Learning Forum, which had led to the development of 

30 business case studies related to the corporate efforts to implement the Global Compact Principles. The multi-stakeholder 

group assessing the case studies also noted that “many businesses faced difficulties assessing the priority of corporate 

citizenship responsibilities relative to other profit-seeking business activities.” As a consequence, it was agreed that a new 

framework would be launched in January 2002. All companies in the Global Compact would now be required to submit an 

annual “example” detailing implementation practice, while a steering committee would select the most promising examples 

for development into in-depth, peer-reviewed case studies. 

Also in December 2001, the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) joined forces for the first time, announcing 

a cooperation agreement that stressed the consistency of both initiatives’ approaches. Sustainability reports utilizing 

the GRI’s reporting framework would henceforth be considered as submissions fulfilling the participation requirements of 

the Global Compact. 

2001 

Business & Peace 

March: First Global Compact policy 

dialogue about private sector and zones of 

conflict 

9/11 

COP 

July: Early version of COP released 

Business & Peace 

September: Policy dialogue on “Role and 

Responsibilities of Business Operating in 

Zones of Conflict” 

Education 

October: Learning Forum commits to 

develop academic infrastructure 

“The Global Compact is about the values that unite us. The attacks 

were a direct challenge to these values—they were an attack on 

fundamental human rights.” 

Mary Robinson 


miLestOnes 

then-uneP director klaus töpfer in 

Johannesburg: world summit on sustainable 

development (wssd) 

2002 

As participation in the Global Compact continued to grow at rapid speed in 

2002, the initiative introduced early elements of its emerging governance 

structure. In january 2002, the newly formed Global Compact Advisory 

Council, an interdisciplinary high-level body comprising leaders from business, 

civil society, labor, and academia, appointed and chaired by the Secretary- 

General, held its first meeting in New York to discuss the evolution and future 

direction of the initiative. In june 2002, the Global Compact Office released 

its first Progress Report, presenting a comprehensive overview of the Global 

Compact and progress made in the initiative’s core areas of activity. 

At the world Summit for Sustainable Development, held in johannesburg in 

September, the Global Compact and UNDP launched the Growing Sustainable 

Business (GSB) initiative, recognizing that – in the absence of sufficient 

investment in developing countries – the MDGs would not be achieved 

without a sustainable contribution by the private sector. Coordinated and 

managed by UNDP to this day, the GSB offers a platform for companies 

that seek to develop commercially viable business projects within their 

core business or value chain. GSB projects have since been launched in 12 

countries around the world. 

On the national level, the year 2002 saw the launch of events for the Global 

Compact in Spain, Turkey, Ghana, and Italy, among others. By the end of 

the year, the number of participants had reached 600 organizations. As of 

November 2002, the Global Compact Office began releasing a full list of 

participants on its website. 

PaRtneRsHiP 

june: Building Partnerships report 

published, which offers an overview of the 

growing cooperation between the United 

Nations and business 

educatiOn 

june: Academic Network established 

LOcaL netwORks 

December: First Learning Network Forum 

(ALNF) in Berlin identifies knowledge and 

learning gaps 

26 


Agenda 


COP 

January: Advisory Group says companies 

should publish examples in annual reports 

– a shift in approach that leads to full COP 

concept 

Human Rights 

April: NGOs increase pressure on human 

rights and UN internalization processes 

Partnership 

May: Global Compact policy dialogue on 

HIV/AIDS 

Local Networks 

June: ALNF in Berne says Global Compact 

needs to create guidance 

Financial Markets 

October: Global Compact opens Nasdaq 

The official G8 Declaration issued at the G8 Summit in Evian-les- 

Bains, France, in June for the first time expresses support for 

the Global Compact. 

2003 

In January 2003, the Global Compact Advisory Council met in New York for its third meeting. 

At the meeting, Council members recommended that companies – in order to increase 

transparency and accountability – should publish implementation examples as part of their 

annual reports. This recommendation marked a significant shift in the Global Compact’s 

strategic approach, which would eventually lead to the introduction of the Communication 

on Progress in 2005. In April 2003, the leaders of several global NGOs, including Amnesty 

International and Oxfam, wrote an open letter to then-Deputy Secretary-General Louise 

Fréchette, calling for “tangible evidence of progress arising from the Global Compact.” Echoing 

concerns raised by many civil society stakeholders during the Global Compact’s early 

years, the group urged strengthening the initiative’s accountability and proposed a number 

of measures, such as stricter monitoring of the Global Compact’s reporting requirement, as 

well as a mechanism to address perceived violations of the Global Compact Principles by 

corporate participants. 

Also in May 2003, G8 finance ministers for the first time expressed support for the Global 

Compact. In a joint statement, the ministers encouraged “voluntary private sector initiatives 

that foster and complement such international efforts to promote corporate social and environmental 

responsibility as the OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Global 

Compact Principles.” This support of the Global Compact’s role was further reiterated in the 

official G8 Declaration issued at the G8 Summit in Evian-les-Bains (France) in June 2003. 


miLestOnes 

The first Global Compact Leaders Summit took place in New York on 24 june 2004. At the time, it was the largest meeting 

of representatives from industry, civil society, trade unions and politics that had ever taken place under the auspices of the 

United Nations. There were a variety of motivations and objectives for the Leaders Summit: In just four years, the Global 

Compact had developed into the largest voluntary CSR initiative in the world, with well over 1,500 participants from more 

than 70 countries. what factors led to its success? what kind of experiences had corporations had with implementing the Ten 

Principles? what strategies were necessary to expand Global Compact implementation at a wider level? The participants in 

New York were called upon to address these questions and others, as well as to report on successes, problems and challenges. 

Numerous participants suggested that national and regional networks should be strengthened and the decentralisation of 

the Global Compact intensified. The private-sector contribution to global development was an important element of this 

debate. Companies were asked to form partnerships with other actors from civil society in order to tackle concrete problems 

more effectively, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) mentioned as a particular driving force. Of course there was 

some criticism too: Representatives from NGOs and trade unions lamented that the Global Compact mechanisms did not 

include a method of verifying that the principles had been implemented and a way to demand that companies take action in 

urgent cases. The significance of the annual Communication on Progress was stressed in response; this newly introduced 

confidence-building measure would be required of participants and constitute proof of actual activity. 

2004 

anti-cORRuPtiOn 

january: Global Compact convenes 

dialogue on transparency and the fight 

against corruption 


April: United Nations sets up inquiry into 

the Oil for Food program – underscores 

need for greater transparency 

cOP 

june: Global Compact launches integrity 

measures 


global compact’s first Leaders summit held in new York with 

more than 400 participants. 

july: Launch of UN Global Compact 

Principle 10 

FinanciaL maRkets 

july: who Cares wins launched – ESG 

concept takes off 

Human RigHts 

November: Launch of the Embedding 

Human Rights series 

28 


Agenda 


Partnership 

April: Global Compact and OCHA launch 

new business guide on emergency aid 

Anti-Corruption 

December: UN Convention against 

Corruption enters into force 

Partnership 

December: UN General Assembly 

encourages Global Compact Office to 

promote partnerships 

Global Compact Summit in China: 500 international business 

leaders and representatives of government and civil society 

assembled. It is the largest event ever held in China on the topic 

of responsible business. 


December: New guidance document for 

Local Networks released 

2005 

For the Global Compact, the year 2005 has brought not only 

further growth and new initiatives, but also major structural 

changes. What was required was to better link global strategies 

with local action, ensure integrity, improve the quality 

of businesses’ commitment and give the companies and 

organisations involved a stronger share in the initiative’s 

strategic and operational development. Consultation was 

entrusted to John G. Ruggie, who was then Special Adviser 

to the Secretary-General on the Global Compact, and Georg 

Kell, Executive Head of the Global Compact Office. SG Kofi 

Annan endorsed this new Governance Framework in August 

2005 and launched the implementation process. In keeping 

with the Global Compact’s voluntary and network-based character, 

the governance framework is light, non-bureaucratic 

and designed to foster greater involvement in, and ownership 

of, the initiative by participants and other stakeholders 

themselves. Governance functions are shared by seven 

entities, each with differentiated tasks within a multi-centric 

framework including Leaders Summits, Local Networks, a 

Board, the GC office and the Inter-Agency Team. 

September: Global Compact 

releases “Business UNusual 

– Facilitating United Nations 

Reform through Partnerships” 


miLestOnes 

then-un secretary-general kofi annan launches 

Principles for Responsible investment (PRi) 

2006 

cOP 

The Global Compact has developed over the years into a brand 

with global reach. In this way, the Initiative has made an important 

contribution to the internal reform of the United Nations. And that 

is being recognised: In September 2006, SG Kofi Annan emphasised 

the central role of the Global Compact as an interface between the 

United Nations (UN) and business. The Global Compact’s institutional 

strengthening is complemented by its global expansion. The fourth 

annual network forum, which brought more than 150 delegates to 

Barcelona in September 2006, was an expression of the Initiative’s 

growing expansion on all five continents. 

The finance initiatives of the Global Compact opened new territory: 

In this connection, 27th April 2006 was a symbolic day. For the first 

time, a Secretary-General of the United Nations rang in the trading 

day at the New York Stock Exchange – a true innovation, since for 

many years the thematic distance between wall Street and Kips Bay 

seemed too large. But the Secretary-General’s visit to the control 

centre of global capital had a concrete reason: It signalled the start 

of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a joint initiative of 

the Global Compact and the Finance Initiative of the UN Environment 

Programme (UNEP FI). This new PRI initiative rests on six principles, 

which were derived from the Global Compact. 

March: workshop discusses best practices 

in communicating progress 

LOcaL netwORks 

September: ALNF in Barcelona reaches 

consensus on own role as an element of 

the Global Compact’s governance structure 

enviROnment 

The Stern Review on the Economics 

of Climate Change was greeted with 

headlines worldwide when it was published. 

educatiOn 

October: Academic institutions agree 

to develop Principles for Responsible 

Business Education 


December: Global Compact hosts first 

board meeting of the Extractive Industry 

Transparency Initiative 

30 


Agenda 


Local work played an especially significant role in the Global Compact in 2007. 

While there are still blanks on the map in the seventh year since the Initiative was 

founded, their number is declining. Among the largest companies in the Global 

Compact (by market capitalization), mining, the oil and gas sector and the utilities 

sector have well-above-average representation. No signatories, or only a few, can be 

found among the global leaders in the real estate sector, among mobile telephone 

companies and the media. 

Of course, the main event of 2007 was the Global Compact Leaders Summit, whose 

second edition took place on 5th and 6th July 2007 in Geneva. The Summit set new 

directions for the Initiative’s future. With over 1,100 participants from more than 

80 nations, it was the largest summit ever held by the United Nations on sustainable 

economic activity. As the Summit’s final document, participants approved 

the “Geneva Declaration”, whose 21 points again emphasise the importance of a 

values-conscious private sector for a sustainable global economy. Likewise, the 

Geneva Declaration calls on United Nations member states to offer government 

incentives, beyond regulations, for responsible business activity. 

2007 

Environment 

March: Principles on Climate Leadership 

launched 

Environment 

July: Launch of initiatives Caring for 

Climate and CEO Water Mandate 

Education 

July: Business schools want to advance 

corporate citizenship 

COP 

September: COP program becomes widely 

recognized 

Human Rights 

December: Global Compact begins yearlong 

campaign to raise business awareness 

On 1 January 2007, Ban Ki-moon became the eighth Secretary- 

General of the United Nations. In July he attended the Global 

Compact Leaders Summit in Geneva. 


December: Report issued – Local Networks 

gaining in strength and impact 


enviROnment 

miLestOnes 

April: Environmental leaders and 

champions gather in Singapore for the B4E 

Global Summit 

educatiOn 

April: Principles for Responsible 

Management Education endorsed by over 

100 business schools 

cOP 

April: New functionalities improve access to 

Communication on Progress 

september 2008: 

un Private sector 

Forum seeks long-term 

response to global food 

crisis 

LaBOuR standaRds 

May: Global Compact Labor working Group 

convenes inaugural meeting 

Human RigHts 

june: United Nations extends mandate of 

the Special Representative on Business and 

Human Rights 

2008 

when we look through the rear-view mirror at the often turbulent global events in 2008, we can 

say with great confidence that it was a year of profound changes, sharp breaks with the past 

and necessary new beginnings. The food price crisis of the first half of the year was followed by 

the long-smouldering financial crisis in the second. The ghost of recession is making its rounds 

throughout the world and, according to the latest research results, the threat from climate change 

is also progressing faster than was anticipated a short time ago. what we can perhaps learn initially 

from these developments is that, in future, companies will be measured more strongly than in 

the past on how well they are able to combine long-term sustainability and the profit motive in 

a credible and value-creating way. No question about it: the trust in a fair globalisation and the 

ability of free markets to regulate themselves – which has always been viewed with scepticism 

by some – has suffered considerable, though not irreparable damage. 

As can already be seen, the crisis has also led many companies to re-evaluate their own sustainability 

approaches. In this context, we can perhaps talk about a “cleansing effect”. while purely 

philanthropic commitments have, as expected, already fallen victim to the first savings measures 

in many places, those approaches that regard company sustainability as a purely tactical, 

reactive (communication) task cannot withstand closer examination. In contrast, the question 

whether companies can “still afford” corporate responsibility in future becomes moot when 

sustainability management is considered a strategic priority. For worldwide economic developments 

notwithstanding, central challenges such as climate change or human rights, and with 

them the need for effective company strategies, will not disappear from the screen but rather 

gain in significance. 

32 


Agenda 


In spite of the global financial and economic crisis, it was an international 

crisis with far more grave consequences that dominated the 

Global Compact debate in 2009: the change in the climate. This is 

much more than just an environmental problem; climate change is the 

central challenge of our generation, with far-reaching consequences 

for sustainable development, the struggle against poverty, political and 

economic stability, and global security as well. What’s more, solving 

climate change calls for more than just policy and technology; it will 

take an economic approach as well. In view of the difficult negotiations 

on a new climate agreement in December 2009 in Copenhagen, 

it seemed of primary importance in the Global Compact arena to bring 

economic and political decision-makers together for a dialogue. The 

high point of these efforts was the UN Leadership Forum on Climate 

Change, which was put on by the Global Compact and took place on 

22 September as part of the UN Climate Summit in New York. Some 

60 heads of state and heads of government from all over the world 

responded to the Secretary-General’s invitation and exchanged experiences 

with top business leaders, in an event that was also something 

completely new to the United Nations. 

Human Rights 

March: Global Compact and UNIFEM 

address role of business in empowerment 

of women 

Environment 

March: Water Disclosure 2.0 released 

Environment 

December: COP 15 


December: New anti-corruption guidance 

sharpens rules for reporting companies 

2009 

In 10 short years, 2010 

that initiative has 

grown to become the largest 

corporate citizenship and 

sustainability initiative 

in the world. 

Compilation by: 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 

Partnership 

January: New UN business website brokers 

partnerships 

Education 

March 2010: Principles for Responsible 

Management Education Initiative adopts 

governance framework 

Matthias Stausberg, 

Spokesperson for the 

United Nations Global 

Compact 

Dr. Elmer Lenzen, 

Publisher of the “Global 

Compact International 

Yearbook” 


Make or Break Year 

for Biodiversity 

Climate change has been described as the biggest market failure 

of all time – the loss of biodiversity and nature’s economicallyimportant 

services must surely be running a close second, if not an 

equal first. Year in and year out, the world economy may be losing 

services from forests to freshwaters and from soils to coral reefs, 

with resulting costs of up to $ 4.5 trillion or more. 

34 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 


By Achim Steiner 

Decisive action needs to be taken to reverse these declines or 

the bill will continue to climb – and with it any hopes of 

achieving the poverty-related Millennium Development Goals 

and a sustainable 21st century for six billion people, rising to 

nine billion by 2050. 

In response to the financial and economic 

crisis, governments mobilized 

stimulus packages worth over $ 3 

trillion seemingly overnight. Where 

is the same stimulus and the same 

coordinated international political 

response to address the crisis facing 

our natural and nature-based assets? 

How can we metaphorically find and 

follow the white dove that can bring 

a contemporary Noah’s Ark to a safe 

and sustainable berth? 

Biodiversity 

is about far 

more than just 

dollars and 

cents. 

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity 

(TEEB) – hosted by UNEP and 

backed by the European Commission 

and countries including Germany, Norway, 

and the United Kingdom – is an attempt to crystallize 

and illuminate new answers and assist toward making decisive 

choices. Its landmark report is to be published in advance of 

the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting later 

in the year. But many inspiring and potentially transformational 

facts and figure, alongside more creative management 

options, are already emerging. 

Let me perhaps cite one example that underlines TEEB’s 

framing of the debate. Subsidized commercial shrimp farms 

can generate returns of around $ 1,220 per hectare by clearing 

mangrove forests. But TEEB says this does not take into 

account the costs to local communities, totaling over $ 12,000 

a hectare, that are linked with losses of wood and non-wood 

forest products, fisheries, and coastal protection services. 

Nor does the profit to the commercial operators take into 

account the costs to society of rehabilitating the abandoned 

sites after five years of exploitation – estimated at over 

$ 9,000 a hectare. 

36 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

• Coral reefs, whose fishery, tourism, and flood protection 

services are estimated at between $ 100,000 and $ 600,000 

per square km, could be conserved for an investment of 

close to $ 780 per square km or 0.2 percent of the value of 

the ecosystem protected. 

• Deforestation contributes close to 20 percent of global greenhouse 

gas emissions – $ 17 billion to over $ 30 billion annually 

could halve this amount while securing livelihoods 

and boosting conservation-related employment in tropical 

countries. 

• A global marine protected area network, involving the closure 

of 20 percent of total fishing grounds, could result in profit 

losses of an estimated $ 270 million annually. 

But could sustain fisheries worth $ 80 - 100 billion a year assist 

in conserving an estimated 27 million jobs while generating 

one million new ones and protect food supplies for over one 

billion people, especially in developing countries whose main 

or sole source of animal is the ocean? Some countries are rising 

to the challenge in part. 

• Planting and protecting nearly 12,000 hectares of mangroves 

in Vietnam costs just over $ 1 million, but savings on annual 

expenditures for dyke maintenance are well over $ 7 million. 

• One in 40 jobs in Europe are now linked with the environment 

and ecosystem services, ranging from clean-tech “ecoindustries” 

to organic agriculture, sustainable forestry, and 

eco-tourism. 

• Investment in the protection of Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere 

Reserve is generating an annual income of close to $ 50 

million a year, has generated 7,000 jobs, and boosted local 

family incomes. 

2010 – the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity – is the year 

when the international community pledged to substantially 

reverse the rate of loss of biodiversity. This has not happened 

and we continue – through inaction and a failure to manage 

– to preside over a sixth wave of extinctions. The urgency 

of a transformational response is underlined by the Global 

Biodiversity Outlook-3, launched by the CBD. 

We are fast approaching “tipping points,” whereby dramatic 

and irreversible changes may soon occur to coral reefs and 

also freshwater systems as a result of climate change and the 

acidification of fertilizers and other nutrients. The public, 

politicians, and business leaders need to reconnect with the 

fundamentals that really drive the global economy, livelihoods, 

and ultimately all our life-support systems. 

The next time you buy honey from the supermarket or corner 

shop, reflect on the fact that the bees and other pollinators 

are providing services worth perhaps $ 90 billion a year. The 

toast and jam at breakfast would also not be there without 

the worms, beetles, and bugs that make our soils fertile and 

the multi-trillion dollar agricultural industry possible – the 

list is long. 

There is also an urgent need to bridge the gap between science 

and policymakers, which is why there has been a great deal of 

debate surrounding the establishment of an Intergovernmental 

Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. 

Meanwhile, an agreement on a key pillar of the CBD – namely 

an international regime on access and benefit-sharing of genetic 

resources – has proved elusive. Negotiations are under way 

and there is optimism that a regime could be finalized at the 

CBD’s meeting in Nagoya, Japan, in October. 

Currently, in the absence of such a regime, there is increasingly 

less access to the genetic treasure trove of the South 

and, thus, fewer opportunities for companies, mainly from 

the North, to discover new pharmaceuticals, materials, and 

promising crop strains. 

This, in turn, translates into fewer opportunities for developing 

countries to share in any benefits that might arise – so everyone 

looses out. Smart market mechanisms and the ability to bring 

visibility to the true value of nature are perhaps the “missing 

links” that would lead toward sustainable management. 

Unless we place an economic value on biodiversity and ecosystems 

and the services they provide, we are unlikely to turn the 

tide in a world fascinated by GDPs, stock markets, and others 

measures that define contemporary notions of progress. 

Biodiversity is, of course, about far more than just dollars and 

cents, yen, euros, yuan, or Kenyan shillings. But the economic 

case for sustainable management of our natural capital needs to 

be made if we are to design a pathway away from degradation, 

destruction, and extinction. As TEEB is underling, the case is as 

overwhelming and as compelling as the ones centered on stewardship 

and the spiritual dimensions of the living world. 

Achim Steiner is UN Under-Secretary 

General and UNEP Executive Director. 


Involving Business 

in the Fight to Save 

Life on Earth 

Biodiversity 

is life. 

Biodiversity is 

our life. 

38 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

By Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf 

Since its launch in July 2000, the Global Compact has been 

systematically enlisting businesses in the fight for a sustainable 

future. However, today the long-term health and prosperity 

of humanity are under threat more than ever due to the irreversible 

changes we are causing to the planet. That is why 

in his 2009 speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, 

Switzerland, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated: “We must 

break the tyranny of short-term thinking in favor of long-term 

solutions” and why he called for “a renewed commitment to 

core principles.” 

Part of this renewed commitment must be an increased 

dedication to preserving the diversity of life on earth. In 2002 

the heads of state and government attending the Johannesburg 

World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed to 

substantially reduce the rate of biodiversity loss worldwide 

by 2010 – the so-called 2010 Biodiversity Target. However, 

today biodiversity is being lost more quickly than ever. The 

current rate of extinction is estimated to be up to 1,000 times 

higher than the natural rate of extinction. If this trend does 

not change, it is expected that an area of 1.3 billion hectares 

worldwide – about 1.5 times the size of the United States – 

will completely lose its original biodiversity levels by 2050. 

That is why the United Nations General Assembly declared 

2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. The goals of this 

historic event are to raise awareness about the importance 

of biodiversity, to communicate the human costs of its ongoing 

loss, and to involve all sectors of society – including the 

business community – in efforts to conserve and sustainably 

use our natural heritage. 

The importance of preserving biodiversity cannot be overstated. 

Our food, fuel, and medicines, and much of our fiber and 

building materials, all have biological origins. Biological goods 

support such diverse industries as agriculture, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, 

pulp and paper, horticulture, and construction. 

Moreover, ecosystems provide human beings with a range of 

services that would be extremely costly or impossible to replace. 

These include purification of air and water; detoxification and 

decomposition of wastes; stabilization and moderation of the 

earth’s climate; moderation of floods, droughts, temperature 

extremes, and the forces of wind; generation and renewal of 

soil fertility; nutrient cycling; pollination of wild plants and 

crops; and control of pests and diseases. 

Despite our fundamental dependence on the goods and services 

that biodiversity offers, the economic value of biodiversity has 

historically been overlooked. In his preface to Phase 1 of the 

report The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), 

study leader Pavan Sukhdev wrote: “Nature is the source of 

much value to us every day, and yet it mostly bypasses markets, 

escapes pricing and defies valuation […] The economic 

compass that we use today was a success when it was created, 

but it needs to be improved or replaced.” 

The initial phases of the TEEB study, launched at the Convention 

on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) ninth Conference of the 

Parties (COP 9) in Bonn in 2008, give us a glimpse of some 

of the impressive statistics on the economic value of biological 

goods and ecosystem services. Approximately half of all 

synthetic drugs have a natural origin, including 10 of the 

25 highest selling drugs in the United States. Of all the anticancer 

drugs available, 42 percent are natural and 34 percent 

semi-natural. The value of the watershed protection provided 

by intact coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves and other 

wetlands, has been estimated at $ 845 per hectare per year in 

Malaysia and $ 1,022 per hectare per year in Hawaii. 

The TEEB report pegs the annual cost of biodiversity loss at 

close to $ 3 trillion. This compares to the gross earnings of 

three major sectors of the economy in a year: the car industry 

($ 1.9 trillion), the IT industry ($ 0.95 trillion), and steel ($ 0.6 

trillion). Moreover, a recent assessment conducted by the 

London-based consultancy Trucost for the UN-backed Principles 

for Responsible Investment of the 3,000 biggest public 

companies in the world found their estimated combined 

damage to nature to be worth $ 2.2 trillion in 2008 – a figure 

bigger than the national economies of all but seven countries 

in the world that year. 

The human costs of such losses are high: Because of the many 

economic benefits we obtain from biodiversity, preserving it 

is central to sustainable-development and poverty-alleviation 

strategies. As Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland stated: “You cannot 

tackle hunger, disease, and poverty unless you can also provide 

people with a healthy ecosystem in which their economies 

can grow.” 

This is particularly true when we consider development sectors 

such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and tourism. There 


are 300 million people worldwide, the majority of whom are 

poor, who are estimated to depend substantially on forest 

biodiversity – including non-wood forest products – for 

their survival and livelihood. There are 1 billion people who 

depend on fish as their sole or main source of animal protein; 

fish also provided more than 2.6 billion people with at least 

20 percent of their average per capita animal protein intake. 

Coral reefs provide food and livelihood for most of the estimated 

30 million small-scale fishers in the developing world. 

For example, the productivity of the fisheries sector in Belize, 

Honduras, and Mexico depend directly on the health of the 

adjacent barrier reef. Coral reef tourism has also increased 

in frequency and value, with a current net present value 

estimated at $ 9 billion; the Great Barrier Reef alone attracts 

1.6 million visitors each year and generates over $ 1 billion 

annually in direct revenue. 

Recognizing the economic 

imperative of protecting 

biodiversity CBD has 

increasingly been seeking 

business participation. 

Recognizing the economic imperative of protecting biodiversity 

and the need to engage the private sector, the 193 

Parties to the CBD have increasingly been seeking business 

participation in the implementation of the CBD’s objectives: 

the conservation of and sustainable use of biodiversity, and 

the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the 

use of genetic resources. To this end, the first global meeting 

on business and biodiversity was held in London in January 

2005, followed by a second in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 

2005. The outcomes of these meetings led to the adoption of 

the first decision on business and biodiversity by the 4,000 

participants attending CBD COP 8 in Curitiba, Brazil, in March 

2006. Following this, in July 2009, a Brazilian project called 

“LIFE certification” was launched in Curitiba, which aims to 

both quantify and officially recognize actions by companies 

related to biodiversity conservation. 

In addition, at COP 9 in Bonn, the First International Business 

Initiative for the Protection of Biodiversity was launched at 

the initiative of the German government. Bringing together 

a group of 34 companies from Germany and other countries, 

the initiative aims to more closely involve the private sector 

in achieving the CBD’s objectives. Also in Bonn, AVEDA 

hosted a reception and panel discussion targeting some 200 

- 300 participant – including ministers, indigenous and local 

community representatives, the media, and the private sector 

– to emphasize that sustainable ethical business practices, 

including equitable benefit-sharing, are good for everyone 

and the environment. 

Japan, which will host CBD COP 10 this coming October 2010 

in the city of Nagoya, is also contributing to these efforts. 

Keidanren, the Japanese business federation, has launched a 

business and biodiversity initiative, while the Japanese Ministry 

40 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

and comments for a Strategy to Advance the 2020 Business 

and Biodiversity Agenda. These two documents are serving as 

roadmaps for Nagoya and for the ongoing celebrations of the 

International Year of Biodiversity. 

of the Environment has prepared guidelines on the topic. Such 

efforts on the part of the Japanese are particularly welcome, 

since in Nagoya the Parties are expected to finalize the CBD’s 

2011 - 2020 Strategic Plan, create a 2020 biodiversity target 

and a 2050 biodiversity vision, and establish an international 

regime on Access and Benefit-Sharing. This will be done using 

the input of a broad range of stakeholders, including the business 

community. To facilitate business involvement during the 

Nagoya Biodiversity Summit, a high-level dialogue between 

CEOs and government ministers will be held on October 28, 

coinciding with the Nagoya conference – the first-ever technological 

fair on biodiversity. 

Preparations for Nagoya are well underway. Japan hosted the 

Kobe Biodiversity Dialogue last October – a meeting attended 

by 300 participants, who shared their experiences and views 

on the major biodiversity agenda, especially private-sector 

engagement and the revision of the Strategic Plan. The participants 

called for a continuous and comprehensive platform 

that could be a ground for discussion between various sectors. 

The Kobe Biodiversity Dialogue was a major step toward the 

establishment of constructive and permanent dialogue between 

all stakeholders, including business, to meet the unprecedented 

challenges of the loss of biodiversity in time for Nagoya. 

One immediate effect of the Kobe meeting was to create 

momentum for the third global conference on business and 

biodiversity that took place this past December in Indonesia. 

More than 200 companies, nongovernmental organizations, 

and governments from all over the world gathered in Jakarta, 

recognizing that biodiversity-based business can be more 

profitable than other economic activities, and that biodiversity 

already forms the basis of many economic sectors. The 

Jakarta conference resulted in two major achievements: the 

adoption of the Jakarta Charter on Business and Biodiversity, 

The Convention is also in the process of gathering input for 

the revision of the Strategic Plan through the Aichi-Nagoya 

International E-Conference (ANIEC) 2010 (http://www.cbd. 

int/aniec2010/), an online consultation process that involves 

government and nongovernmental organizations, indigenous 

and local communities, women, youth, scientific and expert 

networks, academia, business networks, local communities, 

and other interested groups in an open dialogue. A summary 

of its results will be presented to the UN General Assembly in 

New York in September. The Assembly will, for first time ever, 

devote an entire day to the question of biodiversity, its role in 

development, its role in the fight against climate change, and 

our actions for the future. As well, a side event will be organized 

during COP 10 by the conference president to present the 

results of the e-conference to delegates. 

Now is the time for concrete action from the business community 

to save life on earth. In Davos in 2009, the Secretary- 

General said: “We stand at a crossroad. It is important that 

we realize we have a choice. We can choose short-sighted 

unilateralism and business as usual. Or we can grasp global 

cooperation and partnership on a scale never before seen.” 

That spirit is driving the celebrations of the International Year 

of Biodiversity and will guide the deliberations of the Nagoya 

Biodiversity Summit, where the business community must become 

a full-fledged member of the biodiversity family, thereby 

helping to complete the Global Compact. The alternative is 

an impoverished planet that can no longer support a healthy, 

vibrant global economy. The stakes in this fight could not be 

higher. As the slogan of the International Year reminds us, 

‘Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life.’” 

Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf is 

Executive Secretary of the Convention 

on Biological Diversity (CBD). 


Access and 

Benefit Sharing 

Is Paramount to 

the Future of 

Biodiversity 

IUCN is urging governments 

to make the link between 

conservation, sustainable 

use, and the equitable 

distribution of the benefits. 

By Dr. Jane Smart 

The benefits of biodiversity are inextricably linked to the 

people’s well-being and this includes their fundamental 

rights to preserve their natural heritage, as well as to 

use these resources for development. However, given the 

current rates of species extinction and the overall loss of 

biodiversity, regulating access to genetic resources and the 

fair and equitable distribution of the benefits associated 

with them – and at the same time safeguarding people’s 

traditional knowledge – will be one of the most 

important decisions at this year’s 10th meeting of the 

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan. 

42 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

Within the past 50 years, 60 percent of our ecosystem services 

– our land, water, and oceans – have become degraded, 

primarily because of our unsustainable use of these resources. 

Worldwide, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species tells us that 

animal and plant species found in these ecosystems are also 

declining, with 22 percent of the world’s mammals threatened 

or at risk of extinction, nearly one-third of the amphibians, 

one in eight birds, 27 percent of the reef building corals, and 

28 percent of the conifers. These are strong indicators regarding 

the health of our planet. Recovering from such changes is 

difficult and costly, if not impossible in many instances. 

To halt and reverse these trends, it will be necessary to initiate 

urgent, concerted, and effective policy reform and action as soon 

as possible. Maintaining the status quo or a “business as usual” 

approach will not achieve the proposed CBD’s post-2010 targets 

and its ambitious agenda between now and 2020. Therefore, 

IUCN – the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the 

world’s oldest and largest conservation organization – is advocating 

for the establishment of improved regulatory frameworks 

and additional financial incentives that effectively reflect the 

values of natural resources. It also advocates the incorporation 

of the linkages between poverty, livelihoods, and biodiversity 

into the development sector: A key step in this regard will be 

the adoption and implementation of a new Protocol on Access 

and Benefit Sharing (ABS) under the CBD. 

A wide range of business sectors are involved in researching 

genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge associated with 

genetic resources in order to develop commercial products. For 

years, bio-piracy has deprived national governments, as well as 

indigenous and local communities, of the right to participate 

and benefit from commercial use derived from their genetic 

resources and/or traditional knowledge. This has meant missed 

opportunities – from joint ownership of intellectual property 

to payments in royalties to name a few. 

The CBD establishes only a general legal framework for ABS. 

The Bonn Guidelines from 2002 assist governments and other 

stakeholders in developing overall ABS strategies and processes. 

However, these guidelines are only voluntary, which indicates 

a need for further regulation. As a consequence, in 2004, a 

Working Group on ABS was created, and in 2008, a timetable 

was agreed upon to negotiate a new international regime on 

ABS by the CBD Conference of the Parties in 2010. 

While the developments on a new ABS Protocol are positive, 

there are still many issues that need to be clarified. These 

include: how to create legal certainty for users of genetic 

resources and at the same ensure their compliance with the 

ABS frameworks of the countries providing the resources; how 

to deal with genetic resources and/or traditional knowledge 

accessed before the entry into force of the Protocol or even 


Environmental initiatives 

can be good for business 

By Prof. Daniel C. Esty 

It is increasingly clear that the key to addressing environmental 

problems in general and climate change in particular is 

innovation. And to ramp up innovation requires incentives 

that engage the private sector in the process of research 

and development of new technologies and systemic change. 

The most effective way to draw business into the search for 

greater energy efficiency, renewable energy, and better pollution 

control lies with making companies (and people) pay 

for the harms they cause. 

Unfortunately, the climate change conference in Copenhagen 

last December dashed expectations by failing to produce a 

meaningful global agreement – and a globally agreed-upon 

price on greenhouse gases. Ultimately, a “Beyond Kyoto” treaty 

will be needed, but in the short term, governments need to 

focus on easier to implement “clean tech” incentives. In this 

regard, the private sector should take a leadership role in keeping 

the world on track toward a climate change solution. 

Companies everywhere are coming to recognize that pursuing 

environmental initiatives can be good for business. In a 

business landscape where environmental sustainability has 

rapidly emerged as the latest megatrend, it is apparent that 

companies that reduce energy costs and inputs, reduce scrap 

and waste, and increase efficiency will find themselves with 

lower costs of production. By being attentive to environmentrelated 

risks, companies will lower costs and become more 

competitive. Companies large and small are therefore finding 

that they will capture lucrative markets if they address the 

need to advance toward a clean-energy future. 

The Global Compact can be central in helping the international 

community regroup after the disappointing Copenhagen 

conference – emphasizing the potential for eco-advantage 

for leading private sector actors and encouraging companies 

to pursue innovative solutions. Global Compact Principle 9, 

which encourages the development and diffusion of environmentally 

friendly technologies, should therefore be given 

special focus and perhaps made the centerpiece of corporate 

strategy in the years ahead. 

Daniel C. Esty is Hillhouse Professor of 

Environmental Law & Policy Yale School 

of Forestry and Environmental Studies & 

Yale Law School. 

44 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

the CBD; and how to efficiently and effectively monitor and 

track compliance with ABS arrangements between providers 

and users. These issues represent huge challenges to national 

governments, which are responsible in most cases for setting 

policies, and in particular to indigenous and local communities 

who are affected by them. At present, there is a plethora 

of national and regional initiatives trying to protect these 

resources. India, for example, was one of the first countries 

to pass national legislation to combat bio-piracy and has 

continued to strengthen its stance on protecting traditional 

knowledge. Brazil has also passed legislation to protect traditional 

knowledge that applies to both genetic and biological 

resources. 

Other efforts launched include the Andean-Amazon Initiative 

for the Prevention of Bio-piracy, which works to prevent the 

wrongful appropriation of the region’s genetic resources and 

traditional knowledge. Now in its fifth year, it undertakes 

investigations, disseminates information, and lobbies international 

organizations. More recently, CBD’s own efforts under 

the auspices of The International Barcode of Life Project has 

acknowledged that its ultimate success depends in part on 

how it can honor ABS principles without well-established 

guidelines in place. 

Global figures for 2009 

IUCN Red List of 

Threatened Species 

47,677 species assessed 

IUCN is urging governments to make the link between conservation, 

sustainable use and access to genetic resources, and 

the equitable distribution of the benefits derived from their 

use. The CBD Conference of the Parties in Nagoya will be a 

one-off opportunity for countries to agree upon new targets 

to reverse the current trends in biodiversity loss before it is 

too late. To succeed, post-2010 indicators should ideally be 

scalable at local, national, and global levels; be adaptable for 

use by other sectors, for example business; and make use of 

both scientific information and traditional knowledge. Additional 

support should be provided to developing countries for 

revising their National Strategies and Biodiversity Action Plans. 

The adoption of an ABS Protocol is high on IUCN’s agenda at 

the next CBD Conference of the Parties. Such a protocol will 

help incentivize the conservation of biodiversity and ensure 

that access and benefit-sharing related to genetic resources is 

fair and equitable, and part of the CBD’s long-term vision for 

promoting a sustainable future. 

Extinction risk 

Extinct (809) 

Extinct in the Wild (66) 

Critically Endangered (3,325) 

Endangered (4,891) 

Vulnerable (9,075) 

Near Threatened (3,650) 

Least Concern (19,023) 

Dr. Jane Smart is Director of IUCN’s 

Biodiversity Conservation Group. 

Source: IUCN 


Two Years Applying 

the Corporate 

Ecosystem Services 

Review 

46 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

The decline in nature’s ability to provide ecosystem services – the 

benefits humans derive from ecosystems – can present material risks 

and opportunities to business. However, managers have only just 

begun integrating considerations of ecosystem services into corporate 

decision-making processes. One resource has been the Corporate 

Ecosystem Services Review (ESR), a set of guidelines that has helped 

managers improve both corporate performance and the environment. 

By John Finisdore 

Ecosystems provide businesses – as well as people and communities 

– with a wide range of ecosystem services. For 

example, agribusiness depends on the freshwater, soil quality, 

and erosion control that ecosystems offer. Insurance companies 

benefit from coastal protection provided by coral reefs and 

wetlands, while fisheries rely on these habitats for commercial 

fish species. A decline in the quality or quantity of these 

services can substantially affect corporate performance. 

Businesses also impact ecosystem services. For instance, when 

a company pollutes waterways, dredges wetlands for shipping 

channels, or overharvests fish, it reduces the ability of other 

firms or communities to benefit from these ecosystems and 

the services they provide. These impacts expose a company 

to regulatory, reputational, or other forms of risk. Thus, 

corporate dependence and impact on ecosystem services can 

affect the bottom line. 

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – a four-year global 

analysis of the state of the world’s ecosystems – found that 

over half of the ecosystem services evaluated significantly degraded 

over the past half century. Further declines are expected 

over coming decades. Left unchecked, this degradation could 

jeopardize future economic well-being, creating new winners 

and losers within the business community. 

Unfortunately, corporate environmental management systems, 

due diligence processes, certification systems, and other 

corporate decision-making processes have only just started 

integrating the full range of ecosystem services considerations. 

They typically focus on environmental impacts, not dependence. 

Decision-making processes generally exclude regulating 

ecosystem services such as pollination, water purification, and 

natural disaster mitigation. Should these particular services 

decline, crop yields would drop, water purification costs would 

rise, and supply chain disruptions would occur. Furthermore, 

corporate decision-making processes do not fully incorporate 

ecosystem services-related opportunities. As a result, companies 

may be unnecessarily vulnerable or miss new sources of 

revenue associated with the decline in the quantity or quality 

of ecosystem services. 

Application of the ESR 

To meet this need, corporations are turning to the Corporate 

Ecosystem Services Review (see Box). Since its release in 

March 2008, the ESR has been translated into five languages, 

15,000 copies have been printed, nearly 30,000 copies have 

been downloaded, and an estimated 200 - 300 businesses 

have put it to use. 

Much of the ESR’s utility can be attributed to its flexible design. 

It is valuable to senior executives looking at an organization’s 

long-term strategy as well as to line managers responsible 

for product development, risk analysis, or day-to-day plant 

management. Experience to date indicates that conducting 

an ESR can help business managers improve the bottom line 

in at least four ways: 

1. Strengthen corporate strategy 

At the highest levels of a corporation, managers are using 

the ESR to improve corporate strategy. For example, Mondi, 

the international paper and packaging company, used the 


ESR in 2008 to support their strategy for addressing the key 

impacts on freshwater and biodiversity of their plantation 

areas in water-scarce South Africa. Among other items, the 

ESR helped Mondi contextualize many of the known drivers 

of water scarcity in the region such as the spread of invasive 

species, inefficient irrigation practices by downstream users, 

climate change, and the demands of a developing nation. It 

also expanded the water scarcity analysis beyond the scope 

of their existing environmental management systems. This 

prompted new solutions and established a platform for building 

a freshwater strategy – stretching from their plantation 

management to their community engagement through to 

Mondi’s government relations. 

2. Identify new products and services 

Managers are using the ESR to understand how the degradation 

of ecosystem services over the coming years may affect 

their customers, thereby enabling managers to identify opportunities 

for offering new products or services that could 

help customers mitigate or adapt to these changes. 

Syngenta, one of the world’s leading companies dedicated to 

agriculture, used the ESR to analyze the risks its customers in 

southern India face from the degradation of ecosystem services, 

including soil quality, loss of pollination services, and freshwater 

availability. The ESR brought renewed attention to the 

region’s water challenges. In response, Syngenta established a 

dedicated water team at its corporate headquarters, followed 

by investments in innovative products and services – such as 

new solutions to enhance stress tolerance of plants – to help 

farmers reduce their risk-exposure to water shortages. 

3. Strengthen corporate decision-making processes 

Companies have been using the ESR to strengthen their existing 

decision-making processes. In particular, they find that the 

ESR draws attention to environmental aspects that existing 

processes often exclude and deepens their analysis of a business 

unit’s dependence on ecosystem services. Examples of 

tools and processes improved by the ESR include: 

1 

In order to reflect the full range of issues analyzed by ERM 

in their EIAs, they refer to them as ESHIAs, or Environmental, 

Social and Health Impact Assessments. 

Environmental policy: 

“The ESR is not a tool where data is put in one end, and results 

are produced at the other. Rather, it provides a thought process 

for strategically considering environmental issues,” notes 

Ian Jameson, senior environmental advisor for Eskom, the 

South African power firm. The ESR’s core method is a five-step 

process (see Box). Eskom is weaving the ESR into some of its 

corporate-wide standards and policies, including its biodiversity 

policy and its ISO-based biodiversity standard. 

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA): 

ERM Ltd, a global environmental consultancy, is beginning 

to use the ESR to embed ecosystem service considerations 

into its EIAs. Along with adding ecosystem services to the list 

of environmental attributes considered in assessments, the 

ESR provides the consultancy with a process to improve the 

prioritization of environmental issues through a better understanding 

of their value to society. It enhances the consideration 

of a project’s dependence and impacts on ecosystem services. 

“Ostensibly, an EIA should consider a project’s dependence on 

all material environmental aspects, as well as its impacts, and 

the ESR provides a valuable framework to help improve that 

process,” noted James Spurgeon, ERM’s technical director for 

Environmental Economics. His colleague Julia Tims says that 

“The rise of ecosystem services in EIAs, could not only improve 

risk and opportunity analysis, but also help link environmental, 

social, and economic factors.” 

Water-use planning: 

BC Hydro, one of the largest electric power companies in Canada, 

was one of the ESR “road-testers.” BC Hydro conducted the ESR 

pilot as part of the company’s water-use planning for one of 

the watersheds where BC Hydro has hydroelectric-generating 

facilities. With 98 percent of BC Hydro’s power produced by 

hydroelectric facilities, the company conducts water-use planning 

to improve decision-making by working with regulators 

and community stakeholders to develop management options. 

“Sustainable use requires the integration of social, financial, and 

ecological considerations,” notes Dr. Scott Harrison, a senior 

environmental specialist with BC Hydro. “The ESR provides a 

framework for enhancing discussions about ecosystem services 

within existing processes, such as water-use planning.” 

Sustainability Assessment: 

AkzoNobel — the worlds largest paints and coatings company 

and a major producer of specialty chemicals — used the ESR 

to improve its sustainability assessments. AkzoNobel Pulp 

& Paper Chemicals used the ESR to analyze the risks its customers 

in China and Indonesia face from the degradation of 

ecosystem services including increased scarcity of wood fiber 

and freshwater. These customer risks were then translated 

48 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

What is the ESR ? 

The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) is a 

structured method that helps managers proactively 

develop strategies to manage business risks and 

opportunities arising from their company’s dependence and 

impact on ecosystems. 

Responding to questions from corporations about the 

relevance of ecosystem services to corporate performance, 

the World Resources Institute partnered with the WBCSD 

and the Meridian Institute to develop the ESR. A draft 

method was developed and “road-tested” by five WBCSD 

members in the forestry, mining, specialty chemicals, 

agriculture, and hydropower sectors. Experiences from 

the road tests and input from other companies were 

incorporated into the final ESR. 

The method consists of a five-step process (see below). 

It starts by helping managers define a scope for the 

analysis – typically a business unit or part of the supply 

chain. Next, an Excel tool simplifies the selection of the 

ecosystem services that are most relevant. Third, the ESR 

has a framework for analyzing the trends of the priority 

ecosystem services. For example, managers may want 

to know how the quality and quantity of freshwater they 

depend upon will change over the next 15 years as a result 

of pollution, deforestation, climate change, or other factors. 

These trends give rise to specific risks and opportunities 

and the ESR provides a structured approach for identifying 

them. Finally, in step five, the ESR provides guidance in 

identifying actions that can be taken within the firm, with 

partners, and in relation to public policy to better manage 

these risks and opportunities. 

Steps in an ESR 

into business risks and opportunities for AkzoNobel Pulp 

& Paper Chemicals. “We found that Corporate Ecosystem 

Services Review fits nicely into our toolbox for sustainability 

assessments,” says Christina Hillforth, Director Sustainability 

& Operational Services at AkzoNobel Technology & Engineering. 

“It catches issues difficult to include in a quantitative Life 

Cycle Assessment or an Eco-efficiency Assessment. Thus, it 

complements the Eco-efficiency Assessment method widely 

used within AkzoNobel to include both the environmental 

and cost perspectives in the decision-making process.” 

4. Reduce risk of reputation and supply disruptions 

Companies are using the ESR to identify and reduce reputational, 

supply, and other risks associated with their supply 

chains. Yves Rocher, a global cosmetics firm, conducted an 

ESR on a branch of its supply chain with technical support 

from the INSPIRE Institute. The ESR identified several reputational 

and long-term supply concerns, including one related to 

the company’s dependence on essential oils from a rare tree 

species. Yves Rocher is now launching a program to increase 

planting of the rare tree and to develop less harmful ways of 

harvesting its essential oils. 

Survey recommended 

While these examples cover only a portion of ESR-use to date, 

they demonstrate the value that conducting an ESR can bring 

to a business. Most importantly, the ESR can help managers 

uncover new business risks and opportunities that, in turn, 

improve corporate strategy, policy, and other decision-making 

processes; help develop new products and services; avoid reputational 

risks; and avert supply chain disruptions. For these 

and other reasons, 94 percent of World Business Council for 

Sustainable Development (WBCSD) members who have used 

the ESR to date would recommend it to peers, according to 

a recent survey. 

1 Select the scope 

2 Identify priority ecosystem services 

3 Analyze trends in priority services 

4 Identify business risks and opportunities 

5 Develop strategies 

John Finisdore leads the World Resources 

Institute’s Business & Ecosystem Services 

Project. 

To learn more about ecosystem services, download the ESR, and read 

supporting materials, please visit: www.wri.org/ecosystems/esr. 


European Business and 

Biodiversity Platform 

The European Commission has decided to establish a technical support facility to promote 

the continued development of the EU Business and Biodiversity Initiative. The platform is 

open to civil society as well as to business in its activities. The platform will work with the 

interested priority business sectors identified by the European Commission – agriculture, 

food supply, forestry, extractive industry, finance, and tourism – to promote their awareness 

of and engagement in biodiversity protection. 

By Shulamit Alony 

The decision of the European Commission to establish a Business 

and Biodiversity platform was a result of the following 

process. One of the key measures identified in the European 

Commission Communication adopted in 2006 on “Halting 

the loss of biodiversity by 2010 – and beyond – sustaining 

ecosystem services for human well-being” is the building of 

more effective partnerships. This includes partnerships with 

business – both at the EU and Member State levels – that are 

fully in line with the global commitments of the Convention 

on Biological Diversity. Active engagement of the business 

community in support of biodiversity is necessary for the 

achievement of many objectives of the 2010 target. In addition 

to programs on business engagement of international 

organizations, several Member States (e.g., France, Germany, 

the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom) have 

actions ongoing at the national level. 

The Portuguese Presidency of the EU identified the link between 

business and biodiversity protection as one of its priorities and 

worked with the European Commission on the development of 

an initiative in this regard called Building Better Partnerships: 

Linking Business to Biodiversity (the EU B@B Initiative). After 

a series of stakeholder consultations with Member States, business, 

and nongovernmental organizations about the principles, 

objectives, added value, and possible elements for any EU-level 

action, a high-level conference on business and biodiversity 

was held in Lisbon from November 12 - 13, 2007. The “Message 

from Lisbon” confirmed the need to engage business in 

meeting the 2010 biodiversity objectives and showed that there 

was interest from the business sector. Specifically, the message 

welcomed the launching of an EU Business and Biodiversity 

Initiative and called on the European Commission to follow 

up the conference with financial and technical support to 

further develop the EU initiative. On December 14, 2007, the 

European Council acknowledged the need to reinforce the 

link between business and biodiversity at the European level, 

and the spring Council of 2009 reinstated the need to engage 

business with biodiversity. In December 2008 the European 

Commission published the Communication and its annexes 

on the Mid-term Report on the delivery to the EU Biodiversity 

Action Plan, briefly summarizing the actions taken thus far 

at the Community and Member State levels. 

Objectives 

The platform will engage with businesses, industry associations, 

governments, and civil society through an integrated 

and coordinated approach. 

Awareness: 

The platform will work with the interested priority business 

sectors identified by the European Commission – agriculture, 

food supply, forestry, extractive industry, finance, and 

tourism – to promote their awareness of and engagement in 

biodiversity protection. 

Implementation: 

The platform works with the business sectors, their associated 

50 


Agenda 

Biodiversity 

national federations, Member State organizations, and representatives 

of civil society to promote the implementation of 

identified best practice, adapted as appropriate to the specific 

conditions of the countries and companies concerned. 

Benchmarking and best practice: 

The platform works with the selected sectors to benchmark 

best practice in each sector with regard to the conservation of 

biodiversity and to implement and adapt, if necessary, to the 

specific conditions of the companies concerned. This will include 

the development of best practice guidance concerning the 

main risks, responsibilities, and opportunities for companies in 

relation to nature and biodiversity conservation. The guidance 

will build on existing guidelines and handbooks previously 

produced with business organizations and private companies, 

as well as other relevant materials. Insofar as relevant, this 

component will take account of EU nature legislation, notably 

biodiversity-relevant EU agreements and directives. 

Award: 

The platform will develop an award/rating system to recognize 

business sectors or companies that make an outstanding 

contribution to the conservation of biodiversity within the 

framework of the initiative. To reach these objectives, the 

European Commission took the initiative to engage with businesses, 

from SMEs to larger organizations, to set up a technical 

platform on Business and Biodiversity (B@B) in order to: 

• facilitate the business and biodiversity initiative; 

• develop with businesses and other stakeholders means to 

establish pro-biodiversity businesses; 

• help businesses finding solutions to biodiversity challenges 

related to their activities ensuring a fair income and sustainable 

growth, while providing benefits for biodiversity and 

ecosystems; 

• encourage the development of consumer awareness with an 

EU-wide award scheme, acknowledging the good practice of 

the best-performing businesses. 

Steering Committee 

A Steering Committee has been constituted for the B@B Initiative, 

keeping a balance of different stakeholders. It consists 

of five members, including representatives from the private 

sector, an industry association, a Member State, a civil society 

organization, and the European Commission. As defined by 

the European Commission, the Steering Committee’s role 

will be to advise on the direction and the development of the 

B@B Platform project. 

The Steering Committee will convene up to four times a year 

in order to provide advice regarding the progress and the 

development of the project. The Steering Committee will also 

provide further support and guidance to the Initiative, review 

and give comments on draft versions of deliverables, and offer 

proposals for follow-up and task results. 

Benefits for companies 

It has become crucial for companies to understand their link 

with ecosystem services and to better assess the risks related to 

the loss of biodiversity. Activities proposed through the B@B 

Platform will provide tools and methodologies to companies 

to promote value-creation and mitigate risk thanks to biodiversity 

conservation programs. Becoming involved with the 

platform is an opportunity for businesses to: 

• gain access to the sectoral best practices: 

The platform will draw up an inventory of the current best 

practices of companies in regard to biodiversity conservation 

management. This will be carried out through a benchmark of 

initiatives supporting sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity 

conservation. The B@B Platform will facilitate information 

and knowledge-exchange among different actors, such as 

businesses and conservation communities through the creation 

of a resource center. 

• contribute to the development of guidance documents: 

Guidance documents will be established by identifying and 

reviewing best practices, as well as through sectoral workshops. 

The workshops will facilitate the process of gathering 

information and knowledge-exchange with businesses in the 

different sectors. The guidance documents will be practical 

tools to assist companies in setting up and running businesses 

that incorporate biodiversity into their core activities, and 

the documents will also contribute to their business sustainability. 

• point out outstanding contributions to biodiversity 

conservation through the award system: 

The award system will evaluate companies’ performances 

regarding biodiversity conservation and assess the practices 

implemented. It will provide the European Commission 

recognition for outstanding contributions to biodiversity 

conservation. This award system will allow key stakeholders 

(customers, suppliers, employees, etc.) to acknowledge 

companies’ commitments to biodiversity. 

