I’ve been stumbling upon an increasing number of online corporate ethics tools. If you’re looking for ways to help your employees improve their ethical performance, check out these six tools.
The Anti-Corruption Tools Inventory (A joint effort between Global Compact and Transparency International)
Institute for Global Ethics Interactive Corruption Map
Institute for Global Ethics Ethical Business Dilemmas
Danish Institute for Human Right's Human Rights Compliance Assessment Tool (and checklist)
Doing Business country rankings
World Bank’s Global Integrity Index
Boston College’s Benchmark Survey tool for evaluating employee volunteer schemes
22 Apr 2010
Airport closure provides evidence of airline pollution
Today the Independent has published a story about a drop in NOx and NO2 levels since airports have come to a standstill.
The article states that "Although long suspected, the fact that mass take-offs and landings are large pollution sources could never be proved before, because aircraft pollution could not be measured as separate from the pollution caused by vehicles operating near by."
Two researchers from Kings College have proven that NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and NOx (the generic term for oxides of nitrogen, taken together) fell virtually to zero since London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been closed.
The following chart illustrates current NO2 and NOx levels compared to levels under normal conditions.
The article states that "Although long suspected, the fact that mass take-offs and landings are large pollution sources could never be proved before, because aircraft pollution could not be measured as separate from the pollution caused by vehicles operating near by."
Two researchers from Kings College have proven that NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and NOx (the generic term for oxides of nitrogen, taken together) fell virtually to zero since London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been closed.
The following chart illustrates current NO2 and NOx levels compared to levels under normal conditions.
20 Apr 2010
Government involvement is critical to the success of responsible business standards
The OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are a set of standards that are underestimated by many corporations.
But, the OECD is preparing for some revisions and a major push of the guidelines.
The OECD’s Guidelines have the unique advantage of receiving significant support from the national governments of OECD member countries. 42 OECD and non-OECD countries recommend the Guidelines.
Sustainability professionals whom attended the Ethical Corporation debate on voluntary initiatives in CSR last year unanimously agreed that governments must play a part in such standards.
Dr. Sue Konzelmann and her colleagues at the London Centre for Corporate Governance and Ethics (LCGGE) agree. Their research points to a strong connection between national regulation and corporate governance.
For the OECD Guidelines to have substantial impact, they will also need to convince companies of the value they bring to business.
They are well on their way to doing just this. In December 2009, I joined the OECD’s Consultation on the Update of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, where an in-depth debate on necessary revisions to the Guidelines began. Themes that emerged from the discussion included a need for an increased focus on transparency, human rights, and supply chain issues.
This spring, the OECD’s adhering governments are expected to decide on the terms of reference for an updated set of Guidelines. Information will be posted here.
But, the OECD is preparing for some revisions and a major push of the guidelines.
The OECD’s Guidelines have the unique advantage of receiving significant support from the national governments of OECD member countries. 42 OECD and non-OECD countries recommend the Guidelines.
Sustainability professionals whom attended the Ethical Corporation debate on voluntary initiatives in CSR last year unanimously agreed that governments must play a part in such standards.
Dr. Sue Konzelmann and her colleagues at the London Centre for Corporate Governance and Ethics (LCGGE) agree. Their research points to a strong connection between national regulation and corporate governance.
For the OECD Guidelines to have substantial impact, they will also need to convince companies of the value they bring to business.
They are well on their way to doing just this. In December 2009, I joined the OECD’s Consultation on the Update of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, where an in-depth debate on necessary revisions to the Guidelines began. Themes that emerged from the discussion included a need for an increased focus on transparency, human rights, and supply chain issues.
This spring, the OECD’s adhering governments are expected to decide on the terms of reference for an updated set of Guidelines. Information will be posted here.
12 Apr 2010
Healthy growth in sustainable forestry commitments
Last year, we published evidence of how leading companies are embedding CSR into their operations and across different departments.
Now, there are clear signs that sustainability has penetrated the corporate DNA even further. Conservation of biodiversity is now a common topic in the meeting rooms of mainstream businesses.
Global understanding has come a long way since the 1980s and 1990s, when sustainable forestry was synonymous with tree huggers guarding forests by chaining themselves to trees.
Thriving commitment to sustainable forestry is largely attributed to the advocacy and activism, as well as the corporate nurturing of INGOs such as WWF, Greenpeace and Rainforest Alliance.
Here are a few forest figures that have caught the attention of many companies:
Changes in land use are responsible for 18% of carbon emissions, with deforestation accounting for most of these emissions, according to the UK government’s Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change.
We are now losing about 200 square km - an equivalent of 18,100 soccer playing fields - daily according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
Only 5% of the world’s forests are certified sustainable. Of this 5%, half are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
DIY sustainability
During my visit to a sustainably certified Swedish forest that supplies carbonboard for Tetra Pak, I learned more about how companies are stepping in to ensure sustainability where protection is not mandated.
