Global Compact International Yearbook 2012

Global Compact 

International Yearbook 

2012

GC International Yearbook 

Foreword 

This publication is kindly supported by: 

Adecco Group 

Air France-KLM 

Arab African International Bank 

Banco León 

Bayer 

Bosch 

Bradesco 

BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte 

Camposol 

Carrefour 

Consolidated Contractors Company 

Copeinca 

Deutsche Telekom 

EDF Group 

Essent 

Furnas 

Guangxi Beihai Penshibao 

Green Delta Insurance 

Groupe SEB 

Interamerican 

ManpowerGroup 

Medcom 

Metso 

Mitsui 

MTN 

Nestlé 

Netafim 

Novo Nordisk 

Rogers 

Royal Bank of Scotland Group 

SK Telecom 

Teck 

The TMS Group 

Tristar 

TÜV Rheinland 

Vestas 

Yüksel 

Global Logistics Partner: 

Deutsche Post DHL 

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

“ 

As the UN Global Compact enters its 13th year, the 

corporate sustainability movement continues to 

make great strides. A growing number of business leaders 

understand the case for greater sustainability. They 

know that responsible business and long-term success are 

two sides of the same coin. Many of the Global Compact’s 

7,000 companies are proving that what is good for the 

environment and societies is also good for business. 

This is especially important in the year of the UN Conference 

on Sustainable Development. The Rio+20 process 

has shown that businesses stand ready to do their part 

to realize sustainable development for all. Many are not 

waiting for governments to act – they are moving ahead 

through innovation, smart investments and collaboration. 

From energy to decent jobs to gender equality, I am 

convinced that strong partnerships with the private sector 

are crucial to achieving our common goals. 

This fourth edition of the Global Compact International 

Yearbook showcases many inspiring examples of businesses 

turning challenges into opportunity, leveraging their 

competencies, capacities and resources for the common 

good. I hope these diverse expressions of support for the 

UN’s global mission will inspire many more businesses 

” 

to follow this path and bring corporate sustainability 

to true scale. 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2012 3

BEST PRACTICE 

FOREWORD 

3 

H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 

United Nations 

Secretary-General 

74 

76 

78 

80 

Human Rights 

Adecco Group 

Banco León 

EDF Group 

Groupe SEB 

6Rio+20 

82 

Interamerican 

84 

Medcom 

86 

Mitsui 

88 

Novo Nordisk 

90 

Sakhalin Energy 

Rio+20 

6 

10 

13 

14 

16 

22 

23 

Strategic Philanthropy 

26 

The Road to Rio 2012 – 

Results and Observations from 

the Official and Civil Society 

Preparatory Processes 

Felix Dodds 

The History of Sustainable 

Development in the United 

Nations 

The Rio+20 Topics 

Judith Bomholt 

A Future We Want? Lessons of 

Rio+20 

Dr. Elmer Lenzen 

Expectations 

Georg Kell, Achim Steiner, 

Andrei Galaev, 

Douglas Tompkins, and 

Maurice F. Strong 

Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability 

Forum: Commitments and 

Innovations 

Follow-up to Rio+20: Capacity- 

Building with New CSR Manager 

Platform 


From Corporate Handouts to 

Corporate Partnerships 

Veronica Scheubel 

32 

36 

From Competitive Advantage 

of Corporate Philanthropy to 

Shared Value 

Kyle Peterson 

A Global Shift Toward Strategic 

Philanthropy 

Punleuk Kam and Julia Yue 

40 

40 

44 

CSR in Latin America 

Corporate Giving Has Become 

Increasingly Focused 

Interview with Charles 

Moore 

Philanthropic Societies 

Around the World 

Compilation: Karen Rieckmann 

26 



44 

50 

54 

58 

62 

66 

CSR in Latin America: 

A General View 

Estrella Peinado-Vara 

An Evolving CSR System 

in Latin America 

Prof. Paul Alexander Haslam 

Should Poverty Alleviation Be 

Part of Multinationals’ Corporate 

Responsibility? 

Dr. Lourdes Casanova and 

Anne Dumas 

Social Responsibility Networks 

in the Banana Industry 

Prof. Dr. Maria Alejandra 

Gonzalez-Perez 

Corporate Complicity in 

Human Rights Abuses in 

Latin America 

Dr. Marcelo Saguier 

The Importance of Protecting the 

Rainforest in South America 

Dennis Lohmann 

68 

Corporate Foresight 

170 

177 

182 

187 

The UN Global Compact 

in Latin America – 

Trends and Topics 

Compilation: Dr. Elmer Lenzen 

Corporate Foresight: 

An Introduction 

Cornelia Daheim, Holger 

Glockner, Klaus Burmeister, 

and Andreas Neef 

The Millennium Project 

Experience 

Jerome C. Glenn 

The Role of Corporate 

Foresight in Promoting 

Sustainability 

Prof. Dr. René Rohrbeck 

and Pernille Kallehave 

Strategic Foresight: 