Shulamit Alony is Regional Business and 

Biodiversity Officer for the International 

Union for Conservation of Nature 

(IUCN). 


52 


Agenda 


the Organizational 

Implementation of 


The Communication on Progress (COP) policy is the central component 

of the UN Global Compact’s integrity measures. The policy establishes a 

mandatory reporting requirement for businesses to report annually on their 

progress in implementing the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global 

Compact (UNGC). 

By Dr. Dorothée Baumann and Prof. Andreas Georg Scherer 

Since the introduction of the COP policy, a total of 1,840 

companies have been delisted for failing to submit a COP, 

and over 1,200 companies are currently being flagged as noncommunicating 

(February 2010; www.unglobalcompact.org). 

The COP reports are available on the website of the UNGC. 

Georg Kell, the executive director of the UNGC, argues that 

“a commitment to public disclosure on performance is critical 

to the transparency and integrity of the Global Compact.” To 

further strengthen the COP policy, the UNGC also started the 

“notable COP program.” By rewarding the best COP reports with 

the “notable” distinction, the UNGC office highlights reports 

that set an example for excellent reporting. Of the more than 

5,000 business participants, currently almost 350 have submitted 

reports receiving the “notable” distinction. 

Current integrity measures of the UNGC 

Despite these efforts, the UNGC’s COP policy is still a limited 

safeguard against what many UNGC critics call “bluewashing.” 

The “bluewashing” issue refers to the assumption that the 

low entry requirements of the UNGC, paired with the largely 

positive reputation of the UN, may invite corporations to sign 

up for the UNGC and use it as a way to cover up problematic 

corporate practices. Whether the COP reports disclose Corporate 

Citizenship (CC) performance in a meaningful and informative 

way is therefore unclear. Most critical is the lack of evidence 

for a relationship between the company reports and the actual 

implementation of CC. Whether the improved quality of a 

report reflects progress in implementation remains ambiguous. 

The reports are not verified by an independent third party that 

could ensure the appropriateness of the reporting process and 

the factual correctness of the published data. Furthermore, 

voices of critical stakeholders are not typically integrated into 

the reports, nor do most reports refer to industry benchmarks 

that would allow a comparison of performance levels. Due to 

this lack of guidance and oversight of the reporting process, 

it is possible that a company report merely presents a facade 

that was created as part of a strategic public relations policy. 

In that case, the reports further obscure the actual status of 

CC implementation, instead of revealing it. 

It is the UNGC’s objective to achieve CC through the corporation’s 

adoption of the UNGC Ten Principles and their 

implementation in corporations’ daily business routines. This 


envisaged “embeddedness” of CC requires an alignment of 

organizational structures and procedures to ensure that the 

UNGC Principles are reflected in each business decision. However, 

the COP reports are unreliable sources for an analysis of 

the organizational embeddedness of CC. Unfortunately, the 

question of whether or not the UNGC has been a successful 

initiative cannot be answered based on the company reports. 

In order to know whether the UNGC has made an impact 

on corporate policies and procedures, we need to examine 

whether a learning process has taken place at the company 

level, and whether there has been a movement toward greater 

organizational embeddedness of CC. 

Development of an assessment tool for Corporate 

Citizenship 

With the purpose of shedding light on the actual implementation 

status of CC, a research project at the University of 

Zurich has developed an assessment tool that focuses on the 

organizational embeddedness of CC. The tool assesses organizational 

prerequisites for managing issues with implications 

for human rights, labor rights, environmental standards, and 

corruption. To this end, the tool divides the organizational 

learning process into five ideal-type stages. These stages capture 

the incremental learning process corporations typically 

go through in seeking to improve CC. From initially rejecting 

any responsibility (defensive stage), multinational companies 

are often forced into accepting responsibility along their value 

chain for the legal requirements of their home countries 

(compliance stage). In the managerial stage, corporations start 

drafting and integrating CC policies and procedures. Through 

this process, they begin to realize potential competitive advantages 

(strategic stage) and finally acknowledge CC as a way 

of doing business (civil stage). 

The assessment dimensions include three dimensions of CC 

that were derived from organization theory. The commitment 

dimension describes the public and formal commitment to 

CC. It analyzes the policy aspects of the commitment to CC 

(e.g., codes of conduct) that are typically defined by the top 

management of the corporation. The structural and procedural 

dimension captures the alignment of internal processes with 

CC. Its indicators incorporate incentive systems, training 

measures, and reporting processes. The interactive dimension 

focuses on the corporations’ stakeholder relationships. 

All three dimensions are equally important for assessing CC. 

Without leadership, CC will not be implemented at all levels 

of management. Without the internal alignment of policies 

and processes, the commitment to CC on the leadership level 

will not appear credible. Without links to external stakeholders, 

corporations will have difficulties assessing operational 

risks, defining CC priorities, and implementing CC in a way 

that is perceived as legitimate. 

In the assessment tool, the five learning stages are operationalized 

with indicators on the three aforementioned dimensions. 

The combination of learning stages and organizational indicators 

creates a matrix that, if applied to the empirical assessment 

of corporations, displays the status of their CC embeddedness. 

The tool was applied to five Swiss UNGC participants. All five 

companies in the sample are large multinational corporations 

(MNCs) that joined the initiative in its first operational year 

(2000/2001). In order to consistently implement a CC policy 

globally, MNCs must translate their CC commitment into formal 

policies and procedures. The assessment tool assumes that 

this process of CC implementation takes place in big MNCs 

in a formal manner. In small and medium-sized enterprises 

(SMEs), the implementation process, however, is likely to be 

less formal and structured, and therefore a different assessment 

tool for CC in SMEs is currently being developed. 

The research results for the implementation status of CC 

in the five MNCs show a distinct implementation pattern. 

While all the corporations in the sample have made a strong 

commitment to CC in general and to the UNGC initiative in 

particular, the alignment of internal structures and procedures 

varies greatly. While some corporations are quite advanced in 

embedding CC in their daily organizational processes, others 

are still just beginning to address critical aspects of embedding 

CC. However, none of the companies in the sample have yet 

addressed the alignment of the human resource function in 

54 


Agenda 


“ 

Whether the COP reports 

disclose Corporate Citizenship (CC) 

performance in a meaningful and 

informative way is unclear. 

” 

the implementation process of CC. CC is currently not taken 

into account in recruitment, promotions, and bonus payments, 

with the exception of legal affairs. In contrast, the reporting 

function is well established at all corporations. All the MNCs 

in the sample regularly report their CC activities, although 

most have not designed a reporting process that is based on 

key performance indicators. These indicators would generate 

updated information throughout the reporting year that could 

be analyzed for the COP reports. Instead, the information for 

the reports is typically gathered at the last minute by a small 

number of individuals. 

The provision of training for CC varies greatly throughout 

the sampled companies, extending from information sessions 

for new employees to elaborate e-training modules that 

were developed specifically for the respective corporations. 

At all companies, the training has the goal of raising awareness 

of CC policies, yet it is not clear whether the training 

effectively prepares employees for ambiguous and difficult 

decision-making situations. No follow-up training or impact 

assessments have been conducted. Thus, while the picture is 

diverse concerning the structural and procedural dimensions 

of CC, embedding CC in all aspects of the organization is a 

work in progress. The dimension that is least developed at 

all the sampled companies is the interactive dimension. The 

companies have loose relationships with various stakeholders, 

but these interactions are not systematically integrated 

into strategic corporate objectives and processes. The lack of 

integration between the CC approach and the environment in 

which the corporation operates creates risks for the corpora- 


tion. The acceptance of CC activities and the effectiveness of 

their implementation is diluted by ad-hoc relationships that 

do not mandate any form of commitment from either side. As 

a result, at crisis points, non-constructive interaction between 

the corporations and critical stakeholders prevails. 

The research results based on the assessment tool show that 

only a closer analysis of the actual implementation status of 

CC can answer the question of whether a learning process is 

under way, and whether CC is increasingly becoming a way 

of doing business. 

Increased transparency of the learning process as a 

leadership initiative 

Since its inception, the UNGC has stressed the fact that it was 

not set up as a regulatory instrument, and for this reason it 

has refrained from introducing stricter oversight mechanisms. 

However, increasing the transparency of the implementation 

status of CC and systematizing the learning process does not 

have to interfere with the voluntary nature of the initiative. 

Designed essentially as a leadership initiative, the UNGC calls 

upon committed corporations to adopt measures that go 

beyond minimum requirements. For these corporations, the 

tool described above could serve as a means of self-assessment. 

Through the assessment process, corporations can identify 

their strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of CC 

and hence report more accurately about their progress. 

The tool can also be applied to specific issue areas. For example, 

water scarcity is currently one of the issues that is being 

discussed globally. Measuring a corporation’s water footprint 

will probably soon become a de-facto standard for every 

MNC. Our tool could help to assess corporate preparedness 

for constructing a newly developed corporate water policy 

throughout the entire organization, in addition to tracking 

incremental progress over time. 

Despite the apparent limitations of the COP policy, its introduction 

has been an important step in the institutional development 

of the UNGC initiative. The reporting requirement marks 

an initial systematization of the learning process around which 

the initiative was conceptualized, and it asks corporations to 

define and plan their approach to CC. Keeping in mind that 

the UNGC was never set up as a regulatory instrument, the 

COP policy manages the delicate balance between maintaining 

the voluntary character of the initiative and stressing the 

need to increase transparency over the actual implementation 

of the UNGC’s Principles. 

For the UNGC to continue flourishing in the next decade, 

the initiative must evolve from a platform that has initiated 

dialogue and reporting about CC to an initiative that is able 

to track progress toward CC. In order to guide this process, the 

UNGC needs to offer additional tools for corporate leaders. The 

assessment tool developed at the University of Zurich helps to 

identify organizational implementation gaps. Yet tools that 

help to fill these gaps are still rare. In interviews, corporate 

representatives have regularly pointed out that resources must 

be pooled to develop capacity-building methods, for example 

specific training manuals for CC. 

The UNGC office could play an important role in gathering 

information about available methods. Organizing them into 

three main categories – tools for assessment, tools for capacity 

building, and tools for evaluation – could help corporations 

get an overview of existing material. Additional tools could 

be developed by private service providers based on corporate 

needs and interest, and the UNGC office could assemble all 

the information under one roof. That way, the initiative would 

not only support the corporate reporting function, but also 

the actual implementation process of CC. 

The promotion and application of tools that more accurately 

capture the actual implementation status of CC thus creates 

win-win situations for the UNGC. For the UNGC, better data on 

the implementation status of its objectives increases the credibility 

of the initiative and facilitates the design of customized 

interventions and guidance in the future. For corporations, 

an assessment of the status quo of their CC implementation 

promotes best practices and identifies areas for improvement. 

Future efforts can be targeted at clearly defined priority areas 

and progress can be shown over time. 

The UNGC as a stimulus for the implementation of 


Dr. Dorothée Baumann 

earned her doctoral 

degree at the University 

of Zurich and is currently 

working as a consultant 

and project manager for 

AccountAbility. 

Prof. Dr. Andreas Georg 

Scherer is Professor of 

Business Administration 

and Director of the 

Institute of Organization 

and Administrative Science 

(IOU) at the University of 

Zurich. 

56 


Agenda 


From Global Compact 

to Global Leadership 

The global financial crisis of 2008 was a stark reminder of business’s role in society. 

When well governed and well led, the role of business transcends one of profitability 

for its owners and incentives for its managers. Its role is to create value for society. 

By Prof. V. Kasturi Rangan 


Profit is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Without profit, 

there is no growth, and without growth there is no development. 

But if business does not create value and instead divvies up the 

same pie over and over again for personal gains (remember 

the subprime mortgages, collateral debt obligations, and credit 

default swaps?), then it is bound to fail and cause havoc for 

society. Responsible business leaders all over the world know 

this to be true, yet time and again they fall into the trap of 

short-term profit for long-term value. Here is where the UN 

Global Compact has an important leadership role to play. 

In the first decade since its launch, the UNGC has done an 

admirable job of mobilizing nearly 6,000 businesses from 

all over the world to commit to the universally accepted Ten 

Principles of the UNGC, and even more broadly agree on a 

common platform that addresses the most difficult problems 

facing humanity – the Millennium Development Goals. 

More recently, the process of communicating results and 

tracking progress has resulted in an ever-improving honor 

system, whereby the participating companies have raised 

the stakes on demonstrating action over rhetoric. In spite of 

such an impressive start, in my opinion, we have just begun 

the hard work. 

The idea of a “triple bottom line,” or the task of reconciling 

shareholders’ interests with those of society’s, is easier preached 

than practiced. The natural laws of business, at times, are at 

odds with the long-term interests of society. Unlike planet 

earth and its inhabitants, businesses and business careers are 

not meant to last forever. What is good for one community 

may not be in the interests of the global community and vice 

versa. In spite of the win-win rhetoric that many who are enamored 

by the Global Compact espouse, some businesses that 

have taken their social and environmental roles seriously will 

tell you that it has come at the cost of their financial bottom 

lines. It is exactly for these reasons that we should applaud 

the 6,000 and more companies that have signed on to the 

Global Compact. It is an act of faith that they have committed 

to a path and a course of action. They hope to reach the 

end destination. Not all of them will succeed in achieving the 

sought-after integration, but those who do will have done it 

through innovative business models and visionary leadership. 

This is the part of the Global Compact work that needs to 

be cherished, supported, and spread. It is in this spirit that I 

would like to forward two ideas. 

First, that the UNGC promote a collaborative network among 

clusters of participating companies to share best practices, refine 

business models, and influence change in the larger industry 

environment. Second, that the UNGC create a technical advisory 

unit to help eager SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to 

make the transition to the Principles of the Global Compact. 

I elaborate on each of those ideas below. 

As currently structured, the Global Compact is a network of 

companies that undertake significant actions with respect to 

society and the environment, but do so almost independently. 

Much of their actions are based on their value systems and 

their belief that a firm’s profit goals need not be divorced from 

society’s goals for sustainable development – both in a human 

and environmental sense. The real power of the Compact 

will come only when this self-selected group forms a compact 

among its participating companies to put teeth into what 

now remains an act of faith. Rather than a one-way channel 

to and from UNGC headquarters, the idea is to unleash the 

power of the network by actively encouraging consortiums of 

companies to get together to set standards, codes of conduct, 

and other operating principles in a collaborative manner 

as a way of prodding and helping participants to raise their 

own commitments and actions. Horizontal and speedy collaboration 

among participants in the different clusters could 

unleash a simultaneous burst of actions not possible through 

the vertical “report and communicate” structure implied by 

the current model. When the decentralized model starts to 

work well, there is no reason why these standards cannot flow 

outside the Global Compact to non-participating companies 

in similar businesses. To put it simply, the Global Compact 

should transform itself from a participatory organization to a 

network that acts as a catalyst in helping businesses undertake 

models that bring business into harmony with society. 

The idea of a collaborative business coalition working for the 

larger interests of society is not new. The Marine Stewardship 

Council in the fishing industry and the Extractive Industries 

Transparency Initiative in the oil and mining industry are but 

two examples. Regardless of the origin of such coalitions, their 

end result is impressive. The Equator Principles, for example, 

have done much for banking and human rights and has 

brought a degree of responsibility to project-lending not seen 

before. The list is even longer when one adds the initiatives of 

the numerous trade associations and chambers of commerce. 

My argument is that the UNGC should attempt to replicate 

such successful initiatives. Its role is to actively aid, abet, and 

promote business practices in the direction of its Principles. 

The UNGC is a global body with the weight and credibility of 

the United Nations behind it and claims an impressive 6,000 

participating businesses from 130 countries. Surely there 

are clusters, both by geography and industry. Engagement 

within clusters is likely to lead to big wins. By definition, the 

participating companies have made a commitment to actively 

engage in harmonizing their interests with those of society. 

What better starting point than that? 

58 


Agenda 


“ 

The Global 

Compact should 

transform 

itself from a 

participatory 

organization 

to a network 

that acts as a 

catalyst. 

” 

Imagine these clusters getting together formally, not only 

to share best practices but, even more importantly, to also 

demonstrate standards that can then be taken outside the 

participatory framework by dint of example or through 

force of industry norms. Such apostles and evangelizers who 

demonstrate how business and social / environmental goals 

can mutually reinforce each other will transform practice. It 

is also in their best interests that the industries in which they 

participate uphold these high standards, thus raising the bar 

for all competitors. That is where self-interest takes over. The 

industries will find a way to monitor themselves. When that 

happens, the UNGC will have started a revolution. 

What I have advocated above will work for larger companies, 

which have the knowledge, commitment, and resources to 

engage in the transformative business practice under discussion. 

How about the SMEs? While there surely are exemplars 

from among SMEs that have made remarkable contributions 

on the social and environmental dimension, by and large 

most SMEs simply do not have the knowledge or resources to 

proactively integrate social / environmental responsibility into 

their business plans. They would not be immediate candidates 

for signing on to the Global Compact. Yet we know that in 

country after country, SMEs are at the heart of job creation, 

and in many instances significant contributors to national 

GDP and economic activity, including the use of scarce resources. 

How can the UNGC get them involved without the 

heavy directive to comply with the Global Compact Principles? 

Here is a suggestion that can take many different shapes. A 

straightforward suggestion would be for the UNGC to set up 

a technical advisory unit, which would work with those SMEs 

that request it in order to offer advice and guidance on how 

to integrate business and social goals for mutual benefit. The 

task, of course, will not be easy. If small businesses do not see 

the business advantages, they will not undertake the activity. 

Frankly, there is no reason that they should, unless it is the 

law. So the business advisory unit has to be savvy and expert 

in demonstrating the win-win logic. This will have to go 

beyond the platitude of “what is good for society is good for 

business.” The recommendations have to rest on innovative 

business models that are sustainable and profitable. This UNGC 

unit will have to “put its money where its mouth is!” There 

is really no choice but to create a consulting / advisory unit, 

or encourage the creation of many such private units in the 

SME ecosystem. And when win-win solutions are articulated, 

demonstrated, and implemented, not only will the SMEs see 

value in making the shift, but several might even join the 

regional or industry clusters discussed earlier. This will make 

the UNGC movement stronger. 

If we see the goal as increasing UNGC participation, then that 

is one thing. But in 10 years, my hope is that we will see plenty 

of demonstrated successes, so many in fact that managing 

businesses in a balanced way becomes the norm rather than 

the exception. The goal is to change the world of business – 

the UNGC should not shoot for anything less. 

V. Kasturi Rangan is Professor of 

Marketing at the Harvard Business 

School and the co-chairman of the 

school’s Social Enterprise Initiative. 


For much of the last decade, globalization was a leading issue of 

public policy debate, and global core labor standards (CLS) were 

the lead demand of critics of globalization. Now, with the world 

economy stuck in the deepest economic recession since the 1930s, 

attention to globalization and the need for labor standards has 

waned as people have become more concerned about jobs and 

economic recovery. Though completely understandable, this shift 

risks overlooking CLS, which are more important than ever. 

By Thomas I. Palley 

60 


Agenda 


Global Core 

Labour Standards 

Are More Important 

Than Ever 

CLS are needed to address the wrongs of globalization. But 

more than that, they are needed to ensure that future economic 

recovery is sustainable and equitable. There is a growing 

realization that the world economy confronts a massive 

shortfall of aggregate demand that is obstructing recovery. 

Important factors behind this shortfall are income inequality 

and wage stagnation, both of which have been aggravated 

by globalization. Increased income inequality and wage 

stagnation were also important factors driving the pattern 

of growth that ultimately resulted in economic crisis. That 

is because many households – particularly in the United 

States – turned to borrowing as a way of meeting livingstandard 

expectations. 

Now, the world economy is burdened by both debt and income 

inequality, which, together, explain the aggregate demand 

problem. Though governments can temporarily fill 

the demand gap with deficit spending, sustainable recovery 

requires addressing the deeper problems of income inequality 

and stagnant wages. This is where labor standards enter the 

picture. CLS can help improve income equality and create conditions 

in which wages rise with productivity. That will tackle 

a fundamental flaw in globalization that has contributed to 

making the current crisis; help remedy the global aggregate 

demand problem and encourage economic recovery; and 

create a fairer global economy in which workers share in the 

prosperity they produce. 

What are labor standards? 

CLS refer to five core articles of the International Labor Organization 

concerning freedom of association and protection 

of the right to organize; the right to organize and bargain 

collectively; the prohibition of all forms of forced or compulsory 

labor; the abolition of exploitative child labor; and the 

elimination of discrimination with respect to employment 

and occupation. 

These standards are very much in the spirit of “rights” and 

are intended to hold independently of a country’s stage of 

development. This links CLS with the discourse of human 

rights. Two of the standards are affirmative in character, giving 

workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, while 

three of the standards are prohibitive in character, banning 

forced labor, exploitative child labor, and discrimination. The 

standards are all “qualitative” in nature, not “quantitative.” 

That means they do not involve such measures as setting 

minimum wages or maximum hours, which are labor market 

interventions that are clearly contingent on an economy’s stage 

of development. Contrary to the claims of opponents, CLS do 

not impose on developing countries quantitative regulation 

befitting mature economies. 

Finally, the freedom of association and right to organize 

standard is particularly important. This standard covers labor 


unions, but it also covers civil society and religious organizations. 

As such, it promotes democracy and civil liberty, which 

constitute essential goals of development along with higher 

living standards. 

Economic benefits 

Critics of globalization argue that it has not produced the 

promised benefits because the current rules are incomplete 

and inappropriately designed. A necessary corrective is the 

formal inclusion of CLS. Opponents of labor standards assert 

they are a form of “hidden protection” for developed-country 

workers and standards would retard growth and development. 

However, there are strong theoretical grounds for believing 

labor standards would raise global growth, and developing 

countries stand to gain the most. These positive arguments 

are increasingly supported by empirical evidence. 

One source of economic benefit is static efficiency gains, 

whereby CLS correct distortions in labor markets, resulting 

in better resource allocations that raise output and economic 

well-being. Raising wages via labor standards can 

increase productivity because higher wages elicit greater 

worker effort and reduce malnutrition. Giving workers the 

right to join unions can neutralize the monopoly power of 

employers, thereby increasing both employment and wages. 

Eliminating discrimination can raise employment, output, 

and wages by ensuring efficient matching of jobs and skills. 

Lastly, eliminating inappropriate child labor can contribute to 

higher wages for adult workers, which can promote economic 

development by contributing to better child nutrition and 

helping human capital formation by supporting lengthened 

years of schooling. 

Far from reducing employment in developing countries, these 

static efficiency effects will raise employment. In a world of 

demand shortage, higher wages will increase employment 

by increasing consumption spending. And this effect may be 

particularly pronounced in developing countries where workers 

may spend heavily on non-traded goods – that is, goods 

produced locally for local consumption. Dynamic economic 

efficiency gains refer to gains that come from changing the 

path and pattern of economic development. With regard to 

such gains, CLS can encourage firms to pursue business plans 

focused on increasing productivity rather than plans that aim 

to increase profits by squeezing workers and redistributing 

existing productivity. 

At the global level, CLS can help block the problem of “race 

to the bottom” competition between countries. Market incentives 

can often lead agents to pursue actions that seemingly 

benefit individuals but actually turn out to be harmful when 

“ 

Labour 

standards 

would raise 

global growth, 

and developing 

countries stand 

to gain the 

most. 

” 

all choose such actions. A classic example is bribery, which 

appears to benefit the individual but ends up harming all 

when all choose to bribe. The same holds for labor exploitation, 

which promotes “low-road” competition between countries 

marked by a degraded environment, lack of public goods, and 

lack of investment in skills. 

The hallmark of globalization is increased mobility of production 

and capital between countries. This has allowed business to 

pit countries in adverse competition that erodes environmental 

and workplace regulations, and undercuts wages of all workers 

– both in the North and South. Multinational corporations 

may actually exploit South-South divisions even more than 

they do North-South divisions, pitting developing countries 

in destructive competition to secure foreign investment. CLS 

can help rein in this adverse competition by establishing 

standards that apply in all countries. This is something that 

enlightened business should embrace, since it bars competition 

from less enlightened elements that would undermine socially 

responsible business in the absence of standards. 

Another feature of globalization has been the adoption of 

export-led growth strategies. Countries that were early to 

adopt this strategy have benefitted, but there is now evidence 

62 


Agenda 


export-led growth is unsustainable, deflationary, and promotes 

financial instability. First, export-led growth directly encourages 

countries to engage in “race to the bottom” competition, 

as each tries to gain competitive advantage over its rival. That 

means the benefits of development flow out of countries rather 

than staying at home. 

Second, export-led growth increases the global supply of goods, 

resulting in declining terms of trade, the emergence of global 

excess capacity, and the problem of export displacement, 

whereby one country’s export sales displace another’s. Fifty 

years ago the problem for developing countries was declining 

commodity prices caused by rising productivity and exports. 

Today that problem is replicating itself in manufacturing, 

as developing countries try to grow through manufacturing 

export-led growth. 

Third, export-led growth promotes financial instability by 

encouraging countries to seek competitive advantage through 

undervalued exchange rates. As with wage competition, exchange 

rate competition is especially sharp between developing 

countries, so that much of the benefit of development flows 

North to upper-income workers in developed economies. 

The bottom line is that export-led growth is not a viable 

strategy for developing economies as a group, and by undermining 

wages and working conditions, it has contributed to 

wage stagnation, higher income inequality, and the problem 

of global demand shortage. It has also directly contributed to 

the problem of global financial imbalances that is evident in 

the US trade deficit. Countries need to shift from export-led 

growth to more domestic demand-led growth. Such a new 

strategy would allow the benefits of development to be consumed 

at home; would avoid the trap of “race to the bottom” 

competition; and would escape the problem of global aggregate 

demand shortage. The problem is that the existing model of 

globalization undermines domestic demand-led growth by 

promoting increased income inequality and wage stagnation, 

and instead pushes export-led growth. 

Lessons from history 

The world economy is currently beset by recession and contradiction. 

An escape from recession is blocked by the shortage 

of aggregate demand. The contradiction is that globalization 

promotes a pattern of development that increases global supply 

while simultaneously undermining global demand. This 

problem was hidden for 20 years by asset price inflation and 

borrowing that filled the demand gap. However, the economic 

crisis has exposed this process as unsustainable. 

The implication is that the global economy needs a new model 

of development that attends to domestic demand. That is the 

only way of restoring global growth with full employment. 

CLS are a critical part of this new model. The global economy 

needs labor standards and independent trade unions to solve 

the problems of dysfunctional income distribution and global 

demand shortage. Rather than being a market distortion, as 

claimed by opponents, CLS and trade unions are actually a 

corrective of market and political failure rooted in the imbalance 

of power. 

US economic history offers powerful salient lessons. Globalization 

represents the international integrations of goods, 

labor, and financial markets. In the late 19th and early 20th 

century, the US economy also underwent a process of integration. 

The US economy was continental in scope, and the 

creation of a successful national economy required new laws 

and institutions governing labor markets, financial markets, 

and business. This is the history of the anti-trust movement 

of the Progressive era and the history of the New Deal that 

created Social Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission, 

and labor laws that protect workers. Those innovations 

solved the structural problems that caused the Great Depression 

and generated America’s famed “blue-collar” middle 

class. Today the challenge is institutional innovation that 

will create shared global prosperity. CLS are an essential part 

of that architecture. 

Political benefits 

A further benefit of CLS concerns politics and governance. There 

is now growing awareness that transparency, accountability, 

and democratic political competition enhance growth and 

development. They do so by limiting corruption and cronyism; 

promoting institutions and policy processes that are responsive 

to economic conditions; and promoting fairer income 

distribution. By protecting freedom of association and the 

right to organize, CLS contribute positively to both the overall 

development of civil society as well as the specific development 

of labor markets and worker-based organizations. 

Thomas I. Palley is a Schwartz Economic 

Growth Fellow at the New America 

Foundation in Washington, DC. 


MilleNnium 

Development 

Goals 

Goal 3 

PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY 

AND EMPOWER WOMEN 

Target 1 

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary 

education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of 

education no later than 2015 

Goal 4 

REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY 

Goal 1 

ERADICATE EXTREME 

POVERTY & HUNGER 

Target 1 

Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, 

the under-five mortality rate 

Target 1 

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people 

whose income is less than $ 1 a day 

Target 2 

Achieve full and productive employment and decent 

work for all, including women and young people 

Target 3 

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people 

who suffer from hunger 

Goal 2 

ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL 

PRIMARY EDUCATION 

Goal 5 

IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH 

Target 1 

Target 1 

Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and 

girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of 

primary schooling 

Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio 

Target 2 

Achieve universal access to reproductive health 

64 


Agenda 

Development 

Goal 6 

COMBAT HIV / AIDS, MALARIA 

AND OTHER DISEASES 

Target 1 

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the 

spread of HIV / AIDS 

Goal 8 

DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP 

FOR DEVELOPMENT 

Target 2 

Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment 

for HIV / AIDS for all those who need it 

Target 3 

Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence 

of malaria and other major diseases 

Target 1 

Address the special needs of least developed countries, 

landlocked countries and small island developing states 

Target 2 

Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory 

trading and financial system 

Goal 7 

ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL 

SUSTAINABILITY 

Target 1 

Integrate the principles of sustainable development into 

country policies and programmes and reverse the loss 

of environmental resources 

Target 2 

Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a 

significant reduction in the rate of loss 

Target 3 

Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt 

Target 4 

In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide 

access to affordable essential drugs in developing 

countries 

Target 5 

In cooperation with the private sector, make available 

benefits of new technologies, especially information and 

communications 

Target 3 

Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without 

sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic 

sanitation 

Target 4 

By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in 

the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers 


On the Eve of 

the MDG 

Review Summit 

66 


Agenda 

Development 

When they signed the Millennium Declaration in 2000, world leaders 

made an historic promise to work together to improve the lives of the 

world’s poorest people. With its clear goals and deadlines, the Millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs) created the first-ever global compact in which 

rich and developing countries acknowledged shared responsibility to end 

extreme poverty and its root causes. 

By Anita Sharma 

Ten years after their creation and five years before the 2015 

target date for their achievement, the MDGs have become the 

cornerstone of development planning, performance assessment, 

and public engagement in the global fight against poverty. 

Since that time, the living conditions of poor people in most 

countries across the world, including many of the poorest, 

have seen marked improvements. Sustained economic growth 

combined with the strong anti-poverty focus provided by the 

MDGs resulted in 40 million more kids in school, 2 million 

children’s lives saved, and an estimated 400 million people 

escaping extreme poverty. About 40 countries have benefitted 

from debt cancellation. We have learned a lot since the Millennium 

Development Goals were adopted about what works 

and what is needed to achieve more progress. 

• We know that interventions that cut across the MDGs have 

significant impacts on health, education, poverty, and hunger. 

• We know that financial resources and investment, when 

coupled with a system of accountability, will produce results. 

• We know that above all, commitments by developing countries 

to adopt national plans and mobilize resources that invest 

in development will ensure those countries have a chance 

of achieving the MDGs. 

• And finally, we know that nothing will happen without 

sustained political will, which is why this September’s world 

leaders’ Review Summit at the UN is so important. 

Still, challenges remain and have been compounded by the 

food, energy, and financial crises and by climate change. 

Progress has been uneven, across geographies and across Goals. 

Whilst some of the poorest countries have seen remarkable 

advancements, others are lagging behind. Goals dependent on 

systemic change (in the health arena, for example) or those 

requiring improvement in the status of women are performing 

very poorly. Inequality between and within countries has 

grown – indigenous people, minority groups, lower castes, 

persons with disabilities, and socially excluded groups in 

general continue to be left behind. And even where we have 

seen big quantitative gains such as in education or access to 

water, the lack of quality is a growing concern. On the whole, 

MDG-related policies at the national level have improved, as 

has resource availability, but the biggest challenges are at the 

local and implementation levels, where resources and benefits 

do not reach poor people. 

This year offers a unique opportunity to catalyze public discussion 

and policy development on the MDGs, particularly 

leading up to the 2010 MDG Review Summit. The Summit, 

scheduled for September 20 - 22 as part of the 65th UN General 

Assembly, is possibly the most important event on the global 

policy calendar this year. 

The Summit also offers a critical opportunity to galvanize 

efforts and partnerships for the push to meet the 2015 target. 

The Summit is expected to include a comprehensive review of 

successes, opportunities, lessons learned, obstacles, and gaps 

in order to develop concrete strategies for action. It is due to 

close with agreement on an “outcome document” that would 

ideally identify a plan that will help both rich and developing 

nations to achieve the MDGs. 


Social Entrepreneurship 

in Times of Crisis 

Social entrepreneurs can help companies to make their 

social engagement credible and public: besides the benefits 

to corporate reputation, their commitments can often bring 

new business and sales contacts. But social business has not 

been left unscathed by the financial crisis. We spoke with 

Mirjam Schöning, the head and senior director of the Schwab 

Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. 

Many companies have cut back on their commitments to social responsibility 

in response to the economic crisis. Will this separate the wheat 

from the chaff show us who’s really committed and who was doing 

this for appearance’s sake? 

Mirjam Schöning: Certainly some firms have cut back on 

their commitments. Firms that have firmly anchored the social 

aspect of their responsibility in their actions, however, have 

sometimes even expanded their work in this area. Interestingly 

enough, we’re seeing this with companies in the IT sector. Take 

Hewlett Packard and Intel, for example, which are creating 

entire divisions around social impact. So are consulting firms 

like the Boston Consulting Group and Ernst & Young. 

Why then, in your view, should a company invest in civic engagement? 

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 (young 

people, for instance, or those living below the poverty line) 

or an innovative solution to the same problem. 

The UN Global Compact is one of the most important umbrella organizations 

in the world. How well do you see the subject of civic engagement 

being incorporated here? 

The Global Compact was announced by Kofi Annan at 

the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1999. Since then, 

the Compact has developed into one of the most important 

measures of corporate social conduct. But the 10 Principles of 

the Global Compact are targeting standards on human rights, 

the environment, and corruption that should be adhered to 

in order to avoid negative effects. They say less about the 

positive contributions that companies can make through 

their involvement. 

Thinking globally, how should such initiatives be used to develop this 

subject further? 

At the global level, we need a variety of additional forums 

so that we can do more thinking on the subject and decide 

how to proceed. 

The UN will be emphasizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 

on the political agenda for 2010. What sort of stimuli do you anticipate? 

The MDGs are ambitious but concrete goals. We should 

be doing more to work towards them. We may need to break 

the goals down into individual details that would demonstrate 

what each of us can each contribute, both in our representative 

roles and at a personal level. 

It’s clear that the Millennium Development Goals are not going to 

be reached in the desired timeframe. The economic crisis is making 

everything even more difficult. What can civic engagement achieve 

here in spite of things? 

We shouldn’t bury our heads in the sand about the MDGs; 

even if it looks as though these will not be fully realized, 

committed companies can still provide a significant impulse. 

Civic engagement and active corporate citizenship will play 

an important part in preventing the next economic crisis or 

at least lessening its effects. 

The interview was conducted by Dr. Elmer Lenzen. 

Mirjam Schöning is Head and Senior 

Director of the Schwab Foundation for 

Social Entrepreneurship. 

68 


Agenda 

Development 

As part of this year of review and in advance of the Summit, UN 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued Keeping the Promise, a 

progress report on achieving the MDGs. He specifically called 

for the adoption of a global action agenda for accelerating 

progress that he said “should be specific, practical, and resultsoriented, 

with concrete steps and timelines. And it must set 

out who does what, so that we can monitor our efforts and 

promote accountability for individuals and institutions alike.” 

The goal is to have such a global “Breakthrough Plan” agreed 

to at the Summit. 

Earlier in the year during the World Economic Forum in 

February 2010, Secretary Ban urged the corporations to join 

a new phase of the Global Compact: Global Compact 2.0. He 

noted that many businesses are already taking specific action 

in support of the Millennium Development Goals — assisting 

in poverty reduction, food security, environmental stewardship, 

gender equality, health care, and education through their core 

business operations, social investments, and advocacy. Beyond 

responsible practices, business should think of new and creative 

ways of working with and investing in pro-poor business 

models, products, and services that can bring about thriving 

markets. A significant number of industries and corporations 

have already been contributing to the MDGs. 

In June 2010, UN Global Compact will celebrate its 10th anniversary. 

As noted on its home page, “While the global context 

and rationale for corporate responsibility has shifted since 

launching the UN Global Compact in 2000, the vision remains 

the same: for companies everywhere to integrate universal 

principles into their strategies, operations and culture, thereby 

having a profound effect on United Nations goals, particularly 

the Millennium Development Goals.” 

We know that the private sector has an important role to play 

as we seek new initiatives to accelerate progress toward the 

MDGs and to augment what we know already works. 

When the same goals are targeted through multiple interventions, 

progress is more likely – and that requires the 

contributions of the private sector. This is because multiple 

interventions to one goal increase the different points of 

access available to an individual and increase the chances 

that an intervention will work for a certain segment of the 

population. For instance, with malaria, it must be tackled 

through bed net distribution from many different points, as 

well as through treatments, testing, and education. Access 

to voluntary family planning and contraception results in 

reduced child and maternal mortality rates, while expanded 

access to safe water and sanitation dramatically cuts back 

incidences of ailments like diarrhea, which can be deadly 

for children. 

Here are six specific questions business leaders should ask 

themselves and use as benchmarks in their core businesses 

if they would like to help achieve the MDGs: 

1| Are we able to generate jobs for the poor (nature of jobs, 

location, and working conditions)? 

2| Are we able to create wealth for the poor (buying from them, 

producing with them, selling to them at a lower cost)? 

3| Are we increasing the capacity of the poor (training, exposure, 

locally relevant technology)? 

4| Are we sure that the tax revenues we are generating are 

being used by the government judiciously to support the 

poor? Are we challenging corruption? 

5| Are we influencing public policy and practice to make sure 

that they benefit the poor? 

6| Finally, business can use its relationships with governments 

to advocate for policies that make the MDGs more 

achievable – such as eliminating tariffs and school fees, 

increasing the level of public funds going to development 

assistance, and overhauling the way government delivers 

ODA so that it is more effective and reaching the people 

who need it most. 

Around the world, people and groups are advocating to their 

governments for strong actions at the September Summit. To 

learn more on how to become involved, please visit the MDG 

2010 website (www.endpoverty2015.org), where you can learn 

and share information about the Summit and get involved. 

Public mobilization efforts are also being planned, including 

Stand Up, Take Action – the yearly worldwide mobilization 

in support of the MDGs – strategically planned the weekend 

of September 17 - 19 prior to the Summit. 

One hundred and eighty-nine world leaders made an historic 

promise in 2000 when they agreed to work together 

to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. Through 

work on the Summit and the preparations for it, civil society, 

nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector can 

make a difference. It is more than the right thing to do. The 

health, prosperity, and security of mankind and our planet 

depend on it. 

Anita Sharma is North America 

Coordinator of the UN Millennium 

Campaign. 


Best 

Practice 

Solely responsible for the editorial contributions 

under the heading "Best Practice" are the 

companies and their authors themselves. 

Human Rights 

Environment 

CSR-Management 

BASF 

Lufthansa 

Mansour Group 

Petrobras 


Adecco Group 

Amec 

Coop 

Manpower 

Partnership 

Acciona 

Hathay Bunano 

KPMG 

Otto Group 

Argos 


Bosch 

Bradesco 

BSH 

Carrefour 

Copagaz 

Deutsche Bank 

Folksam 

Grundfos 

ICA 

ISA 

MRCB 

Nestlé 

Océ 

Petrobras 

REN 

Siemens 

SKF 



The TMS Group 


Volkswagen 

Bayer 

Camposol 

Copeinca 



Eni 

Henkel 


Novo Nordisk 

Puma 

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Acciona 

Adecco Group 

Amec 

Argos 


BASF 

Bayer 

Bosch 

Bradesco 

BSH 

Camposol 

Carrefour 

Coop 

Copagaz 

Copeinca 

Deutsche Bank 



Eni 

Folksam 

Grundfos 

Hathay Bunano 

Henkel 

ICA 

ISA 

KPMG 

Lufthansa 

Manpower 

Mansour Group 

MRCB 


Nestlé 

Novo Nordisk 

Océ 

Otto Group 

Petrobras 

Puma 

REN 

Siemens 

SKF 



The TMS Group 


Volkswagen 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2010 

71

Acciona 

Light at Home: Sustainable 

Energy Access in Isolated 

Rural Areas 

72 


Best Practice 

Partnership 

By Juan Ramón Silva and Julio Eisman 

The ACCIONA Microenergy Foundation was created to focus the Company’s efforts on 

social development activities that could meet the real demands and basic needs of the rural 

population in developing countries. The Foundation’s goal is to work with others to increase 

access to basic energy, water, or infrastructure services for people and communities that lack 

the means to acquire such basic services. 

Nearly a third of the current world population 

has no access to modern forms of 

energy, while the energy consumption 

pattern of developed countries is clearly 

unsustainable owing to its heavy reliance 

on fossil fuels and their environmental 

impacts, mainly through the effects on 

climate change. Lack of access to modern 

energy sources is limiting human 

development and hampering efforts to 

achieve the Millennium Development 

Goals, as recognized by the IEA and 

UNDP. ACCIONA is a world leader in the 

renewable energy sector, and through 

this program, which it plans to extend 

to other locations, it is contributing 

to the development and diffusion of 

environmentally-friendly technologies 

(Principle 9 of the Global Compact) and 

focuses its use on aiding poorer societies 

in their efforts to develop. 

Needs and problems of rural 

electrification 

Peru is the South American country with 

the second-lowest electricity coverage 

and Cajamarca is the region of Peru with 

the lowest level of electrification. About 

70 percent of households in rural areas 

of Cajamarca have no electricity supply. 

Despite considerable efforts made by 

central and regional governments and 

various other agents in the electrification 

sector to expand the electricity grid, 

it will be many years before electricity 

reaches every household. The high dispersion 

of rural housing and the lack of 

road infrastructure, coupled with the 

local terrain and climate, makes the 

installation and maintenance of electrical 

networks costly. In this situation, 

Solar Home Systems (SHS) can provide 

basic electrical services until electricity 

grids reach the affected areas in 15 or 

20 years. 

The battery in an SHS accumulates 

electrical energy converted by the photovoltaic 

panel from the sun’s energy, 

and allows for use (4 hours) of lights and 

radio or low-consumption television sets. 

Moreover, the battery stores energy for 

two days’ consumption without sunlight. 

Barriers and solutions for 

nonconventional rural electrification 

Barriers 

No energy access 

High Initial Investment 

Sustainability 

Affordability 

Solutions 

www.perumicroenergia.org 

ACCIONA Microenergy Foundation solutions 

Donation from promoters and others 

Nonprofit service company with a fee-for-service model 

• Fee related to actual cost paid for substitutes 

• No regulatory discrimination in relation to 

on-grid electrification (same subsidies) 


Acciona 

The impact of extending the activity 

by almost 50 percent is very positive 

and is highly valued by users who are 

subsequently able to utilize it for productive 

activities (crafts, etc.) cultural 

activities (reading, writing, information, 

etc.), or social activities (meetings, 

leisure, etc.). 

Microenergy Peru: A model 

of sustainable off-grid rural 

electrification 

The first barrier to the use of the SHS 

is the initial investment amount. The 

price is high for families with very 

low income, in view of the fact that it 

is quality equipment designed to last 

many years. The initial investment is 

carried out based on gifts of shares and 

other support mechanisms. For example, 

the Ministry of Energy and Mines is 

co-financing rural electrification, and 

although most of these funds are dedicated 

to grid extension, a small portion 

is devoted to finance investment for 

off-grid electrification. Therefore, the 

initial investment is covered through 

donations to Microenergy Peru, which 

is the owner of the SHS. 

The targeted locations are selected 

in dialogue with the authorities and 

based on areas not covered by the grid 

extension plans, and projects are being 

supported by the majority of the population 

and its institutions. Each location 

has its own Electrification Committee. 

The second barrier to the use of 

the SHS is its continuity over time. It is 

hard to find a photovoltaic system used 

in isolated rural areas of developing 

countries, whose panels have a lifespan 

of 20 years, and which are operational 

within five years. 

To solve this problem Microenergy 

(PEME) was created; its main function is 

to operate and maintain the SHS. The 

fee-for-service management model was 

adopted: users pay a monthly fee to use 

the energy of the SHS installed in their 

homes. The fee paid to PEME covers the 

costs of maintaining the SHS in optimum 

operating conditions (inspections and 

checks to avoid failure) and over the 

ACCIONA’s Sustainability Workshop 

ACCIONA’s Sustainability Workshop takes its cue from the United Nations, 

which declared the period 2005–2014 as the “Decade of Education for 

Sustainable Development” (DESD). The Workshop helps to add value to 

schools and educational centers by helping kids to understand the principles 

of sustainability and by showing them how to apply those principles. The 

Workshop helps kids and youngsters gain an understanding of the problems 

that lie ahead. It helps them to become young experts in highly relevant issues 

such as efficient energy use, access to water, energy-efficient building and 

urban planning, and innovation. 

The Workshop 

• is totally free of charge for participating schools and educational centers, 

• fits seamlessly into the existing education policy and school curriculums, 

• provides training for teachers and educators, 

• gives kids hands-on experience, with guided tours of wind farms, R&D 

centers, wastewater treatment plants, and other installations. 

The background 

ACCIONA’s Sustainability Workshop is an updated continuation of the highly 

successful Renewable, Energy for Sustainability education program launched 

by ACCIONA’s energy division in 1994 in Catalonia and Navarre, Spain, in 

cooperation with local and regional education authorities. Now ACCIONA is 

taking this initiative to other countries that are also aware of the importance 

of education as an instrument for attaining sustainable development. To date, 

more than 110,000 primary and secondary schoolchildren and teachers have 

taken part in the program’s guided tours of ACCIONA renewable installations, 

such as wind farms, solar energy and mini hydro plants, and biofuel 

production centers, among other things. 

What makes the ACCIONA Sustainability Workshop so special? 

• It fits seamlessly within existing curriculums in those countries where 

it is being developed, leaving the way clear for cooperation with the 

corresponding education authorities. 

• It can be presented alongside other innovative education strategies and is 

fully consistent with the approach already being adopted in schools. 

• It provides a variety of teaching and learning materials designed to instill 

pro-environment values and to help teachers and students to create a more 

sustainable and fairer world – a planet at one with nature. 

• It adapts perfectly to local needs and requirements, with an approach in 

terms of availability and communication that will forge links with teaching 

staff and education authorities. 

• The Workshop is subject to continuous assessment by users (teachers, 

pupils, etc.) and results are shared with the education authorities, providing 

feedback on content. 

• Visits to ACCIONA facilities (wind farms, solar plants, etc.) are free of charge 

for participating schools. 

www.sustainability-workshop.com 

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Best Practice 

Partnership 

the Rural Electrification Act to consider 

nonconventional rural electrification and 

development of photovoltaic rates. This 

regulatory reform will, once developed, 

lower the fees paid by end-users of an 

SHS, and represents a significant costsavings 

for these families. 

Participation of the beneficiaries 

For the past year, one SHS has been 

installed in each beneficiary location to 

enable users to become familiar with the 

capabilities and limitations of the SHS. 

This demonstration phase was conducted 

to avoid some reluctance stemming from 

poor experiences in the past. In view of 

the positive reception, the installation 

of the first 600 SHSs is currently under 

twenty year life-span of the photovoltaic 

panel, replace elements which have a 

shorter useful life, such as the battery 

or the regulator. 

Affordability and adequate 

electric regulation 

The third barrier to the use of the SHS is 

its affordability for end-users. There is no 

point in an initiative that is not affordable 

for the families that it sets out to help. To 

make sure that users could afford to use 

the SHS, PEME conducted socioeconomic 

field surveys on a significant sample of 

the population. The decision taken was 

to charge a monthly payment of around 

$ 5. They settled on this amount as most 

of the potential end-users were already 

spending an equivalent amount on candles, 

kerosene, batteries, battery charging, 

etc., which means that the new lighting 

systems – in addition to being more efficient 

and involving less risk – represent 

a financial savings for the majority of 

users. Moreover, the payments provide 

a total income that allows PEME to meet 

the costs of their commitments. The fact 

that the initial investment is a donation, 

and therefore not considered the return 

on investment, allows PEME to set a very 

affordable fee. 

Left: Signature of public-private 

collaboration agreement with local 

authorities 

Right: Signature of subscription 

contract with user 

In Peru, networked users in poor 

households with a low energy consumption 

benefit from a cross-subsidy called 

FOSE, which covers about 60 percent of 

the charges. This type of poor family pays 

only 40 percent of the charges. However, 

SHS users are not eligible for this allowance, 

despite being a needier group. In 

late 2009, the Ministry of Energy and 

Mines of Peru amended the regulation of 

way, and it is hoped that the rest of the 

facilities will be completed in 2011. 

Each locality has elected its Electrification 

Committee, which takes active 

part in the project, both in the aspects 

of reporting and monitoring and in the 

management of fee collection. Another 

important aspect is the training of users, 

who tend to be people with very little 

formal education, but who need to know 

how to get the most from their SHS 

without reducing its useful life. 

The success of this initiative depends 

on the involvement of beneficiaries and 

the support of their municipalities, with 

which PEME have signed partnership 

agreements. 


Adecco Group 

Inspirational ‘WORK’ 

The work we do every day has a direct impact on the lives of people. As the world leader 

in HR solutions, we connect 500,000 colleagues with 100,000 clients daily. The importance 

of work and what we do to help people find jobs cannot be overstated. Work permits us to 

realize our talents and to contribute to society. It is essential for our social and financial wellbeing. 

To foster and enhance the key role we play is clearly our long-term goal. A UN Global 

Compact participant since 2003, Adecco has been living up to its Principles. This is most 

evident in relation to labour standards as we improve work opportunities for those at risk of 

discrimination, such as young people, mature workers and the unemployed. 

By Stephan Howeg and Lilian Furrer 

In the midst of the global recession, the 

value of “work” and Adecco’s contribution 

to society has crystallized in the 

minds of governments, companies, and 

individuals. With our day-to day business, 

we efficiently connect people and 

companies; we reduce frictional unemployment; 

we provide career guidance 

and training that increases employability; 

and we enable companies to have flexible 

workforce strategies that encourage 

new jobs. 

Especially when economic pressure 

to compromise on labor standards 

increases, our commitment to uphold 

and enact our corporate responsibility 

strategy strengthens. We focus on 

“integration” of disadvantaged groups, 

“skill” development, and “safety” at 

work. Responsibility – one of our four 

core values, together with Team Spirit, 

Customer Focus, and Entrepreneurship 

– has always inspired us to support special 

projects in our three focus areas, 

utilizing our core competencies to help 

disadvantaged groups find a place in the 

working world. 

Enabling youth in Latin America 

The pathways to employment for young 

people with socially disadvantaged backgrounds 

in Latin America are challenging. 

Recognizing education as a key 

driver of overall economic and social 

development, the International Labour 

Organization (ILO) has gathered a team 

of partners to start PREJAL – a project 

for the promotion of juvenile employment 

in Latin America. Over 17,000 

youths have participated since 2005 in 

the project, which has received public 

funding of $ 5 million. 

Through the Adecco Foundation in 

Spain; our offices in Argentina, Peru, and 

Colombia; and through partnerships with 

local professional training organizations, 

we are playing an integral part in PREJAL. 

Between 2007 and 2009, a total of 1,820 

young women and men (50:50) aged 15 

to 24 attended Adecco-run workshops 

in these three countries. The day-long 

workshops give attendees the tools to 

optimize their approach in the search 

for employment. Advice on interview 

techniques, CV preparation and matching 

people’s profiles to current vacancies are 

some of the activities conducted. Attendees 

receive a full information pack, access 

to online resources and the opportunity 

for jobs with Adecco or its clients. 

The success of PREJAL is reflected 

in the fact that it will be extended to 

2013. PREJAL can count on the continued 

support of key partners such as the UN 

and the ILO, governments and private 

companies. 

Age-diverse workforce in France 

The employment rate of mature workers 

in France remained below the European 

average over the last decade: 38.4 vs. 

44 percent. So in late 2008, the French 

government introduced a law obliging 

large companies to develop action plans 

to increase the percentage of workers 

who are over 50 years of age. 

The Adecco Group in France embraced 

this opportunity to strengthen 

its established diversity and anti-discrimination 

programmes. We started 

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Best Practice 


“Thanks to 

the TRIPARTITE 

dialogue which 

has been initiated 

by the ILO and 

PREJAL, we are 

INTEGRATING YOUTH 

EMPLOYMENT 

POLICIES INTO 

SOCIAL DIALOGUE.” 

Dr. Carlos Tomada, 

Minister of Labour, Employment 

and Social Security, Argentina 

by participating in a multi-company 

audit of senior workforce strategies that 

was undertaken by social ratings agency 

VIGEO in mid-2009. The audit helped 

benchmark and identify best practice for 

re-application and improvement within 

Adecco. By October 2009, all 25 Adecco 

Group companies operating in France 

had developed their own diversity action 

plans, which include an anti-age discrimination 

component. Each company 

now has compulsory training modules 

– delivered online or face-to-face – to 

prevent all forms of discrimination. One 

aspect is how to handle requests from 

clients who ask for employees below a 

certain age. The training shows colleagues 

how to reorientate clients to focus upon 

candidates’ skills and motivations rather 

than age profiles. 

As companies begin to recognize 

the value of an age-diverse workforce, 

Adecco is ideally placed to help them 

achieve that goal. For example, in 2009, 

Adecco completed the challenge of hiring 

50 workers aged over 50 years for a 

call center in Poitiers and Tours. This 

created an age-balanced workforce for 

the client and even enhanced the staff 

retention rate. 

Young people attending an Adecco-run 

workshop in Peru. 

“Candidate Caring” – 

Italy invests in its future 

Since January 2009, there have been 

30,000 unemployed people in Italy who 

have participated in the Adecco “Candidate 

Caring” training course, which is 

aimed at improving unemployed workers’ 

prospects for returning to work. By January 

2010, there were 14,000 contracts 

obtained for these candidates, all of who 

had previously worked for Adecco before 

the economic crisis hit. 

The “Candidate Caring” initiative is 

a public-private partnership developed 

with key national and local unions. The 

first stage of training consists of an intensive 

course led by Adecco personnel. 