Lena Dahl, a biologist at Tetra Pak, explains the optimal criterion for evaluating sustainable paper sourcing. The FSC, Tetra Pak’s preferred certification, satisfies this criteria:
1. Certification of forest management and traceability
2. Avoidance of unacceptable and illegal wood (includes preserving ancient and at-risk forests)
3. Carbon Footprint (require green energy and low energy required per tonne of product)
4. AOX emissions/bleaching technologies (require best available ECF or TCF technology)
5. COD emissions (require low emissions of organic matter)
6. Waste to landfill
7. Participation in recycling
8. Certified Environmental Management System, for example ISO14001
Forest conservationists and development managers add maintenance of biodiversity and forest-dependent livelihoods to the list.
The WWF UK reckons that its Forest and Trade Network’s 46 members account for 40% of forest products imported to the UK in 2006. Members include Kimberly-Clarke Europe, Tetra Pak Ltd., Pearson plc. and BBC Worldwide Ltd., among others. The FSC has issued 940 certificates, covering 116 hectares in 81 countries.
The environmental benefits of regenerating and protecting forests are colossal. Healthy forests can counteract carbon emissions. For example, Canada's boreal forest soaks up 22% of the carbon stored on the earth's land surface.
Read more about sustainable forest certification options
There are more than 50 certification standards worldwide, trying to respond to the demand for sustainable forests or advancing the status quo. Other certification options are the lesser known to consumers Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), and North American Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Canada's National Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA).
While certification is intended as a tool to enhance forest management practices throughout the world, to date most certified forestry operations are located in Europe and North America. A significant barrier for many forest managers in developing countries is that they lack the capacity to undergo a certification audit and maintain operations to a certification standard.
Countries such as China, through the China Forest Certification Council are responding by creating schemes that are better suited to their operating environments.
Now, there are clear signs that sustainability has penetrated the corporate DNA even further. Conservation of biodiversity is now a common topic in the meeting rooms of mainstream businesses.
Global understanding has come a long way since the 1980s and 1990s, when sustainable forestry was synonymous with tree huggers guarding forests by chaining themselves to trees.
Thriving commitment to sustainable forestry is largely attributed to the advocacy and activism, as well as the corporate nurturing of INGOs such as WWF, Greenpeace and Rainforest Alliance.
Here are a few forest figures that have caught the attention of many companies:
Changes in land use are responsible for 18% of carbon emissions, with deforestation accounting for most of these emissions, according to the UK government’s Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change.
We are now losing about 200 square km - an equivalent of 18,100 soccer playing fields - daily according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
Only 5% of the world’s forests are certified sustainable. Of this 5%, half are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
DIY sustainability
During my visit to a sustainably certified Swedish forest that supplies carbonboard for Tetra Pak, I learned more about how companies are stepping in to ensure sustainability where protection is not mandated.
Lena Dahl, a biologist at Tetra Pak, explains the optimal criterion for evaluating sustainable paper sourcing. The FSC, Tetra Pak’s preferred certification, satisfies this criteria:
1. Certification of forest management and traceability
2. Avoidance of unacceptable and illegal wood (includes preserving ancient and at-risk forests)
3. Carbon Footprint (require green energy and low energy required per tonne of product)
4. AOX emissions/bleaching technologies (require best available ECF or TCF technology)
5. COD emissions (require low emissions of organic matter)
6. Waste to landfill
7. Participation in recycling
8. Certified Environmental Management System, for example ISO14001
Forest conservationists and development managers add maintenance of biodiversity and forest-dependent livelihoods to the list.
The WWF UK reckons that its Forest and Trade Network’s 46 members account for 40% of forest products imported to the UK in 2006. Members include Kimberly-Clarke Europe, Tetra Pak Ltd., Pearson plc. and BBC Worldwide Ltd., among others. The FSC has issued 940 certificates, covering 116 hectares in 81 countries.
The environmental benefits of regenerating and protecting forests are colossal. Healthy forests can counteract carbon emissions. For example, Canada's boreal forest soaks up 22% of the carbon stored on the earth's land surface.
Read more about sustainable forest certification options
There are more than 50 certification standards worldwide, trying to respond to the demand for sustainable forests or advancing the status quo. Other certification options are the lesser known to consumers Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), and North American Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Canada's National Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA).
While certification is intended as a tool to enhance forest management practices throughout the world, to date most certified forestry operations are located in Europe and North America. A significant barrier for many forest managers in developing countries is that they lack the capacity to undergo a certification audit and maintain operations to a certification standard.
Countries such as China, through the China Forest Certification Council are responding by creating schemes that are better suited to their operating environments.