Effective Decision- 

Support Systems 

Dr. Adrian W. Müller and 

Prof. Dr. Günter 

Müller-Stewens 

94 

96 

98 

100 

102 

106 

108 

112 

114 

116 

118 

120 

122 

124 

128 

130 

132 

136 

137 

138 

142 

144 

148 

150 

152 

154 

156 

158 

160 

162 

164 

SK Telecom 

Teck 

Tristar 

Labour Standards 

Bosch 

ManpowerGroup 

Environment 


BASF 

Bayer 




Essent 


MAN 

Metso 

MTN 

Vestas 

Development 

Camposol 

Copeinca 


Furnas 

GDF Suez 

Nestlé 

Netafim 

Rogers 


CSR Management 

Carrefour 

The TMS Group 

Yüksel 

Financial Markets 


Bradesco 

166 


168 

Royal Bank of Scotland Group

Agenda Rio + 20 

The Road to Rio 2012 – 

Results and Observations 

from the Official and 

Civil Society Preparatory 

Processes 

6 Global Compact International Yearbook 2012 Global Compact International Yearbook 2012 

7


By Felix Dodds 

Stakeholders have been working on Rio+20 since the Group 

of 77 developing countries tabled the original resolution for 

the summit on November 4, 2008. To help in that process, the 

Stakeholder Forum launched the www.earthsummit2012.org 

website on January 1, 2009. 

Left: 64th Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference Bonn, 

Germany, September 3–5, 2011 

Right: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses World 

Food Programme event in Davos, January 2011 

Originally, Rio+20 suffered from being agreed to only 10 days 

after the Copenhagen Climate Conference had finished. As 

such, the mood of governments was less than positive. They 

did not originally allocate the appropriate number of days 

to address the two major themes: the green economy in the 

context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; 

and an institutional framework for sustainable development. 

At this time, the summit process now equals the number of 

days of negotiations that were available for the World Summit 

on Sustainable Development in 2002 – 43 days, up from the 

11 days originally agreed to. 

Rio+20 has brought back together the sustainable development 

family, which had dissipated in other processes since 

the World Summit. It also represents a chance to address 

the critical drivers that are creating an unsustainable world 

through the present economic system. Rio+20 must ensure 

we take a different economic path. And while the term “green 

economy” has become controversial in some circles, it at last 

puts economic affairs on the table. I believe we should see it 

as a transition that puts sustainability and people – as well 

as equity and fairness – at its core. 

There are clear parallels between the ecological and financial 

crises. Banks and financial institutions privatized gains and 

socialized losses. We are doing the same with the planet’s 

natural capital. Our present lifestyles are drawing it down at 

irreplaceable rates from other parts of the world and from 

future generations. 

The summit has operated through a number of preparatory, 

informal, and inter-sessional meetings as well as government-, 

UN-, or stakeholder-sponsored meetings. These have brought 

together the views of governments, intergovernmental bodies, 

and stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement has been through 

a number of mechanisms, predominately what is called the 

Major Group Organizing Partners. These represent the nine 

stakeholder groups that Agenda 21 identified as vital in working 

toward a more sustainable society. 

The major stakeholder event was the 64th United Nations 

Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organizations 

Conference held in Bonn in September 2011 with 

over 1,500 stakeholders attending the three-day event with 

all major UN bodies and key governments. It came out with a 

Chair’s declaration, which identified that key outcomes from 

the summit should include: 

• Sustainable development goals 

• Reform of sustainable development and environmental 

governance structures in the UN 

• A convention on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration – access 

to information, public participation, and environmental 

justice 

• A convention on corporate social responsibility and accountability 

• New economic indices to replace GDP 

• Support for the means of implementation to achieve more 

sustainable societies 

• The identification of – or the role of – volunteer action to 

deliver sustainability at the local level 

Throughout the preparatory process, a joint project of the UN 

Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Stakeholder 

Forum has ensured the training of more than 2,500 

stakeholders to help them engage in the summit process. This 

summit process was the first to accept stakeholder inputs 

in what became known as the zero draft. More than 493 

stakeholder organizations sent their contributions, with 100 

governments contributing to meet the deadline of November 

1, 2011. The Top 10 terms (with the number of submissions 

in parenthesis) are: 

1| Health / Well-being (448) 

2| Poverty Alleviation / Poverty Reduction 

3| Natural Resources / Resource Management (318) 

4| Adaptation (227) 

5| Renewable Energy (204) 

6| Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] (170) 

7| Accountability (170) 

8| Subsidies (167) 

9| Transparency (166) 

Key issues that stakeholders had promoted were picked up 

in the zero draft negotiating text, such as Global Framework 

on Corporate Sustainability Reporting, the Ombudsman for 

Future Generations, Sustainable Development Goals, and 

Principle 10. As the process has moved into negotiations, a 

number of key coalitions have also played a significant role 

in the green economy, including the Green Economy Coalition 

and the Global Transition 2012. This is also true of the 

Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development, to 

which the Sustainable Development Governance 2012 Coalition 

has contributed greatly. All of these, along with the UN 

Global Sustainability Panel, brought new and relevant ideas 

to the table for negotiators to think about. 