This provides a package of services to 

improve employment prospects such 

as local labor market information, CV 

preparation, competency testing and 

career evaluation and planning. For the 

second part, candidates receive job-specific 

training – ranging from mechanical 

design to IT courses – delivered by 

third-party training specialists. To forge 

even stronger connections between candidates 

and clients, Adecco has set up 

a series of “exchange” events, where 

major clients seeking specific skills can 

meet and interview up to 100 suitable 

candidates. 

Adecco Italy has already invested 

€ 10 million in the project as a whole. 

We acknowledge that this investment 

fosters our relationship with a valuable 

talent pool in preparation for the 

economic upswing. However, there are 

also clear benefits to the individuals 

concerned, the companies looking to 

recruit, as well as for the quality of human 

capital in Italy. 

The pattern of shared stakeholder 

benefits is evident in the featured 

projects in Latin America, France and 

Italy. Improving the working lives of 

people is at the heart of Adecco’s corporate 

responsibility strategy and of its 

core business. The focus on society in 

the long term fuels our commitment 

to invest in projects that go above and 

beyond our day-to-day work. 


Amec 

How Can We Do Good and 

Do Well? Just Ask! 

By Frank Stokes 

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. For AMEC – the international 

engineering and project management 

company – this sustainable 

approach is both a good way of helping 

the communities in which it works and 

a good way of growing the business in 

new regions, especially those where there 

are not enough skilled engineers already 

available to support new, expanding 

industries. It also helps improve labor 

standards in these regions. 

A shining example of how this works 

in practice can be found at the company’s 

growing business in Kazakh-stan, which 

provides high-value services to the country’s 

oil and gas industry. Since March 

2008, the company’s ASK (AMEC Students 

in Kazakhstan) program has been guiding 

and supporting a group of students – 60 

at its peak – studying for degrees in a 

diverse range of subjects during the four 

university years at Uralsk, Astana, Almaty, 

and Moscow universities. Not only have 

they received some financial support and 

mentoring during their courses but they 

have also undertaken work experience 

ASK students gain useful workplace 

experience during their time at AMEC’s 

design and project management office 

in Kazakhstan. 

with AMEC during vacations and been 

involved in worthwhile activities in the local 

community. Training organized by the 

AMEC team teaches leadership, teamwork, 

and decision making. Project managers, 

experienced engineers, and departmental 

heads act as mentors and offer advice on 

technical aspects of the job. 

Away from the office, ASK students 

and AMEC employees have worked side 

by side in organizing activities at children’s 

homes, orphanages, and schools 

around Uralsk. At the Oblast Specialised 

School Boarding House for children with 

hearing and speech impairments, the 

ASK / AMEC team has found the time to 

play football and other sports with the 

youngsters. They have also been mentors 

for the children, offering personal 

development for each child. And on a 

lighter note, there is the ASK quiz, a 

general knowledge quiz organized by 

AMEC for students from all over Uralsk, 

not just ASK members. It has been a fun 

78 


Best Practice 


Facts and figures 

AMEC plc is a focused supplier of high-value consultancy, engineering, and 

project management services to the world’s natural resources, nuclear, clean 

energy, water, and environmental sectors. With annual revenues (in 2009) of 

over £2.5 billion, AMEC designs, delivers, and maintains strategic and complex 

assets for its customers. The company employs over 21,000 people in around 

40 countries worldwide. 

AMEC joined the UN Global Compact in April 2009. The Compact’s Ten 

Principles resonate with our own Guiding Principles, which help ensure we 

run a safe, sustainable, and ethical business no matter where in the world 

that may be. Sustainable development is ingrained in our day-to-day activities, 

through the type of work we do and the way we deliver it. It makes good 

business sense and is something our stakeholders expect. 

In the environmental sector, our many experts help clients to operate in an 

environmentally responsible way. For example, this could be by ensuring 

that overhead power lines do not disturb the habitats of protected species. 

Or it could be by surveying a factory’s energy consumption and subsequently 

advising how to reduce the firm’s carbon footprint. 

In our own business, we subscribe to the view held by a majority of climate 

scientists – that man-made greenhouse gas emissions do have an impact on 

climate. As a result, we have joined the 10:10 campaign, in which we aim to 

achieve a 10-percent cut in our carbon output by the end in 2010. This is the 

first step in our ambitious 40-year carbon reduction program. 

We have respect for people, both in and outside our company. We aim 

to provide a safe workplace and good career opportunities. We train our 

employees through schemes such as the AMEC Academy, which shares best 

practice and helps nurture talented staff. In the wider world, we support many 

charitable foundations and encourage our employees to do the same through 

matched funding. 

way of improving their English language 

skills and their knowledge of global issues 

and business practices. 

ASK has been, and continues to be, a 

win-win arrangement for AMEC and the 

students alike. On the one hand, AMEC 

has been able to identify and develop 

good quality potential recruits to sustain 

and grow the business and thereby 

help develop the local economy. On the 

other hand, the students have been able 

to gain valuable insights into the commercial 

world that will help with their 

academic studies and, not least, enhance 

their business and communication skills. 

Following successful completion of their 

degrees, each student is considered for 

possible full-time employment with the 

company. 

“Building strong relationships with 

the people, businesses, and educational 

organizations in the countries where we 

operate is not new for us,” says Ronnie 

Anderson, AMEC’s manager for Kazakhstan. 

“We’ve worked in the oil and 

gas sector in nearby Azerbaijan since 

1998 and decided from the outset not 

to import vast numbers of expatriate 

employees to take up all the local jobs. 

Instead, we struck a balance between 

our own global engineering skills and 

employing and training local people. It 

has had the double benefit of making 

us welcome and creating a long-term, 

self-sustaining operation that helps us 

serve our clients better. 

“Our entry into Kazakhstan, which 

also has a buoyant oil industry, has been 

similar to that. But what is new for us 

here is the structured, large-scale approach 

to the relationship with the universities 

and the series of training events 

we’ve organized. We have already had 

our first ‘graduation’ and intake into the 

company and we are delighted with the 

enthusiasm, quality, and professionalism 

of these young people. We hope they 

go on to do good work wherever their 

careers take them.” 

“What I think is good about ASK is 

that we can take the idea with us when 

we set up in a new territory, thereby 

helping us to develop the talent, industry, 

and our business for the long term.” 

ASK graduate Sergey Fyodorov, who 

now works in AMEC’s Information Technology 

team in Uralsk, explains how he 

has benefited: “AMEC is global, which 

has helped me to advance my expertise 

more fully than I could have through 

university alone or by working for a 

local company. Their high standards 

and clear aims meant my work had to 

reach the very highest level. My desire 

to maintain this level is the best stimulus 

for my personal and professional 

development.” 

Such is the success of ASK that it 

won the coveted International Platinum 

Award at the Energy Institute (EI) 

Awards 2009. The EI is well-placed to 

judge how worthwhile an initiative is 

because it has a membership of over 

14,000 individuals and 300 companies 

across 100 countries and is the leading 

chartered professional membership 

body for those working and studying 

in energy. 


Argos 

Reforestation as 

Part of the Sustainable 

Chain of Cement 

Teak, pine, and eucalyptus 

now form part of the 

sustainable chain of cement. 

Reforestation is one of the 

ways in which Cementos 

Argos is consolidating part of 

its environmental strategy. 

Cementos Argos – the largest cement 

company in Colombia, the fourth largest 

producer in Latin America, and the 

sixth largest producer of concrete in 

North America – has been planting important 

plantations of native species in 

16 municipalities throughout the country. 

Plantations totaling around 10,047 

hectares have been able to reduce the 

amount of CO 2 

by 1,980,859 tons. With 

the expansion in forestry plantations, 

Argos is looking to design and develop 

projects to participate in the carbon 

market, either in the market regulated 

by the Clean Development Mechanism 

(CDM) or in the voluntary market. 

This initiative is a result of the concerns 

of the cement industry about generating 

new sources of air and life for the 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

planet. As part of our philosophy, some 

mines and installations have natural 

fences or corridors that allow the return 

or establishment of fauna and flora and 

also hydrological regulation. 

Through care and efficiency in its 

operations, Argos has not only achieved 

using the color green as the color of its 

logo, but it is also using the color as a 

symbol of its preoccupation with and 

support for the environment. 

This commitment by the company 

has been highlighted by its participation 

since 2007 in the United Nations Global 

Compact, and by applying and strengthening 

the environmental principles suggested 

within, which in turn are based 

on the Rio Declaration on Environment 

and Development. 

The reforestation in which Argos is 

involved follows special principles for 

its adequate management: 

• Non-intervention in relict forests and 

springs 

• Contracting labor from the region and 

helping people who have been displaced 

by the violence to return 

• The manual preparation of the land 

• Good agricultural practices 

• Training for the local population regarding 

the topic 

• Support of local development 

The projects of reforestation that Argos 

has developed in rural areas of Colombia 

generate direct and indirect employment, 

mobilize the local economy, and give 

hope to the residents, many of whom 

are victims of armed conflict. 

For example, in 2009 in the activities 

of establishment and maintenance, 

we subsidized 6,708 wages, which for 

6 months worked are the equivalent of 

93 direct jobs. 

For 2010 we initiated projects that 

generated 110 jobs from the first of February 

in the areas of Palmira, San Onofre, 

Pajonalito, and Algarrobal. 

There are cases where the evidence 

suggests that reforestation has become 

the path toward peace in some communities, 

providing security, employment, 

and development. 

The improvement of roads to transport 

the timber, and programs such as 

the construction or improvement of 

educational institutions and the training 

of the local population in the protection 

of the forest are a fundamental part of 

the social component that the plantations 

bring and that contribute to the 

development of the vulnerable populations 

of Colombia. 

Clean Development 

Mechanism 

But the goal of Argos goes much further 

and is counting on the formulation of 

CDM projects in agreement with the 

Kyoto Protocol for the commercialization 

of certificates for certified emission 

reduction. 

Actually, the project that the company 

developed concerns 1,090 hectares 

planted in Colombia in the municipalities 

of Antioquia and Sucre and was 

validated in its initial phase by the United 

Nations, becoming one of only a few 

projects of this kind on the continent. 

With this first achievement, the 

company can continue on its path toward 

sustainability, not only reducing 

the level of emissions in Colombia but 

also being an example for other industrialized 

countries that need to invest 

in reforestation to reach their goals for 

reduction of greenhouse gases. 

For 2014 Argos has a firm goal to 

plant 3,000 hectares and thus do its bit 

to contain climate change. 


Autostrade Per L’Italia 

Optimizing Energy 

Consumption and Fight 

Climate Change 

Autostrade per l’Italia – 100 percent owned by shareholder Atlantia S.p.A., which is 

responsible for investments and strategies in the transport and communications 

infrastructure and networks sector – is the leading European concessionaire for toll 

motorway management and for related transport services with a network of more than 

3,400 km in Italy. The company is also present abroad as it holds shares in South America, 

Poland, and United States with a motorway network equivalent to 800 km. 

By Simonetta Giordani, Andrea Ragni and Benedetta Masignani 

Autostrade per l’Italia launched a series 

of initiatives, in line with Italian and 

EU energy and environment objectives, 

promoting the use of renewable sources 

for the production of electricity and 

improvement of energy efficiency for 

buildings and infrastructure. This commitment 

has already produced significant 

results in terms of CO 2 

emissions 

avoided. The company’s five-year plan 

(2008 - 2013) provides for initiatives in 

the following sectors: 

• reduction of electrical energy from 

renewable sources 

• electrical-energy savings for tunnel 

and service-area lighting 

• improvement of energy efficiency in 

the main office buildings and outlying 

structures (section departments, 

maintenance points, snow points) 

In 2008, Autostrade per l’Italia launched 

a Photovoltaic Plan that consists of the 

installation of photovoltaic plants for 

total about 9 MWp of peek power, in 

92 Service Areas, in the headquarters 

of Rome and Florence and in the nine 

section departments. 

At the end of 2009, apart from the 

photovoltaic plants incorporated into 

the roofs of the parking areas in the 

Rome South tollgate, Prenestina East, 

and Mascherone West service areas – 

providing an overall installed peek power 

of around 100 kWp – a photovoltaic 

shelter has been installed in the roof of 

the employee parking area at the Rome 

headquarters and has a peek power of 

around 473.8 kWp. This plant can satisfy 

roughly 15 percent of the overall 

energy consumption registered at the 

Rome headquarters. The main technical 

characteristics are: 

• covered surface area of approximately 

4,032 square meters, the equivalent 

of 120 parking spaces 

Photovoltaic shelter installed at the 

Prenestina East service area 

(Milan-Naples A1 motorway) 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

• production of electricity is 

expected to be around 635,000 

kWh / year 

• an estimated environmental benefit 

in terms of savings of CO 2 

emissions in the atmosphere of 

around 350 tons / year 

The new solar plant is part of the 

“Green Building” project that was 

finalized to make Rome headquarters 

“carbon neutral” as well. The 

“Green Building” project is going to 

develop over 2010 through efficiency 

improvements in the production 

of electrical, thermal, and cooling 

energy (tri-generation), installation 

of a Building Management System 

for confort of air temperature and 

lighting inside the offices, and 

consumption optimization as well. 

This initiative, to be considered as 

a pilot project, might be adopted 

elsewhere. 

In 2009, regarding the photovoltaic 

plants in Service Areas, 15 

plants with a roughly 767 kW peek 

New photovoltaic plant of 

Headquarters building in Rome 

Total tons of CO 2 

saved 

due to Our initiatives 

saved 2009 target 2010 

Solar panel 133 1,396 

LED lighting 411 2,120 

TOTAL 544 3,516 

power and a production of electricity 

expected to be around 1,000 MWh / year 

have been put in service. For 2010 the 

company aims to double the installed 

photovoltaic capacity with more plants 

in the office buildings and Service Areas. 

In 2009 the savings of CO 2 

emissions was 

133 tons, thanks to photovoltaic plants. 

The 2010 target will be about 1,400 tons. 

Regarding motorway network tunnels, 

Autostrade per l’Italia has an energy 

savings plan in progress. The project 

involves the gradual replacement of 

traditional high-pressure sodium lighting 

with more efficient, permanent LED 

lighting. This innovative initiative will 

result in considerable energy savings and 

a reduction in CO 2 

indirect emissions of 

about 40 percent and the lowering of 

system maintenance costs while retaining 

the required safety standards. 

In 2009 a total of 6,378 lighting 

installations were replaced, resulting 

in a savings of CO 2 

emissions of around 

411 tons. For 2010 a further 10,766 

LED lighting installations will be 

installed and provide an annual 

energy savings of around 4 GWh, 

bringing an estimated environmental 

benefit in terms of savings of 

CO 2 

emissions in the atmosphere 

to around 2,120 tons. 

Through the adoption of these 

projects, the company joined the 

Patto per l’ambiente, an agreement 

signed in July 2009 between the 

Environment Ministry of Italy and 

11 large Italian firms. The agreement 

provides for binding commitments 

for emission reductions, exploitation 

of environmentally-friendly resources, 

the spread of high-efficiency 

technologies, and diversification 

of power sources. Strong environmental 

benefits can be achieved by 

initiatives to improve traffic flow 

(i.e., network upgrades, spread of 

automatic toll systems) and projects 

involving motorway network users. 

In 2009 Autostrade per l’Italia 

launched its first project for carpooling 

on highways. Carpooling is a 

suitable alternative to traditional 

mobility and involves using only one 

car to transport people who share same 

route. This results in significant environmental 

benefits by reducing traffic and 

increasing the economic benefits for the 

passengers due to sharing of transport 

costs (fuel, tolls, etc.). 

The initiative, which involves customers 

who travel the A8 and A9 highways 

daily from Como and Varese to 

Milan and back, both helps to reduce 

levels of pollution and to improve traffic 

flow on a particularly busy road affected 

by construction work. The carpooling 

project includes: 

• a web platform to facilitate the 

matching of supply and demand 

• dedicated track toll 

• a discount for cars carrying at least 

four people 

The website (autostradecarpooling.it) has 

become in just three months the first 

carpooling platform in Italy. 


BASF 

Strategic Alliance to 

Stop Malnutrition 

By Dr. Andreas Blüthner 

The strategic alliance SAFO (Strategic Alliance for the Fortification of Oil and Other Staple 

Foods) being implemented by BASF and GTZ supports local manufacturers in fortifying 

staple foods with vital nutrients, especially vitamin A. Besides providing capacity building to 

different stakeholders, SAFO offers the partner companies specially developed mobile minilaboratories 

about the size of a laptop case for quality assurance. Together with civil society 

and governmental organizations, business models are being developed to sustainably and 

affordably improve the nutrition of lower-income population groups. 

Vitamin A deficiency is one of the main 

challenges in extensive areas of Africa, 

Asia, and Latin America. Although many 

people in these regions have access to 

staple foods such as flour or rice, these 

staples contain hardly any vitamin A. 

Foods containing vitamin A, such as 

milk and eggs, are either not available or 

beyond the financial reach of many inhabitants 

of these countries. A deficiency 

of vitamin A leads via blindness and 

immune weakness to higher disease and 

mortality rates, especially among young 

children and pregnant women. UNICEF 

estimates that one million children die 

worldwide every year from vitamin and 

mineral deficiency. 

The economic development of the 

affected countries also suffers: malnutrition 

reduces the educational opportunities 

and productivity of the society, in 

addition to raising healthcare costs. Up to 

2 percent of the gross domestic product 

can be lost as a result. 

Food fortification as 

a solution 

Food fortification, the enrichment of 

staple foods with essential nutrients, 

is a medium-term, very cost-effective 

solution to the problem and serves as 

a complement to supplementation and 

nutritional education. One example of 

fortification known from Germany is 

iodinated table salt. In developing countries, 

staple foods that are regularly consumed 

by the lower-income population 

groups at the bottom of the economic 

pyramid (BoP) are enriched; flour and 

edible oil are common “vehicles” for 

essential nutrients. 

SAFO: Strategic alliance with 

local partners 

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische 

Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German 

Technical Cooperation), on behalf of the 

Copenhagen 

Consens 

Food fortification is one of 

the best investments 

in human development 

In May 2008, economists, 

including four Nobel prize winners, 

evaluated 30 solutions for 10 

global challenges for humanity. 

The experts rated 

the fortification of staple 

foods and the use of food 

supplements for children as 

the best investments in human 

development. The many economic 

and humanitarian benefits offered 

by the market-based approach 

are offset by only marginal costs. 

copenhagenconsensus.com 

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Human Rights 

Eight good reasons for 

fortifying staple foods 

1. The fortification of staple foods is a very effective and low-cost method 

of combating or even eliminating the globally prevalent deficiency of 

micronutrients. The market-based approach makes the program robust, 

sustainable, and scalable. 

2. The existing nutritional habits of the target groups can be retained. 

3. The addition of essential nutrients to foods is an established approach. The 

necessary technologies are available and can be implemented worldwide. 

4. The programs strengthen the local food industry instead of relying on food 

imports to improve nutrition. 

5. The many benefits in the fields of education, productivity, and health are 

offset by only marginal costs – making food fortification one of the best 

investments in human development. 

6. Multi-sector, local alliances of authorities, industry, international 

organizations, and the civil society enhance the acceptance and awareness 

of the programs. 

7. The participation of local industry in improving the nutrition of lowerincome 

target groups creates and deepens awareness of entrepreneurial 

accountability on the local scale. 

8. The right to suitable nutrition is a human right and the basis for 

implementing the UN Millennium Development Goals. 

Convenient test 

kit to check the 

concentration of vitamin A 

in fortified staple foods 

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation 

and Development, and BASF, the 

world’s leading chemical company and 

vitamin producer, are cooperating in a 

strategic alliance. SAFO’s objective is to 

reach several million people with staple 

foods fortified with vitamin A. 

The partners’ contributions 

BASF’s contributions comprise a package 

of technical solutions for the manufacturers 

of fortified staple foods. This 

comprises cost-effective product solutions 

in the form of stable, specially 

encapsulated vitamin formulations; the 

technical training of production and 

laboratory personnel; analytical support; 

innovative packaging solutions; 

and business models for marketing to 

BoP target groups. The GTZ advises the 

local governmental organizations on how 

to improve the legal framework conditions 

for local companies by establishing 

standards and seals of quality, and 

moderates local alliances of the various 

stakeholders. 

BASF and GTZ have also developed 

mobile laboratory equipment for the 

cost-effective determination of the vitamin 

A content of food. These lab cases 

allow the quality and effectiveness of 

the programs to be monitored where 

the actual vitamin content is decisive 

– namely in the local markets. 

Nevertheless, the foods will remain 

affordable for the consumers. For example, 

fortifying edible oil with vitamin A 

increases the manufacturing costs by 

only 0.2 to 0.3 percent. 

SAFO intends to reach several million 

people by the end of 2010, with all 

the parties involved benefiting from the 

cooperation. BASF is tapping into new 

BoP markets and is demonstrating social 

accountability, local producers receive 

technical support, the economy of the 

partner countries is strengthened, and 

the German development cooperation 

project with its market-based approach 

is contributing in a scalable manner to 

improving the nutritional situation in 

target countries. 


Bayer 

Bayer Launches New 

Sustainability Program 

The world is facing a number of major challenges: One of the most important is the growth 

of the global population and the factors associated with this, such as access to healthcare, 

regular food supplies, and effective environmental and climate protection. These global 

problems are the main starting point for the new Bayer Sustainability Program. 

Eight lighthouse projects for key material issues have been selected and are being 

implemented. 

By Dr. Wolfgang Grosse Entrup 

Bayer can look back on a long and successful 

tradition of sustainable business 

management. In 2009 we transferred 

our existing activities along with new 

approaches into an integrated strategy. 

Global challenges that have a major impact 

on our key areas of activity formed 

the starting point. The following core 

material sustainability issues were identified: 

1. Alliances for sustainable healthcare 

2. Partnerships for more high-quality 

food 

3. Solutions for climate protection and 

resource use 

Our intention is to demonstrate the 

purpose of our sustainability activities 

– creating benefits for both business and 

sustainability. For Bayer, as an inventor 

company, this means finding innovative 

strategies, products, and solutions 

to deal with the pressing issues of the 

future. Bayer will therefore align its core 

businesses more rigorously than before 

to sustainability criteria – an objective 

that is reflected in our mission statement 

“Bayer: Science for a Better Life.” We want 

to position our products and expertise 

precisely where they generate the biggest 

effect. We will focus in particular 

on innovations – which for us are the 

driving forces for sustainability – and 

strategic partnerships. 

We devised eight lighthouse projects 

for the key material issues identified, 

featuring our products and the expertise 

of our employees. These projects were 

selected based on their relevance – for 

our business and for our stakeholders. 

1. Self-determined family planning 

and combating neglected diseases 

Improving maternal health and reducing 

child mortality, especially in the emerging 

and developing countries, are two of 

the eight UN Millennium Development 

Goals. Pursuing these objectives is becoming 

increasingly urgent due to the 

rising world population. Our “Family 

planning” lighthouse project aims to 

make an important contribution to enabling 

self-determined family planning 

throughout the world. Together with 

public institutions and nongovernmental 

organizations, we are initiating projects 

to foster awareness and education in 

the field of contraception and improve 

access to modern contraceptive methods. 

Bayer will double these activities by 

2012, and, with partners such as USAID 

(United States Agency for International 

Development), will provide oral contraceptives 

for approximately eight million 

women annually. 

In another lighthouse project, Bayer 

will be intensively involved in the fight 

against “neglected diseases.” Over 3.3 billion 

people – mostly the poorest of the 

poor – are affected by these. In cooperation 

agreements with the World Health 

Organization, Bayer will provide free 

drugs to tackle – among other illnesses 

– Chagas’ disease and African sleeping 

sickness. In addition, together with the 

Global Alliance for TB Drug Develop- 

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CSR Management 

Jane Maenaria, nurse at the Kajiado District 

Hospital, Kajiado, Kenya, explains the use of oral 

contraceptives. 


Bayer 

Amit Sharma, Sr. Manager Food Chain 

Alliances, Bayer CropScience India, 

monitors the cultivation of vegetables 

by regularly visiting the farmers in 

their fields. 

ment (TB Alliance), we are developing 

an improved treatment of tuberculosis. 

2. High-quality food in emerging 

countries: India and Indonesia as 

examples 

According to studies carried out by the 

UN, the world population will grow by 

around three billion people by 2050. To 

safeguard adequate food supplies in the 

future, Bayer is promoting innovative 

concepts for sustainable agriculture. An 

important element of this commitment 

are the Food Chain Partnerships. The aim 

of these projects is to network the various 

players along the value chain – from the 

producer to the trade. We have selected 

one of these Food Chain Partnerships 

as a lighthouse project: To strengthen 

vegetable growing in India, we will help 

the participating farmers to comply with 

stringent local and international quality 

requirements and thus increase their 

chances of earning a reliable income. 

The objective is to include 65,000 small 

farmers in the program by 2011. 

Improving the efficiency of ricegrowing 

is the subject of another lighthouse 

project, in this case in Indonesia. 

A new method of rice cultivation – combined 

with an integrated package of 

seeds, crop protection products, and 

training – can increase harvest yields 

by around 10 percent and also improve 

sales and incomes for the farmers and 

their families. As an additional benefit, 

emissions of the climate-harmful gas 

methane in the rice fields can be reduced 

by around 30 percent. 

3. Solutions for climate protection 

and resource use: The building 

sector and chemical production 

Energy consumption in buildings is 

responsible for nearly 20 percent of 

global greenhouse gas emissions. The 

EcoCommercial Building initiative, 

Bayer MaterialScience is ushering in 

a new era in eco-sensitive chlorine 

production. 

launched at the end of 2007 as part of 

our Bayer Climate Program, has now 

been extended into the EcoCommercial 

Building program. At the heart of 

this lighthouse project is a partnership 

network that brings together suppliers, 

building companies, architects, and 

property developers. We contribute our 

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Best Practice 


expertise and high-tech products from 

MaterialScience and get partners involved 

to find tailor-made solutions for 

the construction of sustainable, energy-optimized 

commercial and public 

buildings – from low-energy housing 

and “passive houses” to zero-emission 

buildings. By marketing this concept 

externally, we can make an important 

contribution to climate protection in 

the building sector as a whole. Our highquality 

materials for building insulation, 

lightweight construction materials, and 

water-borne coating materials fit in ideally 

with these growing markets. One 

of the first showcases for this program 

was the company’s emissions-neutral 

kindergarten at our site in Monheim, 

Germany, which we opened in November 

2009. A low-emissions company office 

building has been built in Belgium, and 

another one is under construction in 

India. These showcases reflect the ability 

of our concept to function in different 

climate zones and in various uses. 

Through another lighthouse project, 

“Energy efficiency in chlorine production,” 

we are achieving a significant reduction 

in greenhouse gas emissions. The production 

of chlorine – a basic chemical in 

the manufacture of plastics and drugs 

among other products – is extremely 

energy-intensive. Back in 2008, Bayer 

succeeded, together with its partners, 

in developing an innovative, climatefriendly 

process for a new acid-based 

oxygen depolarized cathode technology. 

This integrates the principle of the fuel 

cell and reduces electricity consumption 

– and thus CO 2 

emissions – in 

chlorine production by 30 percent. In 

another cooperation project, a Bayer 

research team took this technology for 

chlorine production a step further – 

this time developing a process based 

on salt. The first industrial-scale plant 

to use this technology is scheduled to 

go on stream at one of Bayer’s German 

sites in 2011. Bayer will also offer this 

innovative technology to other chlorine 

producers around the world. The use of 

this technology opens up the potential 

for the international chlorine industry 

to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions 

by 5 million metric tons. 

Solutions targeted at the more efficient 

utilization of resources are the 

subject of two other lighthouse projects 

in the Sustainability Program. The innovative 

energy-efficiency management 

system STRUCTese® aims to systematically 

utilize untapped energy-saving potential. 

It also ensures that the requisite 

technical measures and organizational 

processes are effectively integrated at 

Bayer MaterialScience. 

The “resource efficiency check” sets 

out to ensure process-oriented optimization 

of the effective use of all resources. 

This tool is based on innovative technologies 

for the reduction of energy, 

water, and feedstock consumption, and 

for cutting the amount of waste and 

emissions. 

Measurable results 

Bayer’s Sustainability Strategy 

• Bayer is committed to sustainable development: Economy, ecology, and 

social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. 

• Sustainability strategy frame: creating benefits for both business and 

sustainability. This shall be achieved in three areas: 

1. Our products and innovations are the heart of our business. Innovations are 

the drivers of sustainable development for mastering global challenges. Our 

products and expertise make contributions to the key areas of healthcare, 

nutrition, climate protection, and resource efficiency. They are designed 

to benefit people and improve their quality of life (see Bayer Sustainability 

Program). 

2. Our business practices and activities, that is, how we run our business. We 

want to act responsibly across the entire value-added chain – toward all 

our stakeholders, especially our employees, customers, suppliers, and 

stockholders. 

3. Our social commitment: by becoming socially involved as a good corporate 

citizen. 

• Responsibility and Governance regarding sustainability are at the board level. 

• Sustainability is an integral part of our corporate strategies. 

With these eight lighthouse projects, 

Bayer will be able to directly enhance 

the level of healthcare and improve the 

economic and social situation of more 

than 15 million people. Ecologically, 

too, our sustainability commitment will 

have measurable effects: We will raise 

the energy efficiency of our production 

facilities by 10 percent and, as a result, 

reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions 

by 350,000 metric tons by 2013. Furthermore, 

our new chlorine production 

technology will lower emissions by a 

further 250,000 metric tons by 2020. 

The Bayer Sustainability Program 

will make a concrete contribution to 

the Global Compact Principles and the 

Millennium Development Goals of the 

United Nations – especially improving 

maternal health, reducing child mortality, 

empowering women, combating 

diseases, and eradicating hunger and 

poverty. Our program is designed to 

achieve sustainable success and generate 

first-class solutions. After all, sustainability 

is an integral part of our corporate 

policy. 


Bosch 

Green Technology: 

Solutions for 

Climate Change 

Since the end of 2009, the global community has committed itself to the target of limiting 

global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius. According to scientific studies, global 

greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by at least 50 percent by 2050 if this goal is to be 

achieved. With no concrete objectives having been agreed internationally, it is now more 

important than ever to use innovations and technological solutions as a means of reducing 

CO 2 

emissions. That is one of the reasons why green technology is now a key market 

worldwide – one that is estimated to grow at a rate of 6.5 percent per year, reaching € 3,200 

billion by 2020. Bosch aims to provide technological solutions to ecological challenges and, 

in doing so, also boost its economic position. 

In 2009, the joint venture BSH Bosch 

and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH received 

the climate innovation award from the 

German Ministry for the Environment for 

its highly energy-efficient Zeolith® drying 

system for dishwashers. 

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Environment 

2009 – A year lost? 

Two years before the UN Climate Change 

Conference in Copenhagen, Ban Ki-moon 

urged the Global Compact participants to 

make climate change a leadership issue 

within companies’ business strategies. Introducing 

the Caring for Climate (C4C) initiative, 

the UN Secretary-General expected 

companies to set emission-reduction 

targets, explore low-carbon technologies, 

share experiences, disclose progress, and 

support public policy efforts. 

Looking at the Carbon Disclosure 

Project (CDP), it can be seen that efforts 

have moved ahead. Since it was launched 

in 2003 worldwide, the number of companies 

reporting their greenhouse gas 

emissions and their climate strategies has 

grown tenfold. Starting with 235 companies 

and increasing to 1,449 in 2007, 

the figure rose to 2,204 in 2008. From 

the corporate side, this is a signal that 

leadership and transparency concerning 

climate change are on the rise. 

If we then look at the global level 

and to the results of the Copenhagen 

conference, where we were present, the 

picture looks quite different and forward 

movement is hardly obvious. Honestly 

speaking, our expectations regarding 

that were not so high. We know that 

climate protection is a common problem 

that has to be solved through shared 

commitments. Our hope on the political 

level is that, at the very least, this insight 

becomes more commonplace. 

Technology to protect the climate 

Bosch has been a member of the UN Global 

Compact since 2004. We are neither 

a signatory of the C4C initiative nor, as 

a non-listed company, do we participate 

in the CDP. Nonetheless, we fully support 

and pursue the goals represented 

by these initiatives. We consider climate 

change to be both a challenge and an 

opportunity. According to a study by 

the World Business Council for Sustainable 

Development – also used in the 

preparations for the Climate Change 

Conference in Copenhagen – the construction 

industry is responsible for 40 

percent of worldwide greenhouse gas 

emissions, more than any other industry. 

However, the study, “Energy-efficiency 

in buildings,” also concludes that it is 

possible to reduce these CO 2 

emissions by 

60 percent by 2050. We believe that with 

energy-efficient condensing technology, 

solar thermal systems, and heat pumps, 

our Thermotechnology division offers 

not only opportunities to achieve major 

cuts in CO 2 

but also enormous market 

potential. In each of the business sectors 

of the Bosch Group, there are comparable 

technologies and products that have the 

potential to contribute to both climate 

protection and our business. We made 

some important progress in this respect 

in 2009. 

Climate protection as a 

matter of trust 

Setting climate protection targets means 

sticking to those targets at all costs, even 

in times of economic crisis. At the beginning 

of 2009, the Bosch board of 

management and the individual divisions 

agreed to implement a range of 

measures to increase energy efficiency. 

By 2020, the aim is to cut worldwide CO 2 

emissions at all manufacturing sites by at 

least 20 percent compared to 2007 levels. 

Although Bosch has hardly any energyintensive 

manufacturing processes, we 

are nonetheless keen to boost our potential 

in this area by setting internal targets, 

implementing continuous reporting, and 

raising awareness among associates. At 

a sustainability congress, chairman of 

the Bosch board of management, Franz 

Fehrenbach, called on businesses to intensify 

their climate protection activities, 

even in such difficult times. He said that 

by taking a serious, consistent approach 

to climate protection, companies would 

benefit financially and gain more trust. 

Bosch is confident that green technology 

has a key role to play in riding out 

this crisis. 

Research for the post-oil era 

The Bosch credo is to provide technological 

answers to ecological questions. To 

that end, Bosch invests some 45 percent 

of its research and development budget 

in technologies that help conserve resources 

and energy, generating a strong 

third of its sales with such products. 

Given the finite nature of fossil fuels, 

Bosch is using its research program to 

prepare for the post-oil era. In line with 

its strategic slogan “Invented for life,” 

the company is working on a range of 

topics including lithium-ion batteries, 

alternative drive systems for vehicles, 

energy-efficient household appliances, 

and ways to supply renewable energies 

using photovoltaic technologies, 

for example. 

Batteries for electric travel 

In automotive technology, every second 

euro the company spends on research 

and development goes toward protecting 

the environment and conserving resources. 

In addition to expanding existing 

areas of innovation, the company is also 

moving into new territory, such as the 

electrification of the powertrain. Here, 

Bosch is working with Samsung SDI as 

In 2009, Bosch and its partner 

Samsung took on a total of 500 

associates for a project focusing on 

cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries. 


Bosch 

part of the joint venture SB LiMotive. In 

2009, the two partners took on a total 

of 500 associates for a project focusing 

on cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries. A 

further milestone was reached in 2009 

with the ground-breaking ceremony 

for a new plant in Korea. By the end of 

2012, the facility will have the capacity 

to produce at least 125,000 lithium-ion 

battery cells per year for hybrid and 

electric vehicles. 

The new Bosch regional headquarters for Southeast 

Asia has received two awards for its energy efficiency 

and environmental friendliness. 

Investment in renewable energies 

According to the latest estimates by its 

member states, the European Union 

is well on the way to sourcing over 20 

percent of its power from renewable 

energies by 2020, thus achieving its selfimposed 

target. In 2009, Bosch generated 

sales of roughly €1 billion from systems 

utilizing renewable energies, ranging 

from large wind-turbine gearboxes and 

ground-source heat pumps to solar collectors 

and photovoltaics. Bosch is also 

committed to achieving growth through 

renewable energies in the future and, 

in 2009, opened a new manufacturing 

facility for large wind-turbine gearboxes 

in Nuremberg, Germany. By 2013, Bosch 

will have invested a total of € 180 million 

in this gearbox plant belonging to 

its subsidiary Bosch Rexroth. “We have 

invested in wind energy, solar technology, 

and heat pumps,” says Franz Fehrenbach. 

“With this new plant for the manufacture 

of large gearboxes, we are continuing our 

investments in the promising market of 

renewable energies.” 

New division: Bosch Solar Energy 

Since the acquisition of solar cell manufacturer 

ersol Solar Energy AG in 2008, 

Bosch has intensified its activities in the 

field of photovoltaic technology. This illustrates 

the company’s strategy of using 

acquisitions to expand its portfolio of 

climate- and environmentally-friendly 

technologies and strengthen its position 

in the renewable energies sector. After 

acquiring majority holdings in two further 

solar module manufacturers – aleo 

solar AG and Johanna Solar – the Bosch 

Group clustered its photovoltaic activities 

in 2009 by forming the new division 

Bosch Solar Energy AG. To boost the 

competitiveness of photovoltaic power 

generation and raise its profile as part 

of a sustainable energy mix, Bosch Solar 

Energy is working to not only increase 

the efficiency of its cells and modules, 

but also cut manufacturing costs. At the 

end of 2009, Bosch Solar Energy set up 

its first solar power plants, including a 

photovoltaic system for Stuttgart airport. 

Bosch Solar Energy AG hopes that its 

collaboration with Allianz Climate Solutions 

GmbH will result in further largescale 

photovoltaic projects, particularly 

projects exceeding 1 MW output. Bosch 

Solar Energy also supports the Solar 

Energy Foundation, a body that has set 

itself the goal of further expanding the 

use of photovoltaics in Africa in order 

to alleviate poverty and improve living 

conditions. Projects in Lesotho in South 

Africa and in Burundi have made it possible 

to supply two local hospitals with 

solar power. 

Eco Plus Home 

Efforts made by Bosch to harness renewable 

energies and increase the energy 

efficiency of buildings are reflected in the 

company’s Thermotechnology division 

and in its own buildings. Projects such 

as the Eco Plus Home in Canada and the 

new Bosch headquarters in Singapore are 

a great step in the right direction. 

The Eco Plus Home, a model house 

that is ready for series production, aims 

The Eco Plus Home, a model house 

in the eastern Canadian province of 

New Brunswick, aims to prove that it 

is possible to generate a virtually CO 2 

- 

free energy supply exclusively from 

renewable energies while still enjoying 

a comfortable lifestyle. 

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Environment 

to prove that it is possible to generate a 

virtually CO 2 

-free energy supply exclusively 

from renewable energies while 

still enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. In 

the eastern Canadian province of New 

Brunswick, a family of six will spend a 

year living without oil or gas in the Eco 

Plus Home. The building technology 

supplied by Bosch includes an electric 

heat pump, a solar thermal system, and 

a photovoltaic installation. While a conventional 

home generates average CO 2 

emissions of around eight metric tons, 

the Eco Plus Home reduces this figure 

to virtually zero. Although electricity 

is required to operate the heat pump, 

the photovoltaic installation generates 

significantly more CO 2 

-free power over 

the course of a year than the heat pump 

consumes. This means that, even in 

the harsh Canadian winter, the building 

maintains its green credentials the 

entire year. On conclusion of the experiment, 

the climate-friendly prefabricated 

house is to be marketed in Canada and 

the United States at the same price as 

conventional homes. 

Green building award 

Even before its completion last year, the 

new Bosch headquarters for Southeast 

Asia in Singapore had received awards for 

its energy efficiency and eco-friendliness. 

The State of Singapore awarded the new 

building the Platinum rating, the highest 

under its “Green Mark” program. 

The building also received the national 

Clean Energy Program’s “Solar Pioneer 

Award.” 

The new headquarters is one of 

the first buildings in Singapore to be 

equipped with mobile external sunscreens. 

These cut the amount of heat 

getting into the building by 20 to 25 

percent, thereby reducing the energy 

requirements for cooling – an important 

consideration in a city located close to 

the equator. The building has also been 

fitted with photovoltaics from Bosch 

Solar Energy. A number of other factors 

further boost the building’s green 

credentials. Recovering energy in the 

ventilation system reduces the amount 

of energy required for cooling by a further 

20 percent. 

The green headquarters in Singapore 

is just one example of how Bosch 

ensures efficient use of energy in its own 

construction activities around the globe. 

The company’s new Chinese headquarters 

in Shanghai, for example, covers 

half its heating and cooling requirements 

with ground-source heat pumps. 

Photovoltaics have also been installed 

at certain locations in Germany, such 

as Murrhardt and Reutlingen. 

Climate protection counts 

Climate protection is one of the biggest 

challenges we face, and one that demands 

clear targets and a great deal of 

At a glance: 

Bosch climate initiatives in 2009 

commitment. When it comes to climate 

change, Bosch provides a very wide range 

of sustainable solutions. Internally, Bosch 

is seeking to make associated savings 

by reaching its CO 2 

reduction target by 

2020 and implementing initiatives in 

the building sector, for example. Bosch 

sees great leverage within its business 

fields. With a broad range of technical 

solutions and technological innovations, 

the company can help its customers 

increase energy efficiency and harness 

the power of renewable energies. As part 

of this, we also aim to play our part in 

shaping key markets for environmental 

technology in the period leading up to 

2020. Climate protection is absolutely 

fundamental to ensuring we enjoy longterm 

success. 

Production: At the beginning of 2009, Bosch set itself the goal of reducing 

relative CO 2 

emissions by 20 percent by 2020. 

R&D: In 2009, Bosch invested some 45 percent of its research and 

development budget in technologies that help conserve resources and energy, 

generating sales of a strong one billion euros with such products. 

Innovation: The ground-breaking ceremony for a new plant in Korea 

was held in 2009. By the end of 2012, the facility will have the capacity to 

manufacture a minimum of 125,000 lithium-ion battery cells per year for 

hybrid and electric vehicles. 

Investments: In 2009, Bosch opened a new manufacturing facility for large 

wind-turbine gearboxes in Nuremberg, Germany. Approximately € 180 million 

will have been invested in this project by 2013. 

Renewable energies: In 2009, Bosch generated sales of roughly 

€ 1 billion from systems utilizing renewable energies, ranging from large 

wind-turbine gearboxes and ground-source heat pumps to solar collectors 

and photovoltaics. 

New division: The recently formed Bosch Solar Energy division constructed 

its first solar power plants in 2009. 

Awards: The new Bosch headquarters for Southeast Asia in Singapore 

was completed in 2009 and received two awards for its energy efficiency and 

eco-friendliness. 


Bradesco 

Environment Preservation 

in the Amazon 

By Eduardo Dantas 

Bradesco endeavors to incorporate sustainability into each 

one of its business activities and corporate strategies. We 

do believe in a better world for both current and future 

generations. Considering that socio-environmental 

investment is one of the pillars of our sustainability core, 

we support many initiatives regarding that matter in Brazil, 

through partnerships directed at the preservation of forest 

environment. 

Two initiatives that are currently being 

developed are the Fundação Amazonas 

Sustentável (FAS, Sustainable Amazon 

Foundation) – which has the goals of 

preserving a group of 35 environment 

preservation units in the Amazon region, 

promoting sustainable development, 

and improving the quality of life of 

the populations involved – and the 

SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation, which 

makes possible the projects that are 

devoted to the protection of the Mata 

Atlantica (Atlantic Woods) through conservation 

programs, environmental education, 

and forest restoration, among 

other things. 

Sustainable Amazon 

Foundation 

Bradesco is one of the co-founders of FAS, 

which is a groundbreaking partnership 

between the Bank and the Brazilian state 

of Amazonas and was made public in 

November 2007. FAS’s goal is to value 

environmental services provided by the 

Amazon Rainforest, with a view toward 

improving the quality of life of the riverbank 

communities and the forest’s 

preservation. 

The Bank’s initial financial resources 

amounted to R$ 20 million (US$ 11.2 

million), which, together with the Amazonas 

state government’s additional 

R$20 million, formed a permanent fund 

in which only revenues are invested, 

making the FAS Foundation financially 

sustainable in the long run. BRAM (Bradesco 

Asset Management) manages the 

resources. 

From 2008 to 2012, an additional 

R$ 50 million (US$ 27.8 million) will be 

invested – R$ 10 million (US$ 5.5 million) 

a year. Other private organizations 

have also contributed to the Foundation 

through financial and technical 

resources. The totals handed to the NGO 

are obtained from the sales of products 

related to the initiative, such as credit 

cards and capitalization bonds. FAS supports 

35 environment preservation units 

– which cover 41 million acres of land 

– in the state of Amazonas. 

The first action taken by the partnership 

occurred within the scope of 

the Bolsa-Floresta program (Forest-Grant 

program), a pioneer program in Brazil 

devised by the Amazonas government 

as part of the state’s policies on Climate 

Change, Environmental Preservation, 

and the Amazon’s Sustainable Development. 

There are four categories of 

Bolsa-Floresta: Income Bolsa-Floresta 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

(supporting sustainable activities); Social 

Bolsa-Floresta (improving health, 

transportation, and communications); 

Bolsa-Floresta Association (organizing 

reservation dwellers as representative 

groups); and the Bolsa-Floresta Family 

(payment to the communities for environmental 

services and products, for 

sustainable use of natural resources, 

and for environment preservation and 

protection). Until December 2009, the 

Bolsa-Floresta programs had benefited 

up to 6,800 families in Amazonas. 

Part of the resources thus obtained 

are handed to the Foundation and used 

to develop programs for environment 

preservation, education, and forest 

restoration, among other things. The 

resources from Bradesco have already 

contributed to the planting of more 

than 28.1 million native tree seedlings 

in Mata Atlantica areas, equivalent to 

the recuperation of 42,000 acres. 

All those trees, when fully grown (in 

20 years), will compensate for approximately 

3.9 million tons of CO 2 

. Since 

of treatment, credit, delinquency, and 

insurance. We have also being assessing 

operational, reputational, and regulatory 

risks from different economic sectors 

that have a relationship with the Bank, 

in addition to environmental damage 

risks that may be caused by projects 

financed by Bradesco. 

According to the Brazilian Ministry 

of Environment, 70 percent of national 

emissions are due to deforestation and 

to other types of land mismanagement, 

such as clearing by burning. That is why 

Capitalization bonds and credit cards 

focused on sustainability 

Bradesco offers its clients capitalization products with specific goals and 

social purposes. Part of the resources thus collected are handed to 

socio-environmental projects, such as the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, 

and the SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation. The SOS Mata Atlantica Affinity Card 

was created more than two decades ago, and its annual fees are targeted 

specifically to the Foundation. Since 1993, the card has already generated 

R$ 41.6 million (US$ 23.1 million). The resources are directed mainly to 

reforesting degraded areas, qualifying technical hands, and developing new 

projects for forest protection. There is another Affinity Card in which part 

of the resources are directed to the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, and it is 

the first credit card in the country made of recycled plastic (80 to 85 % of the 

material). 

SOS Mata Atlantica 

Foundation 

The Bank has maintained a partnership 

with the SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation 

since 1989 in order to generate resources 

for conservation of that particular biome. 

Therefore, special products have 

been launched through the years. Some 

examples since 2007 are Cartão de Afinidade 

SOS Mata Atlantica (SOS Mata 

Atlantica Affinity Card), Pé-quente (lucky) 

Bradesco SOS Mata Atlantica Capitalization 

Bond, and the Eco financiamento 

(Car EcoFinancing). 

1989, all the resources derived from the 

sales of the NGO-related products total 

R$ 85.9 million (US$ 47.75 million), and 

have been forwarded to the designated 

recipients. 

Bradesco and climate change 

We are concerned and seeking to understand 

more and more about climate 

change issues. We have been refining our 

assessment of climate change impacts on 

our businesses, and analyzing the risks 

that are directly related to our activities, 

especially those concerning structures 

actions that promote forest and woods 

preservation are so important. In 2009, 

while moving toward sustainability, we 

enforced our support for “Seal the Deal,” 

which is part of the UN Global Compact 

campaign and has a goal to encourage 

entrepreneurs, government, and society 

to engage the international agreement on 

climate change, as discussed by the COP 

15 at the UN Framework Convention on 

Climate Change in Copenhagen. In addition, 

we continue to support the Equator 

Principles, the Millennium Development 

Goals, and other relevant national and 

international pledges. 


Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group 

Efficient household 

appliances save 

resources and money 

By Fridolin Weindl 

BOSCH AND SIEMENS HOME APPLIANCES GROUP 

Accounting for almost 30 percent of consumption, private households are the secondlargest 

source of energy use and, with 21 percent, the third-largest source of CO 2 

emissions 

worldwide. Electrical appliances, in turn, account for almost half of the entire electricity use 

in private households. That is why it is so important that modern household appliances work 

efficiently with as little energy as possible. By using fewer resources, they not only help to 

protect the climate and the environment, they also deliver significant cost-savings for the 

consumer. 

Energy efficiency, climate change, resource 

conservation – in the future, 

these topics will become even more 

the focus of public attention than they 

already are. The International Energy 

Agency forecasts that the global demand 

for energy will rise by more than 50 

percent by the year 2030. As a result, electricity 

costs will continue to rise around 

the world, global warming will advance, 

and energy and resources will become 

scarce. That is why we need to develop 

innovative technical solutions and to significantly 

reduce the resource consumption 

of every individual. High-efficiency 

household appliances can make a significant 

contribution to protecting our 

climate and our resources – without 

having to make compromises in terms 

of convenience and performance. 

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers 

of large and small appliances, 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

Innovative Household Appliances: 

saving energy without sacrificing 

convenience 

Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances 

Group carries a special responsibility 

for its products. Although household 

appliances were not originally invented 

to save electricity but rather to use it 

to make household chores easier, our 

engineers have worked continuously 

to improve our products’ convenience 

and performance while steadily reducing 

their consumption of water and energy. 

Thanks to their efforts, they have been 

very successful in recent years. Our current, 

highly efficient refrigerator-freezer 

combinations in the highest energy efficiency 

class A++ consume up to 74 

percent less electricity than comparable 

models 15 years ago. For washing machines, 

we were able to reduce energy 

consumption by up to 50 percent, and 

for tumble dryers by up to 62 percent 

over the same period of time. To keep 

reducing the consumption values of 

our products, our engineers are constantly 

working on new technologies. 

In our new tumble dryer, for example, 

innovative heat-pump technology and a 

self-cleaning condenser make sure that 

the power consumption stays low for 

the life of the appliance. 

Our new dishwashers feature zeolite 

– a mineral that can absorb moisture 

and emit heat. This innovative technology, 

which is being used for the first 

time in any household appliance, makes 

these models 20 percent more efficient 

than traditional dishwashers of the best 

energy class. When one considers that 

the average lifespan of a household appliance 

is 13 to 15 years, the potential 

energy savings are huge. Compared 

against such a long usage period, the 

environmental impact created by the 

appliances’ production, distribution, and 

disposal is relatively low, as environmental 

studies and analyses confirm. 

190 million obsolete appliances 

In European households there are roughly 

190 million household appliances that 

are older than 10 years. If we replaced 

all of these obsolete appliances with new 

high-efficiency models, we could save up 

to 44 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity 

and up to 22 million tons of CO 2 

every 

year. And our private households could 

reduce their costs by about €8.8 billion 

per year. That nearly equates to the annual 

residential energy consumption 

of Poland and the Netherlands. To communicate 

these potential savings to the 

customers, clear and transparent labeling 

is important, because the purchasing 

decision also involves a decision on the 

appliance’s power consumption for the 

next 15 years. Since 1995, a standardized 

energy label provides a reliable 

orientation-aid for consumers within 

the European Union, but the official 

best energy class no longer represents 

the state-of-the-art in most cases. 

Compared with this energy class, 

modern, high-efficiency appliances from 

the A++ category – which previously 

only applied to the refrigerator / freezer 

segment – use roughly 45 percent less 

electricity. To restore a reliable classification 

system and provide transparent 

information for the customer, BSH 

CEO and president of the European 

Committee of Domestic Equipment 

Manufacturers CECED, Dr. Kurt-Ludwig 

Gutberlet, is working on a realignment 

of the European energy label. In addition, 

BSH started the company-wide Energy 

Excellence Initiative last year in order 

to make energy efficiency an essential 

operating principle in all subsidiaries and 

to position BSH as a leading supplier of 

energy-efficient products worldwide. We 

are also helping the Chinese authorities 

to introduce a European-style energy label. 

Energy efficiency, climate protection, 

and resource conservation are global 

issues, and efficient household appliances 

are a major factor in shaping the 

necessary changes directly and actively. 

For its commitment in the areas of society 

and the environment, BSH won the first 

German Sustainability Award and was 

named “Germany’s most sustainable 

company” in 2008. 


Carrefour 

Accompany Our Suppliers 

in Their Sustainable 

Development Approach 

By Hélène Jessua 

Launched in 2006 among 90 suppliers, 

this initiative was deployed in 2009 to 

all suppliers of Carrefour’s own brand 

food products in France. This global tool 

enables the suppliers to self-assess in four 

areas: company management and policy; 

environmental responsibility; social responsibility; 

and economic performance. 

The sustainability self-assessment tool has 

been designed with the support of ADEME 

(French energy-control agency) and the 

WWF, with whom Carrefour has had a 

partnership since 1998. It includes: 

• an online assessment questionnaire 

made of 49 criteria regarding environmental, 

social, and economic aspects; 

• proposal of indicators to monitor the 

approach; 

• a direct access to results; 

• the opportunity to benchmark on each 

criteria on a year-to-year basis, and on 

the average of the industry; 

• best practices. 

The self-assessment tool achieves three 

missions: 

Within the framework of its sustainable development 

approach and its commitment to the respect for the 

Global Compact Principles regarding the environment 

(Principles 7, 8, and 9), Carrefour has created a sustainable 

development self-assessment tool to encourage its suppliers 

to implement a sustainability approach. Adapted to SMEs, 

this tool covers all the areas of a company at the social and 

environmental levels. 

1. It enables Carrefour to get more involved 

with its suppliers, particularly 

regarding product manufacturing. 

2. It raises awareness of companies working 

with Carrefour on sustainable 

development challenges. 

3. It enables suppliers to have a better 

understanding of the levers with 

which they can take action, to be 

accompanied and supported in the 

implementation of a sustainability 

policy, and to contribute to the sustainability 

of their businesses. 

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est Practice 

environment 

Venez tester vos 

connaissances sur 

la Biodiversité 

La biodiversité, 

c’est quoi ? 

La biodiversité désigne la Variété et la 

Diversité du Monde Vivant. 