Online sustainability tools
Check out some of my favourite sustainability tools that are now available online:
HP’s Carbon Footprint Calculator for computers and printers
GreenBiz.com's Stimulus Funds Map
GreenBiz.com’s Eco-Patent Commons
Climate Change Corp’s Global climate policy map
Best Places to MeetGreen Calculator
WWF’s personal footprint calculators
Water footprint calculator
HP’s Carbon Footprint Calculator for computers and printers
GreenBiz.com's Stimulus Funds Map
GreenBiz.com’s Eco-Patent Commons
Climate Change Corp’s Global climate policy map
Best Places to MeetGreen Calculator
WWF’s personal footprint calculators
Water footprint calculator
2 Apr 2010
Tools for measuring corporate sustainability
Evidence proving the business case for doing CSR is a dime a dozen. We now have a number of publications that instruct companies on how to implement good CSR. Impact measurement is where the real value lies.
Companies are keen to measure the environmental and social impact of their business. Academics have been responding by developing a variety of financially-based sustainability tools.
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast (UK), Euromed Management School (France) and IZT - Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (Germany) have developed a value-oriented methodology to quantitatively assess corporate sustainability performance, called Sustainable Value.
Sustainable Value uses the same opportunity cost thinking that dominates the financial markets and is thus in line with managerial thinking. It allows a practical, integrated assessment of the use of economic, environmental, and social resources in monetary terms.
Put to test
The report Sustainably Successful? features the results of 28 companies that have trailed this approach as a way of analysing, monitoring and managing sustainability performance.
Indicators include non-financial assets, five types of emissions, water use, waste, the number of employees and the number of work accidents. These are expressed in monetary terms and benchmarked against the economy or industry.
A short summary of results shows strong distinctions between various sectors:
What do companies think of this tool?
BMW’s Sustainable Value Report 2005/2006 states “The importance and attractiveness of the approach in practice lies in the new scientific method which builds a bridge between value orientation and sustainability. The main advantage for companies is that the Sustainable Value presents sustainability success like economic success. This also helps, for example, SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) investors in their analysis. In the medium to long term, the Sustainable Value could become the basic element of a sustainability audit.”
The collaborative has also posted an audio tutorial, explaining underlying logic of this approach.
The European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the SEABUS International Research Network host a number of publications on measuring sustainability.
Watch for future blog posts on other tools for measuring sustainability.
Companies are keen to measure the environmental and social impact of their business. Academics have been responding by developing a variety of financially-based sustainability tools.
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast (UK), Euromed Management School (France) and IZT - Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (Germany) have developed a value-oriented methodology to quantitatively assess corporate sustainability performance, called Sustainable Value.
Sustainable Value uses the same opportunity cost thinking that dominates the financial markets and is thus in line with managerial thinking. It allows a practical, integrated assessment of the use of economic, environmental, and social resources in monetary terms.
Put to test
The report Sustainably Successful? features the results of 28 companies that have trailed this approach as a way of analysing, monitoring and managing sustainability performance.
Indicators include non-financial assets, five types of emissions, water use, waste, the number of employees and the number of work accidents. These are expressed in monetary terms and benchmarked against the economy or industry.
A short summary of results shows strong distinctions between various sectors:
What do companies think of this tool?
BMW’s Sustainable Value Report 2005/2006 states “The importance and attractiveness of the approach in practice lies in the new scientific method which builds a bridge between value orientation and sustainability. The main advantage for companies is that the Sustainable Value presents sustainability success like economic success. This also helps, for example, SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) investors in their analysis. In the medium to long term, the Sustainable Value could become the basic element of a sustainability audit.”
The collaborative has also posted an audio tutorial, explaining underlying logic of this approach.
The European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the SEABUS International Research Network host a number of publications on measuring sustainability.
Watch for future blog posts on other tools for measuring sustainability.
1 Apr 2010
Trade measures pressure Chinese companies to focus on carbon
An article recently published by China CSR states that developed countries are using carbon tariffs and carbon trading to limit China's beer exports.
The article points to a large variance between energy consumption of China's brewing technology in comparison to their peers in developed countries.
The popular Tsingtao beer has responded by signing a research agreement that aims to measure greenhouse gas levels in brewing beer and to help the company design a more environmentally friendly production model.
Expect more companies from developing countries to boost their sustainability in a response to developed country import requirements or consumer preferences.
The article points to a large variance between energy consumption of China's brewing technology in comparison to their peers in developed countries.
The popular Tsingtao beer has responded by signing a research agreement that aims to measure greenhouse gas levels in brewing beer and to help the company design a more environmentally friendly production model.
Expect more companies from developing countries to boost their sustainability in a response to developed country import requirements or consumer preferences.
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