In one of the Global Transition papers, Simon Zadek suggests 

amending the sovereign wealth funds’ Santiago Principles 

to include sustainable development criteria. Amounting to 

$4.7 trillion, such funds could have a huge impact if targeted 

toward sustainable development. Encouraging the credit rating 

agencies to include sustainable development criteria in 

their ratings systems could also have a big effect on changing 

corporate and government activities. 

More recently, the World Bank held the first-ever joint meeting 

of finance ministers – the heads of the UN, World Bank, and 

IMF – to discuss the green economy and how to ensure that 

the economic solutions that come out of this recession are 

greener. This is to become an annual meeting and the World 

Bank has rolled out a pilot scheme for a new way of addressing 

natural capital in a “50 country, 50 company” initiative. 

Rio’s success has already been achieved, as it has raised the 

issue of sustainable development in the minds of governments 

and heads of state. The other major achievement of Rio will be 

putting SDGs (in areas such as water, energy, food, consumption 

and production, sustainable cities) onto the global agenda 

to frame our move toward a more fair, just, and equitable 

global society. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes 

as in the last 20 years; we must choose the harder path for 

the sake of future generations. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for “revolutionary 

action” to achieve sustainable development in Davos in 

2011, warning that the past century’s heedless consumption 

of resources is “a global suicide pact,” with time running out 

to ensure an economic model for survival. He was echoing 

Senator Robert Kennedy’s words from 1968, words that were 

about another issue in another time, but that are equally 

relevant today about sustainable development. Senator Kennedy 

said: “A revolution is coming – a revolution which will 

be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care 

enough; successful if we are fortunate enough. But a revolution 

is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its 

character; we cannot alter its inevitability.” Let’s work for a 

world built on sustainable societies, responsive citizens, and 

accountable governments. 

Felix Dodds is Executive Director of the 

Stakeholder Forum and Chair of the 64th 

UN Department of Public Information 

Non-Governmental Organizations 

Conference. Felix Dodds’ latest book 

(together with Michael Strauss and 

Maurice Strong), Only One Earth: The 

Long Road via Rio to Sustainable 

Development, is now available. 


9


The History of Sustainable 

Development in the United 

Nations 

In 1980, the International Union for the Conservation of Natural Resources 

(IUCN) published the World Conservation Strategy (WCS), which provided 

a precursor to the concept of sustainable development. The Strategy 

asserted that conservation of nature cannot be achieved without development 

to alleviate poverty and misery for hundreds of millions of people 

and stressed the interdependence of conservation and development in 

which development depends on caring for the Earth. Unless the fertility 

and productivity of the planet are safeguarded, the human future is at risk. 

In June 1992, the first UN Conference on Environment and 

Development (UNCED) was held in Rio de Janeiro and adopted 

an agenda for environment and development in the 21st 

Century. Agenda 21: A Programme of Action for Sustainable 

Development contains the Rio Declaration on Environment 

and Development, which recognizes each nation’s right to 

pursue social and economic progress and assigned to States 

the responsibility of adopting a model of sustainable development; 

and, the Statement of Forest Principles. Agreements 

were also reached on the Convention on Biological Diversity 

and the Framework Convention on Climate Change. UNCED 

for the first time mobilized the Major Groups and legitimized 

their participation in the sustainable development process. 

This participation has remained a constant until today. For 

the first time also, the lifestyle of the current civilization was 

addressed in Principle 8 of the Rio Declaration. The urgency 

of a deep change in consumption and production patterns 

was expressly and broadly acknowledged by State leaders. 

Agenda 21 further reaffirmed that sustainable development 

was delimited by the integration of the economic, social, 

and environmental pillars. The spirit of the conference was 

captured by the expression “Harmony with Nature,” brought 

into the fore with the first principle of the Rio Declaration: 

“Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable 

development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive 

life in harmony with nature.” 

1980 

1992 

1972 

1982 

1983 

1993 

In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in 

Stockholm brought the industrialized and developing nations together to delineate 

the “rights” of the human family to a healthy and productive environment. 

A series of such meetings followed, for example on the rights of people to 

adequate food, to sound housing, to safe water, to access to means of family 

planning. The recognition to revitalize humanity’s connection with Nature led 

to the creation of global institutions within the UN system. 

Ten years later, at the 48th 

plenary of the General Assembly 

in 1982, the WCS 

initiative culminated with 

the approval of the World 

Charter for Nature. The 

Charter stated that “mankind 

is a part of nature and 

life depends on the uninterrupted 

functioning of natural 

systems.” 