Elle est synonyme de "Vie sur Terre" : 

- des plantes aux hommes 

- des bactéries aux plus grands des 

mammifères 

- de la diversité des paysages à la 

diversité des lieux de vie (mer, forêt...) 

Elle représente entre 10 et 50 millions 

d'espèces. 

Préserver la Biodiversité, 

c'est offrir à nos enfants 

une Planète Vivante 

* for a living planet 

3 LES 

2010 

Année de la 

Biodiversité 

ESPÈCES EN MOYENNE 

DISPARAISSENT TOUTES 

HEURES SUR LA PLANÈTE 

In order to support them, Carrefour 

also conducts advisory visits on suppliers’ 

sites. These visits are aimed at 

accompanying companies, identifying 

the average gap between the self-assessed 

information and the reality, identifying 

action plans to implement, and monitoring 

progresses achieved. 

Following the very positive feedback 

in France, the Carrefour CEO 

decided to deploy the tool to all Carrefour 

brand suppliers worldwide. For 

the first time, in November 2009, Carrefour 

awarded the brand product suppliers 

who are the most committed to 

the implementation of a sustainability 

approach. These awards are aimed at 

encouraging and promoting the approaches 

of these suppliers. The winners 

of the 2009 Sustainability Award 

were chosen based on the results obtained 

from the self-assessment tool and 

validated by advisory visits. Following 

the jury deliberation of members of 

Carrefour management, and external 

experts from WWF and ADEME, five 

suppliers were awarded for the following: 

Respect for the Planet, Respect for 

Climate, Respect for Earth, and Respect 

for People. A special prize was awarded 

to a non-food supplier of Carrefour’s 

own brand products for the supplier’s 

progressive approach. 

more than 15 YearS of CommItment 

to bIodIverSItY 

• Fourteen years of voluntary approach to gmOs: Since 1996, Carrefour offers to all 

its customers products that are not Gmo labeled (Gmo – genetically modified organism), 

giving them the opportunity to buy products according to their conviction. for some of its 

Carrefour quality Line products, Carrefour goes even further by excluding Gmos from 

the source animal feed. outside the european union, Carrefour applies a progressive 

approach regarding its non-Gmo policy, taking into account the local context linked to 

national laws, economic contexts, and the different sensibilities of consumers. 

• First French retailer to develop a responsible fishing offer: back in 1995, Carrefour 

developed a fishing offer with its quality product line whereby fish was farmed 

according to environmentally-friendly practices and not labeled Gmo. ten years later, 

Carrefour was the first retailer to develop and offer a “responsible fishing” frozen fish 

product range to consumers, which has since become the Carrefour aGIr eco Planète 

range. With 26 references, Carrefour is the retailer that proposes the widest offering of 

mSC-certified (marine Stewardship Council) own brand products in france. following 

scientists’ alerts in 2006, a halt in the marketing of the mediterranean bluefin tuna was 

ordered in all european stores of the Group and halted completely in 2008. Since 2007, 

Carrefour has also been working with the WWf to identify the best sources of supply. 

• Twelve years of commitment to forest protection: engaged since 1997 in an approach 

to control the sourcing of wood supplies, Carrefour has been working with the WWf 

since 1998 to privilege fSC (forest Stewardship Council) certified wood. thus the Group 

Purchasing office assortment of outdoor furniture consists exclusively of fSC-certified 

products and acacia, a species that is not included on the International union for the 

Conservation of nature and natural resources list of endangered species and for which 

Carrefour’s suppliers have engaged in a process of fSC certification with the vietnam 

forest and trade network. for its commercial publications, and beyond its policy for the 

use of paper with reduced grammage, Carrefour is committed to reaching the target of 

having 100 percent of the paper for european catalogs and consumer magazines ordered 

by the Group to be made from recycled wood fibers and / or of paper from forests under 

certified responsible management by 2010. 

• First French retailer committed to the responsible use of palm oil in 100 percent 

of its own brand products by 2015: Within the framework of its participation 

in the roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil (rSPo) since 2006, Carrefour is committed 

to promoting a production process of palm oil that respects environmental protection 

criteria and small producers. In 2009, Carrefour was still the only french retailer that was 

a member of this initiative. after an awareness-raising campaign among its own brand 

suppliers and an inventory of the presence of palm oil in its own brand products in 2007, 

Carrefour proceeded in 2008 to substitute the palm oil included in its own brand chips 

marketed in france (representing the withdrawal of a third of the total volume of the 

palm oil used). In 2009, the first amounts of responsible certified palm oil through the 

rSPo system became available on the market. thus Carrefour has committed to using 

only certified oil in all of its own brand products by 2015. henceforth, Carrefour’s position 

toward the suppliers of its own brand products is to request that they substitute the 

palm oil when it is technically possible and when it represents a nutritional interest. 


COOP 

Coop Naturaline – 

Fashion & Fairness 

By Emma Arvidsson and Simona Matt 

Coop launched its 

Naturaline brand in 1993. 

Today, the company is one of 

the world’s largest retailers 

of Fairtrade organic cotton. 

Coop has worked with REMEI AG since 

1994. Together, they have developed a 

set of social and ecological requirements 

for fashionwear. This longstanding partnership 

received the Business Award 

for Sustainable Development Partnerships 

at the 2002 United Nations World 

Summit in Johannesburg. Sustainability 

runs through the value chain like 

a continuous thread, from the farmer 

right through to the finished fashion 

garment. Coop ensures organic cotton 

production, ecological processing, and 

fair working conditions along the entire 

supply chain. 

The organic cotton for Naturaline 

textiles is grown in bioRe® projects in 

Maikaal (India) and Meatu (Tanzania). 

Today, over 8,000 farmers in India and 

Tanzania are involved. Organic farming 

enables the farmers to escape the 

spiral of debt, as they do not have to 

take out loans to purchase expensive 

chemicals and GMO seeds. In addition, 

organic farmers use techniques such 

as crop rotation and produce compost 

and natural pesticides to achieve good 

yields. Organic farming also stabilizes 

ecosystems, while renouncing monocultures 

prevents a loss of earnings in case 

of drought or pest infestations. What 

is more, the farmers receive an organic 

premium and a purchase guarantee 

for their organic cotton harvest, hence 

attaining greater added value. 

Fair working conditions 

The social criteria for farming include: 

training and consulting services; an 

organic premium; a purchase guarantee; 

farmers’ representation and 

co-determination; workers’ rights and 

absence of discrimination; capital buildup 

and reinforcement of organizations; 

and initiation of and support for social 

projects. 

Coop works together with the Business 

Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) 

in textile processing. In 2005, the BSCI 

Code of Conduct replaced the textile 

codex that had been in force since 2000. 

All direct suppliers in developing countries 

are involved in the audit process, 

which is supported and supervised by 

Coop and REMEI AG. Compliance with 

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Best Practice 


SA8000 is the long-term goal for all Coop 

Naturaline business associates. The social 

criteria include: 

• freedom of association and the right 

to collective bargaining are respected 

• no discrimination is practiced 

• child labor is prohibited 

• legal minimum and/or industry standard 

wages are paid 

• working hours are compliant with national 

laws and do not exceed 48 hours 

regular plus 12 hours overtime 

• there is no forced labor or disciplinary 

measures 

• the workplace is safe and healthy 

• the environment is respected 

• a social accountability policy is in 

place 

• an anti-bribery and anti-corruption 

policy is enforced 

• statutory and international conventions 

are upheld 

Ecological processing 

Naturaline products protect textile workers 

from toxic chemicals, substances, 

and colors during processing. Precise 

threshold values are defined for textile 

production. In particular, no chlorine 

or formaldehyde is used in processing. 

Moreover, further optimization 

is achieved thanks to effective input 

management and controlled wastewater 

treatment. 

For Coop, REMEI AG, and bioRe® 

India and Tanzania, traceability means 

the entire production process is fully 

documented and certified sustainable – 

in both ecological and social terms. Every 

Naturaline bioRe® garment is therefore 

marked with a numeric code that enables 

every single production step to be traced 

all the way back to the region where the 

cotton was harvested. 

Social projects for farming families 

The bioRe® Association is responsible for 

implementing social projects in India 

and Tanzania. The Coop Sustainability 

Fund supports these bioRe® projects. 

They include: 

CO 2 

-neutral Naturaline products by 2013 

“We decided to implement our own CO 2 

project to improve the living conditions 

for farmers locally,” says Jürg Peritz, head of Marketing / Purchasing Business 

Unit, vice chairman of Coop Executive Committee. Coop and REMEI AG are 

planning a shift to CO 2 

-neutral production of all Naturaline textiles and cottonwadding 

products by the end of 2013. Several pilot projects were launched as 

a first step. In 2008, 80,000 CO 2 

-neutral Naturaline T-shirts were produced 

in India and 20,000 in Tanzania. Coop and REMEI AG’s CO 2 

projects are 

pioneering, and are a prime example of the fruits of longstanding cooperation. 

As of spring 2010, the entire Naturaline t-shirt standard range is being 

progressively switched over to CO 2 

neutrality. How is CO 2 

-neutral production 

achieved? The first step is to cut CO 2 

emissions in the production chain. Any 

remaining CO 2 

emissions are then compensated for by local projects. For 

instance, farming families are given financial support to build biogas plants for 

their homes. These systems turn the manure produced by their cattle into gas, 

which is used as household fuel. This not only reduces CO 2 

emissions by 2 to 

3 tons per household annually – it also means healthier farmers and a better 

ecosystem. 

• Agricultural Training Centers: At bioRe® 

Training Centers and during on-thefield 

training, farmers learn all the 

skills they need to be successful in 

organic cultivation. 

• Animation Schools: The aim of animation 

schools is to enroll children 

in a school who up to now have been 

deprived of their right to education. 

Animation means that the community 

and, in particular, the children’s parents 

are made aware of the importance 

of education and establish a village 

school together. 

• Mobile Health Unit: Where doctors 

were previously unavailable, the Mobile 

Health Unit brings relief today. 

In 2008 / 2009, REMEI AG produced more 

than 1.5 million garments for brands 

including Coop, Greenpeace Magazine, 

Mammut, and REWE. Nonetheless, Coop 

continues to be REMEI AG’s most significant 

and reliable customer. Coop 

Naturaline is a range of around 450 

articles made from organic Fairtrade 

cotton. These range from basics such as 

T-shirts and pajamas to seasonal, trendy 

garments. At Coop, annual sales of Naturaline 

textiles and cotton-wadding products 

have risen from an initial 3 million 

Swiss francs to reach 65 million Swiss 

francs in 2009. Today, the partnership 

between Coop and REMEI AG is flourishing 

to such an extent that the Naturaline 

brand is also sold under license outside 

of Switzerland. Distribution partners 

are located in France, Finland, and Belgium. 


Copagaz 

Global Warming and 

Risk Management 

Recognizing that climate change has become a worldwide challenge, Copagaz made this 

a priority. A signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2003, in 2008 Copagaz became a 

member of the Caring for Climate initiative. In 2009, at the United Nations Leadership Forum 

on Climate Change, held by the Global Compact at UN headquarters in New York, Copagaz 

also became a signatory of the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, conceived at 

Cambridge University and led by Prince Charles of the United Kingdom. 

By Elizete Neto Tavares Paes and José Pascowitch 

Copagaz is a company that is concerned 

about its performance. A pioneer in its 

field with respect to sustainability, the 

company has guided efforts to improve 

its internal processes on the way toward 

responsible management that is based 

on mitigating its environmental impacts 

and strengthening its relationship with 

its principal stakeholders. 

In this sense, climate change constitutes 

one of the underlying issues for 

Copagaz that will be guiding its activities 

in the coming years. This article will recount 

some of the internal initiatives that 

the company has been implementing to 

improve its management and bring it 

into alignment with an economy of low 

emissions. These efforts have been geared 

primarily toward the logistics involved 

in the distribution chain, and some of 

the results can be reviewed below. 

Copagaz Distribuidora de Gás Ltda. 

is a large-scale, privately held Brazilian 

company that is a traditional and family 

enterprise. It operates in the segment 

that bottles and distributes liquefied 

petroleum gas (LP Gas), and is the fifth 

largest company in this industry in Brazil. 

Founded in 1955 by its current president, 

Ueze Elias Zahran, Copagaz has established 

a trajectory of solid and continuous 

growth, based on an awareness of the 

fundamental importance of its product 

in the everyday lives of its clients. With 

a presence in nineteen of Brazil’s states 

and Federal District, Copagaz directly 

employs 1,246 staff members. 

Renewal of the fleet 

The Department of Logistics has undertaken 

to develop and implement programs 

and actions that achieve effective 

logistical, financial, and commercial 

results for the company while they help 

to improve its performance in sustainability. 

The main initiatives that have 

been implemented are related to the 

modernization of its fleet with more 

efficient vehicles, and the creation of 

programs to optimize distribution processes 

and reduce distances traveled. These 

actions help to improve the quality of 

life for drivers, minimize the risk of 

highway accidents, reduce freight costs 

and, primarily, mitigate environmental 

impacts related to the emission of pollutants. 

Since 2005, the market has been 

adopting as a standard tank trucks with 

a greater capacity of 30 tons. Having 

observed this trend in 2008, Copagaz 

invested approximately R$ 6.48 million 

(US$ 3,7) in the purchase of 18 new tank 

trucks of this specification, bringing 

about a reduction of approximately 392 

trips a year on the central-western route 

in Brazil alone. 

In a forward-looking and preventive 

fashion, Copagaz inaugurated a 

policy of fleet modernization in 2001 

whereby its vehicles would have to be 

replaced every six years. This target for 

truck replacement has not only been 

implemented successfully, but it has also 

been exceeded, considering that, as of 

now, the average age of fleet vehicles is 

three years. Beyond this, the new fleet 

purchased at the start of 2005 is part 

of the generation of Euro 3 electronic 

engines, which in Brazil means that they 

102 


Best Practice 

Environment 

are in compliance with the resolutions 

of the National Council on the Environment 

(Conama – Conselho Nacional do 

Meio Ambiente). 

The logistical team is also working to 

improve the levels of the fleet’s productivity 

through training (economic guidance), 

optimization of routes (fewer kilometers 

driven per ton delivered), and having 

dealers raise clients’ awareness by arranging 

deliveries during off-peak hours, 

particularly in metropolitan areas. 

Mapping of vehicles 

Since 2008, all Bob-Tail trucks for the 

transport and delivery of LP Gas in bulk 

are equipped with a Global Positioning 

System (GPS), enabling them to verify 

the truck’s position en route, and to 

make adjustments to the itinerary after 

the trip is over, thereby increasing environmental 

efficiency and effectiveness 

in the execution of services. 

Right: Small Truck Bob-Tail – for 

to serve historic and cultural 

heritage cities. 

Bottom: LPG Plant in Mauá, 

São Paulo 

This system makes it possible for 

the Department of Logistics to constantly 

evaluate and monitor the route taken 

by vehicles, thereby enabling staff to 

reorganize and restructure itineraries 

if they detect any sort of inefficiency 

or see opportunities to optimize routes. 

Another major factor is that the program 

has significantly reduced the number 

of overtime hours worked by drivers, 

which has added up to a reduction of 

costs for the company while improving 

the quality of life and lowering the risk 

of highway accidents. 

Conceived by the Committee on 

Business Sustainability and implemented 

with the support of the Logistics, 

Sales, and Industrial departments, the 

mapping of the vehicle fleet was carried 

out during the second half of 2009. 

Nearly 4,000 people were involved in 

the execution of the work. In total, more 

than 4,500 vehicles were registered, including 

cars, motorcycles, utility vehicles, 

and trucks. 

This action will make it possible for 

Copagaz to establish specific strategies 

for risk management relating to the 

environmental impacts of its activities. 

The mapping consists of an initial phase 

to improve the process for measuring 

emissions resulting from all distribution 

activities, which can then be extended 

to the company as a whole. Beyond this, 

from a risk-management perspective, 

Copagaz can work more closely with 

this strategic constituency – and from 

a position of greater strength – by developing 

initiatives to reduce environmental 

impacts and aligning itself with 

a low-carbon economy. 

It is important to emphasize that 

the mapping initiative seeks to keep 

Copagaz in alignment with the commitments 

it has undertaken with the 

UN Global Compact to disseminate its 

Ten Principles, as well as the Caring for 

Climate initiative, aimed at reducing 

emissions in the production process. 


Copeinca | Camposol 

Implementing UNGC 

Principles in our CSR 

By Francesca Carnesella 

COPEINCA ASA is focused on producing 

fishmeal and fish oil, and covers 

the entire fishmeal value chain from 

trawling to distribution. The company 

operates vessels that catch anchovy off 

the coasts of Peru. This raw material, 

along with anchovy bought from third 

parties and its administrated fleet, is 

processed into fishmeal and fish oil in 

the six plants owned by COPEINCA, all of 

which have high-quality standards and 

operate under national environmental 

regulations. Over 85 percent of the company’s 

finished products are exported 

throughout the world. 

COPEINCA considers sustainability 

as part of its everyday business. The 

company strongly believes that to guarantee 

business sustainability, there is an 

indispensable requirement in assuring 

that the ethical principle of respecting 

persons and the environment should be 

fulfilled by acting in accordance with the 

social responsibility guidelines of our 

organization as well as the Principles 

of the Global Compact, which we have 

belonged to since February 2007. 

We have defined our Corporate 

Social Responsibility strategy – aligned 

with our strategic objectives and the 

Global Compact Principles – and based 

it on our experiences and the world’s 

best practices. With this strategy, we 

have been able to manage properly our 

stakeholders’ needs while addressing 

our sustainability challenges. Moreover, 

the company considers the triple 

bottom line in all of its decisions: economic 

growth (Profit), social development 

(People), and conservation of the 

environment (Planet). The company 

seeks to strengthen and put into universal 

practice the principles and values 

of social responsibility into all of the 

processes, operations, and areas of the 

company. COPEINCA was the first Peruvian 

fishing company to publish an 

audited Sustainability Report in 2005. 

Since then, there has been a second 

report for the 2006 - 2007 period, and 

a third one for the 2008 - 2009 period, 

which was published in May 2010. All 

of them are available on our web page: 

www.copeinca.com. These reports reflect 

the company’s development concerning 

environmental, social, and economic 

indicators as well as the programs and 

activities that are carried out according 

to the social responsibility strategy. 

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Operating in compliance 

with ethical principles 

CAMPOSOL is an agro-industrial company 

involved in the sowing, harvesting, 

processing, and export of asparagus, avocados, 

piquillo peppers, mangoes, and 

grapes. These products are sold fresh, 

frozen, or preserved in jars or cans. In 

1997, operations began with the purchase 

of the first strip of land and by 

the end of 1999, the first items had been 

exported. Today, the company has more 

than 25,000 hectares on the northern 

Peruvian coastline and has become a 

leading Peruvian agro-industrial company, 

annually occupying first place in 

agro-exports and generating (during high 

seasons) more than 8,000 direct jobs. 

The company understands that Corporate 

Social Responsibility is a practice 

performed by those organizations that 

decide voluntarily to contribute to a better 

society and to an environment that 

is suitable for future generations. 

Along this line, CAMPOSOL initiated 

a process to formalize its sustainable 

development strategy in 2008. In the 

first step, we carried out a study with 

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which allowed 

us to identify our stakeholders, to design 

our sustainable development strategy, 

as well as to check best practices of the 

industry in Lima and worldwide. This 

effort resulted in a Social Responsibility 

Plan for 2009 and is aligned with 

the Global Reporting Initiative indicators 

and the Global Compact Principles. 

The results will be available in the first 

CAMPOSOL Sustainability Report for 

2009, which was made available in May 

2010 and can be found on our web page: 

www.camposol.com.pe. 

The objective of this report is to 

reflect in a transparent and systematic 

way the main indicators that show the 

environmental and social performance of 

the company, as well as the programs and 

activities that are carried out in terms 

of social responsibility. The company 

takes into consideration the issues of 

economic growth, social development, 

and conservation of the environment 

in all of its decisions. The company tries 

hard to communicate and put into universal 

practice the social responsibility 

principles and values into all the 

processes, operations, and areas of the 

company. 

CAMPOSOL & COPEINCA belong to D&C Group. 


Deutsche Bank 

Climate Protection at 

Deutsche Bank 

Companies need to act sustainably to maintain the trust of 

the societies in which they operate. Climate protection 

has an important role to play here. Deutsche Bank is active 

as a financial intermediary, an environmental efficiency 

manager and a climate ambassador. 

As a financial intermediary Deutsche 

Bank contributes to climate protection by 

providing special services and products 

and facilitating sustainability-oriented 

business opportunities. In this area, the 

Bank is focusing on promoting renewable 

energies, investing in the energy 

efficiency of buildings, and intensifying 

emissions trading. As an environmental 

efficiency manager Deutsche Bank is 

making great efforts to build an ecoefficient 

infrastructure, to use renewable 

energies, and to neutralize unavoidable 

emissions with the help of certificates. It 

plans to be completely carbon-neutral in 

its business activities by the end of 2012. 

As a climate ambassador Deutsche Bank 

is using its know-how in the area of 

sustainability to inform all stakeholder 

groups about the challenges of climate 

change and to offer practical solutions. 

Banking 

Climate protection solutions do not only 

form an essential part of our CSR activities, 

but also offer significant business 

potential. Aggregate investment in the 

energy sector alone is expected to add 

up to roughly $ 28 trillion by 2050. Deutsche 

Bank is one of the leading banks 

in renewable energies investment. It 

supports companies that invest in these 

energies and is financing individual 

wind and solar power projects (such 

as the DII GmbH Desertec Industrial 

Initiative and the largest photovoltaic 

park in Spain). 

Deutsche Bank Global Markets provides 

strategic advice on financing, risk 

management, and investment to environmental 

technology and renewable 

energy companies and designs bespoke 

solutions to meet individual needs. Investment 

products include environmentally 

oriented exchange traded funds, 

certificates, warrants, and notes. Products 

include: the DB Platinum S&P US Carbon 

Efficient Index Exchange Traded Fund, 

which tracks the performance of S&P 

500 excluding stocks with the largest 

carbon footprints; the Öko-Dax Certificate, 

which tracks the performance of 

the 10 biggest German renewable energy 

companies; and the S-Box GlobalSolar 

Certificate, which tracks the performance 

of the world’s 20 biggest solar energy 

and silicium companies. 

106 


Best Practice 

Environment 

DB Advisors, the institutional investment 

management business of Deutsche 

Bank’s Asset Management division, 

offers a full range of strategies in both 

traditional and alternative asset classes. 

DB Advisors works on the premise that 

adapting to and mitigating the effects 

of climate change will require massive 

capital investment over decades, thereby 

producing numerous investment opportunities. 

Through DB Advisors, institutional 

investors can access these 

opportunities, as well as a wide range 

of strategies that meet their criteria for 

responsible investments. DB Advisors’ 

climate change-related and other responsible 

investment solutions combine 

environmental, social, and governance 

(ESG) considerations with investors’ financial 

objectives. 

DWS Investments – the retail fund 

business of Deutsche Asset Management 

and one of the world’s largest mutual 

fund companies with € 136 billion in 

assets under management in Germany 

and € 256 billion worldwide – has numerous 

sustainable funds in its portfolio. 

Among the most prominent are DWS 

Climate Change, a fund that focuses 

on all aspects of climate change, and 

DWS Zukunftsressourcen, a fund that 

focuses on water, renewable energies, 

and agriculture. 

Deutsche Bank makes markets in 

bonds and shares of nearly all major 

companies in the sectors of power gen- 


Deutsche Bank 

eration, renewable energy, emissionrelated 

and environmental technology. 

It is the leading market maker in shares 

of renewable energy companies. 

Emission trading 

Deutsche Bank has been a leading participant 

in the international carbon credit 

market since its inception. The Bank 

invested in the Prototype Carbon Fund set 

up by the World Bank in 2000 to kick-start 

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) 

and Joint Implementation (JI) projects 

and was the first bank to execute an 

emissions trade under the Umbrella Carbon 

Facility set up to facilitate Certified 

Emission Reduction (CER) and Emission 

Reduction Unit (ERU) trading. Deutsche 

Bank makes markets in a wide range of 

carbon credits including European Union 

Allowances (EUAs), ERUs, and CERs, 

and has been involved in over 50 CDM 

projects, including wind power, energy 

efficiency, landfill gas to electricity and 

cement waste heat-recovery projects. 

Deutsche Bank was voted the No. 1 CER 

trader in Energy Risk’s most recent poll 

of industry professionals. 

make a considerable contribution to 

climate protection. 

Deutsche Bank is one of the key 

partners of the Clinton Climate Initiative, 

which focuses on a green refurbishment 

of private and public buildings in 15 of 

the world’s largest cities. The most prominent 

Bank with its numerous buildings 

is acting accordingly in its own facility 

management. The best example for 

this is the refurbishment of the Bank’s 

headquarters. Once completed, the Twin 

Towers in downtown Frankfurt will be 

among the most eco-friendly skyscrapers 

worldwide, reducing CO 2 

emissions 

– and energy expenses – by about 90 

percent. Deutsche Bank aims to obtain 

two certifications for its headquarters: a 

Among the most eco-friendly 

skyscrapers worldwide: Deutsche 

Bank headquarters in downtown 

Frankfurt 

certification from the German Sustainable 

Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft 

für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB)) and a 

Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design (LEED) certificate by 

the US Green Building Council. Deutsche 

Bank has also put up a list with sustainability 

requirements for all buildings it 

is buying or renting. 

Supply-chain management 

As many studies have shown, procurement 

is significantly influencing the overall 

environmental impact of a company. 

Ecological criteria play an increasing role 

in the procurement of goods and services. 

By including minimum standards in its 

Risk management 

In the context of Deutsche Bank’s climate 

strategy and sustainable banking 

approach, risk management plays an 

essential role. In 2008 the Bank revised 

its global lending policy, placing even 

greater emphasis on sustainability. For 

example, Deutsche Bank does not provide 

financing for products such as CFC, 

asbestos, or certain weapons and pays 

special attention to all transactions regarding 

rainforests, woods/forests in general, 

dams, and mining/natural resource 

production. 

Energy efficiency of buildings 

Large cities account for about 75 percent 

of energy consumption and greenhouse 

gas emissions worldwide, with almost 40 

percent of the greenhouse gas emissions 

being caused by buildings. Making buildings 

more energy efficient can therefore 

108 


Best Practice 

Environment 

DEUTSCHE BANK’S CLIMATE STRATEGY 

Deutsche Bank recognizes the responsibility to act on climate change and we help our stakeholders to take action – 

in an integrated approach across our business. We consider our climate strategy as an essential part of our forward-looking 

sustainable business strategy. 

Financial Intermediary 

Our core business wants to contribute to 

climate protection with high-class services 

and banking products and offers sustainable 

business opportunities. 

■ Clean technology 

■ Energy efficiency of buildings 

■ Carbon market activities 

■ Green Infrastructure 

■ Principal Investments 

Eco Efficiency Manager 

We aim to be an industry leader in how 

corporations should contribute to climate 

protection. 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Green buildings & IT operations initiative 

Switching to renewable energies 

Offsetting of inevitable emissions with 

highly regulated certificates 

Carbon neutral from 2013 onwards 

Best practice “Greentowers” 

Climate Ambassador 

We strive for being a “knowledge company” 

and are committed to bring the message 

across to all of our stakeholders. 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Clients / General public (”Banking on 

Green”, DB Research, mandates) 

Proactive policy and regulatory dialog 

Staff (”A Passion for the Planet”, e-learning) 

Shareholders / Investors communication 

Best practice “Solar Impulse” 

Deutsche Bank is one of the 

leading banks in renewable 

energies investment. 

product specifications and defining the 

requirements to be met by suppliers, 

the Bank both demands and supports 

its business partners’ commitments to 

sustainability. 

In 2008 Deutsche Bank set up a special 

unit for global energy procurement, 

extended the use of sustainability criteria 

– particularly for global tenders – and 

further enhanced its Global Sourcing 

Policy. Currently, the Bank is working 

on further improving the entire procurement 

portfolio and monitoring CO 2 

emissions 

in the supply chain with a focus on 

energy and paper supply contracts. 

Comprehensive commitment 

All this, plus activities such as awareness 

campaigns for the Bank’s employees, 

offers ample proof of Deutsche Bank’s 

comprehensive commitment to climate 

protection, consistent with the Principles 

7 to 9 of the UN Global Compact. As part 

of its Corporate Social Responsibility and 

in its own best interest, Deutsche Bank 

is committed to help prevent significant 

deterioration of the global climate. 

Contact Person: 

Prof. Hanns Michael Hölz 

Group Sustainability Officer 

Deutsche Bank AG 



Living Responsibility 

If one person forgets to switch off the light, it’s not the end of the world. But when 

thousands of employees agree to climate-protection measures, the effects can show a 

tremendously positive result. If only one customer requests a carbon-neutral transport, it’s 

not going to save the planet. However, when thousands of customers all over the world 

ask for eco-friendly services, it makes a big difference. Today, it is our employees and our 

customers who drive our corporate responsibility activities at Deutsche Post DHL. 

By Rainer Wend 

110 


Best Practice 


Deutsche Post DHL is the world’s leading 

mail and logistics company with about 

500,000 employees around the world. 

We perceive this market leadership as 

a special responsibility to use our core 

expertise in logistics and our worldwide 

presence to the benefit of society and 

to continuously minimize our impact 

on the environment. For us, corporate 

responsibility (CR) means combining 

business success with social responsibility. 

It means actively living responsibility, 

and fortunately, we can rely on our 

employees and their know-how, talents, 

and passion to do just that. “Living Responsibility” 

is therefore the motto for 

our corporate responsibility strategy. 

We divide our commitment into three 

specific areas: environmental protection, 

disaster management, and education. 

With our programs GoGreen, GoHelp, 

and GoTeach, we connect our business 

Deutsche Post DHL is founding partner 

and largest supporter of Teach First 

Deutschland. 

with our employees and our customers, 

as well as our investors. 

We believe that business success 

and corporate responsibility go handin-hand. 

Therefore, our CR approach is 

an integral component of our long-term 

business strategy, the so-called Strategy 

2015. As part of our long-term outlook, 

we asked customers, experts, and scientists 

last year about the major issues 

for the years to come. The results were 

published in the 2009 Delphi study “Delivering 

tomorrow – customer needs 

in 2020 and beyond” highlighting that 

climate change will be the key driver 

for a revolution in new products and 

services. Customers will have new needs, 

new expectations, and demonstrate new 

behaviors. Eco-friendliness and conscientious 

consumption will increasingly 

determine purchasing behavior. 

The study also shows that the logistics 

industry will set trends and establish 

new standards for cooperative efforts and 

an environmentally friendlier business. 

We want to take a leading role in green 

activities, in humanitarian actions, as 

well as in education, taking advantage 

of our expertise and our worldwide presence. 

Our activities and our progress 

GoGreen 

Our GoGreen program is a beacon in the 

logistics industry. We have set ourselves 

ambitious targets with a focus on CO 2 

emissions as an important factor in our 

industry. By 2020 Deutsche Post DHL 

aims to improve the carbon efficiency of 

its own business activities and those of 

its subcontractors by 30 percent. In other 

words, the carbon footprint per item 

shipped, tonne per kilometer transported, 

or square meter of space used is to be cut 

by almost one-third compared to 2007 

levels. As an intermediate target, we aim 

to reach a 10-percent improvement in 

our own carbon efficiency by 2012. Why 

do we feel we have a special responsibility 

to do this? Our core business of logistics 

services and transportation – and 

especially road and air transport – has 

a significant impact on the environment. 

Therefore, we have developed measures 

to minimize these impacts. Our 

approach includes optimizing our air and 

vehicle fleet, raising energy efficiency, 

implementing innovative technologies, 

developing “green” products, encouraging 

our employees to reduce resource 

usage and CO 2 

emissions, and getting 

our customers and subcontractors on 

board. Our employees play a crucial role 

in all our attempts to make our business 

as “green” as possible, and encouraging 

our 500,000 employees worldwide to join 

the effort by adopting climate-friendly 

practices is just as important as driving 

innovations and using alternative energy 

sources. To raise awareness among our 

employees, we developed a training tool 

comprising a workshop for teams of all 

levels and areas. Such workshops are 

based on employee idea management 

and are implemented step-by-step in 

our business units. Our employees identify, 

develop, and commit to measures 

implementable in the workplace. These 

measures can be as simple as turning 

off the lights when leaving the room 

or only receiving new stationary when 

returning used material. 

Since the introduction of the “green” 

seminars, thousands of employees have 

pledged their commitment to environmental 

measures they themselves have 

developed, and in doing so, have introduced 

several climate-friendly ideas 

into the Group. The resulting action 

plan is written on a specially designed 

poster outlining the workshop. Any 

wider-reaching ideas resulting from the 

workshop are collected and forwarded 

to decision-makers. 

GoTeach 

GoTeach was established as a CR program 

to reinforce our global engagement in 

the area of education. We believe that 

education is a high-value asset and key to 

our children’s future. And it is key to our 

companies future as well: As one of the 

world’s largest employers, we are always 

looking for well-trained, capable staff 

with different levels of qualifications. 

With its GoTeach program, Deutsche Post 

DHL encourages and develops initiatives 

that support education and help young 

individuals expand their personal development 

and skills. Additionally, GoTeach 

offers employees the opportunity to 

volunteer in educational projects. 

In 2009 Deutsche Post DHL entered 

a long-term cooperation with Teach First 

Deutschland in Germany. The idea behind 

Teach First Deutschland is based 



on similar models in the United States 

and United Kingdom. Before launching 

into their careers, qualified college 

and university graduates from various 

fields (so-called fellows) join for a twoyear 

period as “temporary teachers” in 

classrooms of junior, intermediate, or 

comprehensive schools. Teach First Fellows 

support regular teachers in their 

day-to-day teaching. The goal is to motivate 

students, help them achieve more, 

and to boost their self-esteem. 

For the fellows who choose to undertake 

this special work, the program 

is equally beneficial. They undergo intensive 

preparation before starting to 

work in the schools, they gain additional 

qualifications, and they gather experiences 

that might last a lifetime. “I want 

to show that nothing is set in stone,” explains 

one fellow. No matter where they 

start in life, young people can gain new 

opportunities with the help of others. 

In addition, Deutsche Post DHL 

finances and runs two-week summer 

camps for young people called “Camp4us.” 

The company invites managers 

and employees to volunteer as tutors 

in the summer camps. They supervise 

projects in the areas of environmental 

protection, the media, sports, or theatre, 

helping students to improve their skills. 

As of fall 2010, they can also become 

active mentors for the pupils as well 

as for individual Teach First Fellows. 

Participating in a program like Teach 

First puts both the young fellows and 

us in touch with reality and gives us the 

chance to bring schools and the working 

world closer together. 

GoHelp – Disaster management 

Deutsche Post DHL does business in more 

than 220 countries and territories around 

the globe. This means we are present 

almost anywhere in the world. In GoHelp 

we use this global presence and our 

expertise in logistics. GoHelp focuses on 

disaster management and entails a twofold 

approach: disaster response and disaster 

preparedness. In cooperation with 

the United Nations, we have established 

two programs providing free-of-charge 

support to countries in need. 

When a natural disaster hits, we 

mobilize our DHL Disaster Response 

Teams (DRT). Initiated in 2005, the disaster 

response program has proven to be an 

important support in tackling logistical 

problems that arise after a natural disaster 

hits. When earthquakes, cyclones, or 

flooding have devastated a region, help 

usually comes from the international 

community. International aid workers 

and relief goods are flown into regional 

airports shortly after a natural disaster 

hits. The regional airports then are 

quickly congested by the food, medical 

supplies, and tents arriving from all over 

the world – all of which are urgently 

needed in the field. Very often there is 

no set disaster plan on how to manage 

such situations. This is where the DHL 

DRT comes in, always cooperating closely 

with the UN Office for the Coordination 

of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 

The DRTs rely on the commitment of 

Deutsche Post DHL employees. They consist 

of about 200 volunteers worldwide 

who are trained to handle the challenges 

on the ground. The DRTs use their extensive 

logistics expertise to help handle the 

logistics of disaster relief goods arriving 

at the airports. Together with local authorities, 

they take care of incoming relief 

goods, set up and manage professional 

warehousing, including the sorting and 

inventorying of goods. Deutsche Post 

DHL has three Disaster Response Teams 

in place covering most regions of the 

world that could be affected by natural 

disasters on a regular basis: DRT Americas 

in Panama; DRT Middle East / Africa in 

Dubai; and DRT Asia Pacific in Singapore. 

After being called by OCHA, the teams are 

ready for deployment within 72 hours. 

About 15 volunteers are involved in each 

deployment. 

The most recent DRT deployment 

was in the wake of the earthquake in 

Chile. Previously, a total number of 33 

DHL volunteers went to Haiti. The teams 

helped handle over 2,000 tons of international 

relief aid from over 60 aircrafts 

in a period of 25 days and ran an interagency 

warehouse, allowing more than 

112 


Best Practice 


Left: After the earthquake in Haiti the 

DHL DRT Americas provided help at 

Toussaint L’ouverture International 

Airport. 

Bottom: Employees engage for 

community investment projects and 

support communities. 

25 different aid organizations to benefit 

from our logistics expertise. 

The other disaster program of 

Deutsche Post DHL is called GARD (Get 

Airports Ready for Disaster). GARD focuses 

on disaster preparedness. It was 

launched together with the United Nations 

Development Programme (UNDP). 

Piloted in 2009, the program was built 

around the need to prepare governments, 

people, and airports before a disaster 

strikes. GARD is a supportive initiative 

in making worldwide relief efforts more 

effective. 

While DRT uses the companies expertise 

in logistics, GARD is a training 

program for local people in potential 

disaster-hit areas. It prepares airports 

by reviewing airport capabilities and 

capacities, helping understand coordination 

requirements, training local people, 

and helping formulate contingency plans 

and coordination structures. Deutsche 

Post DHL has already successfully tested 

the program at the Makassar and Palu 

airports in Indonesia. 

GoHelp – Local involvement 

Our employees have set up hundreds of 

projects to support their communities. 

We know that they understand the needs 

in their personal surroundings best and 

can provide appropriate support, for 

example through fundraising, volunteering, 

or providing logistics services 

in cooperation with local non-profit 

partners. Their projects generate a team 

spirit that they bring back to the workplace, 

contributing to the company’s 

long-term success. 

To recognize and reward the commitment 

of employees throughout the 

Group, Deutsche Post DHL launched 

its Corporate Responsibility Award in 

2009. Employees from all divisions and 

regions were invited to submit details of 

projects in the areas of environmental 

protection, disaster management, and 

education. The projects included the 

Xenophobia Disaster Relief Program in 

South Africa, where employees from 

DHL Supply Chain ran a warehouse for 

donated goods and assisted in delivering 

relief packages to migrants who are victims 

of racial prejudice and violence. In 

the Czech Republic, the DHL Information 

Technology Services pledged to purchase 

and plant 4,000 trees on six volunteer 

days to protect the only wooded area in 

Prague, the Klanovice Forest. “Save a day” 

is an online calendar where Deutsche 

Post DHL employees can mark a day 

on which they want to donate money 

toward improving the inadequate educational 

situation of deaf-mute children in 

rural regions of Nepal. And in the project 

“Logistics for Jambo Bukoba,” employees 

based in Germany working in different 

divisions support a sport for development 

project in Tanzania. These local projects, 

together with many others, join our 

Group-wide initiatives in bringing our 

corporate responsibility to life. 

Commitment for Living 

Responsibility 

For Deutsche Post DHL, corporate responsibility 

means handling assets entrusted 

to us in a respectful and sustainable manner 

as well as upholding the interests of 

our employees, our customers, and our 

investors in benefitting the environment 

and society. Deutsche Post DHL 

is committed to “Living Responsibility” 

and its three key programs. The Group 

has developed a strategy that meets the 

delicate balance between economic, environmental, 

and social interests. The 

Group-wide programs are constantly 

communicated, transparently implemented, 

and continuously evaluated. All 

this would be in vain, however, without 

our employees and customers or without 

the partnerships with nonprofit organizations 

whose core competencies are to 

tackle some of the ecological and social 

challenges the world faces today. 

Our CR approach 

at a glance 

GoGreen 

We use resources in a responsible 

manner and minimize the impact 

of our actions on the environment. 

GoHelp 

We use our core logistics 

expertise to provide effective 

emergency aid in areas 

affected by natural disasters 

in cooperation with the United 

Nations. 

GoTeach 

We encourage and develop 

initiatives that support people’s 

education and help expand their 

personal development and skills. 



Big changes start small 

Large business corporations are expected to assume ecological and social responsibility 

and to adopt sustainable business practices. Deutsche Telekom has already fulfilled this 

expectation for many years and, in September 2009, began to extend its radius of action for 

the environment and society and to actively involve customers through its communication 

campaign for sustainability. 

By Julija Dietrich 

Big changes start small. 

Get your bill online and help 

preserve nature. 

There’s a lot that you, along with millions of others in Germany, can accomplish 

with the help of our ‘Rechnung Online’ service. No other company sends out 

more online bills than Deutsche Telekom: to date, more than 14 million people 

have opted out of dealing with all that cumbersome paperwork. They’re also 

conserving precious resources in the process, while helping to avoid the 

environmental burden generated by the delivery of all those bills. 

www.millionen-fangen-an.de 

186x124,4_DTAG_RechnungOnline_Jahrbuch_GCD_ENG_RZ.indd 1 

26.04.2010 17:39:33 Uhr 

114 


Best Practice 


“Big changes start small” is the theme 

of the campaign for the environment 

and society, which focuses on presenting 

Deutsche Telekom products and services 

with which customers can act responsibly 

and thus play an active role in backing 

sustainable development. “This campaign 

is not about clapping ourselves on the 

back. We want to show that entrepreneurial 

action, appropriate consumption 

and sustainability can be meaningfully 

combined,” commented Chairman of 

the Management Board at Deutsche 

Telekom, René Obermann, at the launch 

of the long-term campaign, which will 

be featuring in advertisements in print, 

TV and online media. 

The campaign focuses not on the 

company itself but on its end consumers, 

and is based on the following central 

idea: All our customers can achieve far 

more in total – if they are adequately 

informed. After all, together, people 

can make a bigger difference than 

individually. The contribution that 

one person makes individually compared 

with what they can do as 

part of a large group is visualized 

at www.millionen-fangen-an.de 

(millions of people commence). The 

site currently presents the topics 

of online billing, child protection 

software, download portals and 

cell phone returns. Online billing 

can be used to illustrate the calculation 

of one’s own individual 

contribution and that of a whole 

group of customers. The product 

saves around three sheets of paper 

per month for each customer, so 

The tilt/shift effect supports the 

campaign motto: “Big changes 

start small” What is apparently a 

miniature view (in actual fact it is all 

real) makes it clear that big things 

can be achieved in small steps. 

that with only one million customers 

the volume of paper saved would reach 

a height of 240 meters – higher than 

the 202-meter Trump Tower. More than 

14 million Deutsche Telekom customers 

already use the online billing service in 

Germany alone, and more new users will 

help to bring a major change in paper 

consumption habits and will save the 

environment. 

More than 13 other topics that illustrate 

the concept of ecological and social 

sustainability are planned for the next 

two years of the campaign. These will 

include telephone and data conference 

calls, smart metering, climate-neutral 

and family-friendly phones and power 

consumption of Deutsche Telekom, 

where power in Germany has been supplied 

completely from renewable energy 

sources since 2008. The company will 

also be calling on people to take action 

from 2010, for example to return their 

“This campaign is 

not about clapping 

ourselves on the 

back. We want to show 

that entrepreneurial 

action, appropriate 

consumption, and 

sustainability can be 

meaningfully 

combined.” 

René Obermann, CEO Deutsche Telekom 

old cell phones for re-use or recycling. 

Fully functional used handsets will be 

sent to Africa or Asia and defective devices 

dismantled in the recycling process. 

The materials that are retrieved – more 

than 80 percent of a cell phone is reusable 

– could be made available to 

the automotive supplier industry, for 

instance, where they would help to 

reduce the consumption of resources. 

Furthermore the mentioned sustainability 

campaign’s Internet platform 

will be made increasingly interactive 

for customers. All in all, there are many 

points at which customers themselves 

can take action. 

A sustainability campaign is, however, 

only feasible and credible if the 

company running it itself embraces and 

practices corporate social responsibility. 

As a corporate group, Deutsche Telekom 

has already pursued a policy of sustainable 

corporate governance for many 

years and has, for example, conducted 

returns of old devices since the 1970s. 

We initiated our commitment to climate 

protection in 1995 and adopted own 

climate protection targets the following 

year. In the year 2000, we were one of 

the founding members of the UN Global 

Compact and, in 2003, adopted our 

Social Charter to ensure that our 

employees and suppliers comply 

with ecological and social standards. 

In 2007, we were commended 

by WWF as the corporate group 

best equipped for climate change 

and, in September 2009, signed the 

Copenhagen Communiqué of the 

European Leaders Group on Climate 

Change (EU CLG). 

This year, it was only logical 

for us to venture even further into 

the public eye with sustainability 

in order to rouse and activate 

awareness for this important issue 

and to join with our customers to 

achieve far more than we would do 

alone. The fact that many people 

are already highly sensitized to this 

issue is an important fundament for 

moving forward. The changing and 

growing demand among customers 

for attractive and sustainable 

products from responsible companies 

offers a major opportunity to promote 

products and business models that are not 

only economically viable but, above all, 

pave the way to a sustainable consumer 

society. This is an objective that we want 

to contribute to. 


ENI 

ENI’s Cooperation 

Model for Sustainable 

Development 

Multinational companies face huge challenges in countries they operate in, from human 

rights to the growing need for transparency and responsibility, from respect for the 

environment to the fight against poverty and the promotion of fair labor practices. Oil and 

gas companies operate in some of the most challenging places on earth, where they can 

have an important impact on local communities and on the environment due to the nature 

of their operations. This paper describes the attempts Eni has made to build a multilevel 

cooperation model, meeting the principles and goals of the Global Compact. 

By Sabina Ratti 

Eni is the seventh largest international 

oil and gas company based on proven 

reserves and production. The company 

differs from the other major companies 

due to the greater impact of downstream 

gas activities in its portfolio, as it is the 

leading refining operator in the Mediterranean 

basin. The net sales from operations 

in 2009 were € 83.23 billion with a 

hydrocarbon production of 1.769 million 

barrels per day. 

Genuine respect for 

other cultures 

Eni was created in 1953 as an Italian 

national oil and gas company, and in 

1992 it was turned into a public energy 

company. Its origin are strictly connected 

to the life and destiny of one man, Enrico 

Mattei. He was one of the first Italians to 

develop a frontier business mentality and 

a genuine respect for other cultures. He 

had grasped that no international strategy 

would be possible without extensive 

knowledge of the individual countries 

Eni was intending to explore. Eni’s divergence 

from normal practice was an 

exception in international business, so 

much so that, at times, it seemed an 

affront to common sense. 

In 1957, an agreement was made to 

set up the Italo-Iranian company Sirip. 

The Italian company agreed to fund exploration 

while Sirip agreed to develop 

and exploit any reserves that were found. 

An additional clause stipulated that 50 

percent of Sirip’s net profits would go to 

the Iranian government, and the other 

50 percent would be divided equally 

between Eni and the National Iranian 

Oil Company. The result was that for 

the first time an oil-producing country 

secured for itself a profit of around 75 

percent, significantly better than the 50- 

50 formula already regarded as “revolutionary,” 

and it was also actively involved 

in the production process. This type of 

agreement has come to be known as the 

Mattei Formula. 

The legacy of Enrico Mattei is a 

real intangible value for the company, 

especially for its way of establishing 

dialogue with the countries it operates 

in. CEO Paolo Scaroni recently affirmed 

that “In Eni, I was taught to remember 

that oil is not ours, it is theirs. This 

has always been one of the pillars of 

our strategy. If we work together, there 

will be enough wealth for everybody.” 

The spirit of the Mattei Formula is currently 

applied through Memorandum of 

Understandings and Agreement Protocols, 

which Eni signs with institutions 

and nonprofit organizations in its operating 

countries to set principles and goals 

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Best Practice 


concerning the economic, industrial, and 

social development of the country. 

The strategic objective is to operate 

within the country as a Sustainable 

Development Agency and as a Structural 

Fund for Sustainability, supporting local 

governments and civil society, which are 

constantly involved in defining priorities 

and goals. Supporting developing 

countries means respect and promotion 

of human rights as the prerequisite for 

sustainable development, fostering dialogue 

and partnerships among the public 

and private sectors, using technological 

innovation as a driver for development 

and environmental protection, and preventing 

corruption. Below are some examples 

of this approach in practice. 

Against climate change for local 

development in Africa 

Eni is the largest international operator 

in Africa, with a production of about 

1 million barrel of oil a day, of which 

450,000 come from the sub-Saharan region, 

and technical investments of $ 4.43 

billion, representing 43 percent of Eni’s 

total investments of this kind in 2009. 

Energy access represents a serious problem 

for African people and companies. At 

the same time, the practice of gas flaring 

– widespread in Africa – is a source of 

local pollution and considered a major 

contributor to climate change. 

The Kwale–Okpai power plant in 

Nigeria is a good example of how the 

company fights climate change, creates 

local development opportunities, and 

reduces its environmental impact. Okpai 

IPP is the first independent power plant 

(IPP) in Nigeria to have implemented flaring 

reduction initiatives through power 

generation and incorporating minimal 

heat emissions by employing combined 

cycle technology. The plant recovers the 

gas associated with oil production and 

uses it for electricity production, benefiting 

the local economy. The project – 

started in 2001 and completed in record 

time – is one of the main projects in the 

world for reducing gas flaring. 

The Kwale–Okpai plant capacity is 

480 MW, with the potential to be doubled. 

In November 2006, Kwale–Okpai was 

registered as a CDM project – a project 

based on a Clean Development Mechanism 

under the Kyoto Protocol, thereby 

becoming the main African project on 

this list. The plant currently generates 

15 to 20 percent of the power for the 

Nigerian national grid. Indeed, its contribution 

to the growth of electricity 

generation meets the requirements for 

sustainable development in Nigeria. The 

success has generated a positive chain 

reaction, encouraging other private companies 

to commit to flaring-reduction 

initiatives via power generation. 

Kwale–Okpai is not the only plant 

of this kind that Eni has built in Africa. 

In the last few years, Eni has increased 

its presence in the Congo, developing its 

business operations in close collaboration 

with the Congolese authorities. On 

May 2008, the company signed a cooperation 

plan that integrates the traditional 

business of exploration and production 


ENI 

of hydrocarbons, with concrete actions 

for sustainable development. In December 

2008, the capacity of the gas-fired 

power station at Djeno was doubled, 

increasing from 25 MW to 50 MW. As a 

result, the city of Pointe Noire now has 

access to electricity. 

The Memorandum of Understanding 

with Congolese authorities includes 

the construction of another 450-MW 

power station near the Djeno oil terminal, 

which will generate electricity from gas 

and contribute over 80 percent of the 

country’s electricity requirements while 

reducing gas flaring. 

Creating opportunities for people 

while promoting fair labor 

Eni employs more than 78,000 people all 

around the world. Half of them are not 

Italian and many of the Italians are “expatriates” 

working overseas. There were 

11,851 people employed in 2009 in Africa, 

the continent where most of the new 

employees are settled. The promotion 

of labour standards inside the company 

and alongside its supply chain is a core 

responsibility for Eni. The protection of 

equal rights is explicitly embedded in 

Eni’s Code of Ethics, which conforms to 

the main International Labour Organization 

(ILO) conventions and international 

labour standards. The industrial relations 

system is characterized by a close relationship 

with workers’ representatives, 

organized in a series of union agreements 

at different territorial levels. 

At the national level, an Industrial 

Relations Protocol was signed in 2001 

by the major union organizations. In 

Europe, the European Works Council 

has been active since 1995. At an international 

level, the Industrial Relations 

at Transnational Level and Corporate 

Social Responsibility Agreement was 

signed with the International Federation 

of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General 

Workers Union and Italian unions. 

In 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding 

will be defined between Eni 

and ILO in order to promote common 

initiatives in the field of decent labour 

promotion in developing countries that 

will involve Eni’s branches worldwide 

and local suppliers. Respecting labour 

standards and creating job opportunities 

for local people is not enough to 

contribute to sustainable development. 

A huge percentage of Eni’s workforce 

works and lives outside Italy. In addition, 

every man and woman of the company 

– in Italy and abroad – lives within the 

local communities in which Eni operates. 

Cultural diversity, in its broadest 

sense, is a factor that is encountered 

constantly. 

This is one of the reasons why Eni 

has been engaged in projects of nationalization 

of managerial positions in many 

operating countries such as Kazakhstan, 

Nigeria, Congo, and North Africa, which 

resulted in a 16-percent growth of local 

managers during 2008 and a further 

7-percent increase in 2009. Eni needs local 

managers for their deeper knowledge 

of the local environment. At the same 

time, these people will play a leading 

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Best Practice 


role in national companies and in their 

own societies. Managerial and technical 

development is supported by investments 

in training, which amounted to € 50 

million in 2009. 

Furthermore, Eni encourages and 

promotes the development of the local 

socioeconomic system by supporting 

entrepreneurship and strengthening territorial 

infrastructure. In 2009, actions 

to improve local content development 

was carried out in Kazakhstan, Nigeria, 

Mali, Angola, Australia, Libya, and East 

Timor. For example, 86 percent of the 

procurement value of Nigeria came from 

local suppliers. 

The fight against corruption 

The World Economic Forum estimated 

that the cost of corruption worldwide 

is about a trillion dollars per year, representing 

5 percent of world GDP. This 

means that corruption represents a great 

threat to sustainable development. Eni 

is committed to the fight against corruption. 

In 2009, the company reorganized 

its corporate structures dedicated to 

anticorruption, adopting new guidelines 

and procedures that allow Eni to satisfy 

the reporting requirements suggested by 

the Global Compact. In 2010, further 

training activities on this issue will be 

improved for all of Eni’s people. 

The company is part of the Extractive 

Industries Transparency Initiative 

(EITI), which aims to provide transparency 

surrounding the payments made 

by the extracting companies to the local 

governments. The initiative is targeted 

at both the companies and the 

governments. The former are expected 

to disclose the amount paid to governments 

/ state-owned companies, while 

governments are asked to account for 

oil revenues. 