In 1983, the World Commission on Environment 

and Development (WCED) was 

created and, by 1984, it was constituted 

as an independent body by the United Nations 

General Assembly. WCED was asked 

to formulate “A global agenda for change.” 

In 1987, in its report Our Common Future, 

the WCED advanced the understanding of 

global interdependence and the relationship 

between economics and the environment 

previously introduced by the WCS. The report 

wove together social, economic, cultural and 

environmental issues and global solutions. 

It reaffirmed that “the environment does 

not exist as a sphere separate from human 

actions, ambitions, and needs, and therefore 

it should not be considered in isolation from 

human concerns. The environment is where 

we all live; and development is what we all 

do in attempting to improve our lot within 

that abode. The two are inseparable.” 

In 1993, UNCED instituted 

the Commission on Sustainable 

Development (CSD) to 

follow up on the implementation 

of Agenda 21. 

10 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2012 



The Rio+20 Topics 

By Judith Bomholt 

In 2002, ten years after the Rio Declaration, a follow-up conference, the World 

Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), was convened in Johannesburg 

to renew the global commitment to sustainable development. The conference 

agreed on the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) and further tasked 

the CSD to follow-up on the implementation of sustainable development. 

In June 1997, the General Assembly 

dedicated its 19th Special Session 

(UNGASS-19) to design a “Programme 

for the Further Implementation of 

Agenda 21.” 

2002 

1997 2009 

2012 

On December 24, 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a 

Resolution (A/RES/64/236) agreeing to hold the United Nations 

Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in 2012 – also 

referred to as “Rio+20” or “Rio 20.” The Conference seeks three 

objectives: securing renewed political commitment to sustainable 

development, assessing the progress and implementation gaps in 

meeting already agreed commitments, and addressing new and 

emerging challenges. The Member States have agreed on the 

following two themes for the Conference: green economy within 

the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, 

and institutional framework for sustainable development. Since 

UNCED, sustainable development has become part of the international 

lexicon. The concept has been incorporated in many UN 

declarations and its implementation, while complex, has been at 

the forefront of the world’s institutions and organizations working 

in the economic, social, and environmental sectors. However, they 

all recognize how difficult it has proven to grant the environmental 

pillar the same recognition enjoyed by the other two pillars, despite 

the many calls by scientists and civil society signaling the vulnerability 

and precariousness of the Earth since the 1960s. 

Twenty years after the first international Conference on 

Environment and Development was held there, the United 

Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) 

has again taken place in Rio de Janeiro. Over 50,000 participants 

took part in what is known as the Rio+20 Conference, 

including more than 100 world leaders and heads of 

government. This new conference should ensure continued 

political commitment to sustainable development, help 

to take stock of previous advances, and reveal the gaps in 

sustainability involvement. Beforehand, the expectations 

had been subdued: the Preparatory Committee held three 

meetings to settle organizational issues and subject matter. 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared in early May 

that the preliminary discussions were reaching a critical 

point. Brice Lalonde, the Executive Coordinator of the 

Rio+20 Conference, described the prior negotiations as 

“very slow and very frustrating” to a Brazilian news source. 

He also acknowledged, however, that many countries are 

preoccupied with their own acute problems or with current 

events such as the economic crisis or elections that 

require attention, and that it is difficult to create what he 

calls “a real international moment.” 

The Rio+20 summit had two areas of focus, one of which 

was “Green economy in the context of sustainable development 

and poverty eradication.” The United Nations 

Environmental Program (UNEP) defines a green economy 

as “one that results in improved human well-being and 

social equity, while significantly reducing environmental 

risks and ecological scarcities.” The green economy was 

already subject to much critical debate in the run-up to 

the conference: The Rio+20 Secretariat indicated that 

developing countries were worried that in the future, the 

wealthier nations would be able to use higher environmental 

standards to seal off their markets. 

China also mentioned the difficulties associated with the 

implementation of the green economy, above all for developing 

countries, and that such countries would require 

the financial support of the international community and 

help improving technology and capacity. Participants in the 

alternative People’s Summit, which took place at the same 

time as the Rio+20 summit, shared similar views: Behind 

the “green economy” concept, Latin American director for 

the ETC Group environmental organization Silvia Ribeiro 

sees further exploitation of the ecosystem and the use of 

hazardous technologies to manipulate natural processes 

in order to obtain higher profits. Advocates of the green 

economy include the EU, but the United States, Canada, 

Japan, and Korea have also been receptive to the concept. 

The second focus of the conference was to achieve an institutional 

framework for sustainable development. This 

included developing and strengthening the formal and 

informal bodies, organizations, networks, and arrangements 

that are a part of sustainable political decision-making and 

implementation, above all the UN Environmental Program 

(UNEP) and Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). 

The Rio+20 Conference mandate called for strengthening 

the institutional framework for sustainable development 

within the UN system and suggested reinforcing the UNEP 

through universal membership and an increase in its financial 

resources. Other subjects discussed were the creation 

of a global environmental organization and reforming the 

CSD, or dissolving it altogether and replacing it with an 

international council for sustainable development. 