Eni promotes the implementation 

of the initiative in the countries that 

have already adhered to EITI and – in 

cooperation with the Italian Ministry 

of Foreign Affairs – is committed to 

playing a role as facilitator in those countries 

of relevant interest to the company 

where governments, while displaying 

interest in the initiative, have still not 

formally signed up for it. Up to now, 

several countries are already active in 

EITI compliance: Kazakhstan, Norway, 

Italy, East Timor, Congo, and Nigeria. 

Eni’s commitment toward transparency 

is also reinforced by its interest in the 

Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, 

promoted by the World Economic 

Forum, for the application of “Business 

Principles for Countering Bribery” by 

Transparency International. 

Human rights, cooperation, 

and development 

The different implications resulting from 

the impacts of industrial activities on 

society are often tackled without aiming 

at a comprehensive solution, which is 

essential to guaranteeing development. 

Analyzing energy-related and environmental 

issues from the standpoint of 

human rights offers a different understanding 

of the impacts resulting from 

operational activities, social norms, and 

usual practices, thus helping to identify 

cooperation and development strategies. 

This is the reason why Eni has 

developed a human rights-based assessment 

system to evaluate its operational 

and engagement activities. The 

Human Rights Compliance Assessment 

(HRCA) process – done according to the 

methodology proposed by the Danish 

Institute for Human Rights – is the 

foundation of a more comprehensive 

intervention program that will cover 

all the operational spheres at risk of 

violating human rights. In 2008, HRCA 

was tested in Nigeria and Kazakhstan, 

while in 2009 three new assessments 

were carried out in Algeria, Egypt, and 

Congo. The areas of intervention identified 

as priorities are: security activities, 

operational and supply issues, diversity 

management, and local community 

involvement. 

In collaboration with the International 

Business Leaders Forum, a new initiative 

has been implemented in order to 

integrate the key human rights instances 

in the Social Impact Assessment methodology, 

so that they will be included 

in the early feasibility evaluations for 

new projects. A more extensive training 

program aimed at security managers has 

begun and will continue till 2013, and 

specific clauses related to human rights 

are being inserted in the contracts with 

security services providers. Since 2008, 

assessments on labor rights have been 

implemented in the procurement area 

according to SA8000 methodology. With 

respect to diversity management, in 2009 

Eni carried out several initiatives aimed 

at internationalization and intercultural 

skills development. 

Conclusions 

At Eni, we used to say that the company 

“Lives in the World.” That means establishing 

long-term relationships with the 

countries in which Eni operates as well 

as promoting dialogue and cooperation. 

This is possible thanks to the evolution 

of tools such as Memorandums 

of Understanding, which define the 

cooperation between the company and 

public bodies and are aimed at sustainable 

development goals. But it is also 

thanks to the people of Eni working all 

over the world, dealing everyday with 

cultural diversity and with the need of 

establishing positive relations with local 

communities. 

Eni considers these elements not 

only as requisite for a responsible 

company aimed at having a positive 

contribution to the society, but also as 

opportunities of growth and prosperity 

– today and in the future. This view 

fully matches with the Global Compact. 

As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 

said: “We need business to give practical 

meaning and reach to the values and 

principles that connect cultures and 

people everywhere.” 

The examples given in this article 

– telling the story of Eni’s presence in its 

operating countries and explaining how 

Global Compact Principles are embedded 

in Eni’s cooperation model – represent 

the company’s contribution to the debate 

around the concrete application of initiatives 

in the energy business. 


Folksam 

Being an 

avatar for a 

sustainable 

world 

By Carina Lundberg Markow 

Climate change has become by far the most important 

environmental issue and will take an increasingly 

prominent position within the policy discussions in 

Sweden, the European Union, and the rest of the world in 

the coming years and decades. In 2009 Folksam launched 

a project focusing on the energy industry to help lead the 

way toward a sustainable society. 

An enterprise from the planet earth has 

found a deposit of a valuable mineral, 

unobtainium, on the planet Pandora, 

located some distance from earth. What 

unobtainium can be used for has never 

been clarified, but company executives 

are satisfied, as are the shareholders. 

There is only one minor problem: A 

population of aliens, Na’Vi, are sustained 

from the nature around the mineral 

deposit source. These aliens are fighting 

to retain their land and their lives and 

trying to maintain a balance with nature. 

The film can be seen as an allegory about 

the critical point in time in which we 

find ourselves today. Most of our world’s 

production takes place in post-colonial 

states, to satisfy the West’s consumption 

needs. What is portrayed in the film is 

very similar to how the energy issue is 

handled in the real world. 

Because climate change has become 

the most important environmental issue, 

companies and fund managers will be 

forced to develop strategies to reduce 

emissions, both for cost reasons and as 

an important part of brand building. 

Already in recent years, an increasing 

number of pension fund managers have 

opted to apply ethical considerations to 

their management of capital. 

In line with the increased prices for 

their products, oil and gas companies 

have increased their profits dramatically. 

The same applies to electricity-producing 

companies, which have increasing their 

profits through emissions trading, assisted 

by the price of electricity. This 

means that fund managers (and their 

depositors) who choose not to invest in 

the traditional energy sector are likely to 

miss out on many opportunities because 

of this decision. 

In the coming decades, massive 

investments in the energy sector will 

be required. The International Energy 

Agency (IEA) estimated in May 2005 that 

the amount needed for investment in the 

energy sector by 2030 is an unimaginable 

$16 trillion. The IEA warns that with 

“business-as-usual,” 85 percent of the 

world’s increased energy needs will be 

met by fossil fuels by 2030 and carbon 

emissions will increase by 60 percent. 

The IEA has found that the operational 

lifetimes of many coal-fired power plants 

do not extend beyond 2015 / 2020 and 

that an important part of the work to 

avert climate change relies on technologies 

that replace coal power. 

Folksam has four million customers 

and manages $ 35 billion on their behalf. 

This gives us a possibility to influence 

and, over time, change the society. Active 

corporate governance is among 

the tools we use. It has become highly 

important for companies in industries 

with high environmental risks to have 

policies and management systems that 

deal with risk preparedness. During the 

2009 Folksam project that focused on 

the energy industry, Folksam contacted 

69 companies through letters, e-mails, 

and telephone conferences. The results 

of the dialogue will be published in a 

public report in 2010. The reason for 

these questionnaires and dialogues is 

that Folksam has set high criteria concerning 

the environment and human 

rights for all of its investments. As a 

consequence, we are searching all the 

investments we have made and are making 

in the energy sector to make sure 

that we do not allow investments in 

any company that would be in breach 

of these criteria. As a background reference, 

we use the ratings of the ethical 

consultants Global Ethical Standards. 

Their points system includes grading 

of all publicly accessible information, 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

Carina Lundberg Markow – 

an avatar for a sustainable world 

including annual and sustainability 

reports, websites, et cetera. 

How do companies in the energy 

sector handle their sustainability work? 

Is it a way to avoid criticism or is there 

a genuine desire to take an active part 

in combating climate change? Is it serious 

work or more “green wash”? At a 

time when an increasing number of 

climate-conscious consumers want to 

take responsibility, it is becoming more 

attractive to energy and oil companies to 

promote their products as being “better 

for the environment.” Are these companies’ 

solutions real or false? 

All 69 companies in the energy 

and oil industry that Folksam contacted 

agreed to discuss sustainability issues. 

However, they found it very unusual 

that one of the owners contacted them 

directly to talk about this subject. Even 

more unusual, it seems that environmental 

and climate issue have a prominent 

role in the communications of financial 

analysts from banks. For many of the 

companies, the Global Reporting Initiative 

plays an important role. It helps 

them to report on their carbon footprint 

in a structured way. Many, but not all, 

also use an independent party to review 

the reporting process. Nearly all have 

set up internal policies as well, consistent 

with the principles of the Global 

Compact. They have internal goals and 

control of its operations but have still 

not reached a stage where they control 

their subcontractors. 

In the case of NGOs, there are those 

who actively cooperate with them and 

those who see them as obstacles. Those 

who are most hostile believe that NGOs 

are uninterested or otherwise hard to engage 

in dialogue. The main goal for the 

companies is to have short- or long-term 

goals for the reduction of CO 2 

emissions. 

Almost all companies invest large sums 

in developing renewable energies. They 

are investing in wind, solar, and biomass. 

Renewable energy, combined with the 

smart use of energy, seems to be the 

main solution for the climate change 

issue. But at the same time, the traditional 

oil-based solutions are the ones 

that dominate company activities. The 

most progress has been made in those 

countries where the authorities have 

intervened and regulated the market, for 

example energy companies in California. 

In Australia the situation is different. 

Here there is an urgent need to switch 

from dirty brown coal to natural gas and 

then to develop alternative energy. 

We have to realize that humanity 

is vulnerable. Businesses and owners 

must work together to create sustainable 

solutions. That is what the Global Compact 

means and what corporate social 

responsibility should be about. 


Grundfos 

Grundfos 

Reuses 

Wastewater 

In the future, water supplies will be even scarcer than is 

presently the case. Action must be taken in order to solve 

the problem. 

Climate change causes a number of 

different problems. As regards water 

resources, climate change affects the 

environment in a number of different 

ways. Common to them is that they will 

ultimately be of great consequence to the 

total amount of clean drinking water. 

“Dry areas will become drier and 

this will lead to a greater pressure on 

existing water resources. However, the 

opposite could happen, too. Several areas 

are suffering from heavy rainfall. 

This, combined with logging, causes 

erosion, which allows pollution to enter 

water streams, thereby aggravating the 

situation,” says Dan Rosbjerg, lecturer 

at the Department of Environmental 

Engineering, the Technical University 

of Denmark. 

It is a Grundfos objective to develop 

products that will alleviate the growing 

water stress in the world. With Innovation 

Intent and the establishment of the 

innovation platform Rethink Decentralised 

Water Treatment, we have increased 

our strategic focus on the development 

of new water treatment solutions. 

BioBooster, Grundfos’ mobile 

wastewater treatment plant, presents 

one answer to growing water scarcity. 

The BioBooster plants are capable of 

treating wastewater to such an extent 

that the water may be readily used for, 

for example, sanitation or irrigation 

of fields. 

Too little – and too much 

Water resources are not distributed 

equally. In certain parts of the world, 

for example North America and Europe, 

water resources are readily available, 

while Africa and Asia do not have 

access to similar natural resources of 

freshwater. Yet, poor utilization of ex- 

Grundfos’ BioBooster wastewater 

treatment system consists of reactors 

placed in 20-foot containers. The 

number of reactors and containers vary, 

depending on the water to be treated. 

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Environment 

Innovation Intent 

Innovation Intent is Grundfos’ guiding principle, which gives focus to our longterm 

innovation efforts. Furthermore, Grundfos’ Innovation Intent is to put 

sustainability first, be there for a growing world, and pioneer new technologies. 

Every major concept that we will be launching over the next 20 to 30 years 

should meet all three criteria. 

Rethink Decentralised Water Treatment is one of three innovation platforms 

that make up Grundfos’ Innovation Intent and was launched for the purpose 

of creating a platform for technological and commercial water treatment 

solutions. The water treatment solutions are used on location, that is, where 

the water is to be used. 

With the innovation platform Rethink Decentralised Water Treatment, 

Grundfos takes an approach whereby the water is either: 

• upgraded to the specific needs of the place where the water will be used, 

• treated for the purpose of reusing the water, or 

• treated for the purpose of causing significantly less strain on the 

environment when the water is discharged to the recipient. 

isting water resources forms part of the 

problem, too. 

As a result, challenges vary. In places 

characterized by scarcity of resources, the 

focus must be on optimum utilization 

of the available freshwater, while places 

with plenty of resources must make an 

effort not to destroy them. 

The advantage of 

decentralized units 

One central, strong point of the Grundfos 

BioBooster wastewater treatment plant 

is mobility. Basically, the plants can be 

installed wherever they are needed. They 

may be installed directly at the source 

of pollution or at the place where the 

water is to be reused. 

“There is a growing need for being 

able to reuse wastewater, as water scarcity 

is a constantly growing problem. In 

many places there is a need to be able 

to reuse water from various processes, 

and that is why the entire BioBooster 

concept has some great characteristics,” 

says Mogens Henze, director of the Department 

of Environmental Engineering, 

the Technical University of Denmark, 

commenting on the wastewater treatment 

plants’ mobility and numerous 

applications. 

However, speedy utilization of water 

resources is but one advantage of the 

decentralized plants. Other possibilities 

present themselves, too, for example in 

relation to wastewater surveillance. 

“Each plant treats a relatively small 

amount of wastewater, and in case of 

fluctuations in water quality, it will be 

much easier to identify the source of 

problematic substances in the wastewater, 

for example from hospitals or 

industry. This makes it much easier to 

address these fluctuations,” says Søren 

Nøhr Bak, technical manager of Grundfos 

BioBooster. 

Ready to roll out 

At present, the Grundfos BioBooster 

plants have shown their superiority in 

several areas. For example, the plants 

have been installed on Italian farms 

where the treated wastewater was used 

for irrigation of tomato fields. 

At the same time, Grundfos Bio- 

Booster has just entered into its first 

official partnership with a Danish municipality. 

This, too, can be of great value 

to both Grundfos and society. Treatment 

of municipal wastewater constitutes by 

far the largest part of the total market for 

wastewater treatment. A breakthrough 

in this area could be of great importance 

to the prevalence of the BioBooster 

technology. Municipal wastewater is 

characterized by having a relatively similar 

complexity, and experience gained 

can easily be transferred to similar jobs 

across the world. If the water is treated 

locally, no expenses will be made for the 

infrastructure that is needed to transport 

the water from the source of pollution to 

the central treatment plant in the area. 

Reduced transport of the water will in 

itself lead to major energy savings. 

The first wastewater treatment 

plant has already been installed in Viborg 

municipality in Denmark, and with good 

experience. Therefore, the municipality 

will rethink their future wastewater 

structure, which will imply the closing 

down of 18 small wastewater treatment 

plants: “In that case, the BioBooster will 

be considered as our new alternative,” 

says Finn Køhler, wastewater manager, 

Viborg Wastewater Ltd. 

Several other municipalities, too, 

see the advantages of decentralized 

treatment of wastewater: “BioBooster 

presents an approach to the treatment 

procedure that is completely different 

to the existing procedure. The modular 

construction that may be scaled up or 

down allows us to make adjustments 

according to need. And the mobility 

means that the plant can easily be moved 

if needs change. This is innovation in 

the true sense of the word,” says Jacob 

Andersen, head of section, Hjørring water 

company, Denmark. 

www.grundfos-biobooster.com 


Hathay Bunano 

Bringing the Work 

to the People 

By Gerd Pfitzenmaier 

Why would Bangladeshis, of all people, make better entrepreneurs? Samantha Morshed of 

Dhaka, Bangladesh, the British CEO of nonprofit enterprise Hathay Bunano, has the best 

answer to her own question. Because the number of CEOs in Bangladesh is still rather small 

on the whole, Hathay Bunano has committed to creating sustainable rural employment. 

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Best Practice 

Partnership 

Samantha Morshed had $ 500 in startup 

capital and twelve female employees 

when she persuaded her husband 

Golam, to found the social enterprise 

of Hathay Bunano Proshikhan Society 

(Hathay Bunano, for short) with her. 

Her daring choice was conceived as an 

economic counterexample to the distinguished 

ideas of world-famous Bangladeshi 

Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 

Nobel Peace Prize. Some twenty years 

before, Yunus had publicized the theory 

of eradicating global poverty through 

the concept of microcredit: tiny loans of 

start-up capital to help the poor establish 

small businesses. Through these loans, 

Yunus hopes to populate the world with 

business experts who can banish poverty 

"to a museum," as he has declared in his 

books and speeches. 

Desire for Work 

Samantha Morshed was skeptical of 

microcredit. Even if these tiny loans 

could turn the poor into entrepreneurs 

in theory, in practice the people would 

still remain dependent, left to the tender 

mercies of the market and the economic 

situation in their very local areas. She 

aims to turn Yunus's school of thought 

inside out: "The vast majority of people 

[in rural Bangladesh] want a job," she 

says, "jobs are what people want and 

jobs will eradicate poverty. At the same 

time, however, the approaches to creating 

employment and eradicating poverty 

are fundamentally different. Morshed's 

simple but clear message is that people 

The products of Hathay Bunano in their 

proprietary "Pebble" brand line are 

certified fair trade. 

need work – but the work must be 

available where the people live. 

She criticizes employers in both the 

industrial and the developing world for 

assuming that people will put up with 

any amount of strain for the privilege of 

selling their labor. Their willingness to 

reduce themselves to the level of migrant 

workers seems voluntary: indeed, there 

are many countries where economic migrants 

will stream en masse to wherever 

employers locate their factories. Such 

choices impoverish societies and rip 

apart families. This type of work often 

breaks social ties, destroys marriages, 

and leaves fatherless children and single 

parents in its wake, with all of the negative 

consequences for the social fabric 

that these entail. 

A 10-Minute Walk to Work 

32 rural cooperatives work for Hathay 

Bunano and help to support their own 

families. 

Morshed's idea is different: her social 

enterprise brings the jobs to the remote 

villages of Bangladesh where the people 

live. She believes that women in the villages 

should be able to make the walk 

to work in 10 minutes. And of this she 

is convinced: "Factories are located in 

areas convenient to factory owners....A 

workforce located in their own villages, 

workers living in their own homes, 

would likely bring much greater benefit 

in poverty reduction to a larger number 

of people." Her idea is working; today 

3,500 women in 32 rural cooperatives 

work for Hathay Bunano and help to 

support their own families. 

The women sew, knit, and embroider, 

faithful to the company name: 

Hathay Bunano translates literally to 

"hand-made." Its employees produce 

high-quality, handcrafted clothes and 

toys. Their products are aimed at children 

and infants from birth to six years 

of age. What's more, the organisation 

with their proprietary "Pebble" brand 

line is certified fair trade, and Morshed 

and her husband are currently working 

towards SA8000 certification. Hathay 

Bunano exports its products worldwide, 

with major markets for the flourishing 

corporation in the United States, Great 

Britain, Australia, Europe, and the domestic 

market of Bangladesh. Sales are 

booming: today the women of Hathay 

Bunano ship some 30,000 items to customers 

per month. 

This principle, of putting the firm 

first so as to put the profits into tackling 

poverty, is part of the "creative capitalism" 

approach that multibillionaire and 

Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed at 

Davos in 2008. Corporations like Morshed's 

fit the bill of creative, engaged 

capitalism perfectly. According to Gates, 

the business ideas from Samantha Morshed 

and her cohort can help to plug 

the gaps in this era of economic and 

financial crises, when poor countries 

can no longer sufficiently provide for 

their citizens. Even Queen Elizabeth has 

recognized the importance of what Morshed 

is doing: in 2009 she honored the 

British entrepreneur from Bangladesh by 

awarding her a "Member of the Order of 

the British Empire" (MBE). 


Henkel 

Sustainability Straight 

to Your Mobile 

The growth in world population and the steady increase in the average standard of living call 

for a radical reassessment of our production methods and consumption patterns. To drive 

change in the laundry detergent and household cleaners sector, we draw on our many years 

of experience and our leading role in the field of sustainability. 

By Christine C. Schneider 

Our innovations are used daily in millions 

of households, and therefore offer 

great potential to actively help to shape 

the sustainable lifestyles of tomorrow. 

We work to develop products that enable 

customers and consumers to make more 

efficient use of valuable resources such 

as energy and water. Our laundry detergent 

ActicPower, for example, is based 

on technology that enables enzymes to 

act at low temperatures, and therefore 

performs effectively even at 15 degrees 

Celsius. And our dishwasher detergent 

Somat 9 delivers excellent cleaning 

performance at just 40 degrees Celsius. 

Energy savings of up to 20 percent are 

achieved over comparable programs 

that require temperatures of 50 or 55 

degrees Celsius. 

Working together for innovative, 

sustainable consumption 

Sustainable consumption can only be 

achieved if we all work together. Communication 

with our consumers is therefore 

just as important as the development 

of sustainable products. Through the 

“Quality & Responsibility” logo that has 

been printed on our laundry detergents 

and household cleaners since 2008, we 

aim to make it easier for consumers to 

reach responsible purchasing decisions. 

The logo indicates to consumers that, 

by buying this product, they will not 

only obtain superior performance but a 

sustainable solution as well. As the first 

company in the consumer goods sector 

to do so, beginning in 2010, Henkel will 

use Quick Response Codes to stimulate 

responsible product use. 

Henkel has been using ingredients 

based on renewable raw materials for 

decades. The active washing substances 

(surfactants) in our laundry detergents 

and household cleaners, for example, are 

derived from renewable raw materials 

such as palm kernel oil. Since 2003, we 

have therefore actively participated in 

the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil 

(RSPO). In 2008, we were the first company 

worldwide to purchase certificates 

for sustainable palm kernel oil – for 

our Terra Activ brand products. As a 

result, palm kernel oil from sustainably 

managed plantations was integrated into 

the supply chain for the production of 

surfactants for the first time. We now 

plan to build on this by aligning our 

overall product portfolio to certified 

sustainable palm oil and palm kernel 

oil by 2015. 

Direct access to Henkel’s 

CSR Internet site using a mobile phone 

126 


Best Practice 


as well, Henko with antibacterial Neem 

is also available in single-use packs and 

as a soap bar. 

Accessible by mobile phone: 

Information on sustainability 

Efficient use of materials 

We contribute to the efficient use of 

materials by improving our product 

packagings and using recyclable materials. 

We offer consumers dosage aids, 

concentrates, and refill packs. For example, 

a variety of refill pouches with 

formulations in up to three-fold concentrations 

are available for our Biff, Bref, 

and Sidolin household cleaner brands. In 

comparison with the original packaging, 

about 90 percent less plastic is needed 

for their production. They also reduce 

water consumption, freight packaging, 

and transport weight. 

Hygiene is of crucial importance 

for human health throughout the world. 

Here, too, we make an important contribution 

in all of our markets through our 

laundry detergents and household cleaners. 

A key priority is the adaptation of 

our products to local consumer requirements 

and local conditions. Since 2009, 

for example, we have offered laundry 

detergents containing special antibacterial 

agents in many south European 

markets and in India. The same applies 

to newly launched household cleaners 

on the Latin American markets. 

Throughout the company’s history, 

Henkel researchers have repeatedly 

demonstrated the importance of 

innovations for sustainable development. 

Persil phosphate-free and Persil 

Megaperls are pioneering landmarks 

that clearly improved the environmental 

compatibility and resource conservation 

of laundry washing. Today’s Persil Gold 

and Persil ActicPower reach their full 

washing power at low temperatures. We 

draw on our many years of experience 

to develop the sustainable products of 

the future. 

In India, our Henko laundry detergent 

with antibacterial Neem gently 

protects laundry against bacteria. Neem 

is a natural raw material obtained from 

the native Neem trees, and it is wellknown 

in India for its antibacterial effect 

and skin compatibility. To make 

the product performance accessible to 

consumers with low purchasing power 

The Quick Response code is simply photographed 

using a mobile phone with 

appropriate recognition software, and immediately 

accesses Henkel’s CSR Internet 

site. How can consumers find out how 

environmentally and socially compatible 

the products they purchase every day are? 

What should they keep in mind when 

they use them? Innovative communication 

technologies provide answers to 

these questions, right at the shelf. 

With the help of QR codes, which 

can be found on an increasing number 

of our laundry detergent and household 

cleaner packagings since the beginning 

of 2010, consumers can use their mobile 

phones to directly access Internet sites. 

We provide a variety of information on 

sustainability online – including, for 

example, a carbon dioxide calculator. 

Fast and direct access to information 

makes it much easier to make responsible 

purchasing decisions while 

shopping. Henkel is the first company 

in the consumer goods sector to provide 

consumer information in this form, with 

the aim of promoting sustainable consumption. 

Your engagement in the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has 

attracted criticism as well as praise. Are you on the right track? 

Christian-André Weinberger, member of the Henkel Sustainability Council who 

represent the Laundry & Home Care business sector: 

Yes. And we are clearly viewed as leading the way successfully here. Of 

course, we are also aware that the RSPO has critics as well as supporters. 

For us, however, the RSPO is not an end in itself, but the means to an end. 

If we and the other groups represented in the RSPO were to terminate our 

involvement, there would be no chance of improving the situation in regions 

where oil palms are cultivated. The objective is to work together so that when 

palm oil or palm kernel oil is used as a basis for ingredients, this oil comes 

from certified sustainable palm oil cultivation. We will continue to pursue this 

objective within the framework of Quality & Responsibility. 


ICA 

Taking Action for 

Sustainable Fishing 

Tropical shrimp were thrown out and eco-labeled fish and a select range of tuna were put 

in. Those were some of the actions of Swedish food retailer ICA toward achieving a more 

sustainable fish assortment in 2009. For a retail group with high goals for sustainability, 

education, transparent information, and clear policies are crucial. 

By Magdalena Sekkenes 

For food retailers selling fish and seafood 

to consumers these days, one of 

the “trickiest” questions is how to ensure 

that the world’s oceans are not 

overfished. For ICA, a market leader in 

Sweden that also operates in Norway 

and in the Baltic countries, this is an 

issue of great concern. The question 

became more urgent in 2009 because 

the media, environmental organizations, 

and customers expressed great concern 

about sustainable fishing. 

In 2009 ICA offered almost 200 fish 

products as part of its private-label food 

assortment. The method for determining 

which types of seafood should be 

sold is done by evaluating each species 

individually. In doing so, ICA chooses to 

listens to the opinions of, for example, 

the World Wide Fund for nature (WWF), 

and the International Council for the 

Exploration of the Sea (ICES). 

The aim is not only to stop selling 

certain types of fish and seafood products 

but also to find ways, if possible, to improve 

the environmental situation. 

The ICA Group 

continuously train 

retailers and store 

employees to 

avoid that WWFs 

red-listed fish end 

up in the stores 

seafood counters. 

Approximately 1,400 

out of 2,220 ICA-stores 

are run by independent 

retailers. 

128 


Best Practice 

Environment 

Following WWF’s fish guide 

During the first six months of 2009, ICA 

Sweden’s fish assortment contained two 

red-listed (do not eat) products according 

to WWF’s fish guide: plaice and tropical 

shrimp. The suppliers of the wild and 

farm-raised tropical shrimps were carefully 

reviewed, as is mandatory. Changes 

in the buying criteria from the suppliers 

in combination with internal discussions 

about sustainability aspects led to 

a decision by ICA to stop carrying the 

products. Since approximately 1,400 of 

the ICA Group’s 2,220 stores are run by 

independent retailers, ICA encouraged 

the retailers to do the same. 

“There are plenty of companies 

selling tropical shrimp to stores but 

besides taking the products out of our 

assortment, we recommended that the 

retailers avoid tropical shrimp from 

other suppliers until there is a certifiable 

and credible standard for farming 

tropical shrimp. The WWF is close to 

establishing such a standard and ICA 

is carefully following their work,” says 

Kerstin Lindvall, Senior Vice President 

ICA’s Good Business 

ICA’s corporate responsibility work is built on a foundation of seven position 

statements called ICA’s Good Business. These position statements are in line 

with the Global Compact’s Ten Principles on human rights, labor standards, 

the environment, and anti-corruption. 

With ICA’s Good Business, we mean that ICA will: 

Kerstin Lindvall, Senior 

Vice President Corporate 

Responsibility at ICA Sweden AB. 

• be driven by profitability and high ethical standards 

• listen to customers and always base decisions on their needs 

• nurture diversity and growth among its employees 

• maintain an open dialogue internally and with the community 

• ensure quality and safe products 

• promote a healthy lifestyle 

• adapt sound environmental practices and promote sustainable 

development 

An intranet-based interactive training regarding ICA’s Good Business practices 

is mandatory for everyone within ICA. 

Corporate Responsibility at ICA Sweden 

AB. At the same time that ICA took action 

and removed the tropical shrimp, 

plaice – which to this day has been the 

only red-listed fish sold under the ICA 

brand name – suddenly was approved 

by Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). In 

mid-2009, the red-listed fishes had been 

removed from the main assortment. In 

addition, ICA decided to replace the yellowfin 

tuna with skipjack tuna, which 

has a more sustainable stock. 

Important training 

Cod is another fish that a retailer has to 

be attentive of when it comes to origins. 

Since 2004, all cod in ICA’s main assortment 

is caught in the Barents Sea, where 

it is considered sustainable and has been 

given a green light (recommended) in 

WWF’s fish guide. But very close by Sweden 

in the Baltic Sea it is not considered 

sustainable to catch cod everywhere. 

“ICA’s main selection still contains no 

cod from our nearby Baltic Sea. And we 

strongly recommend retailers who buy 

their own fish to make sure that the cod 

harvest don’t come from western stocks 

in the Baltic Sea and only accept fillets 

bigger than 30 centimetres from the 

eastern stocks”, says Kerstin Lindvall. 

The ICA Group continuously trains 

retailers and store employees to avoid 

having WWF’s red-listed fish end up on 

store seafood counters. “We also provide 

a checklist for retailers to use when they 

buy fish and shellfish directly from suppliers,” 

adds Lindvall. 

In 2009 ICA provided training in 

sustainable fishing to its largest direct 

suppliers of fresh seafood. The WWF and 

the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation 

assisted in the training. 

Letting consumers trace origins 

For consumers, ICA provides information 

on the product labels about where the 

fish is caught. In addition, consumers 

can trace where ICA’s private-labeled 

products of cod, haddock, and Pollack are 

caught through the company’s website: 

www.ICA.se. 


ISA 

Betting On Environmental 

Sustainability and 

Balance 

ISA is the biggest energy transport company in Colombia and also present in Peru, Bolivia, 

Brazil and Central America. Through its affiliates and subsidiaries, the company develops 

a range of activities such as design, construction, administration, operation of lineal 

infrastructure systems in electricity, telecommunications connectivity and road concessions 

with the project “Autopistas de la Montaña”. 

By Ana María Naranjo Alzate and Jimena Maria Toro 

130 


Best Practice 

Environment 

ISA’s social responsibility business model 

has experienced remarkable advances 

during the last years, especially in environmental 

and occupational health 

international standards, highlighting 

sustainability as its management axis. It 

is manifest in the management through 

balanced relationships with the interest 

groups and supported through a set of 

values, practices, and liabilities that add 

value, generate confidence, and contribute 

to the sustainable development of 

the societies where ISA is present. 

According to its business policies, 

ISA develops its operations in a sustainable 

environmental development 

framework: 1) through an administration 

that is oriented toward managing 

environmental risks and contingencies; 

and 2) that is supported through effective 

planning of its electric assets in the areas 

of design, construction, operation and 

maintenance, and dismantling. 

Progress from ISO 14001 

certification and integral 

management system 

ISO 14001 certification represents the 

company’s concern with adjusting to 

international standards that facilitate 

the accomplishment of its environmental 

policy and facilitate an advancement 

in Principles 7, 8, and 9 of the Global 

Compact. To reach this goal, since 2008 

the company has been following a path 

that involves environmental authorities, 

a board of directors, collaborators, and 

suppliers – all of whom have been 

exceptionally relevant in guaranteeing 

project success and assuring the identification, 

evaluation, prevention, mitigation, 

control of, and compensation for 

environmental impacts. 

ISA: Linear infrastructure systems that 

promote the continent’s development 

Most relevant impacts identification 

– the first step to mitigation 

Essential elements of the energy transport 

business are the operation and system 

maintenance activities, which have 

a high impact within the wide operation 

zones in which the company works. To 

help identify the environmental issues 

and the most significant impacts, the 

company developed a methodology 

based on the ISO 14001 standard. The 

methodology includes: 1) environmental 

planning; 2) annual objectives, goals, and 

improvement programs identification; 

3) efficient management measures; 4) 

permanent operations control; 5) deviations 

identification; and 6) indicator 

measures. 

Through this recording informationmechanism, 

the company is conscious of 

consumption and/or use of natural resources 

and, based on this data, develops 

– along with its employees – awareness 

activities to improve management. 

Resource consumption and 

employee awareness 

The levels of resource consumption in 

the company for paper, water, electricity, 

as well as waste integral management 

was noted. To address the issue, the 

campaign El Vaso del Dia (glass of the 

day) was set up, which was intended 

to transform 120,000 plastic units into 

approximately 30,000 eco-friendly units 

(paper pulp). Twenty days from the start, 

the recorded consumption was reduced 

by nearly 30 percent. In addition, composting 

management represents at the 

moment 50 kilograms of organic material 

per day, which comes from the restaurant, 

the coffee machines, and the gardens. 

Progress of dangerous residual 

management 

Environmental risks in the energy transmission 

process come from the use and 

manipulation of chemical products – 

with oil, in all its forms, being the main 

one. As a leak-prevention method, ISA 

built or adapted collecting pools to four 

zigzag transformers. The company treats 

the contaminated oil, which is equivalent 

to 0.3 percent of the total amount of oil, 

with PCB. During the period, it generated 

9.7 tons of contaminated oil. It was then 

handed over to LITO, the company in 

charge of its final disposal at its EKOKEN 

incineration plant in Finland. 

To control greenhouse gas effects 

Greenhouse gas management is an enormous 

concern to the company. Since 

2008, ISA has been working with an 

SF6 management program which, in 

2009, enabled ISA to reduce gas purchases 

as a result of the improvement in 

maintenance processes and helped solve 

outflows problem, reducing the amount 

of SF6 lost to 0.47 percent. 

Support to regional institutions 

Supporting the work of 10 autonomous 

regional corporations and with direct 

and committed participation with the 

impacted communities, ISA has intervened 

and had a positive effect on nearly 

1.1 million hectares of strategic regional 

ecosystems. 

Supplier linking 

One of most relevant issues is supplier 

linking. The commitment is based on 

three fundamental pillars: 1) procedure 

adoption and modification; 2) clean technologies 

adoption; 3) implementation 

of dispositions based on occupational 

health and environmental norms. 

Closing: articulated work 

We are proud of the certification process 

in addition to having raised environmental 

management standards. We 

have improved the feedback processes 

and, as a consequence, strengthened the 

company, its collaborators, and suppliers. 

We have strengthened mutual relationships, 

generated room for sustainable 

development, in addition to increasing 

performance optimization and our overall 

business position. 


KPMG 

Putting our skills 

to work in pursuit of 

the MDGs 

By Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE 

KPMG people are involved in citizenship projects all over the world. By harnessing the 

professional skills we bring to bear with our clients every day and applying them to some of 

the world’s most pressing challenges, we can work alongside governments and civil society 

in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. 

James Woodward from KPMG in Australia, 

with the Headteacher at the Familia Moja 

Children’s Centre in Kenya 

132 


Best Practice 

Partnership 

“Through the Global 

Development Initiative we 

will apply KPMG’s skills, 

knowledge, and resources to 

help achieve the Millennium 

Development Goals, by working 

with local and international 

development agencies and institutions 

to tackle extreme poverty and 

inequality through building local 

capacity.” 

Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, 

Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity, KPMG International 

Responsible business practices, which 

are at the heart of corporate citizenship, 

help build trust and contribute to 

development and sustainable markets. In 

today’s challenging world, business must 

move beyond good internal governance, 

compliance, and ethical behavior toward 

becoming committed actors collaborating 

with other organizations to tackle global 

social and environmental issues. 

Citizenship is embedded in the 

KPMG values and our firms have the 

scale, influence, professional skills, and 

business knowledge to make a significant 

and positive contribution to the issues 

affecting our communities. 

This short article seeks to set out 

one of the key areas of focus for KPMG’s 

approach to corporate citizenship and 

highlight just a few examples of how 

KPMG Partners and Staff are putting our 

values into action. 

Our strategy and role 

KPMG is aligning its global citizenship 

strategy with both the UN Global Compact’s 

Ten Principles and the Millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs). The 

strategy focuses on the following three 

key components: 

1. Global themes 

a) The Global Development Initiative 

(GDI): Our global response to tackle 

world poverty 

b) The Global Green Initiative: Our 

global response to the challenges of 

climate change and environmental 

sustainability 

2. Global policy issues relating to corporate 

responsibility: KPMG is a signatory 

to the UN Global Compact and participates 

in global policy discussions 

through the World Economic Forum 

and other key global multi-stakeholder 

coalitions 

3. Leadership action to tackle country 

and community concerns through 

member firm programs 

The KPMG Global 

Development Initiative 

The sense of urgency to bring an end to 

world poverty has never been greater 

than in these critical last five years leading 

up to the 2015 MDG target date. 

KPMG believes that the private sector has 

a critical role to play in the achievement 

of the MDGs, and should work alongside 

governments and civil society. KPMG’s 

GDI is an innovative program designed 

to take our commitment to corporate 

citizenship to a new global level. It can 

be defined as “putting our skills to work 

in pursuit of the MDGs.” 

Through the GDI, we use our skills 

and resources to become fully involved in 

finding sustainable solutions to complex 

and entrenched social issues. We strive 

for wide participation from Partners and 

Staff across KPMG member firms and for 

maximum impact. The GDI aims to: 

• put our skills to work in pursuit of 

MDGs 1, 2, and 3 (those MDGs being 

most closely aligned with our values, 

knowledge, and experience); 

• develop solutions to bring about systemic 

change that addresses the root 

causes of poverty; 

• develop solutions that can be replicated 

and scaled up; 

• participate in public-private networks 

that act against extreme poverty; 

• act as a catalyst and advisor for increased 

action from others. 

The positive societal impact of KPMG’s 

GDI has continued to grow throughout 

the years. KPMG people have contributed 

to the MDGs both by collaborating with 

NGOs and UN entities and also by directly 

assisting those in need. 

Following are four examples of collaboration 

across the continents that give 

an insight into the wide range of impacts 

of KPMG’s citizenship work. 

The Millennium Cities Initiative 

KPMG’s Transaction Services practices 

have been providing economic and commercial 

due diligence to support the 

Millennium Cities Initiatives’ investment 

reports. The reports on cities in Ethiopia, 

Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and 

Tanzania are being used to encourage 

investment to lift the local economy. 


KPMG 

Member firms in Ghana, India, Japan, 

Kenya, Malawi, the Netherlands, 

Nigeria, Russia, Tanzania, and the United 

Kingdom are engaged with the Millennium 

Cities Initiative to support the delivery 

of the reports. KPMG in the United 

States has also provided a secondee to the 

Millennium Cities Headquarters. 

These reports have began to led to 

tangible improvements in the lives of 

people experiencing poverty. For example, 

with the assistance of the Initiative 

in Kumasi in Ghana, the following results 

have been achieved: 

• A viable supplier of palm fruits for a 

palm oil project has been identified in 

cooperation with the Millennium Villages 

Project and investment pledges 

have been secured. 

• Following the production of bamboo 

bikes at The Earth Institute at Columbia 

University and a successful pilot program 

in Kumasi, a Ghanaian investor 

is expected to commence production 

of bamboo bikes in Kumasi in June 

2010. 

• In 2009, the Ghana Investment Promotion 

Centre opened a regional office in 

Kumasi to promote the Ashanti region 

and the city of Kumasi to investors. 

• Preparations are under way for an investment 

promotion training workshop 

for city officials. 

• The Kumasi Metropolitan Authority 

has committed $100,000 toward the 

Kumasi Investment Initiative and further 

fundraising activities are under 

way. 

Familia Moja (One Family) 

When James Woodward, a graduate who 

works for KPMG in Australia, volunteered 

at an orphanage in a Nairobi slum, he 

was so moved by the horrific conditions 

that he committed his professional 

skills and resources to provide for the 

children. 

James established the Familia Moja 

Children’s Centre and registered it in 

Kenya with the help of KPMG’s local 

office while also establishing Kickstart 

Kids International as a supporting charity 

in Australia. With the help of KPMG 

colleagues, James is chairing the boards 

of both charities in Australia and Kenya, 

preparing budgets, implementing financial 

controls, working with government 

agencies in both Australia and Kenya, 

preparing financial accounts for audit, 

hiring staff, purchasing land, and managing 

the income-generating projects. 

The 29 boys and girls are now attending 

school (MDG 2) and 16 have 

achieved results placing them in the 

top ten of their classes. Their nutritional 

status has improved (MDG 1) and the 

new premises will soon be carbon-neutral 

with water collected on site, waste 

treated on site, and local food production 

as well as all materials (construction and 

ongoing) locally sourced (MDG 7). 

SIFE 

Students of Free Enterprise (SIFE) brings 

together a diverse network of university 

students, academic professionals, and 

industry leaders around the shared mission 

of creating a better, more sustainable 

world through the positive power 

of business. SIFE mobilizes university 

students to make a difference in their 

communities while developing their 

skills to become socially responsible business 

leaders. More than 30,000 students 

across 1,500 universities participate in 

SIFE worldwide. 

KPMG has supported SIFE since 

1996 and has played a pivotal role in 

helping SIFE go global. Today, KPMG 

member firms support SIFE in about 30 

countries in three main areas. 

• Launches – They provide front-end 

operation support to help set up national 

SIFE operations and provide introductions 

to businesses, universities, 

students, etc. 

• Coordination and expansion – They 

use existing communication networks 

to help share information, updates, 

and best practice ideas internally and 

externally. They host receptions for 

business communities and present SIFE 

partnership at internal leadership meetings. 

• Timing and resources – They provide 

finance, venue, and people support for 

“SIFE teaches business ethics, market 

economics, teamwork, and community 

service, which mirror KPMG’s core 

values. Its projects provide exciting 

opportunities for KPMG people to be 

involved with meaningful economic 

development work, and SIFE students 

are the kind of people we look to 

hire across the globe – questioning, 

committed, and caring. Our relationship 

with these amazing SIFE students 

reminds us of the good that can result 

from free enterprise.” 

Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman of KPMG International 

134 


Best Practice 

Partnership 

activities. In addition, KPMG in India 

has initiated a KPMG-SIFE Business 

Ethics grant, which is offered to teams 

that exhibit a proper understanding 

of business ethics and have also incorporated 

a strong ethical element 

into their projects. 

2. KPMG in Brazil has been supporting 

SIFE Brazil for ten years. The chairman 

of KPMG in Brazil plays an active role 

in the new Council Board of SIFE in 

Brazil. Also, KPMG in Brazil was a 

main sponsor of the 2008 National 

Competition; three KPMG Partners 

were judges at the event; and a KPMG 

audit manager and supporting team 

member helped to coordinate and 

audit the processes for credibility. 

3. Since 2002, KPMG in Nigeria has been 

providing bookkeeping services, internet 

access, payroll administration, 

and sponsoring the logistical aspects 

of the annual national competition. 

KPMG in India’s Partner 

school program 

Expansion of our involvement to the 

primary and mid-level education sectors 

was a natural progression of our commitment 

toward encouraging and fostering 

academic excellence. This program is 

in addition to our other education programs, 

and we hope to make a tangible 

difference in the lives of children in our 

communities. 

Our current partner schools, both 

with classes for students from kindergarten 

to the 10th grade are: 

• Literacy India, Delhi: 

Literacy India started in 1996 with 

the objective of empowering underprivileged 

children and women. With 

a diverse range of programs, Literacy 

India works with women and children 

in villages to impart basic education, 

and also to help them develop skills 

in performing arts, science, and technology. 

• St Joseph’s High School, Colaba, Mumbai: 

St Joseph’s High School was founded 

in 1929 by the Convent of Jesus and 

Mary. The school aims at imparting 

education for the overall development 

of a child’s personality, and lays emphasis 

on outdoor activities and physical 

training. 

The Brazil team at the 2009 SIFE 

World Cup in Berlin 

national and regional SIFE operations. 

KPMG member firm Partners support 

SIFE by being national, regional, and 

international judges and sit on various 

SIFE advisory boards. 

Following are three specific examples 

of member firm involvement: 

1. The chairman of the KPMG Foundation 

in India is the vice chairman of 

SIFE India, and three KPMG employees 

support the regional coordination 

for SIFE in Bangalore and Delhi to 

promote and increase SIFE activities 

in India. KPMG also provides judges, 

mentors, and verifiers for the regional 

Our initiatives in education span schools 

and colleges across India. Through programs 

such as SIFE and KA India, we 

provide a platform for school and college 

students to build their understanding of 

the business environment around them. 

Both these programs are dynamic tools 

for our Staff to engage actively with the 

citizens of tomorrow and shape their 

outlooks. 

During the past year, we began our 

Partner school program, which seeks to 

strengthen the infrastructure, IT, and 

teaching inputs in selected schools. We 

strongly believe that a sound educational 

framework plays a key role in furthering 

community development and creating a 

valuable human resource network. 

Partner school program 

Hospice Africa 

KPMG in Ireland wanted to reach out to 

people in the developing world living in 

extreme poverty. When the charity Hospice 

Africa established a Dublin support 

office, KPMG Ireland’s CEO made it his 

responsibility to help them by seconding 

a director to act as interim CEO, whose 

job it was to advise and assist the Board 

for six months in developing the vision, 

goals, processes, and procedures for the 

organization. This skills-based support 

will leverage a cash donation from the 

Irish firm to fund a new clinical building 

in Uganda over the next three years, 

which will be a center of excellence in 

palliative care. Its benefits will stretch 

internationally as medical staff will be 

invited to share learning and best practice 

to take back to their own countries. 

In September 2009, KPMG’s work with 

Hospice Africa won the Chambers Ireland 

CSR Award for best international 

project, providing public recognition 

for the project as a leading example of 

corporate social responsibility. 


Lufthansa 

10 Years of HelpAlliance 

In September 1999, 13 Lufthansa employees (called Lufthanseat in Germany) from all 

divisions of the group founded “HelpAlliance e.V. – Lufthanseaten engagieren sich” 

(Employees Lend a Helping Hand). In 2009, the employees’ politically independent and 

non-denominational organization celebrated its 10th anniversary. The organization 

is looking back on more than 60 successfully finished or still-running projects and 

numerous supporting operations. Emergency aid, such as for the 2004 tsunami disaster, 

is also part of HelpAlliance’s short history. 

By Ralf Steuer 

Since its founding 10 years ago, Help- 

Alliance has initiated, coordinated, and 

assisted in a total of 19 long-term projects, 

24 short-term projects – so-called supported 

projects – as well as 19 emergency 

relief projects. Every HelpAlliance 

member is personally involved in one 

or more projects, for example supporting 

business start-ups, projects for street 

children, schools and educational institutions, 

orphanages and bush hospitals. 

The operational areas are concentrated 

on the southern hemisphere in Africa 

as well as in Asia, South America, and 

also in Romania. Almost all projects are 

typically supported by a charity registered 

in Germany, with the applicant being a 

member of the board. This applies to Help- 

Alliance members as well as to Lufthansa 

employees who apply for funding. 

The projects of the aid organization 

include long-term HelpAlliance 

projects, supported projects – for which 

any Lufthanseat can apply to in order 

to fund specific measures – as well as 

emergency relief projects after natural 

disasters. HelpAlliance focuses its work 

on providing education, health, and nutrition 

to children and youngsters. “The 

best way to escape the poverty trap is access 

to education or a job training,” says 

Rita Diop, HelpAlliance’s chairwoman 

since 2005. This often means that the 

aid organization has to accommodate 

basic needs of the people first, in order 

to pave the way for education. 

HelpAlliance focuses on assisting 

those who do not even have the bare 

minimum available to support themselves 

or their families – especially in 

developing countries. Collecting donations 

and assigning them in a meaningful 

manner is the major task of this 

non-profit organization. In order to substantially 

improve the living conditions 

of the needy, all measures follow the 

guiding principle “Helping people to 

help themselves.” 

Variety of projects 

HelpAlliance supports a broad range of 

long-term projects. The absence of reliable 

water supplies is among the problems 

frequently encountered. In Africa, 

HelpAlliance has already bored wells 

and established water supply systems 

for educational institutions. In a joint 

venture with the HelpAlliance project 

“Orphan Aid Nigeria” at the Lagos lagoon 

– where the association also supports a 

school – a well was put into service that 

provides the inhabitants of the island of 

Iba with clean drinking water. The same 

goes for the construction of the girls’ 

hostel in Djougou, North-Benin, where 

a well was bored first. Without water, 

this construction would not have been 

possible at all. However, the neighbors 

of the project and the herdsmen passing 

the grounds with their cattle also benefit 

from the newly exploited water source. A 

pumping system feeds the water into big 

storage tanks on the roof of the hostel. A 

steady water supply was also established 

for the Blue Bell kindergarten project at 

Mtwapa, Kenya, in 2008. 170 children 

now have unrestricted access to water 

fit for drinking or sanitary purposes. 

Rain is also being collected in two water 

tanks, each holding 4,000 liters. The 

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Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Left: Children in drought ridden Central 

India take a simple bath. 

Right: Lufthansa employee 

Ralf Schmitt visits a typical well in 

Dogon country, Mali. 

water is purified in filter systems to 

ensure the necessary quality level for 

drinking water. 

In Mali, West Africa, a Lufthansa 

Technik employee supported by Help- 

Alliance looks after a school project in 

Dogonland, which is located in an extremely 

dry and rocky region. Dryness 

plagues the country and causes regular 

crop failures. The school did not possess 

a steady water supply until a few months 

ago, after a well-boring project was finished. 

There used to be a large clay jug in 

each classroom that had to be filled on a 

day-to-day basis with water from a distant 

well. The children helped themselves 

with a ladle, which eventually posed 

health risks due to germs infecting the 

water. Then HelpAlliance funded the 

well-boring project near the school. The 

terrain is extremely difficult and the well 

had to be blasted out of massive rock one 

bit at a time. The main purpose is not 

only to make drinking water available 

for the children and their families, but 

to allow for trees to be planted in order 

to provide shade and to facilitate the 

provision of school lunches through the 

cultivation of vegetables. 

How are the projects chosen? 

HelpAlliance’s activities mainly focus on 

children, because children are in special 

need of protection. To help them to the 

best of its ability, HelpAlliance’s work 

is based on the principles of the UN 

Convention on the Rights of the Child as 

well as the Ten Principles of the United 

Nations Global Compact. “We always put 

emphasis on an in-depth dialog and we 

cooperate with the persons concerned 

to find solutions that suit the social 

environment best,” says Diop. 

In order to guarantee the success 

of the projects, experienced and reliable 

partners offer on-site support for 

the Lufthansa employees. As a general 

rule, the aid organization does not accept 

external applications, as it cannot 

be verified whether funds are spent according 

to the rules; the same goes for 

projects in war zones. “As we cannot 

check what happens to the money in 

these cases, we will not accept any risk,” 

clarifies Diop. 

Lufthansa support 

The Lufthansa group has been supporting 

HelpAlliance from the beginning. 

The company has reassigned the chairwoman 

and another staff member from 

their full-time work along with a flight 

attendant to support HelpAlliance 10 

days per month for administrative assignments 

and to assist in managing the 

on-board collection program. In addition, 

the association is provided with office 

space and the necessary IT equipment 

at Lufthansa’s base at Frankfurt Airport. 

Most importantly, Lufthansa supports 

the humanitarian engagement of its 

employees by providing free transport 

capacities. “If we had to pay for the 

transport of relief supplies ourselves, 

we would not be able to work the way 

we do,” sums up Diop. In addition, the 

company participates in the production 

of the annual report on the activities of 

the aid organization. 


Manpower 

Empowering 

women for more 

sustainable 

communities 

By Jeff Joerres 

As a global organization with a presence in 82 countries 

and territories, Manpower Inc.’s employees, associates, 

clients, and candidates are naturally diverse. Diversity 

brings a broader range of perspectives and capabilities 

to our organization, as we continue to be innovative 

by remaining open to the ideas of all. Manpower’s core 

mission is to provide the best possible talent for our clients, 

and that means tapping into all populations and including 

those that have traditionally been underrepresented. 

Diversity is essential to maintaining our role as an expert 

in the changing world of work. 

In many parts of the world, women 

are still regarded as second-class citizens. 

Their inferior role in some societies 

means they are socially, politically, 

and economically disadvantaged, making 

them vulnerable in everyday life. 

When communities are disempowered 

by events outside of their control, these 

inequalities are even more marked. For 

instance, women are often disproportionately 

impacted by natural disasters due 

to rigid cultural practices and attitudes. 

Those who work often hold low-paid jobs 

in agriculture and other industries profoundly 

affected by catastrophe. As the 

primary care-givers for the vulnerable 

in society – children, the elderly, and 

the infirm – their mobility in search of 

new livelihoods is limited. 

The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami 

of 2004 is a prime example of the 

type of disaster that hits women the 

hardest. In India’s Tamil Nadu State, 

many families lost their primary wage 

earners – men – leaving widows and 

orphans. Along with loss of homes, jobs 

in fishing and agriculture were also 

wiped out. Increasing the participation 

of women in the local workforce came 

with unique challenges. As in many rural 

Indian districts, the population observed 

strict social traditions and were steadfastly 

resistant to change. Rarely allowed 

to come out of their domestic arena, 

women’s lack of qualifications typically 

reduced them to grueling manual labor 

and poor wages. The situation was worse 

for women from certain religious com- 

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Best Practice 


munities and those who were widowed, 

divorced, or deserted faced further discrimination. 

Following the disaster, vital firstresponse 

donations and aid naturally 

poured in, but it quickly became apparent 

that full recovery from the devastation 

would require broad systemic 

change. Manpower’s core expertise 

– connecting people to employment 

opportunities – allowed us to create 

paths to sustainable employment to enable 

survivors to feed their families and 

rebuild their communities. Manpower, 

in partnership with HOPE Worldwide, 

built two vocational centers in the towns 

of Nagapattinam and Tharangambadi 

to train those whose lives had been 

decimated by the tsunami and help 

them find new, sustainable sources of 

income. 

In the five years since the establishment 

of the Manpower Vocational Training 

Centers (MVTCs), no cross-section of 

the community has been more positively 

impacted than the women. In order to 

break down the barriers that have limited 

women for centuries, the MVTCs 

leveraged Manpower’s extensive global 

footprint and intricate knowledge of 

custom and heritage, which gives us 

sensitivity in approaching the obstacles 

we face in each initiative. 

Peer women volunteers were trained 

as field workers to motivate families to 

send women and girls for much-needed 

training; modern technology was introduced 

to reduce physical drudgery and 

increase output; and special events were 

scheduled to involve families in MVTC 

activities and sensitize them to women’s 

rights. In addition, counseling services 

were interwoven with vocational training 

to help women overcome trauma 

due to domestic violence, loss due to 

the tsunami, and to give them advice 

on family and personal issues, and on 

how to balance their social and economic 

productivity. 

Since their inception, the MVTCs 

have helped transform the lives of local 

women. Almost 2,000 women have 

been trained in alternative employment. 