An important topic during the conference, and one that 

will continue to be cause for debate, is the search for new 

means of measuring prosperity. The traditional analytical 

instrument of gross domestic product (GDP) is being sharply 

criticized, since it only presents the economic dimension 

of prosperity. The Millennium Development Goals established 

in 2000, the overriding goal of which is to halve 

poverty by 2015, will only be valid for three more years. 

The focus now is on new Sustainable Development Goals, 

(SDGs) that comprise economic as well as environmental 

and social dimensions. 

There was also discussion of the fact that the interests of 

coming generations should be more firmly represented. 

The World Future Council (WFC) has long called for governments 

to include an ombudsperson for the interests of 

future generations. One example of this is Hungary, which 

since 2008 has had various Ombudspersons for the Future 

in Parliament. These have the right to raise objections to 

political projects, commission expert opinions, and request 

a look at internal documents, among other things. They 

may also hear complaints from citizens, municipalities, 

and NGOs. 

Source: http://www.uncsd2012.org 

12 



13


to present a strong political message at the Rio+20 summit. 

Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Vice-Chancellor of the Universiti Sains 

Malaysia demands that “the notion of sustainable development 

must be remodeled and expanded beyond development issues.” 

What is in the outcome document 

of Rio+20? 

A Future We Want? 

Lessons of Rio+20 

By Dr. Elmer Lenzen 

It was the absence of disputes that probably provoked the 

biggest dispute: The United Nations Conference on Sustainable 

Development (Rio+20 summit) ended with a concordant 

final resolution of 190 participating countries. The outcome 

document, titled “The Future We Want,” had already been 

published and enacted by the beginning of the conference, 

which led to controversies and the disappointment of many 

– mainly nongovernmental – participants. However, UN 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the summit a success: 

“Rio+20 has given us a solid platform to build on. And it has 

given us the tools to build with. The work starts now.” 

Other political participants agree. German environmental 

minister Peter Altmaier, for instance, said on a news channel: 

“It has been shown that we have a not very large but a stable 

base consensus. It would have been disastrous if the conference 

would have failed without any result.” He continued: 

“I am glad that we have managed to raise awareness for the 

environment step by step.” 

Do we want growth at any cost? 

Other observers were less optimistic. They warn there is a 

risk that instead of the future we want, we will go back to 

the past we had. “The ‘grow now, clean up later’ mantra is 

no longer viable,” says Connie Hedegaard, the EU Commissioner 

for Climate Action. “The result is light-years away from 

what the earth and humans need,” adds Alois Vedder, who 

participated on behalf of the WWF. It appears that presently 

at the UN level, no more is possible. In particular, the EU has 

lost ground in international negotiations and has to refocus 

its strategy in a changing global power structure, argues 

Vedder. Europeans created some positive momentum in the 

preliminary negotiations on topics like protecting the oceans, 

reducing environmentally harmful subsidies, and addressing 

sustainable development goals. But in the outcome document, 

very little of the momentum remains. 

“The decline is also due to a lack of credibility,” according to 

the WWF’s analysis. As long as sustainability remains mere 

lip service – while European agrarian and fisheries policy 

creates the opposite – Europeans will not be taken serious 

on the international level in their call for a green economy. 

This comes along with the growing capacity and self-confidence 

of some developing countries. Take India: In the run-up to 

Rio+20, The Energy and Resources Institute of India (TERI) called 

for a framework rather than a “set of rigid rules.” The Hindu 

newspaper explains: “A TERI background paper on ‘India’s 

Green Economy: The Roadmap to an Inclusive and Equitable 

Growth’ says the challenges and priorities for developing 

countries like India are different from the developed world. 

It, therefore, calls upon the Rio+20 summit to contribute to 

meeting the key goals of developing countries, particularly 

poverty eradication, food security,” among other things. 

The litigious environmental and social activist Sunita Narain 

argues: “It seems world leaders, lost in managing the financial 

crisis, have no time for environmental issues. It seems the world 

has run out of ideas to safeguard a common future.” Indeed 

the global conditions with national insolvencies, crises of democracy, 

and global mass unemployment made it unrealistic 

A model for a 21st century multilateralism? 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also sees this context. 

In an article for the Singapore-based New Straits Times, he 

wrote: “At Rio, we must begin to create a new one (model) – a 

model for a 21st century economy that rejects the myth that 

there must be a zero sum trade-off between growth and the 

environment.” So, what was the message Rio sent? Those who 

expected concrete action or even financial promises have been 

disappointed. To evaluate the success of the Rio+20 summit 

merely on its outcome sets the wrong focus. 

Two decades ago at Rio 1992, the conflict lines were between 

the rich North and the developing South. Today it is between 

the traditional global players like Europe and the United 

States, who find themselves weakened by internal crises, and 

the aspiring new global players like Brazil, India, and above 

all China, who are struggling for new power constellations 

and an adjustment of the global order. We already saw this 

trend at the Copenhagen Summit and during the ISO 26000 

process. At Rio 2012 it became apparent that the fight was 

about whose goals would be on the priority list. 