Of these, over 300 have been trained 

and employed in traditionally maledominated 

industries such as masonry 

and mobile telephone repair, and women 

masons are now entrepreneurs earning 

equivalent salaries to their male counterparts. 

There has been a 26-percent 

increase in female enrollment compared 

to the first year, and 56 percent of all 

trainees are women compared to 30 

percent when the doors first opened. 

Most encouragingly, the accomplishments 

of the MVTC female graduates are 

having a halo effect among women in 

the surrounding communities. As they 

see the MVTCs graduates breaking down 

barriers, more women are approaching 

the centers to explore the opportunities 

the training might open for them. 

Manpower’s MVTCs and similar 

models around the world make good 

economic sense, as redressing the balance 

between women and men in the 

workforce is also essential for development. 

According to the Organization 

for Economic Co-operation and Development, 

India’s GDP would rise by 8 

percent if the ratio of female-to-male 

workers increased by 10 percent. And 

because women reinvest 90 percent of 

their income in their families and communities, 

when women are empowered, 

we all benefit. 

At Manpower, we are committed 

to providing women with the best possible 

opportunities to reach their full 

potential – not only via the initiatives 

and programs through which we help 

disenfranchised women globally, but also 

within every level of our organization 

and for our talented female candidates, 

who we place in permanent and temporary 

positions with our 400,000 clients 

worldwide. Five of the 13 members of 

our executive management team are 

women, as is nearly 60 percent of our 

leadership team worldwide. Our female 

leadership brings a diversity of thought 

and perspective, setting a pace and tone 

that energizes our entire organization. 

Our efforts to increase the engagement 

of women in the workforce are not 

based solely on gender parity concerns, 

but on practical issues. We must satisfy 

the needs of our clients with the most 

qualified people, as talent is becoming 

the competitive differentiator. Our research 

shows that despite the difficult 

economic climate, 30 percent of employers 

worldwide are having difficulty 

finding the workers they require to fill 

available jobs. This talent shortage will 

only be exacerbated as the economy 

improves and as the global workforce 

shrinks due to aging populations. A very 

real prospect exists of there not being 

enough qualified workers to fill the jobs 

that will drive growth. Therefore, it is 

in everybody’s best interests to tap into 

populations that have traditionally been 

underrepresented in the workforce – 

including women – as we have been 

doing for over 60 years. 

Jeff Joerres is Chairman and CEO 

of Manpower Inc. 


The Mansour Group 

Building Social Wealth 

through Education 

By Walid Nagi 

About one out of every 

three Egyptians above 

the age of 15 cannot read 

or write. Despite various 

efforts of national literacy 

initiatives, as well as 

those organized by the 

many nongovernmental 

organizations and private 

enterprises operating in 

the country, Egypt still 

ranks 132 nd worldwide in 

terms of literacy. 

day after day, we try to find the means 

by which we can help empower the 

growing minds of our nation with the 

desire to know. 

Even before formalizing this commitment 

with the United Nations Global 

Compact, we at Mansour prided ourselves 

on our dedication to fair practices, to 

the transparency of our interactions, 

and to the social welfare of our community. 

Furthermore, the framework 

of the Global Compact has provided us 

with additional opportunities to collaborate 

with like-minded people and 

organizations – all with a clear intent 

to improve our social environment and 

the lives of our children. 

Although the need for education is explicitly 

stressed only in Article 26 of the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 

we observe that without education, it is 

impossible for individuals to know, declare, 

and claim all other human rights to 

which they are entitled. It is no accident 

that H.G. Wells declared history to be a 

race between education and catastrophe. 

It is a race, and it is one that we cannot 

afford to lose. 

It is by this logic, and with a resolve 

forged within that conviction, that The 

Mansour Group has committed itself 

to the development of education as a 

vital social resource. This is also why, 

Mansour has had a long history of 

social commitment. 

We decided to get involved with the 

SKOOOL project several years ago. The 

idea – as many great ones tend to be 

– seems simple enough in retrospect; 

the constant content availability provided 

by the Internet and the ongoing 

proliferation of the Internet in Egypt 

would provide a channel ideally suited 

to function as an educational platform. 

SKOOOL does just that by providing an 

online presence that allows educational 

content to be distributed through a simple, 

accessible interface that is available 

to anybody, anywhere, on demand. 

SKOOOL is now used to provide 

online users of all ages with access to 

the entire Egyptian curriculum for all 

school grades, both primary and secondary. 

The SKOOOL website was launched 

in late 2008, and in the first year alone 

we have seen it serve over 300 thousand 

visitors who have accessed almost 2.5 

million pages of educational content. We 

have been very excited to observe the 

number of monthly visitors to the site 

grow from 10,000 in November 2008 to 

over 60,000 by November 2009. 

Each one of those SKOOOL visits 

represents a moment where somebody 

somewhere – at home, at a school, or 

maybe even at an Internet café – has 

logged on to the site and made a conscious 

choice to learn. These moments 

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Best Practice 

Human Rights 

are very precious to us, and each and 

every single one of them represents a 

stepping stone to a better future for our 

children, our society, and our country. 

Another program that we have been 

very excited to take part in is the addition 

of Intel PC Classmate computers to 

public schools in Egypt. 

The Intel Classmate PCs, like those 

of the One Laptop Per Child program, are 

ideal for school environments. They are 

portable and rugged, and their interface 

is specifically designed to make them 

Training teachers on the 

usage of the classmate 

PC and SKOOOL website 

with the INJAZ (Arabic for achievement) 

initiative through the Save the Children 

Program. 

The benefits of the Classmate 

project for students are twofold; on the 

one hand, students who might not have 

had the chance to gain familiarity with 

computers and their operating systems 

are introduced to digital technology 

through a hardware platform designed 

specifically to ease that path, and they are 

in turn empowered to access and make 

use of the online SKOOOL program along 

with all its associated benefits. 

Although these projects are powerful 

initiatives in and of themselves, 

they also naturally complement each 

other and provide students with not 

only the educational content they need 

but also the means by which to access 

that content. 

Through INJAZ, employees of Mansour, 

along with those of other companies, 

volunteer one hour of their time 

every week to go to public schools and 

teach the children basic skills, thereby 

providing the students with practical 

life experience and working skills. IN- 

JAZ also coordinates and supervises 

the placement of the Classmate PCs in 

the schools and are therefore able to 

ensure proper monitoring and reporting 

of their usage by the students and 

the progress of the project as a whole. 

The volunteers also make use of these 

PCs in order to teach children and aid 

in their education. 

Nothing should stand between a 

student’s thirst for information and the 

means of acquiring it. 

We hope to participate in the creation 

of a society that is not only knowledgeable 

but also intimately comfortable 

with information technology. We hope 

to see a society that is ultimately empowered 

to discover, create, and diffuse 

even more knowledge. 

In the right environment, students 

quickly learn a wonderful lesson that 

often fills them with awe: that education, 

that the actual act of learning, is 

not merely useful, but is also a great 

pleasure and an excitement of thought 

and understanding, a splendor in and 

of itself. 

We know this about education: that 

it is necessary; that it is vital; that it is 

the foundation on which nations are 

built and without which they come to 

ruin; that a mind exposed to knowledge 

yearns for more of it, seeks more of it, 

creates it, and flourishes with it; that 

once touched by education, a mind will 

forever awaken and never again rest, will 

always question, and never tire. It is with 

great pleasure that we aid in this process, 

and it has been more rewarding than we 

could ever have imagined. 

Working on education has been, and 

continues to be, an absolute delight. 

fun and easy for children to use. They 

provide a great platform and provide 

teachers with the means to distribute 

digital content to students while providing 

children with real-world computing 

and software skills. They are also troublefree 

for school administrators, since they 

require minimal setup and maintenance 

requirements and come preloaded with 

education-focused software. 

By the end of 2009, The Mansour 

Group had contributed over 350 Classmate 

PCs, 11 carts, and 11 smart boards 

to 6 public schools – bringing the digital 

education platform to over 1,500 students. 

This was done in collaboration 

Facts 

The core business today of the Al-Mansour Holding Company for Financial 

Investments is focused on the manufacture and distribution of FMCGs (Fast 

Moving Consumer Goods) as well as electronics, retailing, and services. It 

employs over 7,000 people and has an annual turnover of more than 

$ 1 billion. It is affiliated with international companies and also manufactures 

its own labels. The Al-Mansour Holding Company was one of the pioneering 

companies to join the UN Global Compact in Egypt in 2003. It has shown 

great commitment to the Principles and has acted as a major advocate for the 

Global Compact and corporate social responsibility in the country. In 2008, the 

Mansour Group became a focal point for the Global Compact in Egypt. 


MRCB 

The Pulau Tioman Project 

Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) is a leading urban property 

and infrastructure developer. The Group specializes in civil, environmental, and energy 

infrastructure, including beach rehabilitation projects, road works, road concessions, 

educational colleges, hospitals, and power plants. It is also the nation’s biggest developer of 

high-voltage transmission networks. 

Pulau Tioman (Tioman Island) is a worldrenowned 

tourist destination famed for 

its breathtaking, scenic spots, crystal 

clear waters, and white sandy beaches. 

Lying some 56 km off the coast of Pahang 

State, Pulau Tioman is about 38 

km in length and 19 km at its widest 

point, with its main center at Kampung 

Tekek – one of the nine idyllic villages 

on the island. 

With tourism as its main source 

of income, its success as a major tourist 

center directly threatens this income. 

Unchecked erosion caused by increasing 

environmental pressures from the 

growing number of visitors and expanded 

development has damaged its coastline, 

beaches, and rivers. This includes development 

of private properties as well as 

public infrastructure. The erosion has 

already damaged the biodiversity of the 

island and contributed to the loss of sandy 

beaches as the shoreline has retreated inland. 

Chalets in the northern end of Teluk 

Tekek, Tioman Island, have also suffered 

loss of business as the sandy beach frontage 

has been transformed into a rocky 

shoreline due to the loss of sand. 

Realizing the urgent need to rehabilitate 

and preserve Kampung Tekek’s 

pristine coastline and biodiversity, the 

Malaysian government – through its 

agency Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran 

(JPS) – has initiated the rehabilitation 

project. JPS has engaged and appointed 

MRCB Environment Sdn Bhd (MESB), a 

subsidiary of MRCB, to design, construct, 

and rehabilitate the coastline using 

MRCB’s proprietary Pressure Equalization 

Module (PEM) system. Recognizing 

the sensitivity of the location in terms 

of biodiversity and its remoteness to 

sources for supplies, MRCB developed a 

holistic approach in ensuring minimal 

impacts in restoring and conserving 

threatened biodiversity. At the same 

time, the process maintains the existing 

naturally-occurring ecosystem, communities, 

and native species. 

Construction stages 

With this perspective in mind, the entire 

project was studied in detail to ensure 

that precise management and handling 

took place to minimize damages to the 

surrounding environments. A detailed 

impact-analysis was carried out during 

pre-construction of the project involving 

impacts on aquatic life and coral, 

soil, marine water, drainage and flooding, 

noise, air, the local business and 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

Left: The now scenic night scene of 

the rehabilitated Sg. Tekek Above: 

The once clogged and polluted river 

mouth of Sg. Tekek has been deepened 

and cleaned allowing whole year 

accessibility to local fisherman. 

resident communities. Environmental 

training was provided at the start of the 

project to brief all parties involved in the 

project on the environmental awareness 

at the project site. The training covered 

the specially designed Environmental 

Management Plan (EMP) and best management 

practice on site, and involved 

participants from all relevant JPS staff, 

site supervision staff from MRCB, and all 

senior site staff of the sub-contractors. 

During the construction stages, the 

EMP was prepared and put in place by 

an environmental consultant to address 

potentially significant environmental 

impacts that may arise during construction. 

All materials were sourced from 

outside the island so that the ecosystem 

of the environment on the island was not 

disturbed. A thorough Environmental 

Impact Study was carried out and included 

a detailed mapping of the coral 

habitat in and around the rehabilitated 

areas. Anti-pollution measures were 

strictly enforced to control pollutants 

from entering into the sensitive marine 

ecology. Double-layered silt curtains 

were installed prior to every work task to 

ensure no sedimentation or construction 

debris flowed out to the sea or had a major 

impact on the coral nearby. No work 

could start until the silt curtains were 

checked every morning and confirmed 

to be in working condition. If there was 

a tear, work would stop immediately and 

maintenance was quickly conducted to 

reduce the impact of sedimentation. 

Apart from the above, barges carrying 

construction materials landed only 

during high tide and had to follow the 

approved route to ensure no coral was 

damaged in the process of landing. MRCB 

also conducted an environmental awareness 

campaign on the island to highlight 

the importance of cleanliness, recycling, 

and environmental preservation. 

Evaluation and monitoring 

With the completion of the project, MRCB 

instituted a rigid system of evaluation 

and monitoring to ensure the bio-system 

of the marine ecosystem returned to 

its normal state and f lourished with 

the improved bio-system. A detailed 

monitoring system is in place to examine 

the physical environment as well as the 

biological and socioeconomic impacts 

on Teluk Tekek in Tioman Island. The 

study includes research on the physical 

environment, the hydraulic circulation, 

coastal evolution, river mouth, as well 

as water quality, drainage, and flooding. 

The biological aspects of the monitoring 

include coral, aquatic species, macroinvertebrate, 

macro-benthos, and plankton 

ecosystems. 

The socioeconomic aspects include 

the community and the tourism industry 

as well as areas for improvement 

concerning lifestyles, better business 

prospects, improved tourism, better 

infrastructure / mooring facilities, and 

navigation for the fishermen. MRCB 

found that all aspects mentioned have 

improved significantly. 

Villagers were affected by the ongoing 

construction activity as it disrupted 

their tourism activities. However, since 

the completion of the project, the village 

has been transformed into a tourist haven 

with more tourist facilities such as 

a wider main road, a modern jetty with 

walkway, lighted gardens, and modern, 

convenient cafes. 

For the fishing community, the 

main advantage is the availability of 

24-hour navigation for all the boats as 

well as for those involved in tourism boat 

activities due to the successful rehabilitation 

of Sg. Tekek and Sg. Batang Sabut. 

Before the project commenced, the river 

mouths were not accessible for several 

months each year, which impeded valuable 

earnings for the villagers. 

Like the villagers, the tourists will 

find a new, comfortable, and convenient 

tourist location at Kampung Tekek with 

all new and modern facilities. The availability 

of systematic boat berthing will 

improve the convenience and facilitate 

a comfortable arrival for tourists while 

other new “tourist” facilities such as 

the modern jetty, lighted gardens, and 

modern cafes only add more convenience 

and comfort for tourists coming to the 

island. 

Tourism for local community 

and nation 

Since tourism is the main economic 

activity of Kampung Tekek, the project 

design took into account the coral and 

marine communities, which were the 

main aspect and attraction for the island. 

Due to the sensitivity of one 700-meter 

stretch, a beach nourishment method 

was evaluated but later omitted from 

the plan because of the high density of 

healthy coral growing on the nearby 

shore. Huge efforts were taken in the 

installation and maintenance of the silt 

curtain concerning tidal fluctuation effects 

at the river mouth and beach area 

during construction to ensure the work 

would not damage the coral and marine 

life, which, as a main tourist attraction, 

is the main source of economy for the 

local community. 



CSR – A Philosophy of Life 

By María del Rosario García and Soledad Burbano 

For Mutualista Pichincha, corporate social responsibility and the Ten Principles of 

the Global Compact go far beyond the realm of traditional institutional and professional 

behavior. They constitute a way of life and a new manner of doing things in all aspects 

of our entrepreneurship. They must become the engine that drives all our actions at work 

and at home; with our children, friends, and colleagues; on the streets as well as during 

public events and all of our daily activities. We simply need to accept the fact that we cannot 

be socially responsible citizens only during working hours and that these compromises 

are a full-time endeavor. 

In order to fulfill this major objective, 

our efforts have been directed toward 

creating a culture of social responsibility 

in the organization and – through this 

culture – generating a socially responsible 

consciousness in our employees. 

We are certain that if this culture takes 

root in their attitudes toward life, it 

will make a significant difference and 

influence their behavior at home, with 

Employee’s children participating 

in reforestation activities 

clients and suppliers, and help in creating 

a blast wave that will influence our 

entire society, helping it to become conscious 

about assuming responsibilities 

to overcome future challenges. 

But creating “an organizational culture” 

is not an easy task. Thus, we have 

begun by institutionalizing practices and 

principles, by developing policies and 

strategies, by pursuing the control of 

processes, and by designating responsible 

leaders. However, along the way we have 

been constantly asked and we have asked 

ourselves: How do we move from theory 

to practice? How do we clearly identify 

the meaning of “Social Responsibility as 

a life philosophy”? 

In the search for a practical manner 

of resolving these questions, after a thorough 

internal analysis process within 

the Human Resources area, we decided 

to implement a campaign called “Social 

Responsibility Marathon,” which focused 

on fostering environmental preservation 

and respect. We chose the environment 

because it defined a scope less-known by 

the majority of the employees, somewhat 

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Best Practice 


“ethereal” in nature and difficult to put 

into practice, thus creating a difficult 

challenge. 

A steering committee filled by personnel 

from the human resources and 

client service areas led a process for about 

five months. The “marathon” objectives 

were as follows: 

• To increase and encourage the significance 

and awareness of environmental 

protection and respect as one of the 

major strategic axes of Corporate Social 

Responsibility and as the driver of 

three of the Principles of the Global 

Pact. 

• To motivate and encourage – through 

games and positive competition – 

thought, research, and learning about 

nature and its impacts in our lives and 

our environment. 

• To strengthen teamwork between company 

areas. 

• To promote the principles of respect, 

trust, and honesty; to encourage and 

reward the attitude of making things 

correctly; to focus on the subjects and 

not concentrate solely on the financial 

rewards. 

• To increasingly involve employees’ 

families in these activities. 

• To create new habits and to demonstrate, 

with results, how positive these 

new habits can be. 

The “marathon” process 

As a starting point, a slogan was created 

through a company-wide competition. 

The chosen slogan read: “Because 

the construction of a better tomorrow, 

begins today” and it was judged to be 

a “leitmotiv” for the inspiration and 

motivation of all. The institution and 

the campaign adopted this suggestive 

and inspiring expression. 

Next, the committee defined the 

multidisciplinary teams. For each of 

the teams, the main activities to be developed 

and the specific objectives were 

drawn up, as well as the basis and operative 

mechanisms for the contest. 

The marathon consisted of a set 

of activities that assigned grade points 

for achieving each one. The team that 

accumulated more points, at the end, 

would be the winner of the marathon. 

In all activities, relatives of employees 

were invited to participate. 

During the five months, the institution 

was filled with billboards, messages, 

and posters motivating employees to 

recycle and to reduce consumption of 

water, energy, and paper. In the process, 

people learned about the dangers and 

perils we will facing if we do not take 

care of and respect the environment. 

Literally, the institution got dressed in 

“green.” 

Facts 

Mutualista Pichincha was founded 

in 1961 and is the largest mutual 

institution and the second-largest 

mortgage issuer in the Ecuadorian 

financial sector. Visit our web 

page for further information about 

our organization: 

www.mutualistapichincha.com 

Results 

• Employees demonstrated and gained 

great understanding of environmentrelated 

subjects. 

• Electrical power consumption was reduced 

by 18 percent in five months. 

• 2,880 kilograms of paper, cardboard, 

newspaper, plastic, and scrap iron were 

recycled. 

• A methodology has been developed 

to continue recycling. Now, such responsibility 

falls within the company 

administration’s purview and so the 

process continues. 

• More than 2,000 trees nationwide were 

planted by our employees. 

• Some of the institution’s branch offices 

invited and included clients in 

recycling and reforestation activities, 

thus expanding the influence wave. 

• Several branch offices coordinated 

reforestation activities with local municipalities, 

thus promoting a publicprivate 

project for the benefit of the 

community. 

• Several branch offices chose not to 

participate in reforestation activities in 

exchange for redoing the green areas 

and park spaces of the many housing 

projects built by Mutualista Pichincha, 

thus creating new value for the 

clients. 

• After the marathon, employees had 

learned much more about climate 

change, global warming, and the perverse 

effects of human activity upon 

nature. 

• Relatives of employees participated 

actively and several received positive 

comments from their daughters and 

sons. A very nice example is a comment 

from a teenager who said to his father: 

“Finally Dad, your company is making 

interesting things.” 

• Many of the implemented activities 

exercised during the marathon have 

continued. For example, a symbolic 

economic fine has been enacted to 

“punish” those colleagues who leave 

their lights on when they go out of the 

office. 

For our management, the marathon 

has been a revelation. On one hand, it 

has been a suitable mechanism to promote 

teamwork, participation, positive 

competition, motivation, responsiveness, 

training, and goals fulfillment. It 

has also provided a space for thought, 

investigation, and creativity. 

On the other hand, it has inspired 

a human group that is now totally committed 

and willing to work and to learn 

about the principles and concepts of 

social responsibility. Our efforts and 

management’s objectives toward Corporate 

Social Responsibility are, therefore, 

not in vain, and as the marathon has 

demonstrated, we have been seeding in 

fertile ground. 


Nestlé 

Silvopastoral Dairy 

Farming in Southern 

Colombia 

By Daniel Suarez 

Nestlé believes that for a business to be successful in the long term, it must create value not 

only for its shareholders but also for society, including farmers who play a vital role in local 

communities across the world. Nestlé calls this Creating Shared Value and focuses efforts in 

three key areas: nutrition, water, and rural development. 

Nestlé has a long history of helping farmers 

become more prosperous suppliers, 

and therefore it is impacting the incomes 

and health status of large numbers of 

people in rural areas. The company’s 

commitment to working directly with 

farmers in rural development is central 

to its business strategy: to ensure a stable, 

high-quality, and safe supply of agricultural 

raw materials. This is particularly 

true for our two major ingredients of 

milk and coffee, but also for other important 

crops. 

Southern Colombia 

Since its arrival in this southern region 

of the country more than 35 years ago, 

Nestlé has been the main dairy company 

permanently active in Caquetá. The area 

was identified as a region with high 

potential for milk production and has 

since embedded dairy culture in the 

community. 

Milk purchasing began in 1974 

and a pre-condensing plant was built 

in Florencia (Caquetá’s capital) in 1978. 

To cope with the increasing number of 

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Environment 

collection points, cooling tanks were 

installed at strategic points in 1995 and, 

in 1999, 170 new units belonging to the 

local dairy associations were installed. 

The region has now evolved into a dairy 

district, where Nestlé works closely with 

farmers to provide advice on the latest 

technologies, animal nutrition, animal 

genetics, and farm infrastructures. 

Cattle farmers of Caquetá have 

their milk permanently collected by 

simple but ingenious means such as 

animal-drawn carts, trucks, or canoes, 

and have now managed to consolidate 

one of the most promising dairy districts 

in the south of Colombia. Importantly, 

livestock farming also constitutes the 

main source of legal income in a region 

suffering from armed conflict and narcotics 

cultivation. 

Silvopastoral System 

With the aim of increasing fresh milk 

production volume, reducing the amount 

of land use, and introducing environmentally 

sustainable practices, Nestlé Colombia 

started to work with 13 pilot Caquetá 

cattle farms to gradually introduce a new 

system called “Silvopasture”. 

This system protects the soil and the 

environment by combining pasture land 

with trees and shrubs, increasing profit 

for the farmer along with milk quality 

and quantity (liters / hectare). 

Furthermore, the introduction of 

leguminous shrubs to the traditional 

grasslands brings a multitude of benefits: 

enhances the productivity of the land 

without increasing livestock borders; 

improves pasture fertility because the 

trees extract water and nutrients from 

soil horizons; and provides direct benefits 

such as fruits, firewood, and timber. Additionally, 

tree cover offers a favorable 

microclimate for the animals – keeping 

them cool and therefore maximizing 

productivity. 

The project so far… 

This project is currently in its first phase, 

with 234 acres across 13 farms in environmental 

reconversion. These farms have 

made strong environmental commitments: 

to not deforest, to generate new 

pasture areas, and to correctly manage 

their water supplies. 

The initial results speak for themselves: 

• Milk production per cow has increased 

from three- to five-and-a-half liters per 

day. 

• The average number of cows per hectare 

has increased from 0.6 to 1.3. 

• Overall milk production has increased 

from 1.8 to 7 liters per hectare. 

• The average liters per farm has increased 

from 117 liters / day to 203 liters 

/ day, increasing milk production 

across the 13 farms by 74 percent. 

• Each of the 13 farms has been able to 

employ an average of two new staff. 

• The monthly increase of farm profit is 

$ 650, equivalent to a 47-percent rise. 

Nestlé is looking to expand the project 

to 130 farms in the second phase over 

the next two-and-a-half years – if the 

conditions are appropriate for the development 

of shrubs – and to ultimately 

work with more than 1,300 farms to 

implement the Silvopasture System 

across southern Colombia. 

The Silvopasture System works at 

three levels of vegetation: first are the 

pastures, second the shrubs, and third 

the trees. We can see that the advances 

in levels of vegetation in the first stage 

are: 

• Level 1: 100 % 

• Level 2: 50 % 

• Level 3: 98 % 

• Total: 82 % 

Nestlé has invested more than $140,000 

in this project already, providing technical 

support and credit loans for the small 

cattle farmers. Over the next 10 years, the 

project aims to increase milk production 

by 242 percent and jobs by 50 percent 

in the Caquetá region. Nestlé will work 

closely with local farmers to achieve this 

ambition and will encourage farmers to 

use the support and knowledge on hand 

from the Center for the Investigation 

in Sustainable Systems of Agricultural 

Projects (CIPAV). 

This project Creates Shared Value, 

as we can identify benefits for all: 

• Farmers enjoy increased milk production 

per hectare with enhanced nutritional 

content and microbiological 

quality. Improved milk has the added 

benefit of improving the weaned calves’ 

weight. 

• There is an improved environmental 

impact due to the reduction of pre- 

Amazonas deforestation, the slowed 

advance of the agricultural border (loss 

of fertile land), the reduction of erosion, 

and enhanced biodiversity. 

• The local community profits from a 

sustainable dairy farming market in a 

region suffering from armed conflict 

and narcotics cultivation. 

• Nestlé experiences the tangible increase 

in quantity of milk collected without 

having to match the increase in pasture 

area. 

As a consequence, more milk can be 

collected per kilometer traveled. 

UN Millennium Development Goals 

and Global Compact Principles 

The project contributes to the realization 

of the United Nations Millennium 

Development Goals by providing jobs 

and sustainable income in one of the 

poorest regions of Colombia (MDG 1), as 

well as helping to ensure environmental 

sustainability by reducing biodiversity 

loss, soil erosion, and expansion of the 

pre-Amazonas livestock borders (MDG 

7). It also implements the spirit of the 

UN Global Compact’s environment principles. 

Around the world, Nestlé is helping 

farmers in 32 markets improve earnings 

and ensure the supply of quality raw 

materials in the Sustainable Agriculture 

Initiative Nestlé (SAIN) programs and 

dairy districts. 

For more on Nestlé’s commitment to sustainable 

rural development, visit: 

www.creatingsharedvalue.org 


Novo Nordisk 

Blueprints for 

Change – 

The Sustainability 

Imperative 

By Susanne Stormer 

50 – 50 – 50. By 2050 there will be 50 percent more people 

in the world, and we will have been responsible for reducing 

global carbon emissions by 50 percent. A seemingly simple 

equation, yet a tall challenge. It makes it painfully clear that 

sustainable development hinges on our ability to manage 

growth sustainably and not only make up for the harm 

we inflict on the global ecosystem, but also to effectively 

decouple economic value creation from environmental 

degradation and social inequality. Sustainability is no longer 

just about restoring balance – survival for the long term 

requires that the global community collectively is able to 

generate and accumulate positive societal value. 

In the face of this scenario, what is our 

response as businesses and as global citizens? 

Our brains have been conveniently 

programmed with two reaction patterns: 

flight or fight. In this case, it seems we 

have only one option. 

Imagine for a moment that, like 

the globe we know, you are living an 

active life, in mid-life, and with a family 

that depends on you. Not everything 

is perfect, but overall your life is good, 

until one day you are diagnosed with 

type 2 diabetes – a progressive and 

irreversible condition that will, slowly 

but surely, degrade your health and life, 

if left unattended. 

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder 

affecting the way our bodies use digested 

food for growth and energy. The 

prevalence of type 2 diabetes is closely 

associated with unhealthy lifestyles – 

sedentary habits and diets rich in fat, 

salt, and sugar. Hence, lifestyle changes 

and exercise are the first step in a treatment 

regimen, which will eventually 

require lifelong therapeutic treatment 

to effectively lower blood sugar levels 

and help people with diabetes to get it 

under control. 

With such an outlook, no wonder 

most people are paralyzed when confronted 

with the diagnosis. But there is 

another way: reorientation. A balanced 

lifestyle. Through a combination of effective 

self-management and support 

by family and professionals, a person 

with diabetes is not only able to lead 

a near-normal life, but can in fact be a 

role model for healthy living. 

Addressing the sustainability 

disconnect 

This analogy makes it strikingly clear that 

we have to chart a different course. Already 

today we are punching well above 

our weight, using 50 percent more than 

the earth’s capacity allows for, yet the 

warning signals are too often dismissed, 

and certainly not acted upon with resolution. 

The sustainability disconnect is 

evident: While a majority of corporate 

leaders say that sustainability would 

have an impact on their businesses, only 

a few of them have developed business 

cases for sustainability. Collectively, we 

are acting like a patient who knows that 

taking medicine will be good for them, 

and still we refuse to take it. 

So how can we begin to understand 

the implications of the increasingly unsustainable 

and imbalanced global development: 

economically, socially, and 

environmentally? And once we do, how 

will we ensure that our business decisions 

consider all of these dimensions and seek 

to take a balanced view, weighing short- 

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Fabian Wenger from Germany 

(right) has type 1 diabetes, 

while his twin brother does 

not. Their future depends on 

our actions today. 

Facts 

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 87 years of innovation 

and leadership in diabetes care and leading positions within hemophilia care, 

growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy. Headquartered 

in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs some 30,000 employees in 76 countries, 

and markets its products in 179 countries. 

Novo Nordisk strives to conduct its activities in a financially, environmentally, 

and socially responsible way. This “triple bottom line” approach makes it 

possible to deliver long-term value to the business and contribute to the 

global society. The strategic commitment to sustainable development, 

underpinned by an active commitment to the UN Global Compact since 

2001, has brought the company onto center stage as a leading player in 

today’s business environment, recognized for its stakeholder engagement 

and performance within sustainable development. Novo Nordisk has been 

consistently rated gold class in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For 

more information, visit www.novonordisk.com/sustainability. 

term against long-term, and individual 

interests against the common good. 

One way to start is to face the facts: 

The call for change is much more than a 

popular political slogan; it is an imperative 

that business leaders must come 

to grips with. Global sustainable development 

is our business, too. Secondly, 

frame a compelling vision of a more attractive 

future and identify the building 

blocks that will get us there. Then, set a 

time-bound target and allocate sufficient 

resources to make it achievable. And 

finally, monitor and measure progress 

– in terms of both societal progress and 

business benefits. 

At Novo Nordisk defeating diabetes 

is our business and at the heart of our 

promise to actively promote sustainability. 

Improved access and quality of 

treatment and care, timely diagnoses, 

and effective prevention are our strategic 

priorities, for the benefit of people 

with diabetes and their families, people 

at risk, society at large – and the longterm 

viability of our business. We see no 

contradiction here. On the contrary, in 

our experience an inclusive view to doing 

business correlates well with corporate 

profitability. We build this argument on 

facts, captured in robust business cases 

and evidenced by consistently solid performance 

– in financial terms as well 

as non-financial. Case by case we will 

present a blueprint for change, inviting 

stakeholders to engage with an aim to 

challenge or replicate. 

At this juncture, marking the first 

decade of the Global Compact, this is the 

essence of our immediate challenge as a 

global business community: How do our 

achievements – as individual businesses 

– stack up in the big scheme of things? 

How do we know that we are making 

progress? In building a new era of sustainability, 

more than ever we need to 

bring into play what businesses do best: 

drive performance against ambitious and 

challenging targets. And what target can 

be more rewarding than ensuring that 

“plus 50” and “minus 50” does not result 

in a zero sum, but on the contrary, adds 

up to a healthy future with a positive 

balance. 


OCÉ 

Caring by Nature 

Océ is focused on creating value for all stakeholders by 

realizing profitable, sustainable growth. The Océ strategy 

aims to optimize business processes, strengthen its product 

portfolio, and boost distribution power. Sustainability 

underpins these strategic aims. A strong performance in 

sustainability contributes to efficiency, stronger product 

propositions, and provides a powerful market image. It is 

no coincidence that Océ embraced sustainability as part of 

its core proposition decades ago. 

By Sandra David 

Océ has a long history of environmental 

awareness. The company was founded 

in 1877 in the south of the Netherlands 

by a chemist called Lodewijk van der 

Grinten, who invented a completely 

natural coloring agent for margarine so 

that everyone, not just the well-off, could 

enjoy something healthy and appetizing 

on their bread. Earlier that same year, 

Mr. van der Grinten had investigated the 

quality of drinking water at the pumps 

in the town where he lived and the 

quality of the flour used by local bakers 

for the local health authority. These 

innovative practices have been handed 

down throughout the history of Océ: 

This commitment to environmental and 

social responsibility that the Océ founding 

fathers demonstrated in the mid-19th 

century is just as strong today. 

Contemporary commitments to 

people and the environment 

Since 2002 Océ has subscribed to the 

Global Compact of the United Nations. 

Océ addresses the principles of the UN 

Global Compact continuously in both 

its product development and its own 

operations. 

In 2009, Océ made progress in each 

of the Global Compact stipulated areas by 

joining the Electronic Industry Citizenship 

Coalition (EICC). The EICC promotes 

an industry Code of Conduct for global 

electronics supply chains to improve 

working and environmental conditions. 

This Code of Conduct outlines standards 

that ensure working conditions in the 

electronics industry supply-chain are 

safe, workers are treated with respect 

and dignity, and that manufacturing 

processes are environmentally responsible. 

The UN Global Compact Principles 

were instrumental in the preparation of 

the EICC Code of Conduct. 

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Best Practice 

Environment 

Océ is committed to progressively 

aligning itself with the provisions of 

the EICC Code of Conduct. In order to 

encourage and support first-tier suppliers 

to also become aligned with the Code of 

Conduct provisions, Océ sent its suppliers 

a Supplier Declaration on the EICC 

Code of Conduct and invited them to 

show their commitment to the EICC by 

signing. The three principal Océ manufacturing 

sites in Venlo (Netherlands), Poing 

(Germany), and Vancouver (Canada) 

included their major suppliers, thereby 

covering 78 percent of their total supply 

base expenditure. By the end of 2009, 

half of the addressed suppliers returned 

a signed declaration. This translated 

into 47 percent of the total supply base 

expenditure of Océ being aligned with 

the EICC Code of Conduct. 

Maximizing reuse 

Operating in a sustainable way is embedded 

in Océ’s way of working. The ability 

to reuse materials, particularly in the 

Reusing machines and parts is 

beneficial to the environment. 

manufacturing sector, is an integral part 

of sustainability. Not only does reuse save 

precious resources, it also minimizes 

landfill waste. 

Océ products are typically built 

for long, intensive use under difficult 

circumstances. Designers at Océ develop 

products with a total lifecycle in mind. 

When a lease period for a machine (often 

between three to five years) comes to an 

end, a machine does not end up on the 

scrapheap, but its parts are refurbished 

and readied for reuse. Parts and modules 

are not type-specific and are designed 

to be used in a broad range of different 

printing systems. 

Used machine parts from customers 

are recovered in special remanufacturing 

facilities, creating a constant stream of 

parts and units. These components are 

suitable for reuse as service parts and 

in new machines. Complete machines 

can also be refurbished and returned to 

market. In 2008 the company launched 

a series of remanufactured machines 

under the Océ Prémia Class label. In 

2009 the popular Océ Prémia Class program 

was enhanced with the addition 

of new models. These remanufactured 

machines are equipped with new and 

popular functionalities that use fewer 

materials and less energy, which reduces 

carbon emissions during the production 

processes. An Océ study in 2009 revealed 

that the CO 2 

footprint for producing a 

remanufactured system is almost half 

that of a newly-produced system. 

In 2008 Océ set a corporate target 

on the reuse of materials: “By 2010 the 

amount of reused parts in Océ-developed 

products will be more than 20 percent.” 

In 2009 the total use of materials for 

Océ-developed products amounted to 

4.5 kilotons – 22 percent of which consisted 

of reused materials. This means 

Océ reached its target ahead of schedule. 

Additionally, Océ supplied approximately 

12,000 refurbished service parts 

(150 tons) to customers. The increase 

in reuse is a result of optimizing Océ’s 

remanufacturing activities. In 2010 this 

will be continued by shifting several local 

remanufacturing activities, such as 

workshops, to centralized asset-recovery 

facilities. 

Intrinsic values 

Building an ever evolving sustainable 

business has always been one of the 

core business principles of Océ. We do 

this by developing products and services 

that add value to the document processes 

of our customers while minimizing 

environmental impact. And we conduct 

our business activities in a socially responsible 

manner aimed at preventing 

health, safety, and environmental risks. 

These philosophies are truly part of the 

DNA of the company, as they were already 

practiced when Océ was founded 

in 1877. Sustainability has been a driving 

force throughout the years – and will 

continue to be so, going forward. 

About Océ 

Océ is one of the world’s leading providers 

of document management and 

printing for professionals. The broad 

Océ offering includes office printing 

and copying systems, high-speed digital 

production printers, and wide-format 

printing systems for both technical documentation 

and color display graphics. 

Océ is also a foremost supplier of document-management 

outsourcing. Many 

of the world’s Fortune 500 companies 

and leading commercial printers are Océ 

customers. With headquarters in Venlo, 

the Netherlands, Océ is active in about 

100 countries and employs some 22,000 

people worldwide. Total revenues in 

2009 amounted to € 2.6 billion. 

For more information on Océ, visit www.oce.com 

or www.sustainability.oce.com. 


Otto Group 

Factory of the Future – 

The Otto Grameen Textile 

Company 

By Andreas Streubig 

Over two million people work in the textile industry in Bangladesh, with women accounting 

for 80 percent of the workforce in clothing factories. The clothing industry is one of the 

region’s key employers and plays an important role as a source of income for the poorest 

strata of society. These people need the jobs, yet all too often they have to work in textile 

factories under poor safety conditions for wages that do not even cover their basic needs. 

Several Western retail companies are 

working to prevent such labor conditions 

in their production facilities; one 

of these is the Otto Group, headquartered 

in Hamburg, Germany. The Otto Group’s 

commitment to social and environmental 

responsibility has a long tradition. Environmental 

protection was established 

as a corporate aim way back in 1986. 

What is more, the individual company 

OTTO integrated a Code of Conduct into 

its supplier framework agreements in 

1996; this Code has since been expanded 

to include all Otto Group companies. It 

is an integral part of the Group’s contractual 

relationships with its suppliers 

and forms the basis of the Otto Group’s 

internal monitoring program and Social 

Management System. 

The first “Type II” social business 

Good working conditions as well as the 

health and safety of workers in the supply 

markets are of the utmost importance 

to the Otto Group. As a sign of their commitment, 

the Otto Group and Grameen 

formed a joint venture in 2009 to establish 

the Otto Grameen Textile Company. 

The “Factory of the Future” will be set 

up in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 

Along with producing clothing for export 

under socially and ecologically sustainable 

conditions, it is intended to serve 

as a beacon project for this form of sustainable 

business practice. 

Dr. Michael Otto, chairman of 

the Otto Group Supervisory Board, is 

confident about the venture: “The Otto 

Grameen Textile Company will show 

that it is entirely possible to harmonize 

ecological and social criteria with economic 

aims.” 

The social entrepreneur and Nobel 

Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad 

Yunus is a project partner. He is committed 

to creating a poverty-free world. As 

such, the Otto Grameen Textile Company 

is a so-called “Type II” social business, 

meaning the profits generated by the 

company are not paid out as a dividend 

to investors, but are used to improve the 

living conditions of the workers, their 

families, and the communities. 

In November 2009, Dr. Michael 

Otto, chairman of the Otto Group 

Supervisory Board, and Nobel Peace 

Prize winner Prof. Muhammad Yunus 

agreed to form the joint venture to 

establish the Otto Grameen Textile 

Company. 

All aspects of the company are 

sustainable – from the ecologically 

optimized building and exemplary working 

conditions to its social involvement 

in the region. The Otto Group is of- 

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Partnership 

fering an interest-free loan to cover 

the investment costs, with the start-up 

capital being repaid over a period of 10 

to 15 years from the profits of the Otto 

Grameen Textile Company. As soon as 

the social business is self-financing, the 

profits generated – overseen by the 

Grameen Otto Trust – will be used 

for the long-term improvement of the 

living conditions of the region’s poorest 

people. 

The Otto Grameen Textile Company offers its workers, 

and their families, a sustainable future. 

Ecologically optimized 

factory building 

It is anticipated that the Otto Grameen 

Textile Company will commence operations 

in 2011 and produce around 

250,000 to 300,000 articles per month for 

export. The textiles will be produced in 

an ecologically optimized, CO2-efficient 

factory building equipped with the latest 

insulation, energy-saving lighting, and 

optimized ventilation systems. 

Exemplary social benefits 

The Otto Grameen Textile Company offers 

the region’s poor the opportunity 

to free themselves from poverty. “Poor 

people are not asking for charity, as 

charity is not a solution for poverty. They 

want to work to earn their livelihood. 

Our company will provide an example 

of how to tackle poverty in the world,” 

explains Professor Yunus. Fair wages, 

good working conditions, and social 

benefits are the cornerstones of the social 

program for the 500 to 700 workers. T- 

shirts, sweatshirts, and underwear will 

then be cut, sewn, pressed, and packed 

at the Otto Grameen Textile Company. 

Workers will be offered further education 

and training opportunities as well 

as healthcare, and will receive a healthy 

lunch. During working hours, their 

children will be looked after in a workplace 

daycare center offering pre-school 

classes. In a second stage, assistance 

will also be provided to neighboring 

communities in the form of educational 

offers, healthcare, and the setting up of 

sanitary facilities. The focus of the efforts 

will primarily be on fostering individual, 

community, and social progress by offering 

extensive educational offers. 

Emulation welcomed 

Social Business 

The purpose of a social business is not to maximize profits; rather, the highest 

priority is on pursuing social and often ecological aims. There are two types 

of social business: the so-called Type I business gives the poor access to 

affordable food, products, healthcare, and education. The company does not 

have to generate a profit – it just has to cover its own costs. In contrast, a 

Type II social business is profit-oriented. However, the profit is not paid out 

in the form of return on capital, but is used for the benefit of workers in the 

form of a social return on investment. The objective here is to make a lasting 

improvement to the local population’s living conditions. Grameen Otto is the 

world’s first Type II social business. 

“Opportunities for the workers to gain 

qualifications, the introduction of high 

environmental protection, and work 

safety standards are an example of how 

the UN Global Compact Principles are being 

implemented in practical terms. The 

Otto Grameen Textile Company should 

serve as a model for further textile factories 

in Bangladesh, and prompt the entire 

industry to take similar action,” says Dr. 

Johannes Merck, vice president Corporate 

Responsibility of the Otto Group, summarizing 

the venture’s goals. The plan 

is to extend the factory in Dhaka in the 

second phase of the project, with possible 

long-term expansion of the concept 

within Bangladesh and to additional 

countries. 


Petrobras 

Petrobras Development & 

Citizenship Program 

The Petrobras Development 

& Citizenship Program 

brings together the 

company’s principal 

investments in social 

projects in Brazil. Designed 

to have a long-term vision, 

the program is aligned 

with the company’s Social 

Responsibility Policy and has 

the same time horizon as the 

Petrobras Business Plan. The 

program invests in social 

projects that contribute to 

promoting development 

with equal opportunities 

and harnessing local 

potential. 

With a investment of R$ 1.3 billion by 

2012, the Petrobras Development & Citizenship 

Program possesses a set of performance 

indicators and goals that enable 

integrated monitoring and evaluation of 

the results of the social projects supported 

throughout the country. The projects fall 

into three categories: generating income 

and job opportunities; education and 

professional training; and guaranteeing 

the rights of children and teenagers. 

The program holds an annual public 

tender to select social projects, thereby ensuring 

both transparency and democratic 

access to its steadily increasing sponsorship 

resources. Every year, a request for 

proposals document is issued, inviting 

social organizations from throughout Brazil 

to propose projects to tackle poverty in 

the country in partnership with Petrobras. 

The submitted proposals are analyzed by 

in-house and external evaluators. 

UNICEF Stamp Project – Approved 

Municipality, 

Location: Brazilian Semi-Arid Lands 

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Human Rights 

Requests for sponsorship are welcomed 

from NGOs, government entities, 

community organizations, universities, 

and other institutions in all states of 

Brazil. 

Proposals involving the Rede de 

Tecnologia Social (Social Technology 

Network) organization are prioritized. 

Preference is also given to projects developed 

through interaction with the 

community, featuring replicable methodologies 

and effective solutions for social 

transformation that could be adopted as 

public policies. 

By means of a widely publicized 

and transparent process, 

submitted proposals are 

sorted, administratively and 

then technically, before being 

evaluated by a committee composed 

of Petrobras workers and 

renowned professionals from 

the third sector, the media, and 

academia. 

Over the course of 2009, 

Petrobras worked to implement 

a Systematic Study of Social Investments, 

incorporating the 

analysis, selection, approval, 

monitoring, and evaluation 

of all social projects supported 

in the country. As part of this, 

around 350 Petrobras technicians 

and 498 social organizations 

from all Brazilian states received 

training at the Petrobras 

University in Rio de Janeiro. 

The Petrobras Development 

& Citizenship Program 

has a strategic, transformational 

philosophy that entails 

not only transferring financial 

resources, but also strengthening 

autonomy, organization, and work 

integration with the co-participation of 

the community. Continuous monitoring 

and evaluation results in improvements 

to the projects’ management, 

processes, and methodologies, as well 

as the systemization of social technologies 

that can be shared to strengthen 

public policies. 

One initiative that warrants highlighting 

in the “generating income and 

job opportunities” category is the “Arassussa: 

Sustainable Araçuaí” project. 

Developed in Vale do Jequitinhonha, a 

rural region, the project tests different 

social technologies in a convergent manner 

with the aim of building sustainable 

cities. The project works simultaneously 

with a wide range of initiatives including 

bioconstruction, permaculture, rainfall 

collection, medicinal plant gardens, hydroponics, 

the establishment of cooperative, 

sustainable craft workshops, energy 

production, and carbon capture. 

Sculpture workshop during 

an event of the Project named 

Juventude que Samba, Trabalha 

e é Feliz (Youth Dancing the 

Samba, Working and Happy), 

Location: Rio de Janeiro, RJ. 

Petrobras is also carrying out a 

project in partnership with the United 

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to 

guarantee the rights of children and 

teenagers in the semiarid region of Brazil, 

an area known for its extreme poverty. 

Through the UNICEF “Approved Municipality” 

certification project, communities 

and public officials are being trained and 

invited to contribute to promote better 

living conditions for young people in 

the region. 

In the last edition of the project, 

approximately 1,130 municipalities 

from 11 states in the 

semiarid region applied for the 

UNICEF approval, and of these, 

262 obtained certification. One 

of the results is that the rate 

of child malnutrition among 

children under the age of two 

has halved, which means that 

around 291,000 infants were 

spared malnutrition. Access 

to prenatal care has risen 21.2 

percent and disparities between 

age and school grade have diminished 

63 percent. 

Petrobras is also a partner 

of the Portela, Salgueiro, Vila 

Isabel, Beija Flor, and Rocinha 

samba schools in building “Olympic 

Village” sports centers 

and providing youth training 

for the carnival industry. These 

projects create job opportunities 

not just in the hangars where the 

samba schools make their floats 

and costumes, but in related 

industries such as fashion, the 

arts, entertainment, beauty, children’s 

parties, jewelry, and crafts, 

throughout the whole year. 

Around 6,470 young people from 

poor communities in Rio de Janeiro and 

Nilópolis have already participated in 

courses in carnival costumes, information 

technology, and citizenship, as well 

as sports activities in the Olympic Villages. 

Of these, 694 worked on the 2009 

carnival. A further 30 former participants 

set up a cooperative hired by Salgueiro 

samba school to make a portion of their 

costumes for the 2010 carnival. 


Petrobras 

Petrobras Environmental 

Excellence Center 

CEAP Amazonia (Centro de Excelência Ambiental da Petrobras na Amazônia; Petrobras 

Environmental Excellence Center in Amazonia) – one of the most outstanding projects by 

Petrobras in the north region – has a crucial strategic importance, since it will decisively 

contribute to the reduction of oil industry intervention-related risks in Amazonia. 

A Petrobras launch makes its way 

through the waters where the Solimões 

and Negro rivers meet in Amazonia. 

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Environment 

CEAP Amazonia was introduced at the 

Amazonas Theater on July 5, 2007, with 

a stated premise of social-environmental 

self-sustainability. The initiative brings 

together the technological vanguard and 

scientific knowledge plus the commitment 

to social and environmental responsibility 

necessary for the company’s 

sustainable operation in the region. 

CEAP Amazonia implementation 

has a strategic relevance, primarily for 

reducing oil industry intervention-related 

risks in Amazonia. The Center is 

also a management tool for Petrobras’ 

strategic partnerships in the region including 

universities, survey institutes, 

governmental bodies, nongovernmental 

organizations, and economic agents. The 

initiative management is undertaken by 

a commission comprising three Petrobras 

sectors: Health, Safety, and Environment 

(HSE); the Research and Development 

Center (Cenpes); and Social Responsibility 

Management, which integrates the 

Institutional Communication. 

Ongoing projects 

Approximately 15 projects comprise 

CEAP Amazonia’s portfolio, with investments 

above R$ 500 million by 2012 and 

more than 100 surveyors from different 

institutions. The idea is that the Center 

shall continuously contribute to the 

integration, cooperation, and synergy 

within the diverse social-environmental 

networks in operation in the Amazon 

region and with a positive impact on the 

networks inside and outside Petrobras. 

The Center is a binder of data obtained 

through surveys carried out in 

Amazonia. The Center compiles, for example, 

information on safety plans and 

river modeling in the region, oil spillage 

environmental sensitivity maps, and 

contingency strategies. Such knowledge 

provides support for the exploration and 

production operations, fluvial transport, 

and refining, so that we may act safely 

and without environmentally impacting 

the region. 

At CEAP Amazonia, all research 

projects by Petrobras are classified into 

thematic cores. This arrangement enables 

Main goals of CEAP Amazonia 

• Consolidate Petrobras’ commitment as a social and environmentally 

responsible company. 

• Recognize the company as a leader in the operation in complex ecosystems 

(humid tropical forests). 

• Increase the company’s investments in science and technology in a 

sustainable way. 

• Widen Petrobras’ institutional relationships with the academic world, the 

government, and other society organizations and optimize the strategic 

partnerships with these institutions in Amazonia. 

• Have the oil industry intervention-related benefits come to light in the region 

with the consequent risk reduction. 

• Contribute to Brazil’s geopolitical position concerning the issues of 

sovereignty and implementation of the commitments assumed by the 

country in the international scenario and in human development conventions. 

a better resource application, greater synergy 

among the projects, and more easily 

accomplished resource-raising. CEAP 

Amazonia consists of a multidisciplinary 

human, technological, knowledge, and 

information network to manage Petrobras’ 

project portfolio in Amazonia and 

at universities and survey institutes it 

partners with. 

Forecasts for 2011 

Last February, a group comprising 17 

experts of ATC (Technical and Scientific 

advisory council to CEAP Amazonia) 

visited Coari municipality, located 

363 km from Manaus, to improve their 

knowledge of the activities developed at 

the Coari Waterway Terminal, improve 

knowledge of the local communities’ 

habits, and list proposals for new surveys 

on the region to be implemented by 

2011. There are 26 titles currently being 

voted on by the ATC commission to be 

further approved by the CEAP Amazonia 

Executive Commission. 

The technical advisory council is 

composed of representatives of Cenpes 

and of the institutional communication; 

exploration and production; gas and 

power; and international areas as well 

as of Petrobras Distribuidora, HSE, and 

Transpetro. 

Social and environmental 

commitment 

CEAP Amazonia complements the 

company’s mission very well, since 

it combines business strategies with 

the commitment to social and environmental 

responsibility. The Center 

counts on a wide network of partnerships, 

including several Brazilian and 

overseas institutions. This organizational 

framework results in CEAP Amazonia 

to be considered as a benchmark in the 

pursuit of sustainable development in 

Amazonia. 

CEAP Amazonia’s structured and integrated 

operation supports the geopolitical 

position of Brazil in issues concerning 

sovereignty and implementation of the 

commitments assumed by the country in 

the international scenario and in human 

development conventions. Finally, from 

the regional point of view, it enables the 

incremental scientific production and 

the creation of a solid infrastructure at 

the universities and research centers, allowing 

for the qualification and retention 

of human resources in Amazonia. 


Puma 

PUMAVision 

By Dr. Reiner Hengstmann and Stefan D. Seidel 

At the beginning of 2009, we introduced our sustainability concept, PUMAVision, to manifest 

and provide a practical framework for our long-standing work and efforts in Corporate Social 

Responsibility. At PUMA we believe that our position as the creative leader in Sportlifestyle 

gives us the opportunity and the responsibility to contribute to a better world for the 

generations to come. A better world in our vision – PUMAVision – would be safer, more 

peaceful, and more creative than the world we know today. 

Through the programs of puma.safe, 

puma.peace, and puma.creative, we are 

providing real and practical expressions 

of this vision and 2009 saw many initiatives, 

projects, and activities that contributed 

to protecting the environment, 

raising awareness for peace worldwide, 

as well as supporting artists and their 

work. 

In May, PUMA and the Global Reporting 

Initiative (GRI) announced that 

PUMA had become the first member of its 

Global Action Network for Transparency 

in the Supply Chain. The central purpose 

of the Network is for large companies 

to provide support to their small and 

medium enterprise suppliers in measuring 

and reporting on their economic, 

environmental, and social performance 

– known as sustainability reporting. 

Through PUMA’s membership in the 

Network, its suppliers will benefit from 

capacity-building through GRI-certified 

training to prepare a GRI sustainability 

report. PUMA nominated 10 suppliers in 

Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Portugal, 

and Turkey to receive training on the 

transparent measurement and reporting 

on their sustainability performance using 

the GRI G3 Guidelines – the most 

widely-used framework for sustainability 

reporting. This project is the logical development 

following 10 years of compliance 

auditing at our suppliers by the puma. 

safe team and a successful pilot project 

on sustainability reporting in South Africa, 

in which three South African PUMA 

suppliers have already produced their 

own sustainability reports in preparation 

for the World Cup 2010. 

September 21 was a historic day for 

PUMA: In support of the peace initiative 

Peace One Day, we shook hands with 

our competitor adidas for the first time 

in six decades and as a sign of joy and 

amicable cooperation. Employees of both 

companies played football together on 

United Nations Peace Day, raising awareness 

for this day globally. Further Peace 

games were held under the puma.peace 

initiative “One Day, One Goal” in all 192 

UN member states. 

In November PUMA became the first 

major sportswear company to join the 

Climate Neutral Network of the United 

Nations Environment Programme. We 

Historic Handshake: Adidas CEO 

Herbert Hainer and PUMA CEO Jochen 

Zeitz shake hands during a joint 

football match on World Peace Day, 

September 21. 

(The two companies had not engaged 

with each other since the founding 

brothers Adolf and Rudolf Dassler split 

up 60 years ago.) 

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Best Practice 


Striking Solar Power: Photovoltaic 

cells integrated into the facade of the 

PUMA Store at the new PUMA Vision 

Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, 

Germany 

announced this partnership at our 7th 

annual stakeholder meeting, “Talks at 

Banz,” at the Banz monastery in Germany. 

The cooperation is in line with our 

sustainability concept, PUMAVision, and 

underpins PUMA’s efforts to contribute 

to a low-carbon society. 

PUMA will reduce its carbon footprint 

by converting to green energy such 

as solar power and other renewable 

sources, optimizing travel and logistics 

to reduce transport-related emissions and 

leasing more fuel-efficient cars for its 

company fleet, among other measures. 

In December we opened our new 

company headquarters, the PUMAVision 

Headquarters, in Herzogenaurach, 

Germany. Through numerous innovative 

energy- and electricity-saving strategies, 

we were able to cut down on our carbon 

footprint and reach our ambitious goal 

to make our PUMAVision Headquarters 

the first carbon-neutral-operated headquarters 

in the Sportlifestyle and sporting 

goods industry. Doing good for the world 

around us also made perfect business 

sense for PUMA as a company. Thanks to 

the use of solar energy, rain water in restrooms, 

motion sensors to turn off lights, 

and concrete core temperature control, 

we are not only cutting our carbon emissions 

but also our costs, thereby effecting 

substantial financial savings. 

Our company and brand must, 

however, face the reality that neither 

our business nor our industry are currently 

sustainable in a way that does not 

affect future generations, the climate, or 

the biodiversity of our planet. We must 

make our contribution to ensure that 

both our environment and our heritage 

survives so that future generations 

can experience it, learn from it, and be 

inspired by it. 

To ensure that PUMA follows this 

path, to stay focused on our ultimate goal, 

we have established the 4Keys – the 

principles that guide us in everything we 

do, how we go about our business, and 

how we treat our employees, business 

partners and, ultimately, the environment 

around us. It is the key of fairness, 

the key of honesty, the key of a positive 

attitude, and the key of creativity. 

These keys provide us with an ethical 

framework to overcome any obstacle 

that stands in the way to the commitment 

we have made to do more than 

just what is expected, and to go beyond 

what is merely required. We have already 

started to find innovative ways to reduce 

our carbon emissions, to curtail wasteful 

transportation, recycle and reuse 

available materials, use water sparingly, 

become paperless to save nature, and 

stand ready to adapt to challenges that 

will present themselves as we work toward 

the goal of becoming an exemplary 

example of sustainability. 

PUMA has made solid steps in working 

toward being a sustainable company. 

In this process we have learned that we 

will not only leave the possibility to 

future generations of having the material 

resources to maintain a standard of 

living as good as our own, but also the 

consciousness to continue living in a way 

that protects our world and continues 

an ethic of responsible consumerism. In 

addition, it makes perfect business sense 

by effecting financial savings. We now 

understand that through sustainability, 

not only can we help our customers to 

look and feel good, but at the same time 

we can also do good for our world and 

for the returns of all our stakeholders. 

So we will become strong by affecting 

good, we will become successful by inspiring 

responsibility to our planet, we 

will provide wealth by pushing every 

boundary of accountability of our actions, 

and we will survive, as we know that our 

survival depends on the survival of all 

and everything around us – now and 

into the future. 

For more information please visit: 

http://vision.puma.com 


REN 

Protection of 

Steppe Bird Species 

Minimizing environmental impacts and preserving biodiversity have been areas of concern 

for REN for a long time now. This is why REN tries to manage its activities in accordance 

with, among other things, the Ten Principles of the Global Compact. REN is responsible 

for the management of Portugal’s electricity system, including the quality and security of 

supply, which are essential to Portugal’s economic and social development. During the 

infrastructure planning phase, REN’s concern for finding solutions that would minimize 

environmental impacts is very clear, especially when developing new grid and network 

infrastructures. 

As business should support a precautionary 

approach to environmental 

challenges, Environmental Impact Assessments 

are carried out for most of 

REN’s projects in order to guarantee 

that every environmental aspect is taken 

into account. Therefore, the Alqueva- 

Balboa interconnection with Spain, in 

the Portuguese section, was no exception 

to this rule. The Environmental Impact 

Statement that was issued in July 2004 

established the implementation need for 

certain compensatory measures regarding 

the protection of steppe bird species 

(Crane and Little Bustard). The fact that 

this line crosses a Special Protection Area 

(SPA – Moura/Mourão/Barrancos) may 

create negative impacts in this protected 

area. The compensatory measures aim 

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Environment 

One of the main threats to these species results from the collision with 

power lines. REN has accepted responsibility for preventing and mitigating 

the impacts of this threat, as far as possible, and is convinced that, with this 

support, it will be able to: 

• learn more about the impacts of electricity transmission activities on these 

species; 

• learn more about the dynamics of bird movements and identify the most 

important areas for the conservation of the species that should be taken into 

account during project development; 

• take action to minimize and offset negative impacts; 

• help increase the population of steppe birds. 

at protecting the aforementioned species 

by compensating the habitat losses 

and the excess mortality created by the 

presence of this line. These measures 

entailed a combined cost of €840,000 

over three years. 

Goals of the project 

The objective of this project can be typified 

through the compensation of the 

Little Bustard and Crane population 

losses in the SPA due to the line crossing 

that area. To achieve this objective, 

the measures carried out look for the 

increase of quantity and quality of the 

steppe habitat and the reduction of 

bird flights crossing the overhead line, 

between roosting and feeding areas, 

thereby also reducing collisions with 

the overhead cables. 

After a previous monitoring period, 

in order to identify and quantify the 

intervention areas, REN established, in 

November 2007, a methodological protocol 

under the Environmental Impact 

Statement with PROCESL – Engenharia 

Hidraúlica e Ambiental, Lda. in order 

to guarantee the implementation and 

monitoring of these measures. 

Compensatory measures 

To accomplish these goals, some measures 

have been undertaken, including 

the allocation and management of agricultural 

areas, in order to improve 

biological value for the abovementioned 

species. In the Little Bustard’s case, it was 

not possible to fully reject the possibility 

of an exclusion effect caused by the 

power line in this steppe bird population. 

Therefore, habitat management 

measures were implemented, which 

were intended to improve the availability 

of feeding and roosting areas, and to 

compensate for population losses by 

increasing the carrying-capacity of the 

steppe areas. The total area that needed 

management was evaluated at 500 hectares. 

The partial areas are non-florestal 

areas and oak areas without understory 

vegetation but which contain cereals and/ 

or grassland. The breeding and wintering 

areas that were used as compensatory 

measures for the Little Bustard had the 

following composition: 

• 200 ha. of wheat 

• 250 ha. of stubble or fallow 

• 50 ha. of winter Leguminosae 

• 50 ha. of spring Leguminosae 

The adequacy of the crops to sow was 

previously agreed between the landowners 

and the project coordinators, taking 

into account specific soil analyses. 

In the case of the Crane, it was 

also not possible to fully reject the possibility 

of an exclusion effect caused 

by the power line and thus, having a 

precautionary approach in mind, habitat 

management-measures were also implemented. 

With the objective of improving 

the availability of feeding areas for this 

species, 100 ha. were sown with wheat 

in a 260 ha. fenced property, clearly 

improving the Crane’s feeding area. It 

is important to mention that the initial 

measure only included an area of 190 

ha., and therefore this area increase went 

beyond the one initially proposed, with 

obvious gains for the Crane. 

In these 260 ha., it is also possible 

to find two weirs that were managed 

with the objective to create new roosting 

areas for the Crane. This measure aims 

to ensure the reduction of crossings 

between the feeding and the roosting 

areas. These two weirs were managed 

in specific locations while taking the 

following into account: 

• minimum disturbance levels 

(absence of cattle and people during 

sunset and dawn) 

• absence of physical barriers 

• minimum distance to the power line 

of 1000 m 

• absence of dense vegetation nearby 

• absence of hunting activity 

Monitoring process 

In order to monitor the Little Bustard 

population movements, some Bustards 

were captured and marked with a Platform 

Terminal Transmitter, which uses 

either Doppler effect or GPS for localization. 

Although there is no quantitative 

data available yet, the marked birds 

reveal some consistent use of the intended 

areas. In the case of the Crane, 

the monitoring is done by direct observation. 

During the last years, the implementation 

of these measures has been 

followed closely by REN and it has been 

observed that the new feeding areas are 

being used by both species. Regarding 

the weirs, although they are not yet being 

used as permanent roosting areas, 

occasional use has been observed. 

These are some of the many initiatives 

that REN is carrying out to prevent 

possible major impacts on the environment 

that may result from its activities. 


Siemens 

Climate Protection – 

At the Customer and in 

the Factory 

By Dr. Wolfgang Bloch and Ralf Pfitzner 

Climate protection is a global challenge. To meet it, responsible industrial companies 

must take a holistic approach that combines innovative products for their customers with 

eco-friendly systems at their own production facilities. A look at Tangier, Morocco, and 

Regensburg, Germany, shows how this approach works in practice. 

Tangier: At one of the largest ports for 

container ships in North Africa, a giant 

crane lifts containers from a storage area 

on the dock and lowers them one by one 

onto waiting trucks – a common sight at 

container ports around the world. Only 

this time there is a difference. The crane 

in Tangier consumes only half as much 

energy as its conventional counterparts. 

The result: less damage to the environment 

from CO 2 

emissions and lower costs 

for the operator. 

How is this possible? Siemens – 

together with Danish port operator APM 

Terminals – has developed a process 

that enables container cranes to recover 

the energy released when loads are lowered 

and recycle it back into their own 

energy supply systems. Sophisticated 

software – developed in cooperation 

with Delft Technical University especially 

for this energy management system 

– cuts energy consumption and turns 

conventional RTG (rubber-tired gantry) 

cranes into advanced ECO RTGs that 

meet the requirements of both modern 

global freight transport and active environmental 

and climate protection. 

Today, 26 container cranes in the 

port of Tangier are equipped with this 

innovative Siemens technology. There 

are another 28 ECO RTGs in operation in 

the Spanish harbor of Algeciras on the 

European side of the Straits of Gibraltar 

and more than 100 in other parts of the 

world – including ports in China and 

India. And the number is increasing 

constantly. 

Part of the Environmental Portfolio 

The ECO RTG is part of Siemens’ Environmental 

Portfolio, which contains 

products and solutions along the entire 

energy conversion chain: from power 

generation to power distribution to 

energy consumption for both private 

households and industrial applications. 

The Portfolio also boasts energy-efficient 

products and advanced water treatment 

and air pollution control systems. 

In 2009, products and solutions 

from the Environmental Portfolio helped 

Siemens’ customers reduce their CO 2 

emissions by 210 million tons – an 

amount equal to the total annual emissions 

of New York, Tokyo, London, and 

Berlin, and 50 times the amount of CO 2 

that Siemens generates through its own 

business activities. Encouraged by these 

figures, the company has raised the bar 

for 2011. With its Environmental Portfolio, 

it wants to help customers cut their 

CO 2 

emissions by the end of next year 

not, as previously planned, by some 275 

million tons but by a whopping 300 million 

tons – roughly the same amount 

of CO 2 

now generated by New York, Tokyo, 

London, Singapore, Hong Kong, 

and Rome combined. Siemens-internal 

standards for environmentally compatible 

product development, innovations 

to grow green markets and efficient 

communication with customers and 

suppliers will make it possible to reach 

these ambitious CO 2 

-reduction targets by 

further increasing the energy efficiency 

of products and solutions. 

From monsters to microcomponents 

A change of scenery: from an international 

port in Morocco to one of the world’s 

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Environment 

most advanced factories in Germany 

– from giant cranes to tiny electronic 

components, so-called opto semiconductor 

chips. Only a few millimeters in size, 

these chips are the centerpiece of lightemitting 

diodes (LEDs), the innovative 

luminaries that are being increasingly 

used in dashboard instruments and car 

headlights, in architecture and street 

lighting, in traffic lights and display 

walls. The chips are produced in an 

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors facility 

opened in Regensburg in 2003. 

Here we meet Martin Stange, head 

of the facility’s plant management. 

Standing in front of a green, headhigh 

machine, he explains to a group 

of environmental officers from other 

OSRAM locations how the device works. 

It is an absorption refrigerator. “Using 

the hot exhaust air generated in the 

emission control process, the machine 

converts hot exhaust gases, which have 

a temperature of 120° C, into the ‘cold’ 

needed to drive the cooling system,” 

says Stange. This saves the energy that 

would otherwise be required for refrigeration. 

Above: Design diversity and 

energy efficiency. The reception 

building at OSRAM Opto 

Semiconductors facility in 

Regensburg is fully equipped 

with LEDs. 

Bottom: A 50 percent cut in 

energy consumption – 

The ECO RTG container crane 

The absorption refrigerator is part 

of a holistic energy concept for optimizing 

energy efficiency at the Regensburg 

facility. The concept was developed while 

the plant was still in the planning phase 

and then rigorously implemented during 

construction. The results are impressive: 

annual energy savings of roughly 17.5 

million kilowatt-hours, which would be 

generated otherwise by gas and electricity, 

and a 5,200-ton reduction in environmentally 

harmful CO 2 

emissions. 

But the concept not only benefits 

the environment. The cost of its implementation 

– € 1.7 million – was 

recouped in just two years. 

Ideas like the holistic energy concept 

in Regensburg are some of the reasons 

why the greenhouse gas emissions 

at Siemens’ production facilities are 

very small compared to those at other 

industrial companies. In 2008, the company’s 

CO 2 

emissions totaled 4 million 

tons – an 8 percent decrease over the 

year before. 

But that is no reason to sit back and 

relax. Further progress is essential. For 

Siemens’ production facilities worldwide, 

this means intensifying the focus on 

climate protection. By 2011, the company 

intends to raise its environmental 

performance in the areas of energy efficiency 

and CO 2 

emissions by 20 percent 

on a revenue-adjusted basis. 

The big picture 

The further development of the Environmental 

Portfolio and improvements in 

operational environmental protection at 

production facilities are part of Siemens’ 

current Environmental Program, which 

– by cutting energy consumption and CO 2 

emissions – is also a climate protection 

program. The monsters in Tangier and 

the production of micro-components in 

Regensburg are both examples of how 

this program, which is supported by 

worldwide environmental management 

and monitoring, works in practice: climate 

protection for the customer and in 

production – with the help of its holistic 

approach, the Siemens Environmental 

Program aims to achieve both. 


SKF 

“We’re not just 

chasing windmills.” 

SKF technical development focuses not only on wind turbines as tomorrow’s clean energy 

source, but also on helping the traditional power generation industries reduce their impacts 

on the environment. It’s a balanced approach enabling new low-carbon technologies to 

develop while providing energy-saving processes, parts, and services to help today’s plants 

and equipment become more efficient. An interview with SKF CEO, Tom Johnstone. 

Mr. Johnstone, you have seemed very supportive 

of the climate change initiatives over the past 

several years, but from your recently published 

comments, I take it that you are skeptical of 

the potential of wind energy as the cornerstone 

of a low-carbon future? 

Not at all! In fact SKF has made significant 

investments both in research and 

development and in our manufacturing 

capabilities to meet the growing demands 

and new technologies required by the 

wind turbine industry. Investments have 

been made in bearings, seals, lubrication, 

services, and on-line monitoring to support 

this development. We have several 

recent examples of how integrating SKF 

technology has enabled our wind energy 

customers to develop and improve their 

products. In addition we have made significant 

capacity investments in our operations 

in Europe and the United States 

and built two new factories in China and 

India to support this growth. 

But we must have a balanced approach. 

Wind energy will be an important 

source of energy for the future, 

but the traditional power generation 

industries will still supply the majority 

of our needs – at least in the foreseeable 

future. So we must work in parallel. We 

SKF is a leader in developing 

solutions for the wind turbine 

industry, but wind power is not 

the only answer to today’s energy 

and environmental challenges, 

according to their CEO Tom 

Johnstone. 

must focus on new energy sources such 

as wind while helping our customers 

improve the efficiency of their traditional 

energy-generation plants. In addition we 

must also help our customers using this 

energy to improve their efficiency and 

reduce energy use in their manufacturing 

and processing operations. 

So you are saying you don’t see any one 

single path or technological solution as the 

answer? 

Exactly. We must develop and introduce 

new technologies for power generation, 

including wind, solar, and tidal, 

and for newer, more energy-efficient 

equipment. But that is not the only path 

because these “clean tech” solutions will 

fall far short of meeting long-term carbon 

reduction targets for one simple reason 

– the tremendous worldwide installed 

base of plants and equipment. 

Let’s consider the current installed 

industrial equipment. It is designed to 

have a long serviceable life span, and 

energy-related facilities such as power 

plants and refineries can have a planned 

operational expectancy of over 30 years. 

This presents a tremendous challenge 

and opportunity – here SKF can con- 

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Environment 

BeyondZero 

standards such as the Leadership in Energy 

and Environmental Design (LEED) 

standard. But if you consider that SKF 

today has over 110 factories around the 

world, then we cannot simply afford 

to suddenly replace all the thousands 

of existing machines in these factories. 

Just imagine also the energy needed to 

make this new equipment. However, we 

can make these existing machines more 

energy efficient. That’s the way you 

reverse the trend in the short term. You 

take the most recent advances – such 

as more energy-efficient bearings or 

improved maintenance practices – and 

apply them to today’s existing capacity, in 

parallel with developing and introducing 

completely new clean solutions. 

These parallel approaches are 

critical because new types of energygeneration 

technology will take time to 

implement, and we must remember that 

The BeyondZero strategy is simple: to reduce negative environmental impacts 

and increase positive impacts in everything we do, so that the balance is 

increasingly positive. In 2005, SKF launched this program for sustainability by 

challenging the limitations of conventional environmental targets, which drive 

for reducing the negative impacts. In combination with our internal efforts on 

reducing negative environmental impacts, we aim to exceed the “zero” target 

by contributing positively to the environment by providing our customers 

with energy- and resource-saving products and services and engineering 

knowledge. 

same resources, or produce the same 

output with decreased resources. For 

me, this is the best strategy to reduce 

emissions. 

Why are you confident that you, or any other 

company, can rise to the technical and operational 

challenges that such a transformation 

will require? 

Within SKF I have seen how – with 

the right strategy, resources, and priorities 

– business can combine with 

technology to make significant improvements. 

It has been five years since we 

started to implement our BeyondZero 

strategy, and in this time I have seen how 

we have applied our engineering and application 

knowledge to deliver significant 

reductions in energy use and emissions. 

This has been achieved not only in our 

own operations, which is one part of the 

BeyondZero equation, but also with our 

customers, in their plant operations, and 

in their new equipment designs. 

Carbon emissions from SKF manufacturing 

sites have been reduced by a 

net total of 27 percent over the past 

four years through initiatives focused 

on improving energy efficiency and reducing 

the carbon intensity of energy 

supplies. New plants and offices will 

give us the opportunity to apply even 

more extensive environmental-impact 

reduction strategies. The new factories 

we will open this year in Ahmedabad, 

India and Tver, Russia have been built 

in accordance with the LEED standard 

and will be one of the first of their kind 

to be opened in these countries. 

tribute in two ways. The first is by providing 

solutions that improve efficiency 

and save energy in the sub-systems of 

these plants – pumps, compressors, 

motors, turbines, and other support 

systems. Examples include eliminating 

compressed air and steam leaks, better 

balancing of the equipment, and reducing 

friction through proper lubrication. 

This will effectively reduce the amount 

of energy the equipment needs to do 

what it does today. The second method 

is by proactively replacing or upgrading 

components. This can include adding 

advanced monitoring, maintenance, and 

protection systems and thus improving 

overall equipment safety, reliability, and 

plant performance. By improving efficiency, 

eliminating waste, conserving, 

and recycling, we can make important 

incremental improvements against a 

broad base of today’s industries and applications. 

These are clearly responsible 

steps in the right direction. 

But if you are committed to action, why not 

simply replace your current plants and equipment? 

Firstly, in all our new plants and 

new investments, we are putting in the 

latest technology. In addition, we have 

built our latest factories and offices 

following tough, globally recognised 

the demand for energy in the world is 

continuously increasing. Even reaching a 

level of 20 to 30 percent from renewable 

and low-carbon energy sources will still 

leave us with a high dependence on fossil 

fuels. So, in the short term we should 

focus on making this percentage more 

energy efficient while we introduce new 

energy sources and new clean solutions. 

Together, these two paths or approaches 

can help us increase output with the 

So is a sustainable future really possible? 

Yes it is, I believe. But it won’t come 

from any one silver-bullet solution or 

single technical innovation or power 

source. It will take a dedicated, long-term, 

and systematic effort to introduce new, 

more environmentally-friendly ways 

of producing energy, reducing energy 

usage, and reducing waste. From an 

industry viewpoint, by developing paths 

for future new technologies, as well as for 

improving our huge installed base, we 

will contribute to a future that we will 

be proud to leave to our children. 



GREENING OF SALINE AND 

ALKALINE SEDIMENTS 

By Sabina Ratti 

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 India’s west coast of 

Gujarat. 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. Loss of land, dust emissions, 

poor aesthetics, public discontent, 

and regulatory pressures were the triggers 

for finding sustainable solutions. In 

course of time, people inhabited areas 

close to the site and the dumpsite became 

a point of discontent with the new 

residents due to dust constantly flying 

about, as high wind speeds prevail in 

these areas. To avoid the menace of dust, 

many attempts were made to reclaim 

the dumpsite through plantations, but 

the attempts were in vain. 

A team was formed to work on alternative 

ways to improve things. The team 

came up with an innovative solution: The 

use of bio-fertilizers and bio-remediation 

techniques to remediate the solid wastes 

and develop a green cover. It has resulted 

in the effective utilization of the waste 

generated to grow the plantations and, 

hence, contributed to the improvement 

of the environment. Simultaneously, 

TCL developed techniques for filtration 

of eff luent solids and its subsequent 

use for cement manufacturing in solids 

generation. 

Nature is the best teacher 

Nature is the best teacher – this was true 

for this project as well. Team members 

observed certain types of plants / grasses 

surviving in saline and alkaline lands in 

pockets of Mithapur, but their distribution 

was quite sparse. When their roots 

were studied in microbiology labs with 

the help of the TERI team (The Energy 

and Resources Institute, New Delhi), it 

was observed that a special group of 

microorganisms established themselves 

on the root system, thereby helping the 

plants / grasses to extract soil nutrients to 

survive and defend themselves against 

the natural adversaries it faced in that 

area. The TCL team engaged the services 

of TERI’s Centre for My-corrhizal Research, 

Biotechnology and Management 

of Bioresources Division for the identification 

and isolation of observed special 

microorganisms, and to make pure culture 

samples of them in their laboratory. 

TERI was also engaged in establishing 

and maintaining the green belt. 

The compatible bacterial and mycorrhizal 

consortiums were brought in 

and the plants’ (saplings) root systems 

were inoculated. Sediments were also 

treated and with that the plantation was 

completed. It was a success. The plants 

resisted the harsh sediments. The microorganisms 

helped the plants to extract 

the insulated nutrients that were not 

available and the plants survived and 

have since grown. Today, the dry and 

lifeless dumpsite has been transformed 

into a lush green plantation with about 

six varieties of plants and three varieties 

of grasses. About 22,000 plants and an 

equal number of grasses are growing 

166 


Best Practice 

Environment 

Reception and impact of the 

innovation 

with few support systems. A whole chain 

of biodiversity has started its life. 

Once upon a time, no species could 

survive and now plants, ants, snakes, 

insects, butterf lies, and a variety of 

birds flourish in that area. Once upon 

a time, the sediments were considered 

as a waste and a nuisance and now they 

have turned into a substratum upon 

which one can cultivate cash crops like 

vegetables during favorable seasons with 

some management support. Growing 

plantations on inorganic chemical sediment 

without using soil and using saline 

water for irrigation was a dream come 

true for horticulturists. 

All over the world in landlocked soda 

ash industries, the solids settle in the 

sediment basins (settling ponds) and 

after these reach a certain height, they 

shift to the next set of ponds. The settling 

ponds remain as mounds of solid 

wastes. Those soda ash industries that are 

on the seacoast discharge the effluents 

into the nearby sea. These unsustainable 

practices have led to limitations in 

operation of soda ash facilities in many 

countries due to environmental issues 

related to disposal of solid wastes. No 

new plants are being proposed in the 

developed world due to the difficulty 

and cost associated with the solid waste 

management. 

The current innovation provides an 

opportunity to all those industries that 

have piled up large quantities of solid 

wastes to recover the dumpsite areas. 

Lifeless substrata can be converted into 

lush green belts. 

Due to overexploitation of groundwaters, 

saline waters are moving into 

inland areas. Monsoons, loss of traditional 

groundwater replenishment basins 

due to urbanization, and change 

in rainfall patterns (rain intensity) have 

resulted in rainwater runoff instead 

of replenishment. Moreover, the lack 

of groundwater management is lead- 

Sediment analysis zero time after four years of being 

collected from reclaimed soda ash solid-waste-laden sites 

EC (dSm-1) pH OC (%) N (%) P (ppm) K (ppm) 

Initial status (Zero stage) 74.1 11.45 0.25 0.01 4.74 67.47 

After 6 months 45.25 8.65 0.56 0.22 6.54 125.65 

After 1 year 30.15 8.5 0.75 0.28 9.15 145.62 

After 2 years 15.36 8.25 0.78 0.27 9.55 152.65 

After 6 years 9.26 - 8.32 - 0.0596 - 0.0045 - 29.6 - 61.5 - 

19.8 8.93 0.2898 0.0112 200.8 183.5 



ing to severe groundwater depletions. 

Transfer of saline water into the coastal 

areas is a serious problem. Farmers that 

depend largely on groundwater for their 

farming are losing productivity year on 

year due to soil chemistry change (increasing 

salinity). However, the current 

technology will pave the way for restoring 

those degraded lands and restoring 

productivity. 

Many industries (distilleries, thermal 

power plants, etc.) that end up with 

large volumes of non-hazardous solid 

waste mounds can now process their 

wastes much more efficiently and create 

lush green belts or even cash crops, depending 

on their geo-climatic conditions 

using this unique mycorrhizal-based 

technology. 

Climate change can be addressed by 

converting the coastal semi-arid / arid / fallow 

lands etc., into green belts. Plants 

that can survive in harsh conditions (dust 

storms, sand storms, and saline water 

irrigation) can be chosen and cultivated. 

They can become large sinks for carbon 

dioxide over a period of time. 

Areas that had lifeless substrata 

can now be converted into green fields 

rich in biodiversity. A variety of flora 

and fauna should be chosen, which is 

very necessary in depleted biodiversity 

conditions. 

Today, of the 30 acres of the dumpsite 

area, 22 acres have been converted 

into lush green belts, and the area that 

was recently a barren wasteland is now 

rejuvenated and yields vegetables in 

favorable seasons. 

Why was it an innovation? 

No horticulturist could ever believe that 

a plantation could be grown without using 

any natural soil and by using saline 

water for irrigation on alkaline and saline 

sediments. (graphic p. 81 – Zero time 

sediment analysis report). The substratum 

is an inorganic chemical sludge (nutritionally 

sterile) and after reclamation, it 

was converted into normal soil. Today, we 

observe secondary growth at the plantation 

(seeds fall, germinate, and grow), 

which was once an impossible task. 

All over the world, the synthetic 

soda ash manufacturing industry had 

adopted the Solvay – Ammonia process, 

which was developed 150 years 

ago. About 250-350 kg of solid wastes 

are generated per ton of soda ash manufactured, 

and conventionally either they 

are discharged into the nearby water 

body (river / sea) or they are stored in 

stockpiles 7 to 40 meters high. Nowhere 

in the world was anyone able to convert 

the solid wastes into something useful. 

The current project challenged the 

fundamental principles of biological science 

and made a near impossible thing 

a reality. No successful case studies were 

known whereby plants could survive 

and grow on such highly alkaline and 

saline sediments. This will help other 

similar industries to innovatively manage 

their solid waste problems. This will 

also pave the way to reclaiming salineaffected 

soil productivity in countries 

along coastlines. 

Aligned aspirations 

Tata Chemicals approached the problem 

of a reclamation of stored solids in a 30- 

acre area and started with a pilot project 

of 2.5 acres. Since the previous attempts 

were not successful, technological intervention 

was required. The TERI team 

offered technological assistance to the 

TCL team. Both teams approached the 

problem and jointly worked together for 

nearly eight years with full enthusiasm 

and toward a common goal. Now it serves 

as a solution for many such industries. 

With its broad expertise and experience 

in providing sustainable technological 

solutions to the environmental problems 

faced by industries across the globe, 

TERI was a great support to TCL. Tata 

Chemicals was convinced that while 

addressing the local issue, the solution 

had wider national and international 

applications. 

Since this project was the first of 

its kind, certain guidelines were set by 

the team itself, which really made the 

project unique. The team decided not to 

use normal soil for plantation, chemical 

fertilizers, fresh water (scarce availability), 

and any external species (biodiversity 

issues). The team also decided that they 

should depend on and use: 

• plant / grasses that are halophytic 

(saline resistant) 

• not palatable to cattle 

• domestic solid waste as manure 

(treated STP sludge) 

• suitable microorganisms for 

sustainable plant growth (to learn 

from nature) 

• encourage more biodiversity through 

careful plant selection 

The challenge of growing plantation 

on a lifeless substratum without using 

soil and fertilizers was a daunting task. 

Coordination between the TCL team and 

the TERI team was very important so that 

trust could be established and that they 

could work toward a common objective. 

Progress on the project was shared in a 

monthly review meeting, wherein any 

problems were solved in a short time. 

Apprehensions about the success of the 

project were projected even after five to 

six years of project implementation. But 

the team kept the hope that it would 

happen. 

Conclusion 

Withstanding all the hurdles and pressures, 

the TCL and TERI teams proved 

their mettle, and the proof of this can be 

seen today with the success of the green 

belt cover over several sites in Mithapur 

and Padli near the TCL factory. These 

green belts testify to the years of cooperation 

and research that both teams have 

given to the project to make the area a 

better place to live. This project has set 

a benchmark for industries across the 

world to improve their triple bottom 

lines and thus move toward the global 

of sustainable development. 

Sanjay Choudhary, Chief Technology 

and Sustainability Officer at Tata 

Chemicals aptly says “this project is a 

modest effort to integrate the chemical 

plant operations with the biological supply 

chain and mimic nature for sustainable 

solutions 

168 


Best Practice 

Environment 

The Whale Shark Campaign 

One of India’s most successful and 

internationally acclaimed conservation 

projects, the Whale Shark Campaign, 

is a collaboration of Wildlife Trust of 

India, the International Fund for Animal 

Welfare, Tata Chemicals Limited, 

and the Gujarat Forest Department. 

The campaign was initiated in January 

2004 to spread awareness and to 

educate and change perceptions about 

the world’s largest fish among specific 

target groups in the western Indian 

state of Gujarat. 

Whale sharks are the world’s largest 

fish and were slaughtered in large 

numbers on the Gujarat coast until 

the species was listed under Schedule I 

of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 

1972 (under sub section (1) of section 

61) on May 28, 2001. The effectiveness 

of the whale shark campaign in 

Gujarat has proven to be outstanding, 

as the turnaround recovery period for 

this brutally hunted species has come 

within the first four years of the campaign’s 

initiation. Close to 100 trapped 

Background 

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean and can grow up to 45 

feet in length. In India they are found most frequently in the Arabian Sea 

along the shores of Gujarat in western India. Unfortunately, here it was 

hunted by the hundreds for its liver oil to waterproof boats and also for its 

meat, which was exported. In 2000–2001, over 500 whale sharks were 

estimated to have been massacred along the Gujarat coast. Other than the 

fishermen who hunted it, few people even knew that whale sharks existed 

in Gujarat waters. Whale sharks were called “barrels” here, as empty 

barrels were used as floaters to mark and capture them after harpooning. 

Each hunted whale shark brought fishermen US$1,125 – 2,250, making 

it a lucrative catch. Legal until 2001, whale shark hunting was banned 

after it became the first fish to be listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife 

(Protection) Act, 1972, under sub section (1) of section 61, on May 28, 

2001. The following year, persistent efforts by India and the Philippines 

got the whale shark placed under Appendix II of the Convention for 

International Trade in Endangered Species. 

However, the whale shark remained vulnerable on these shores. A survey 

done indicated low awareness of this hunted species and prompted the 

need for a campaign among the fishing community and other stakeholders 

to conserve these “gentle giants” and ensure their longer-term survival. 

whale sharks have been voluntarily 

released by fishermen since the start 

of the campaign. 

It would normally take about 10 

years for the conservation of a commercially 

exploited species to kick in, but 

here we have managed to cut through 

time and limited resources to activate a 

response in four years on the strength 

of the concept of the campaign. It was a 

combination of key ideas: We provided 

information on the species; created 

a flagship with a life-size inflatable 

whale shark that drew people wherever 

it was taken; the spiritual ambassador, 

Morari Bapu, connected emotionally 

to the traditional and cultural ethics 

of local people and fishing communities. 

A huge groundswell of support 

was generated from young people and 

schoolchildren and the effects of the 

campaign were consistently and professionally 

surveyed. Today, all those who 

collaborated on this effort can finally 

hope that whale sharks in India are 

in safe waters. 



Climate Protection 

throughout different 

process chains 

By Dietlind Freiberg 

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 

employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In fiscal year 2009, it achieved sales 

of € 11.211 billion. The Group comprises two main divisions: Gases and Engineering. The 

extensive portfolio of the Gases Division ranges from the production of industrial gases 

to the delivery of processes, plants, equipment, and services for the widest scope of gas 

applications. We supply many different industries in almost 100 countries across the globe. 

Our Engineering Division builds plants to process and convert raw materials, also applying 

its wealth of process know-how to advance the field of renewable energies. 

Blast furnace in a rolling mill. 

Oxyfuel technology saves energy 

and reduces emissions. 

In our Corporate Responsibility and SHEQ 

policies, we make a firm commitment 

to protecting the environment, offering 

safe, eco-friendly products and services 

and pursuing research and development 

into particularly sustainable products, 

services, and technologies. 

We regularly measure and evaluate 

company processes that have an 

impact on the environment and climate, 

publishing the results in our annual 

Corporate Responsibility Report in accordance 

with internationally approved 

standards. Measures to support climate 

protection are in place in both divisions, 

albeit at different stages of the respective 

process chains. 

Hence lagging indicators (such as 

the absolute number of patents registered 

in a fiscal year) do not really capture the 

big picture. So we have also introduced 

an Environmental Innovation Perform- 

170 


Best Practice 

Environment 

ance leading indicator to benchmark our 

innovative contribution to environmental 

and climate protection. 

Environmentally sound gas 

applications 

The deployment of our industrial gases 

and process technologies offers numerous 

opportunities across a wide variety 

of industries to help customers to reduce 

the impact of their operations on the 

environment and climate. 

Linde’s oxyfuel technology, for example, 

which uses almost pure oxygen 

instead of air for combustion processes, 

helped one of the world’s largest steel 

companies to garner the 2009 Energy 

Achievement Award from the Association 

for Iron and Steel Technology. The 

award is presented annually to an individual 

or organization to recognize their 

deployment and use of innovative new 

technologies or practices that result in 

significant energy conservation improvements 

in steelmaking. The project with 

our customer reduced fuel consumption 

by 60 percent. In addition, over the last 

two years, Linde’s oxyfuel technology 

has reduced nitrogen oxide and CO 2 

emissions by 92 percent and 60 percent 

respectively. Moreover, it has given the 

company the chance to increase material 

throughput by 25 percent. 

Gases Division: 

Resource-efficiency 

However, climate protection in the production 

facilities of our Gases Division 

focuses primarily on our most energyintensive 

plants: air separation units 

and HyCO plants. 

Linde engineers have always looked 

for new ways to operate air separation 

plants efficiently by saving energy. Our 

aim is to continue optimizing energy 

efficiency so we can reduce indirect CO 2 

emissions. This has been a major driving 

force for us in recent years. 

A HyCO plant is a collective term for 

different plants that produce hydrogen 

and carbon monoxide. The common 

methods of hydrogen production is steam 

Refuelling coupling for filling 

compressed gaseous hydrogen 

reforming of natural gas. Our HyCO 

plants primarily generate direct CO 2 

emissions through hydrogen synthesis 

and the use of fuel to reach the reaction 

temperature required to produce gas. 

Also here we strive to constantly optimize 

our production processes. 

“Green” hydrogen 

But Linde’s long-term objective is to 

generate hydrogen more and more from 

renewable energy sources using ecologically 

sound processes. Although natural 

gas is the main hydrogen feedstock at 

present, experts are looking for green 

ways of producing this promising fuel. 

Biologists, for example, are focusing on 

cyanobacteria as a way of harnessing 

photosynthesis to generate hydrogen. 

Linde’s hydrogen experts on the other 

hand have developed an innovative 

process for obtaining hydrogen from 

glycerine, a byproduct of various processes, 

including diesel refining. 

In addition, Linde has always been 

a pioneer in the evolution of hydrogen 

technologies and is committed to further 

advancing commercialization of this 

environmentally sound energy carrier. 

Our expertise today spans the entire 

process from hydrogen production from 

fossil and renewable energy sources, 

through compression and liquefaction, 

storage, and transport right up to fueling 

vehicles with compressed and liquefied 

hydrogen. 

To achieve our goals here, we work 

closely with the automotive industry and 

fuel companies within the framework 

of numerous national and international 

collaborative projects. 

Engineering Division: 

Environmental friendly 

technologies 

In our Engineering Division, climate 

protection is integrated at management 

level. Here, climate protection is covered 

under the Quality, Health, Safety, Environment 

management program. At the 

core process level, the spotlight is on 

the preparation of tenders and plant 

planning. 

The Engineering Division has defined 

the so-called Health, Safety, Environment 

(HSE) Essentials, which include 

central HSE documents that must be 

completed during the planning phase 

of every plant engineering project; HSE 

requirements for construction sites; procedure 

in the event of unacceptable 

risks for Linde engineering employees at 

construction sites not managed by Linde; 

as well as the use of environmentallyfriendly 

technologies. 

This means whenever possible, our 

Engineering Division offers tried-andtested 

process technologies that extend 

beyond the customer’s Request for 

Quotation and/or local environmental 

regulations. Here we always undertake 

to advise our customers of the benefits 

of these solutions and demonstrate how 

they could be integrated in the relevant 

project to reduce the environmental 

footprint. This undertaking is an example 

of how our policies are being put 

in practice. 

Further downstream, our engineering 

and environmental safety department 

ensures that the plant is engineered in 

accordance with customer specifications, 

applicable laws and statutory regulations, 

established guidelines and standards, 

and the latest advances in engineering 

and environmental safety. 


The TMS Group 

The TMS Group’s 

Green Campaign 

In 2009 The TMS Group launched an ambitious program entitled the TMS Green Campaign, 

which is designed to create awareness of significant environmental and energy conservation 

issues by promoting the “glocal” concept of “think globally and act locally.” Furthermore, 

the objective is to transform the awareness into actions and encourage employee-driven 

conservation practices within their workplaces, homes, and at the grassroots level in their 

communities. 

By Jeffrey Revels 

Research shows that energy use in commercial 

buildings and manufacturing 

plants accounts for nearly half of all 

global greenhouse gas emissions and 

nearly 50 percent of energy consumption 

worldwide. This is consistent within most 

developed nations and higher levels are 

foreseeable for developing nations. With 

workers spending an average of eight 

hours a day or more at their places of employment, 

the work environment offers a 

unique and prime opportunity for people 

to make a significant impact in energy 

conservation and to personally contribute 

to minimizing climate change. 

Hence, the first phase of the TMS 

Green Campaign initiates action at the 

grassroots level with individual contributors 

in the workplace. Simple actions by 

employees can make a big difference 

in the overall energy performance of a 

single building and within the enterprise 

as an entity. Energy conservation activities 

are promoted across the enterprise 

and offer concrete solutions in the following 

ways: 

1. Save energy while reducing carbon emissions 

and costs, and minimize impacts on global 

warming. 

2. Save resources and reduce waste through 

behavior changes and establishment of 

recycling practices. 

3. Other opportunities to reduce the carbon 

footprint of our operations. 

The primer serves as an overall guide to 

establishing the concepts, vision, and 

agenda of the Green Campaign. Furthermore, 

delineated from the primer 

is a structured 6-Step approach for the 

successful implementation of the energy 

conservation program. 

Step 1: Commit to Continuous 

Improvement 

The TMS Group targets both environmental 

and financial enhancements 

from well-managed energy resources 

in an effort to continuously improve 

energy performance. The program’s 

success must be based on a regular assessment 

of energy performance and 

implementation of steps to increase 

energy efficiency. 

Appoint a Key Focal Person and 

establish Energy Teams – these are 

cross-functional teams from all levels 

within the company, duly empowered 

to execute energy management activities 

across different parts of the organization 

and to ensure integration of best 

practices across the enterprise. 

Step 2: Measure Performance 

Identifying and assessing current and 

historical energy consumption is the 

critical link in targeting “quick wins” 

and leveraging long-term opportunities 

to maximize energy performance and 

gain optimum financial benefits. 

Assessing performance includes 

the periodic process of evaluating energy 

use for all major facilities and functions 

in the organization and establishing a 

baseline for measuring future results of 

efficiency efforts. 

172 


Best Practice 

Environment 

Step 3: Establish Realistic Goals 

Performance goals drive energy management 

activities and promote continuous 

improvement. Establishing attainable 

and measurable goals is critical for understanding 

intended results, developing 

effective strategies, and reaping benefits 

from energy financial gains. Well-stated 

goals guide daily decision-making and 

are the basis for tracking and measuring 

progress. Communicating and posting 

goals can motivate employees to support 

energy management efforts throughout 

the organization, and potentially lead to 

the development of a competitive spirit. 

Step 4: Develop a Plan of Action 

The developed action plan must ensure a 

structured process to implement energy 

performance measures. The action plan 

becomes a “living document” with semi 

or annual renewals and is designed to 

reflect attainment of major milestones, 

changes in performance, and realignment 

of priorities. 

Energy Consumption 

(Percent) 

Table A 

Table B 

11 

9.1 

19.3 

Immediate low-cost / no-cost ACTIONS 

6.2 1.7 

1.7 

7.8 

Step 5: Execute the Plan of Action 

Achieving the desired goals will rely heavily 

on the awareness, commitment, and 

capability of the people who will implement 

the projects. The entire employee 

base within the enterprise is the key 

to any successful energy conservation 

program. The support and cooperation 

of key people at different levels within 

the organization are important factors 

for successful action-plan implementation 

in many organizations. 

Step 6: Evaluate Progress 

Evaluating progress includes the formal 

review of both targeted performance 

goals and actual energy use data and 

the activities carried out as part of the 

plans. Evaluation results will drive the 

creation of new action plans, proliferation 

of best practices, and enhanced 

performance goals. 

Utilizing the primer concepts 

with the 6-Step process as the foundation, 

The TMS Group initiated the TMS 

43.2 

Transportation 

Company-owned transport 

Air travel 

Private transportation 

Workplace usage 

SAved Energy (Percent) 

Business-related carpooling < 4.5 

Scheduled tune-ups and filter changes 3.9 

Alter driving patterns to avoid sudden start/stops < 3.2 

Combine supplier deliveries to one-half current scheduling < 2.7 

Reduce highway speeds from 115 km/h to 95 km/h < 2.4 

Maintain correct pressure 1.2 

Replace lights with low-power compact fluorescent bulbs and install motion sensors 4.1 

Adjust air-conditioning temperatures from 22° C to 25° C 3.4 

Mandatory computer power-downs upon completion of each workday 1.6 

Air-conditioning 

Computers 

Sewing machines / equipment 

Lighting 

Other 

total: < 25 

Green Campaign, emphasizing a glocal 

approach with the aim of minimizing 

carbon emissions. This specific area was 

chosen based upon three criteria: (a) 

significant reduction in emissions, (b) 

quick, measurable implementation, and 

(c) minimal start-up costs. 

Table A illustrates the estimated 

percentage in 2009 of total end-user 

energy consumed by The TMS Group’s 

regional offices, which are divided into 

travel and workplace sectors. End-uses 

are ranked within the sectors from most 

to least energy-consuming. The majority 

of energy is consumed for only two 

purposes: to operate company motor 

vehicles and to regulate the temperature 

of office spaces. Hence the attention is 

focused on reducing carbon emissions 

from these major sources of energy consumption. 

The nine actions in Table B could be 

implemented within all regional offices 

with little or no initial monetary cost. 

Six of the actions involve abatement 

of activities; three (scheduled vehicle 

maintenance, maintaining correct tire 

pressure, and using CFL bulbs) involve 

efficiency increases. Our office locations 

that implement all nine actions can potentially 

reduce their total direct energy 

consumption by 25 to 36 percent and 

their carbon emissions by a comparable 

amount. The TMS Group operational 

occupancy spans 11 buildings in six 

countries and includes a lease / own motor 

pool fleet of 40 vehicles. The further 

potential for increased energy conservation 

and reductions in harmful emissions 

will continue as our teams develop, share 

best practices, and employ creative new 

ideas. As programs that include cost and 

capital expenditures are incorporated, 

Table B will become a priority guide and 

no longer be just a prediction. Although 

the savings estimates are approximations, 

they aid decision-makers in differentiating 

between high, moderate, 

and low-impact actions. Moreover, the 

conservation practices identified in the 

workplace are sustainable and easily 

transferable to our employees’ home 

lives, places of worship, and their communities 

at large. 



Program for a Balanced 

Industrial Ecology 

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, CO 2 

emissions went up by nearly 30 percent. The Karnataka State Pollution 

Control Board (KSPCB) has identified 118 companies – the majority small- and mediumsized 

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. 

By M Bhaskar and Dagny Bühler Thierfelder 

TÜV Rheinland and the KSPCB are taking 

part in the public-private partnership 

project “Comprehensive Programme for 

Enhanced Productivity and Sustainable 

Industrial Ecology” (CP-EPSIE) in Karnataka, 

which targets the increasing pollution 

from the major industries in the 

region. The program will focus on mass 

awareness of environmental concerns 

and the alignment of the companies’ systems 

with international standards. The 

project is funded by DEG (Deutsche Investitions 

und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) 

and is assisted by ECC International. The 

TÜV Rheinland team will conduct the 

assessment according to the internally 

developed guidelines and rate the companies 

accordingly. Ten pilot companies 

have been selected for this exercise. The 

aim is to develop best practice examples 

regarding environment, health, safety, 

and social accountability focusing on 

SMEs. The KSPCB will support train-thetrainer 

activities, which are part of the 

awareness campaigns. The understanding 

of the importance of environmental 

protection will also help to improve 

management methods. 

In addition to protecting the environment, 

state officials are motivated by 

the decreasing competitive advantage of 

their region in attracting companies – a 

result of insufficient resource allocation 

in the area. The enterprises affected have 

often developed from being regional 

producers to becoming global exporters. 

In this context the enterprises have 

to tackle the various economic threats 

around them. Scarcer resources and 

rising wages are a consequence of the 

augmenting pollution. Moreover, the international 

acceptance for unsustainable 

products is decreasing. Export markets 

are demanding fair products and sustainable 

behavior is becoming an important 

factor to win attractive investors. 

The approach is to eliminate the 

weaknesses and to build on the strengths 

of a company. Therefore, the focus of 

the present Public Private Partnership 

(PPP) project with KSPCB is on reducing 

pollution levels and improving the 

working conditions as well as the quality 

management of the companies affected. 

The project especially supports Principles 

seven to nine of the UN Global Compact, 

supporting initiatives that enable companies 

to take on greater environmental 

responsibility; as well as respecting labor 

rights regarding occupational health and 

safety and social accountability. 

The program will seek to address the 

issues on three levels. It follows a pyramid 

principle of information, engagement, 

and implementation of best practices. 

At first, an information campaign 

will be launched to inform entrepreneurs 

about the necessity of environmental 

concerns such as cleaner production 

lines, energy efficiency, process optimization, 

and the benefits of having an 

international rating. To achieve this, forums 

and workshops are set up to create 

awareness of environmental concerns. A 

roundtable for managers will be created 

174 


Best Practice 

Environment 

Enrico Rühle (TÜV Rheinland India) 

introduces the program to the 

participants. 

in order to connect top decision-makers 

from various regional SMEs regarding 

the topics of sustainability. 

In a second step, a group of 15 to 

20 experts is identified from various 

sectors, such as industry, academic, and 

civil society, who are qualified to act as 

multipliers training the trainers and 

setting up activities such as workshops 

and seminars. Experts from the various 

sectors involved will be trained to create 

a greater impact in the target region. 

The sustainable practices will then be 

implemented in the 10 selected pilot 

companies. These companies will build 

capacities for changing their products 

to make them more sustainable. In the 

course of two months, six employees of 

each of the 10 companies participated in 

the training on international standards. 

The commitment to an environmentally 

friendly production will be put 

into practice by implementing international 

standards such as the Global 

Reporting Initiative Guidelines, the social 

accountability standard SA 8000, the 

environmental management standard 

ISO 14001, or a combination of those 

tailored to the company into the value 

and supply chain. 

As a third and final step, the 10 

companies of the implementation phase 

will serve as showcases and best practice 

examples to demonstrate the benefits of 

an environmental management system. 

The program will also be able to help 

design and launch a new comprehensive 

system to assist in changing to a more 

sustainable form of production, even in 

SMEs. An e-learning kit will be created to 

inform at least 200 additional companies 

from the region. 

A possible setback for the ambitious 

project could be that the 10 participants 

will not be capable of meeting 

the certification and rating costs in the 

future, which will become necessary 

investments if the companies want to 

keep the certification. Additionally, the 

determination to implement laws and 

regulations regarding environmental 

protection in India might also have a 

negative effect on the project’s success. 

With this project, companies are encouraged 

and supported in changing their 

behavior over the long term. 

The main effect of the PPP project 

will be the development of an improved 

alignment with international standards 

and practices on environment, health, 

safety, and social accountability. The 

Comprehensive Programme for Enhanced 

Productivity and Sustainable Industrial 

Ecology demonstrates the possible fields 

for sustainable management for highly 

polluting SMEs in the area of Bangalore. 

The project leads to increasing awareness 

and identification of potential for 

a change toward sustainability. 

Promoting and achieving global 

standards will help the SMEs in Bangalore 

to better adapt to the requirements 

of a global supply chain and meet the 

demands of a global market. Domestic 

enterprises have often been unable to 

expand their investments due to a lack of 

alignment with international standards. 

Companies that have a globally accepted 

rating will have a competitive advantage 

compared to their peers, and at the same 

time be supporting the sustainable development 

of the region. 

The organisers during the opening 

ceremony of the workshop 


Volkswagen 

Re-Greening 

Popocatépetl 

Volkswagen plants 300,000 trees around the source 

region of the Rio Atoyac, thereby helping to secure 

water supplies in the region. 

By Hans-Günther Dymek and Michael Scholing-Darby 

Water is a scarce resource in Mexico. 

Even when there is enough rainfall, the 

huge rise in communal and industrial 

demand for water in many regions is 

leading to permanent overexploitation 

of groundwater deposits. To make matters 

worse, the quality of those reserves 

is at risk of being compromised through 

exposure to untreated wastewater, which 

may contaminate it. Not even the populous 

cities of Mexico have so far been 

Clear-felled volcano massif base: 

“The replenishment of groundwater 

reserves depends on a functioning 

ecosystem.” 

outfitted with a sufficient number of 

purification plants. 

The water-supply situation is particularly 

critical in the Puebla Tlaxcala 

valley, which lies nestled amidst mighty 

volcanoes. As significant expanses of 

forest have been destroyed through logging 

or fires, plenty of rainwater coming 

down to the valley does not actually 

seep into the ground. Even meltwater 

quantities have been dwindling since 

global warming has caused the glaciers 

situated along the slopes of the volcanoes 

to be diminished. The result is insufficient 

replenishment of groundwater 

reserves. 

Through this picturesque landscape 

meanders the Rio Atoyac, one of the 

most highly polluted rivers anywhere in 

Latin America. Petrochemicals, detergent 

residues, and grease turn sections of this 

river into a particularly turbid-looking 

sludge. 

With its two million inhabitants, 

the city of Puebla alone requires vast 

amounts of water. That demand is further 

increased by the many commercial 

facilities operated by international companies 

that have settled in this industrial 

region some 150 kilometres from the 

country’s capital, Mexico City. One such 

industrial facility is the automobile factory 

run by Volkswagen de México. 

The people and the economy of 

the region depend to a large degree on 

the groundwater resources available 

at the foot of the volcanoes and in the 

lowlands of the Rio Atoyac. Galleries 

of wells provide drinking and service 

water to private households and businesses. 

At these wells, water already has 

to be mined from depths of up to 130 

meters. And, in many cases, these wells 

bring forth nothing but salty water that 

requires thorough treatment, even if only 

used for industrial purposes. 

These wells often had to be closed 

down (including some that have served 

the VW plant) because the water they 

contain has been found to be highly 

polluted. 