Walk the talk 

Therefore, the momentum generated by Rio+20 is less about 

concrete political commitments and more about the narratives 

it created. In retrospect, the Rio+20 summit was a platform for 

knowledge-exchange rather than for negotiations. Here, “green 

economy” has become the new buzz-phrase in sustainability 

discourses. The challenge will be to supply the concept with 

innovative solutions and measurable instruments. A green 

economy – or sustainable economy, as we called it less than 

two years ago – must learn to consider political, economic, 

and cultural constraints or it will not be successful. 

Who can provide answers to this if not the official political 

summit? That was probably the most interesting to hear about, 

namely that results came from different corners: business and 

academic. Side events such as the UN Global Compact Corporate 

Sustainability Forum, the activities of the UN Principles for 

Responsible Management, and many others launched promising 

new concepts such as ways for better water management, 

alternative indicators to measure development beyond GDP, 

and business models that promote inclusive and green growth. 

Those side events sent out an encouraging signal: Decisionmakers 

in business and civil society have already started to 

reconfigure their strategies and economic concepts toward a 

more sustainable value creation. 

Green Economy: In the 50-page final declaration, the 

participating States committed themselves to the concept of 

“green economy,” which has resource-saving economics as a 

goal. By 2015, Sustainability Goals shall be developed. Specific 

indicators of prosperity beyond GDP are missing, however, 

according to the WWF. 

UN Institutions: The United Nations Environment Programme 

will not be upgraded to a full UN agency, but further steps 

in that direction have been made. The upgrading of the 

Commission on Sustainable Development to a global 

Sustainability Council with more influence has failed. Instead it 

was transformed into a “forum.” 

Millennium Development Goals: In addition, the Rio paper 

includes proposals for the fight against poverty, climate change, 

and desertification. One concrete plan is to continue the UN 

Millennium Development Goals, which are due to expire in 2015, 

with the new Sustainable Development Goals. 

Financing for Development: Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, 

promised that they would focus on further financial assistance 

for the sustainable transformation of developing countries. 

These countries demanded $30 billion, which was rejected due 

to the financial crisis. 

Energy: The start of the initiative “Energy Access for All” was 

confirmed, but a date for when the goal has to be achieved 

has not been announced. Not even the expansion of renewable 

energies was thoroughly discussed. In the end, what “modern 

sustainable energies” means is left up to the individual nations 

to define. 

Water: In comparison to the Johannesburg agreement in 2002, 

there have been some concrete formulations for interacting 

with ecosystems and their role in water availability as well as 

new commitments for managing water. It is recognized that 

water is a key for sustainable development. The attempt to 

weaken the principle of shared responsibility for cross-border 

water ecosystems was blocked. 

Oceans: At the last minute, an agreement to implement a UN 

Convention for the protection of the high seas was canceled. 

WWF and many NGOs call this summit a failure because this 

important agreement had been a part of the outcome draft right 

up until it was canceled. 


15


/Expectations///Expectations///Expectations///Expectations///Expectations///Expectations/// 

Georg Kell 

Georg Kell, 

Executive Director, UN Global Compact 

Never before in recent history has there been such widespread uncertainty 

about the future. Major developments are shaping our world, 

raising important questions about the proper role of business and the 

legitimacy of markets. First, while the adoption of austerity measures 

has been a painful adjustment for countries in many parts of the developed 

world, a good portion of the world’s economic might and growth has gradually 

been shifting from Europe and the West to the East and South. At the same 

time, rising inequality and widening gaps between rich and poor have become 

global phenomena. Income gaps in OECD countries have reached the highest 

levels in 30 years and are even more pronounced in many emerging economies. 

As a result of rapidly eroding trust in markets, institutions, and leadership, 

citizens are demanding more equality, freedoms, and accountability. Popular 

protests – from Wall Street to Moscow – are expressions of global discontent 

that cuts across economic, social, and political spheres. And continued stress 

on natural resources threatens to disrupt economies and societies around the 

planet. More than one billion people lack access to food, electricity, or safe 

drinking water. Climate change remains a critical issue, and ecosystems are 

in dramatic decline. 

Many argue that business is at the heart of many of these problems. But this 

sweeping indictment fails to see the potential of business, if properly channeled, 

to produce many of the solutions needed to drive positive and transformative 

change. The good news is that thousands of companies already incorporate 

environmental and social issues into their agendas. The UN Global Compact 

alone counts nearly 7,000 corporate signatories in 150 countries driving 

innovation in areas as diverse as energy and climate change, women’s empowerment, 

and anti-corruption. 