For a company like Volkswagen, 

which abides by a self-imposed obligation 

to sustainability and protection of 

the environment, this state of chronic 

water shortage was unacceptable over the 

long run. “All of us – the governments, 

civil society, and private enterprise,” in- 

176 


Best Practice 

Environment 

sists Otto Lindner, the CEO of Volkswagen 

de México, “have an obligation to 

find ways and come to agreement on 

measures to arrest the destruction of 

our planet.” 

This obligation in mind, Mexico’s 

No.-1 carmaker first set out to put its 

own house in order. The company examined 

all its production operations with a 

view to identifying areas in which water 

resources were being wasted unnoticed. 

It also installed new water treatment 

facilities and began making systematic 

use of rainwater. Most importantly, it 

spread the message to its workers about 

how valuable water is. Volkswagen educates 

its employees according to a global 

standard that applies to all production 

facilities worldwide. One focal point of 

this education is the resource-efficient 

use of groundwater. In addition, employees 

may take part in an ideas competition 

for improvements in environmental 

protection. As a bonus, realizable suggestions 

are awarded with a premium. 

Hence, there is no doubt: Environment 

education has become an integral part of 

company policy at VW de México. 

These days, wastewater collected 

from sanitary conveniences at the plant 

is treated in a biological purification 

plant, and the wastewater generated 

in production is physically and chemically 

processed. The water-preservation 

scheme at the plant also comprises a 

procedure by which rainwater is collected 

in a lagoon of the Rio Atoyac. That 

water can then be added to the reserves 

of purified wastewater, which undergoes 

treatment in an osmosis plant and is fed 

back into the plant’s water recirculation 

loop. By redirecting wastewater back 

for use as service water in factory processes, 

Volkswagen has even managed 

to downscale its costs, simply because 

less groundwater needs to be extracted 

and paid for. Water footprinting plays 

a major role to achieve further success 

in this field. Volkswagen uses a water 

balance-sheet to monitor its water consumption. 

Again, the goal is recycling 

and multiple-shift usage of water. 

VW de México does not, however, 

content itself with achieving sustainable 

The CEO of VW de México, Otto 

Lindner (left), plants a tree: 

“Stopping erosion and water loss.” 

water management within its own immediate 

sphere of responsibility. That 

is why the company joined forces with 

specialists from the Comision Nacional 

de Areas Naturales Protegidas and the 

Free University of Mexico City to examine 

the groundwater situation in the region 

as a whole. The cooperative analysis 

found that groundwater replenishment 

in the valley was contingent to a substantial 

degree on the functionality of 

the ecosystems on the volcanic slopes 

of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. 

It was important, therefore, to 

tackle the problem of water scarcity at 

the root, so to speak, and re-cultivate 

the deforested slopes between the Popo 

and Izta volcanoes in the source region 

of the Rio Atoyac. That project has been 

ongoing since 2008. In the first phase, 

200,000 highland pines, Hartweg’s Pines 

(a native Mexican tree), were planted 

on an expanse of around three square 

kilometers at an altitude of up to 4,000 

meters. The planting of 100,000 more 

trees was then completed in early September 

2009. The Hartweg’s Pine is an 

ideal choice for several reasons. It promotes 

the production of humus soil 

and is thus conducive to the establishment 

of secondary vegetation there. It 

prevents soil erosion, thereby stopping 

water from being drained away. As a 

consequence, an increasing amount of 

glacial meltwater as well as rainwater, 

the so-called blue water, seeps back into 

the ground. 

To help this process along, some 

21,000 pits were also dug out on the 

slopes and about 100 larger earth-banks 

were erected throughout this terrain. 

These installations help to retain the 

rainwater and facilitate water infiltration 

into the deeper soil layers. “We 

expect these measures to enable more 

than 1,500,000 additional cubic meters 

of water per annum to be fed into the 

ground reserves in the source region,” 

says VW project planner and environmental 

officer Raúl Rodríguez Sánchez. 

That is significantly more groundwater 

than Volkswagen de México itself consumes 

every year. 

Over the long term, the biomass 

now growing there will also help to bond 

CO 2 

and to improve living conditions 

for the native fauna. Another positive 

effect of the project is that it creates jobs 

for the local population. Volkswagen de 

México earmarked $430,000 of funding 

for the project for the first two years 

and will subsequently lend its further 

support to maintaining and managing 

the re-cultivated forest expanse. 

Its involvement does not stop there, 

however. The company has also committed 

itself to creating public awareness 

about the complex correlations that exist 

between the ecosystem and groundwater 

deposits. An agreement entered into with 

the Mexican Ministry of Education will 

see school classes visiting the forestation 

site, educational trails featuring information 

boards will be set up, and factory 

employees will be selected to be trained 

and to act as mentors for the renaturation 

scheme. 

Volkswagen has placed all its natural-conservation 

and water-protection 

projects under the motto of “Por Amor 

de la Planeta” (For the Love of the Planet). 

It is a motto that by no means aims too 

high: There is no bigger private sponsor 

of scientific research in the field 

anywhere in Mexico. 


News 

around the 

World 

178 


Africa 

Microfinance 

Biodiversity 

Gender Equality 

Middle East & North Africa 

Afghanistan 

Energy Mix 

Food Security 

Asia & Australia 

Solar and E-Mobility Offensive 



Europe 

Smart Grids 

Women Quota 

Human Rights 

Latin America 

Haiti 

REDD 

Olympic Games 

North America 

Louisiana Oil Spill 

CSR Centres 

Food 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2010 

179

Africa 

Partnership 

World Bank Seeks Africa Solutions in Online Game 

The online game “Urgent Evoke” has a more productive social 

goal behind it than simply hunting monsters or winning virtual 

weapons. The game addresses some of the world’s most 

urgent problems and, with the help of its players, intends to 

find solutions. The main focus is on development problems 

in Africa and how the gaming community can combat these 

problems through suggestions and specific actions. The World 

Bank has put US$ 500,000 toward the project, in the hope that 

its results will bring innovative and creative approaches to be 

used outside the game. Over the course of ten weeks, Urgent 

Evoke players work together on ten different scenarios that 

affect Africa and other continents in the real world. Each 

challenge – poverty, worsening economic conditions, famine, 

water shortage, human rights, sustainable energy, health care 

and violence – is presented in an online comic-book format 

that asks gamers to help. Players earn points for accomplishing 

tasks in real life, such as volunteer work, that could contribute 

to solving these problems. 

Finance 

Microfinance in Africa 

The first Centre for Microfinance opened in Sub-Saharan Africa 

in January, 2010, in cooperation with the Frankfurt School 

of Finance and Management and the Université Protestante 

au Congo. African students can now enrol here in the first 

microfinance Master’s programme and train as experts in the 

subject. Although the number of microfinance institutions has 

been growing for years, in Africa the sector is still considered 

underdeveloped. Africa expert Bruno Wenn, from the German 

development bank KfW, sees the sparse population density on 

the continent as the primary challenge. According to Wenn, 

this lack of population density makes it more difficult to 

establish sustainable approaches in rural areas, and those at 

the poorer levels of the population still have too little access 

to financial services. The environment is difficult, however: 

the microfinance sector, once considered to be insulated from 

crises and a safe investment, is suffering more acutely in the 

global financial and economic crisis than previously thought. 

A 2009 survey conducted by the British Centre for the Study of 

Financial Innovation (CFSI) and sponsored by the World Bank 

indicates that bad debts insufficient liquidity and a lack of 

refinancing options are putting a strain on many microlenders. 

“These findings turn the earlier survey on its head”, said 

survey editor David Lascelles. The over 400 experts surveyed 

saw credit risk as the biggest problem facing microfinance 

institutions (MFIs) in the future; the time of repayment rates 

reaching 98 per cent is probably over. The huge growth in 

the microfinance industry and the increasing competition 

with mainstream banks has led to some loans being issued 

without sufficient supervision. As a result, some customers 

have borrowed money from more than one institution and are 

now unable to repay their old loans. Citing overindebtedness, 

evaporating liquidity and refinancing difficulties as major 

problems, the experts in the survey warn that some MFIs may 

not survive these challenges. 

180 


Agenda 

News Around The World 

Human Rights 

UN: Private Sector Shall Foster 

Gender Equality 

The United Nations has launched a new effort to expand its 

partnership with the private sector in the battle for complete 

gender equality and the empowerment of women, not only 

as a necessary human right but for economic common sense 

as well. Gender inequality deprives countries of a critical 

resource in the struggle to end poverty and attain stability, 

according to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), 

and its vice-president ambassador of Norway, Morten Wetland, 

told the media: “Empowering women is not only a justice, a 

rights-based approach, but it’s actually good macro-economic 

policy. So empowering women, allowing them to pursue a 

family and an education and have a career is actually giving 

countries a competitive edge.” Gender equity is not an exclusive 

African problem: According to a new World Bank Group 

report, only 20 of 128 economies have equal legal rights for 

men and women in several important areas for entrepreneurs 

and workers. “Gender differentiation in law sometimes arises 

out of a desire to protect women, but it may inadvertently 

limit their opportunities,” said Penelope Brook, director of 

the World Bank Group and author of the study “Business 

and the Law 2010.” 

Environment 

Rainforest Alliance Verifies First Carbon-Offsetting 

Scheme in Africa to Plan Vivo Standard 

The Rainforest Alliance has verified the first carbon-offsetting 

scheme in Africa to be certified using the Plan Vivo Standard. 

“Trees for Global Benefits” is a project of over 500 small 

farmers in Uganda, with plots on 258 hectares that are now 

being used for agroforestry. “Trees for Global Benefits” was 

established by Ecotrust, a Ugandan non-profit organisation. 

Ecotrust specialises in financing nature conservation projects 

that link small-scale agriculture to the voluntary market in 

carbon emissions certificates. This project will also improve 

living conditions for landholders and support local wildlife and 

ecosystems. Participation in the agroforestry system will offer 

the farmers a broader income base as well as higher profits. 

At the same time, it will ease the pressure on nearby natural 

forests by making both kindling and timber available for individual 

use. The planting of native tree species will expand 

existing habitat islands and biological corridors for elephants 

and chimpanzees, while the reforested woodlots will provide 

an important benefit for farmers in the area by improving soil 

stability and growing conditions on the steep hillsides of the 

Bushenyi District. Rainforest Alliance, an independent, nonprofit 

environmental conservation organisation, is a leader in 

the certification and validation of carbon-offsetting schemes 

for carbon dioxide exchange systems. 

Environment 

UN Teams Up with PUMA for Biodiversity 

The United Nations bolstered its defense of thousands of endangered 

animal and plant species in Africa today by signing up 

an iconic sportswear manufacturer to a campaign promoting 

the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. The “Play for Life” 

partnership teams up the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 

with PUMA as part of the UN International Year of Biodiversity 

for raising awareness about habitat and species conservation 

among football fans and the general public worldwide. “As 

the whole planet comes together for the World Cup, 2010 

marks the year when people around the world will unite to 

conserve the planet’s almost priceless natural resource – its 

biodiversity,” said UNEP Deputy Executive Director Angela 

Cropper. “UNEP is delighted to partner with PUMA to bring 

this important message of conservation to millions of fans,” 

Cropper told reporters at the launch of the “Play for Life” 

partnership in Nairobi, Kenya. “Play for Life” is one of a series 

of global initiatives organized for the International Year of 

Biodiversity aimed at promoting conservation efforts in a bid 

to curb the unprecedented loss of the world’s species due to 

human activity – at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times 

the natural progression. 

World Cup 2010 – bringing and important 

message to millions of fans 


Middle East & North Africa 

Environment 

Emirates Plan Energy Mix 


Bribery Rampant in Afghanistan 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are planning to reduce their 

carbon footprint by investing in new energy sources. Plans 

for nuclear energy are in the focus, though experts say that 

renewables could be a good alternative, too. According to 

Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Dhaen Al-Hameli, additional 

energy sources are essential for its growing energy 

needs due to rapid population and economic growth rates. 

Al-Hameli said the UAE, like other Gulf nations, require high 

energy inputs for their industrial development, power generation, 

and water desalination. At present this has led to a 

high per capita carbon footprint. Authorities in the Emirates 

recognized this and are “taking unparallel steps to reduce 

this footprint,” Al-Hameli said. “The UAE firmly believes that 

nuclear power represents an important clean energy source 

that should be developed along with other clean fuels.” But 

renewable energy could be an alternative: An area of about 

100 sq km is all the space needed to cover the electricity and 

desalinated water requirements of the UAE or another Gulf 

country using solar technology, according to the International 

Solar Energy Society (ISES). Dr. Waheeb Essa Alnaser, chairman 

of the Arab Section of ISES, said in the media: “If the GCC 

countries devoted an area 10 km by 10 km, then they could 

fulfill all their electricity and desalinated water needs using 

solar thermal technology.” 

The amount of money that went to pay bribes in Afghanistan 

last year is equivalent to 1.75 billion euros. A report from the 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) puts that 

sum at 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. 

According to the report, in 2009 one out of every two Afghans 

paid at least one bribe to a civil servant; police, judges and 

government representatives were most often responsible for 

initiating bribes. Yet bribery is a fact of life for foreign aid 

organisations too, especially those working in rural areas: 80 

percent of the rural population surveyed stated that corruption 

has massively increased in recent years. Figures from the UN 

office for 2009 put the average bribe paid at US$ 150 – and 

that’s on an annual per capita income of US$ 400. Even so, 

there is not much awareness of corruption in Afghanistan: 40 

percent of those surveyed said that there was nothing wrong 

with civil servants requesting money or being hired on the 

basis of nepotism. The authors of the study note that “social 

acceptance of certain practices represents fertile ground for 

corruption”. Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of 

the UNODC, said in a statement that widespread corruption is 

the biggest impediment to guaranteeing security, development 

and a functioning political system in Afghanistan. Costa called 

on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to establish “an independent, 

fearless and well funded anti-corruption authority. At the 

moment, this is not the case”. 

Experts see high potential in solar thermal 

technology for energy supply in the UAE. 

182 


Agenda 


Human Rights 

Collaboration Key to Food Security 

Asia & Australia 

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the region most dependent 

on food imports, and this dependence will increase 

dramatically over the next decades. Rising food prices in 2008 

sent thousands to the streets in protest. So say Adel El Beltagy, 

Chair of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) 

and Mahmoud Solh, Director General of the International 

Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). 

For governments in the MENA region, the challenges of population 

growth, climate change, impending water poverty, and 

desertification pose a significant threat to regional efforts to 

reduce poverty and ensure food security for millions, argue 

the authors. A promising development is that agricultural 

ministers from half a dozen countries in the region, including 

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Afghanistan, Tunisia, 

Syria, attended the first ever GCARD-conference. Beltagy and 

Solh write in the Global Arabic Network that GCARD brings 

together individuals who are generating and using agricultural 

knowledge – whether in universities, research centers or 

villages – to share ideas and experiences that will inform a 

strategy for addressing these challenges. “In some cases, we 

may have to re-think and cast aside old approaches to solve 

new problems. For example, climate change will affect rainfall 

and temperature patterns and have a direct impact on already 

scarce water supplies in most countries in the region. Access 

to water has a direct impact on access to food. To avert future 

food, economic and social crises, we must form a united front 

to address water use in agriculture today.” 

Environment 

India Mounts Solar Offensive 

At present, India uses renewable energy sources for only 7.5 

percent of its power supply. The Indian government wants 

to increase this number significantly, and is relying on solar 

energy to do so: solar facilities are to be installed that by 2022 

will generate a total of 20 GW. Such a sum is equivalent to 

the output of some 13 modern power plants and will make 

India a top solar power producer. The government has three 

goals with this plan: to secure the energy supply, fight climate 

change and become independent from fossil fuels such as coal 

and oil. Although India receives more sun than most other 

countries, until now the expansion of solar energy collection 

has stagnated. The costs were too high: at present the power 

from combustible fossil fuels is up to five times cheaper than 

solar energy. There were not enough investors, nor was there 

sufficient support from the government. This should now be 

changing: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. 

Farooq Abdullah says that “we aim to bring down the cost as 

quickly as possible”, thus improving government support and 

encouraging development in the industry. With India’s goal 

of 100 percent supply density, solar energy also plays a crucial 

role in rural areas and elsewhere: some three-quarters of the 

population live in villages where only half of all households 

are connected to the power grid. 


Environment 

China Out to Dominate Electric Car Market 

Automobilshow in 

Shanghai 2009 

With its reputation for copied design, poor workmanship 

and a lack of safety, China has had little luck in the past with 

conventional automobiles. The country is now making a new 

start in the growing market for electric cars, however. In the 

electric car sector, the Chinese are working at the same level 

as large firms in the West, since the technology involved is 

still in its early stages everywhere. The country now has the 

chance to build up a strong lead. The People’s Republic wants 

to take advantage of this opportunity and has announced ambitious 

targets: China is out to conquer the world market with 

its electric cars. Government plans predict that 80 percent of 

the electric cars sold in China will be domestic made by 2030. 

They will be subsidizing electric car purchases to the tune of 

6,700 euros. What’s more, the use of an electric vehicle in 

China’s big-city traffic makes perfect sense, but Henry Li of 

“Build Your Dreams” (BYD) bemoans the fact that the Chinese 

have yet to agree. Originally a Chinese battery manufacturer, 

BYD is now developing electric cars, but the firm is concentrating 

on exports for the time being. Electric cars are already 

scheduled to be delivered to the United States this year, with 

shipments to Europe beginning in 2011. The speed with which 

the electric car conquers the Chinese market also depends on 

the creation of a corresponding network of charging stations; 

there are plans to put 75 large stations throughout China by 

the end of this year. The first station will open in May in the 

eastern Chinese province of Shandong and is designed to 

charge 45 vehicles. 


China Sentences Rio Tinto Manager 

Corruption and espionage: these were the accusations that 

the Chinese public prosecutor brought against four managers 

of the Australian Rio Tinto mining group, who were charged 

with accepting bribes from Chinese steel factories and stealing 

confidential business documents. During the trial the media 

focused primarily on Chinese-born Stern Hu; unlike the Chinese 

colleagues accused alongside him, Hu is an Australian 

citizen. The case was expected to demonstrate how China deals 

with foreign defendants. Many media outlets also interpreted 

China’s charges against Rio Tinto as an act of vengeance, a 

consequence of Chinese state company Chinalco’s failed attempt 

to increase its stake in Rio Tinto. The arrests came quickly 

afterward, although China denies any connection between 

the two events. In the meantime, the judgement has come 

down in the case against the Rio Tinto managers: the court 

sentenced the accused to seven to fourteen years in prison. 

Stern Hu pled guilty to accepting just one million dollars in 

bribes; he will serve ten years. Australian Foreign Minister 

Stephen Smith viewed the punishment as “very tough” and 

warned that it could harm business relations between the two 

countries. In addition, he noted that there were still “serious 

unanswered questions” regarding the accusation of industrial 

espionage. Some newspapers consider this case simply further 

proof that doing business in China in general involves taking 

risks. The Shanghai Daily reports the same, noting that an accusation 

of bribery more often than not results in the death 

penalty. The Chinese laws are clear to all of those who wish 

to enter the market, observed the newspaper, and Rio Tinto 

knew them in advance. 


Malaysia: Importance of CSR Increasing 

Awareness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has significantly 

increased among companies in Malaysia. In 2009, 

for instance, the Malaysian logging industry acknowledged 

sustainability criteria, an important step toward supporting 

the sustainable use of tropical forests. Another example is the 

Malaysian Oxygen Berhad (MOX) company, where management 

and employees commit to helping individuals and families, 

support schools, and provide assistance in natural catastrophes. 

Three important national prizes have been effective incentives 

to reinforce the CSR activities of Malaysian companies: 

the Hibiscus Award, the first national environmental prize, 

is awarded jointly by Malaysia’s International Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry and leading non-governmental organisations. 

Still more ambitious is the Prime Minister’s CSR 

184 


Agenda 


country’s nature and biodiversity, the center is focused on 

the relationship between conservation and commerce. One 

example for this is the Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua: The kiwi 

is a bird native to New Zealand and a national symbol. The 

Kiwi Encounter started as a conservation program for hatching 

kiwi eggs and raising the birds to release them back into 

nature when they became strong enough. In the meantime, 

the Kiwi Encounter has become a tourism attraction: It is 

completely based on kiwi conservation land so that visitors 

get an impression of the efforts to stop the extinction of the 

bird. All proceeds are used to continue this conservation work. 

In New Zealand the DoC is responsible for considering and 

granting permissions for those types of activities. Another 

example is the decision of the DoC to allow a refreshments 

stall at Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel. The operator of 

this stall has a short-term permit to offer sandwiches and cold 

drinks. The condition is that he has to clean up the rubbish 

on the beach each day. Morrison is certain about the positive 

effects of such measures: “Such commercial activity on public 

conservation land strengthens the protection of conservation 

values in practical ways.” 

Malaysian companies rely increasingly on CSR in their 

management. 

Award. Companies and individuals receive this recognition for 

special CSR contributions in the fields of environment, education, 

community involvement, culture or working conditions. 

Then there is the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia Corporate Responsibility 

Award, which aims to encourage conscious business methods 

and CSR activities. Bursa Malaysia is currently planning to 

introduce an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Index 

that would list and rate companies according to their CSR 

activities. This way the ESG Index could serve as an indicator 

for new investors, among other things. 


New Zealand Links Conservation and Commerce 

“Without commercial activities, nobody would get the chance to 

enjoy our unique outdoor spaces,” says Al Morrison, directorgeneral 

of the Department of Conservation (DoC). The DoC is 

a state sector organization that deals with the conservation 

of New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage. To cover the 

Human Rights 

Google vs. China 

China has long been known for its strict Internet censorship: 

social networks such as Facebook have been blocked in order 

to prevent the swift spread of information. Various pages 

critical of China are also inaccessible, and searches for certain 

key words will render a connection useless. Even so, Internet 

users in China can read the New York Times, visit games and 

entertainment web sites, and download illegal software. On 

the one hand, China aims to limit freedom of expression; on 

the other, it wants to provide sufficient space for economic 

development. Google would not submit to such an approach: 

the Internet company decided to re-route all web queries from 

China to an uncensored search engine in Hong Kong and 

cited earlier hacker attacks on Google’s mail server as an additional 

reason for doing so; the firm intimated that there was 

a Chinese government connection. China denied involvement, 

but Google’s Hong Kong workaround is no longer preventing 

Chinese censorship: firewalls in the country now prevent 

the retrieval of undesired information from outside China. 

Yet Dirk Pleiter, a China expert with Amnesty International, 

says that Google did the right thing: “Action by a company 

as economically significant as Google puts pressure on the 

Chinese government to allow more freedom.” According to 

Pleiter, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are also 

of central importance in protecting other human rights, since 

it is because of these freedoms that human rights violations 

and other abuses can be made public. 


Europe 

Human Rights 

Russian Human Rights Organisation 

Awarded Sakharov Prize 

“What, still alive?” With these words, the man stepped up to 

82-year-old Lyudmila Alexeyeva and knocked her down. The 

attack happened in April of this year, during a memorial for 

the victims of the recent terrorist attack in Russia. Alexeyeva, 

the chair of the human rights organisation know as Memorial, 

was lucky that this time she did not sustain any injuries. 

But the members of Memorial know that they are putting 

themselves in constant danger by the work that they do. As 

recently as July 2009, Memorial activist Natalia Estemirova 

was kidnapped and murdered in Chechnya. Estemirova had 

documented kidnappings, torture and murders by President 

Ramzan Kadyrov’s security forces in the war with Chechnya. 

Memorial received the Andrei Sakharov Prize in October 

2009 for their tireless dedication to defending human rights 

in Russia. Andrei Sakharov himself was a founder of the organisation, 

which was created in 1988. The aim of Memorial 

is to establish a monument to the suppressed and forgotten 

victims of the Soviet regime and to press Russia to account 

for its past. Over the years, the organisation has won some 

success for the cause: in 1991, they managed to push through 

a law on rehabilitating victims of political repression, and 

they have compiled a database that provides information 

about the victims. Memorial is also working on getting a legal 

explanation for the shooting of more than 20,000 Polish officers 

and intellectuals by the Soviet secret police (NKVD) in 

the spring of 1940. 

Environment 

Smart Grids in the North Sea 

An undersea cable network on the North Sea should allow 

for improved security of supply for power from renewable 

energy sources. The high-voltage network would incorporate 

wind turbines on the north coast of Scotland along with solar 

panels in Germany and wave power stations in Belgium and 

Denmark. It may also be possible to integrate planned solar 

power plants in North Africa into the network. What’s more, 

surplus energy could be stored by linking to large hydroelectric 

power stations in Norway. The network should make it possible 

for the countries involved to reconcile weather-related fluctuations 

in the supply of energy from renewable sources. Great 

Britain, Germany, France, Ireland, Sweden and the Benelux 

countries have been working on the plans for the project since 

December 2009; by the fall of 2010, the participating governments 

hope to have drawn up a schedule for the project and 

to have signed a declaration of intent. The European Wind 

Energy Association (EWEA) estimates the sum of investment 

needed for this project at 30 billion euros. The realisation of 

this plan would also be a giant step toward what has until 

now been a distant goal: to use renewable energy sources to 

meet all of Europe’s electricity needs. A study by accounting 

firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers confirms it: according to figures 

from this study, supplying Europe completely from renewable 

energy sources by 2050 could be a reality; the prerequisites 

are an intelligent power network, the integration of North 

Africa, economic incentives and cutbacks in subsidies for 

fossil fuels. 

186 


Agenda 


Environment 

50 Percent Renewables Possible 

In 2030, Europe will get its energy through a combination 

of approximately 48 percent renewable sources, 33 percent 

fossil fuels and 19 percent nuclear power. This is the conclusion 

reached by the various contributors to “Strommix in der 

EU 27”, a German-language report on Europe’s energy mix 

with perspectives from a variety of energy technology manufacturers. 

Their combined predictions on the future energy 

mix show a need for another 800 GW of power production 

capacity. Christof von Branconi, of the German Engineering 

Federation (VDMA), stresses that this would mean an investment 

volume of more than 1 trillion euros in the next 20 years 

and offer the industry outstanding opportunities for growth. 

Europe will need all available energy sources in order to be 

able to guarantee sufficient security of supply and meet climate 

protection targets. Although the experts in the report foresee 

that the proportion of renewable energy sources in the mix 

will rise significantly, the power supply cannot be provided by 

renewables alone. The authors of the study note that in order 

to meet the European Union targets for climate protection, 

“clear priority” must be put on expanding renewable energy 

sources: this way the power sector could contribute decisively 

to reaching the European Union targets for climate protection. 

Basic energy policy conditions in EU Member States will also 

be needed, as will the legal framework specified by the EU. 


Europe To Implement Quotas for Women 

Within the next five years, 40 percent of the seats on French 

company directorates and senior management boards must be 

occupied by women, or so says the bill that will regulate equality 

between men and women and affect publicly traded corporations. 

If these quotas are not reached, there will be consequences: 

director and senior management appointments will become 

invalid – save those appointing women, naturally. This will 

make the French bill the only one providing for sanctions in 

the case of non-compliance; Sweden and the Netherlands are 

planning similar laws. The Netherlands will initially try to do 

so on a voluntary basis, giving corporations until the end of 

2015 to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions. 

If this does not occur, however, a legal quota is likely to 

become the regulation here as well. Corporations would then 

be required to put women in at least 30 percent of their directorate 

and senior management board seats. Since the bill would 

also apply to CEOs, this puts the Netherlands in the vanguard. 

Elke Holst, a researcher at the German Institute for Economic 

Research (DIW), stated that she knew of no other country which 

imposed such quotas for women in executive positions. Sweden, 

on the other hand, will give companies four years to comply. 

If by then they have not doubled the percentage of women on 

company directorates from its current 18 percent, a bill will 

also be introduced here to regulate a minimum gender quota. 

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt noted that if things 

are not different, “we’ll try to make them that way”. This would 

abrogate another regulation for the promotion of women in 

Sweden: the gender quotas introduced in Swedish universities 

in 2003. The idea was originally to fill available spaces with an 

equal proportion of young men and women, but this failed to 

take into account the fact that more women than men usually 

register for courses of study in subjects such as psychology and 

medicine. In order for study places to be distributed equally, the 

quota in this case would disadvantage women. Swedish Minister 

for Higher Education and Research Tobias Krantz noted that 

of those applying to study who were not awarded a place due 

to their gender, 95 percent were women. According to Kranz, 

this did not promote equality in higher education, but rather 

led to the opposite, “and those who suffered the most were 

young women motivated to study”. 

Human Rights 

Human Trafficking in Europe 

Cases of human trafficking in Europe are increasing. Figures 

from the European Commission indicate that 120,000 women 

and children are taken to Western Europe every year and end 

up sexually exploited or in human slavery. For example, many 

diplomats bring their domestic help with them from their 

home countries. Such staff are not allowed to leave the home 

and cannot speak the language of the new country, making 

them easy targets for exploitation. Grown men also become 

victims of trafficking, however, as Eurídice Márquez Sánchez 

of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) explains: 

“They are increasingly brought in to work in construction or 

agriculture.” The European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) 

is issuing its own warnings, since trade in children in Europe 

is on the rise. According to a report from the FRA, in 2008 

alone some 400 children were reported missing, out of 1,320 

children who arrived at the immigration centre on the Italian 

island of Lampedusa. Most of the children are still unaccounted 

for; the FRA suspects that criminal organizations are behind 

these disappearances. The agency considers the disappearance 

of children from asylum centres in EU Member States to be 

a big problem. Yet they also state that the problem is largely 

ignored and insufficiently observed because of a lack of proper 

record-keeping in nine Member States. Márquez of the IOM 

also puts the blame on the financial crisis for the increase in 

human trafficking, saying that some of the trafficking now 

originates in various EU countries. 


Latin America 

Environment 

Rainforest Protection in Doubt 

Human Rights 

Haiti´s Historic Chance to Consolidate 

Through strong international support and the efforts of its 

Government, Haiti now had an historic chance to consolidate 

its political stability and escape from extreme poverty, United 

Nations Special Envoy William J. Clinton told the Security 

Council. Despite having been battered by successive storms 

and persistent poverty, “I am convinced that Haiti has a remarkable 

opportunity to break the chains of its past”, said 

Mr. Clinton. The spirit of Haiti’s people and enormous recent 

international support boded well for the country’s continued 

success, Mr. Clinton said as he described his efforts to work 

with the Government, the donor community, investors and 

non-governmental organizations to support implementation 

of a recovery programme crucial for Haiti’s recovery from 

natural disasters and for maintaining its stability. “Haiti can 

succeed but not without your help,” he said, urging all who 

had made commitments at the April Donors’ Conference in 

Washington, D.C., to fund them as soon as possible. Out of the 

$ 700 million pledged at that event, only $ 21 million had been 

disbursed so far, he noted, adding that, besides commitments 

by Governments and international donors, some $ 25 million 

had also been contributed by the private sector, including the 

Soros Economic Development Fund. In the ensuing discussion, 

most speakers agreed that much progress had been achieved 

in the political and security sectors since 2006, and praised 

the international commitments of the past few months, including 

the Washington Donors’ Conference. Many delegates 

cautioned, however, that the situation remained fragile because 

of the weak economy, food insecurity and other threats, urging 

the international community to keep its support steady. 

Canada’s representative warned of apathy and “Haiti fatigue” 

that threatened long-term international commitments to the 

country’s development. 

The rainforest protection plan that was signed in Copenhagen 

as part of the agenda to reducing emissions from deforestation 

and degradation (REDD) has yet to come to fruition. A recent 

report from the Rights and Resources Initiative warns that if 

the donor nations cannot agree quickly on concrete rules and 

regulations for implementation, the indigenous peoples of 

the forest will continue to be driven out of their homelands. 

“REDD is far more difficult than many people imagined,” said 

Andy White, one of the authors of the report. The study also 

notes that “unprecedented pressure” could occur in some 

areas. The basic idea of REDD is to reduce the destruction of 

the rainforests, which is responsible for more than one-fifth 

of man-made CO 2 

emissions. The United States, Australia, 

Norway, Great Britain, France and Japan have set aside $ 3.5 

billion, and this amount could still rise if these six countries 

are joined by new partner nations. The study reports that the 

emerging and developing countries to whom this funding 

could go, however, could soon end up in a competition for 

investment, which would push back local communities still 

further and increase corruption. In the worst case, the REDD 

funds could end up going directly to logging firms who had 

previously come by forest licences in a dishonest fashion. 

Rather than handing the reins to federal bureaucrats, it would 

be far better to make those living in the forest its custodians. 

As White put it, “the level of deforestation is the highest in 

government forests”, while the rates in forests administered 

The 2010 Haiti earthquake made 

1 million people homeless. 

188 


Agenda 


by local peoples are even lower than those in national parks. 

Thomas Brose, Director of the European Climate Alliance 

and responsible for the cooperation with indigenous peoples, 

expressed some fundamental doubts that “instruments like 

REDD” could be used by industrialised nations “to buy [their] 

way out of the duty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”, 

when the aim of the agreement is to minimise the emissions 

from the destruction of the rainforest rather than to protect 

the forest itself. According to Brose, REDD is directed at those 

destroying the forest, rather than those who are actually 

protecting it, because it would be economically impractical 

to help the latter. The rights of the indigenous peoples and 

their inclusion have been substantially watered down by the 

representatives in Copenhagen. Brose is even extremely critical 

of the contracts made in cooperation with indigenous peoples, 

which involve the promise of a parcel of land in return for 

maintaining a certain level of CO 2 

emissions. His reasoning: 

the financial resources offered may tempt the local people, 

but what happens if the CO 2 

levels are not maintained, for 

example as the result of a fire? This would put their lands 

in jeopardy, the only bargaining chip that the indigenous 

peoples have. 

Environment 

Environment 

Rio de Janeiro in Olympics Frenzy 

After five attempts since 1930, Brazil has become the first 

South American country to host the Olympic Games. With 

the motto “nós podemos” (“yes we can”, the Brazilian version 

of Obama’s campaign slogan), Brazilian president Lula and 

50,000 people celebrated Rio’s victory over Tokyo, Chicago, 

and Madrid. Now there are high hopes and big plans to change 

Rio for the better. Even today, six years before the games, the 

preparations for the Olympics have already begun. Right now 

the city does not just stand for sun, fun and sambas, but also 

for immense favelas, social injustice and rampant violence. Rio 

is a profoundly divided city. Changes have been progressing 

only slowly. The Olympic Games could make the difference: 

reforms will be made to Rio’s public transportation system. 

But experts warn that the changes will primarily benefit the 

middle class. Because the majority of Olympics events are 

to take place in the booming new district of Barra de Tijuca, 

home to mostly the middle and upper classes, the city plans to 

expand the subway network and build a line to this part of the 

city. Other central challenges that renowned Brazilian writer 

Paulo Coelho hopes will be addressed are the lack of security, 

and the daily violence on Rio streets: “I hope that in 2016 we 

have the same crime rate as Tokyo; that is, almost none.” 

Megadam in the Amazon 

The Belo Monte megadam on the Xingu River is going forward: 

the Brazilian environmental bureau IBAMA acquired an environmental 

licence for the project in early February. After 20 

years of struggle, this now means that there are no more big 

obstacles to prevent construction from beginning. Generating 

a maximum of 11,233 megawatts, Belo Monte will be the thirdlargest 

hydroelectric power station in the world. The government 

is estimating building costs at 20 billion reais (around 

US$ 11 billion). The controversy around the dam has gone on 

for more than 20 years – at the end of the 1980s, none other 

than Sting performed in Altamira, the largest city in the construction 

area. At that time, the World Bank revoked its credit 

and the building project was initially abandoned. Brazilian 

Environmental Minister Minc is now claiming that the new 

project has been considerably improved; it will in fact flood a 

much smaller area than originally intended. The government 

spoke of a draw between supporters of the environment and the 

energy sector. Critics fear that Belo Monte is only the first step 

of further construction measures. The maximum generation 

of 11,233 megawatts can actually only be reached during the 

rainy season. The guaranteed output for the whole year is only 

4,428 megawatts. This could be regulated through regulation of 

the flow of the river, something that the construction of three 

more dams in the area, which has an indigenous population 

of 40 percent, would make necessary regardless. 

Human Rights 

Colombia: Is Biodiesel Endangering 

Humans and the Environment? 

At present, Colombia converts its palm oil into cooking oil, 

margarine, and soap, but there is a push toward expanding 

this conversion to biodiesel in the future. Sugar cane, another 

biological fuel source, is already being converted into ethanol. 

Until now, biofuels primarily supplied the domestic market 

in Colombia, where they are mixed into gasoline at a rate of 

10 percent. Driven by rising global demand and international 

aid, Colombia aims to export biofuels on a broad scale in the 

future, which at the moment means a tremendous increase in 

energy monocultures. This cultivation has high social costs, as 

Paula Alvarez Roa from the NGO Grupo Semillas points out. The 

conflict in Colombia, spanning over four decades, has driven 

four million people off of their own territory, and no solution 

has yet been found. At the same time, writes Alvarez, five million 

hectares are owned by a few biofuels corporations that 

foresaw the potential of these lucrative lands. There is rising 

pressure on farmers to give up their fields or to cultivate sugar 

cane or palm trees instead of food. Alvarez believes that the 

increasing cultivation of biofuels has intensified the conflict 

over property and has led to more violence as well. 


North America 


Chair in Sustainable Food Production 

Environment 

Appliance Rebates Hit U.S. 

Stampede at the appliance shop: some U.S. states have instituted 

rebate programmes for refrigerators, washing machines 

and dishwashers. If a new appliance uses at least a third less 

energy than the old one, buyers can get back up to 500 dollars 

from the state. After the success of the car-based “Cash 

for Clunkers” programme, politicians hope to continue to 

stimulate the domestic market. In Iowa, for example, buyers 

can get up to 500 dollars back on new kitchen appliances. 

Washington appropriated 2.7 million dollars from the federal 

budget for the state’s programme; the money was gone in 

hours. California opened its own bargain basement on April 

22, with a total of 35.2 million dollars destined for energyconscious 

consumers. Other states are wanting to follow these 

examples. U.S. rating agency Moody’s estimates that the rebates 

from the eight U.S. states that have so far participated have 

already had an impact on economic statistics: finance analysts 

at the agency indicate that sales of durable goods, including 

kitchen appliances, have unexpectedly risen. Economists 

openly doubt whether such incentives make sense, indicating 

that although they certainly have advantages for buyers and 

could also lower energy consumption, the programmes have 

not achieved their underlying political goal: creating and 

safeguarding jobs in the United States. Economic advisor Joel 

Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors notes that many kitchen 

appliances are traditionally produced abroad: “On a 600 dollar 

washing machine, the retailer may make 100 dollars, but 

the manufacturer will make 300 dollars”, he said. “But if the 

manufacturer is on the other side of the world, that’s 300 

dollars that goes out of the [U.S.] economy”. 

Loblaw Companies Limited and the University of Guelph (U of 

G) in Canada announced the creation of The Loblaw Companies 

Limited Chair in Sustainable Food Production. The chair was 

made possible by a $3-million gift from Loblaw and will be 

the center of U of G’s research focus on creating robust food 

production systems. It will help lead change in food production 

systems through education, research, practice, and outreach 

within the context of the essential elements of sustainability: 

the environment, communities, and the economy. “Issues 

related to food production and supply are among the greatest 

societal challenges of our time,” said U of G President Alastair 

Summerlee. “This new chair is a critical first step in helping 

to develop long-term solutions for a healthy future.” Among 

other things, The Loblaw Chair in Sustainable Food Production 

will pioneer approaches for dealing with the increasing 

challenges in agriculture and food production. This includes 

leading a national program in sustainable local food production, 

developing roundtables on the topic, and creating an industry 

advisory group to guide novel curriculum development. 


Canadian Centre for Excellence in CSR 

As part of the Canadian government’s action plan on CSR, titled 

“Building the Canadian Advantage,” it officially launched 

the Centre for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility 

in Ottawa. This initially web-based resource will provide access 

to relevant CSR-related information, tools, and networks 

worldwide. “This new website will create a one-stop shop with 

the latest information on CSR rules, laws, and best practices, 

as well as timely and practical information and advice on 

foreign countries, local networks, and relevant experiences 

of Canadian companies, and other stakeholders operating 

abroad,” said Minister of International Trade and Minister for 

the Asia-Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day. The Canadian Institute 

of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM) is spearheading 

the development of the Centre, with the support of the Canadian 

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. 

A multi-stakeholder interim executive committee has been 

established, ensuring that a broad spectrum of perspectives 

are included and pave the way for the Centre’s development. 

Although located within the CIM website, the Centre is “owned” 

by all stakeholders. Over time, the expectation is that the Centre 

will enable greater understanding of effective partnering, 

relationships, and tools available for the extractive industry 

and various stakeholders alike, beyond what can be achieved 

without collaboration. 

190 


Agenda 


Partrnership 

Bill and Melinda Gates Make 10 Billion Dollar Pledge 

Bill and Melinda Gates have announced that their foundation 

will commit 10 billion U.S. dollars (about 7.1 billion euros) to 

investigating, developing and providing vaccines to the poorest 

nations in the world. In a joint statement, the couple said 

that strengthening public and private investment in vaccines 

over the next decade could help to drastically reduce the rate 

of child mortality in developing countries. They also called on 

governments and private individuals to close critical financing 

gaps in research funding and immunisation programmes for 

children. The newly announced financing is in addition to the 

4.5 billion U.S. dollars (about 3.2 billion euros) that the Gates 

Foundation has already invested in its health programmes for 

the investigation, development and provision of vaccines. 

Environment 

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico 

They have set parts of the slick on fire and are using chemical 

dispersants on the oil. Aid workers have set up booms to try 

to protect the Louisiana coastline. BP was able to cap one of 

the riser pipes, sealing off one of the three leaks, and has also 

inserted a Riser Insertion Tube tool that allows the oil to be 

pumped into a tanker. A 13-meter-high containment dome has 

been lowered onto the seabed, 1,500 meters below sea level, 

with a plan to funnel the oil to the surface, but efforts so far 

have been unsuccessful. Workers will next try to inject shredded 

rubber into the borehole and seal it with concrete. But no 

matter what steps are taken, the disaster in the Gulf is already 

one of the worst manmade environmental catastrophes ever. 

The oil will destroy a massive part of the ecosystem, wiping 

out large numbers of species and plants, primarily marine 

life. This is leading to the collapse of one of Louisiana’s most 

important sources of revenue: the fishing industry. Toxin 

levels in the food chain are expected to rise, and the oil slick 

is now threatening the coasts of Florida and Cuba as well. It 

is hard to imagine when the landscape will recover from this 

disaster, but studies of the Exxon Valdez spill show that the 

effects of the oil are still in evidence twenty years later. BP 

has promised to take full responsibility for the oil spill and to 

accept legitimate claims for damages. In May, one month after 

the drilling rig explosion, the costs are already approaching 

$ 625 million – before any claims have been settled. 

Human Rights 

Almost 40 Percent of US Food Wasted 

On April 20, 2010, eleven people died in an explosion on the 

Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The platform sank two days 

later. One month after the disaster, an untold amount of oil is 

still streaming from the damaged pipe in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The drilling rig was under contract to the BP oil company. 

BP has made numerous attempts to manage the catastrophe. 

Almost 40 percent of the food purchased in the United States 

ends up as rubbish. A study by the Bethesda, Maryland National 

Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases 

(NIDDK) found that over the past few years, more food has 

been going to waste. In 2003, each U.S. consumer had an average 

of 3,750 calories available per day, with around 2,300 

of these consumed and 1,450 thrown away. That means that 

39 percent of the available food supply went to waste. This 

vastly exceeds the 27 percent that the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

estimated after its own interviews with consumers 

and producers. End-consumers are responsible for the lion’s 

share of this waste. In a study by sociologist Jeffery Sobal in 

Tompkins County, New York, production accounted for 20 

percent of food waste, distribution another 20 percent, and 

consumers were responsible for the remaining 60 percent. 

Experts posit that lower prices are one reason for the rising 

amount of wasted food. Tristram Stuart, author of the book 

“Waste: Uncovering the Food Scandal”, writes of the amount of 

food wasted in the U.S.: “if food wasted by consumers and the 

food industries of the UK is estimated and added to that [U.S.] 

total, there would be enough food to satisfy the needs of the 

world’s hungry between three and seven times over”. 


Publishing house: 

macondo Media Group 

Foreword: 

Ban Ki-moon 

Publisher: 

Dr. Elmer Lenzen 

Solely responsible for the editorial contributions under the 

heading “Best practice” are the companies themselves. 

Named articles do not reflect the opinion of the publisher. 

Editorial staff: 

Marion Book (Senior Editor), Judith Bomholt (Editor), Gerd 

Pfitzenmaier (Associate Editor), Malte Jonas Klingenhäger 

(Assistant) 

Photo Director: 

Marion Book 

Art Director: 

Alexander Pawlak 

Text Editor: 

Robert Furlong 

Translations: 

Casey Butterfield 

Editorial Advisory Board: 

Habiba Al Marashi (Emirates Environmental Group), Dr. 

Achieng Ojwang (National Business Initiative South Africa), 

Matthias Stausberg (United Nations Global Compact), Ralph 

Thurm, (Deloitte), Dr. Cornis Theunis van der Lugt (United 

Nations Environmental Programme) 

Authors of this edition (in alphabetical order): 

Editorial section: Shulamit Alony, Dr. Dorothée Baumann, 

William Jefferson Clinton, Paul Dickinson, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, 

Prof. Daniel C. Esty, John Finisdore, Joschka Fischer, James 

Gifford, Georg Kell, Huguette Labelle, Dr. Elmer Lenzen, Ernst 

R. Ligteringen, Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Thomas I. Palley, 

Prof. V. Kasturi Rangan, Prof. Andreas Rasche, Prof. Andreas 

Georg Scherer, Mirjam Schöning, Anita Sharma, Dr. Jane 

Smart, Matthias Stausberg, Achim Steiner, Prof. Klaus Töpfer, 

Tensie Whelan, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul 

Best practice section: Emma Arvidsson, M. Bhaskar, Dr. 

Wolfgang Bloch, Dr. Andreas Blüthner, Dagny Bühler 

Thierfelder, Soledad Burbano, Francesca Carnesella, Eduardo 

Dantas, Sandra David, Julija Dietrich, Hans-Günther Dymek, 

Julio Eisman, Dietlind Freiberg, Lilian Furrer, María del 

Rosario García, Simonetta Giordani, Dr. Wolfgang Große 

Entrup, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, Dr. Reiner 

Hengstmann, Stephan Howeg, Hélène Jessua, Jeff Joerres, 

Carina Lundberg Markow, Benedetta Masignani, Simona Matt, 

Walid Nagi, Ana María Naranjo Alzate, José Pascowitch, Ralf 

Pfitzner, Andrea Ragni, Sabina Ratti, Jeffrey Revels, Christine 

C. Schneider, Michael Scholing-Darby, Magdalena Sekkenes, 

Stefan D. Seidel, Juan Ramón Silva, Ralf Steuer, Frank Stokes, 

Susanne Stormer, Andreas Streubig, Daniel Suarez, Elizete 

Neto Tavares Paes, Jimena Maria Toro, Fridolin Weindl, Rainer 

Wend 

Photo Credits: 

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe (P. 3, 24, 31), UN Photo/Andrea 

Brizzi (P. 4 above, 6/7), Stephan Kerkhofs/Fotolia.com (P. 4 

below, 34/35), nyul/Fotolia.com (P. 5, 52), UN Photo/Rick 

Bajornas (P. 9 above), The Global Compact photo (P. 9 below), 

The William J. Clinton Foundation/Ralph Alswang (P. 10), 

UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz (P. 11), Siemens press picture (P. 

12), Transparency International (P. 13), Rainforest Alliance 

(P. 14), IASS (P. 15), GRI (P. 16), PRI (P. 17), CDP (P. 18), 

Bundestagsbüro Wieczorek-Zeul (P. 19), Alexander Reitter/ 

Fotolia.com (P. 20), Andreas Rasche (P. 23), bigfoto.com (P. 

25), UNEP (P. 26), Présidence de la Republique France (P. 27), 

UN Photo/Mark Garten (P. 28), GC Summit China Final Report 

(P. 29), UN Photo/Evan Schneider (P. 30, 37), UN Photo/Marco 

Castro (P. 32), Matthias Stausberg (P. 33 left), UN Photo/ 

Martine Perret (P. 36 above), Rob Bouwman/Fotolia.com (P. 

36 below), Maren Bessler/pixelio.de (P. 38 right), Klicker/ 

pixelio.de (P. 41 above), Thomas Koehler/photothek.net (P. 

41 below), Michael Bührke/pixelio.de (P. 42 above), Thorben 

Wengert/pixelio.de (P. 42 below), Daniel C. Esty (P. 44 below), 

IUCN (P. 45), John Finisdore (P. 49), Shulamit Alony (P. 51), 

LChad McDermott/Fotolia.com (P. 54/55), Dorothee Baumann 

(P. 56 left), Andreas G. Scherer (P. 56 right), Yuri Arcurs/ 

Fotolia.com (P. 57), Kasturi Rangan (P. 59), Thomas I. Palley 

(P. 63), WFP/Debbi Morello (P. 66), Mirjam Schöning (P. 68), 

Anita Sharma (P. 69), Acciona (P. 72/75), Adecco Group (P. 77), 

AMEC (P. 78), Argos (P. 80/81), Autostrade Per L´Italia/Donato 

di Bello (P. 82), Autostrade Per L´Italia (P. 83), BASF (P. 85), 

Bayer HealthCare AG (P. 87), Bayer CropScience (P. 88 above), 

Bayer Material Science (P. 88 below), Bosch (P. 90-92 above), 

Bosch/ Thomas Bauer (P. 92 below), Bradesco (P. 94/95), BSH 

(P. 96/97), Carrefour (P. 98/99), COOP (P. 100/101), Copagaz 

(P. 103 below), Copagaz/Beto Novaes (P. 103 above), Copeinca 

(P. 104), Camposol (P. 105), Deutsche Bank/Angel Herrero de 

Frutos (P. 106/107), Deutsche Bank (P. 108), Michael Betts/ 

Getty Images (P. 109), Deutsche Post DHL (P. 110/112/113), 

Deutsche Post DHL/ Nikolaus Brade (P. 111), Deutsche 

Telekom (P. 114), ENI (P. 117/118), Folksam (P. 121), Grundfos 

(P. 122), Hathay Bunano (P. 124/125), Henkel (P. 126/127), 

ICA/ Martin Lof (P. 128), ICA (P. 129), ISA/Adriana Goenaga 

Pe-a (P. 130), KPMG (P. 132), Pixmedia (P. 133), KPMG (P. 135), 

Lufthansa/Jens Polkowski, FRAEIK (P. 137 left), Lufthansa 

(P. 137 right), Manpower (P. 138/139), Mansour Group (P. 

192 


Sections 

Imprint 

140/141), MRCB (P. 142/143), Mutualista Pichincha (P. 144), 

Nestlé (P. 146), Novo Nordisk (P. 149), Océ (P. 150/151), Otto 

Group (P. 152/153), Petrobras (P. 154/156), Petrobras/ Rogério 

Reis (P. 155), PUMA (P. 158/159), Peter Mulligan/flickr (P. 

160), OSRAM GmbH (P. 163 above), Siemens (P. 163 below), 

SKF (P. 164), TATA Chemicals (P. 167/169), The Linde Group 

(P.170/171), TÜV Rheinland (P. 175), Volkswagen (P. 176/177), 

Elmer Lenzen (P. 180), Franz Kaineder (P. 181), Paul-Langrock. 

de/Solar Millennium (P. 182), Lucas Chifres/Pictobank (P. 184), 

Jens Kaiser/pixelio.de (P. 185), Vestas Wind Systems (P. 186), 

UN Photo/Sophia Paris (P. 188), SkyTruth/flickr (P. 191) and 

Marion Book (P. 33 left, 38 left, 40, 44 above, 46, 60, 183) 

Cover: 

UN Photo/Mark Garten 

Sales price: 

USD 30,00 | EUR 25,00 | GBP 20,00 

Note: All revenues from book selling are given to the Global 

Compact Foundation. 

Copyrights: 

All rights reserved. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, 

republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any way 

any material, including photos, without the express written 

consent of the media group macondo. 

ISBN-13: 978-3-9810638-5-1 

Printed in Germany © 2010 

Useful Adresses: 

United Nations Global Compact Office: 

DC2-618 

New York, NY 10017, USA 

Tel.: +1 (212) 963 - 1490 

Fax: +1 (212) 963 - 1207 

Mail: name@un.org 

URL: www.unglobalcompact.org 

Publishing House: 

macondo Media Group 

Berliner Platz 8-10 

48143 Muenster, Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0) 251 – 48 44 93 40 

Fax: +49 (0) 251 – 48 44 93 42 

Mail: info@macondo.de 

URL: www.macondo-group.com 

Tax ID number: DE214683825 


The ten Principles 

of the United Nations 

Global Compact 

At the core of the Global 

Compact initiative are 10 

principles for human rights, 

labour standards, the 

environment and eliminating 

corruption. 

The Global Compact 

calls upon globally active 

companies to recognise these 

principles and to take steps to 

put them into effect. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Human Rights 

Principle 1: To support and 

respect internationally 

proclaimed human rights 

Principle 2: To ensure that 

they are not complicit in 

human rights abuses 

Labour standards 


Principle 3: To uphold 

freedom of association 

and recognise effectively 

the right to collective 

bargaining 

Principle 4: To eliminate 

all forms of forced and 

compulsory labour 

Principle 5: To effectively 

abolish child labour 

Principle 6: To eliminate 

discrimination in respect 

of employment and 

occupation 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Environment 

Principle 7: To support a 

precautionary approach to 

environmental challenges 

Principle 8: To undertake 

initiatives to promote 

greater environmental 

responsibility 

Principle 9: To encourage 

the development 

and diffusion of 

environmentally friendly 

technologies 

Anti-corruption 

Principle 10: To work 

against corruption in all its 

forms, including extortion 

and bribery. 

194 


Cover: 

Portrait of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the General Assembly Hall, 

at UN Headquarters in New York. 02 January 2007

“ 

As the Global Compact 

enters its second decade, 

it is my hope that this 

Yearbook will be an 

inspiration to bring 

responsible business to true 

scale. 

” 

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General 

FSC Certification 

Published by 

Global Logistics Partner 

EUR 25.00 | USD 30.00 | GBP 20.00

Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2010

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