However, most companies simply are not doing enough. Sustainability as a 

value proposition has not yet gained global acceptance. With an estimated 

80,000 multinationals and millions of smaller enterprises, much remains to 

be done. This June’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development, commonly 

known as Rio+20, is a unique chance to move the corporate sustainability 

agenda to a global scale, but it will require government and business to deliver 

on a variety of critical fronts: 

Corporate governance – at the Board level – must recognize environmental and 

social issues as being critical to long-term business success. Companies must 

strengthen their Boards’ ability to understand and oversee social components 

as a complement to their roles in assessing business strategy, risk management, 

and legal compliance. Such oversight will ensure that implementation will 

cascade throughout the value chain. The courage to deliver what we call a 

new contract between business and society will help generate and restore balance 

and boost growth in the marketplace. Of course, none of this can happen 

without strong political leadership. But as a growing number of companies 

embrace the sustainability challenge, political leaders will be encouraged and 

inspired to do their part. 

Businesses must also heed the call of a new generation of investors and other 

stakeholders and report publicly on their sustainability performance. While 

there is great appetite for increased disclosure, investors typically find reporting 

in the environmental or social realms to be insufficient. A global policy 

framework to disclose sustainability information in line with annual financial 

or other reports would go a long way in helping business to communicate more 

transparently on these issues – or explain why they do not. 

While governments are ultimately responsible for developing institutional 

frameworks, they cannot solve the world’s challenges alone. Transformative 

public-private partnerships that engage governments and society at all levels 

build on the relative strengths and competencies of each actor and can have 

lasting positive impacts on policy, market structure, and social norms. 

Responsible lobbying and advocacy must be supported at the highest levels. 

Lobbying actions often conflict with a company’s stated values and take a 

lowest-common- denominator approach rather than pursue long-term interests. 

Governments should adopt smart regulatory frameworks and incentive structures 

so that the dinosaurs of business are not rewarded above environmental 

and social performance. 

Goods and services that respond to the growing demand for more sustainable 

solutions should be encouraged and rewarded. Consumers and markets 

are ready for them, but incentive structures have not kept pace with shifting 

values and preferences. 

The courage to deliver what we call a new contract between business and society 

will help generate and restore balance and boost growth in the marketplace. 

Of course, none of this can happen without strong political leadership. 

But as a growing number of companies embrace the sustainability challenge, 

political leaders will be encouraged and inspired to do their part. 

Source: Guest article on the “Sustainable Development Policy & 

Practices” platform prepared for the UN Conference on Sustainable 

Development (UNCSD) and initiated by the International Institute for 

Sustainable Development (IISD). 

16 





Andrei Galaev 

Achim Steiner 

Decisions made at global conferences have great effects on CSR and 

sustainable development progress and concept advancement. I believe 

that the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 

will be the next milestone in international efforts to accelerate progress 

toward achieving sustainable development globally. It is an opportunity for 

participants to honestly and openly discuss what has been achieved in the 

last 20 years since Agenda 21 at the Earth Summit in Rio; what the biggest 

challenges and issues have been; and whether governments, business, the UN 

system, and other parties have managed to address them effectively. 

Rio+20 – as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 

has come to be known – provides an unprecedented opportunity for 

the world to transform the current economic paradigm into one that 

enhances human well-being while respecting planetary boundaries 

and environmental limits. This will require changes in the way we perceive 

progress, make financial decisions, and do business in order to ensure that 

social and environmental considerations are fully integrated into decisionmaking. 

As the driving forces of economic growth, business and industry will 

have a leading role to play. 

Many in the private sector understand this, and they are placing increasing 

importance on environmental, social, and governance issues. As a founding 

member of the Global Reporting Initiative, UNEP promotes sustainability 

reporting for private and public institutions along globally applicable guidelines. 

UNEP works in tandem with the United Nations Global Compact, the 

International Integrated Reporting Council, and others to help companies better 

understand and address their integrated environmental and social impacts. 

UNEP supports lifecycle-based methodologies such as resource foot-printing, 

science-based information on critical resource flows, and capacity enhancement 

in developing and emerging economies. 

A recent survey of sustainability experts notes that systematic pressure for 

financial short-termism and the lack of regulatory incentives highlight the 

importance of developing more enabling frameworks, which will be an item 

of discussion at the Rio+20 conference this year. UNEP’s Green Economy 

research provides ample evidence that business as usual cannot 

continue. 

Achim Steiner, 

Executive Director, United Nations 

Environmental Programme (UNEP) 

Andrei Galaev, 

CEO, Sakhalin Energy Investment 

Company Ltd. 

UN Global Compact Board Member 

I hope that at the Rio+20 conference, and in particular the Rio+20 Corporate 

Sustainability Forum, the business community will demonstrate a proactive 

stance and desire to move forward regarding sustainable development, sustainability 

leadership, and contributions to the Millennium Development Goals. 

The Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, under the umbrella of the UN 

Global Compact, is a great platform to meet business leaders, international 

institutions, CSR experts, as well as public and other stakeholders. As CEO of 

Sakhalin Energy and Chairperson of the Global Compact Network in Russia, 

I am proud to have the opportunity to participate in Rio+20 and contribute 

toward its goals: to define pathways to a safer, more equitable, cleaner, greener, 

and more prosperous world for all. 

For our part, we are open to learning opportunities and ready to share experiences. 

Sakhalin Energy participated in the pilot project of the UN Guiding 

Principles on Business and Human Rights that were developed by Professor John 

Ruggie and endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council last year. I sincerely 

share Professor Ruggie’s opinion that “the era of declaratory CSR is over; we 

have moved into ‘prove it.’” This can certainly be one of the key challenges. 

I think it is important to discuss lessons learned at Rio+20, to share best practices 

and proven sustainability models – especially partnership ones – and to 

pay special attention to practical global commitments on human rights and 

accountability. As a business representative and newly appointed UN Global 

Compact board member, I see that it is critical to take new, practical, and 

measurable commitments on sustainability goals with clear targets, institutional 

frameworks, and responsibilities for sustainable development. 

I trust that human rights will be a core approach and core principle 

to these new commitments. 

18 



19



Douglas Tompkins 

The Rio+20 conference in June 2012 has been generating concern 

and a lack of confidence on the part of many environmentalists and 

conservationists I know and work with. 

Although the first Rio conference ignited hopes for millions and was in fact 

an historical launching point for united government action on environmental 

issues, it still fell far short of expectations. Those with optimistic visions – and 

what I consider to be often Pollyanna characterizations of these unwieldy and 

multination world conferences – perhaps can see it in a positive light. One hears 

all the excuses that this or that was better than nothing, or that “perfection is 

the enemy of the good” and similar aphorisms. 

The point is that nature does not digest anything for its good health and normal 

functioning except for real-world impacts. The extinction crisis – “the mother of 

all crises” – is the price that the ecosphere pays for runaway overdevelopment. 

It is that simple. Nature operates under her own rules, indifferent to human 

aspirations, but the nations of the world cannot seem to grasp that simple fact. 

Not one individual actor will give up anything in their development game, and 

therein lies the tragedy of the planetary commons. 

Each nation, therefore, is locked into a system that compels it to increase its 

share of the planet without limits – on a planet whose limits are finite. Ruin 

is the destination toward which all nations rush, each pursuing its own best 

interests in a society that believes in globalization and its purported benefits. 

This individualism and freedom to plunder the ecosphere then brings all to ruin. 

Only a sea change in human consciousness might bring the world back from 

the edge of the abyss it finds itself on today, far more successfully than Rio+20 

and all its conference attendees and the press can. This is a type of “religious” 

and cosmo-vision change, one which requires that every person – or at least the 

vast majority – believes and lives by the notion that we must share the planet 

with other creatures. For that reason, I do not see how the Rio+20 conference 

– despite its good intentions – will do much at all toward achieving the 

goal of ending the extinction crisis. For there will be no prosperity, no 

social justice, no art and culture, and no economy on a dead planet. 

Douglas Tompkins is an American 

environmentalist, prominent landowner, 

conservationist, and a former businessman. 

He co-founded and ran two clothing 

companies: the outdoor clothing company 

The North Face; and with his then-wife Susie, 

the ESPRIT clothing company. 

Maurice F. Strong is a Canadian entrepreneur 

and a former Under-Secretary General of the 

United Nations. 

Maurice F. Strong 

Experience has demonstrated that those countries that have been most 

successful in improving their environments are those, like Japan, that 

have been most efficient in managing their economies and reducing 

the energy, resources, and materials used to generate their GDPs. Rio+20 must 

provide for special measures to assist developing countries in the efficiency of 

their economies. 

No issue is more important to the future of humans than that of climate change, 

wherein the political will to act cooperatively and decisively has diminished 

considerably and endangers any potential progress. Rio+20 must reinforce 

international efforts at Durban and beyond to reach agreement and renewal 

of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its implementation. 

Paradoxically, if we fail to act, the reduction in global greenhouse gas 

emissions could occur through the collapse of the world economy, which none 

of us want. After all, the roots of the environmental and climate change crises 

are the same as those of the economic and financial crises – the inadequacies 

of our economic system. 

Only an enlightened view of their own self-interest in the security and sustainability 

of life is likely to induce the more developed countries to accept 

the principal responsibility they bear for the fundamental change in course 

that we must make. Developing countries must play their part, but their 

responsibilities are of a different order of magnitude. The concept of 

shared but differentiated responsibilities must be strongly reinforced at 

Rio+20. 

Excerpts from a statement delivered to the Special United Nations General Assembly Event on Rio+20, 

New York, October 25, 2011. 

20 



21


CSF – Commitments 

and Innovations 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted the full set of 

outcomes from the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum 

(CSF), including a listing of more than 200 business commitments. 

The Forum, organized by the UN Global Compact, in 

cooperation with the Rio+20 Secretariat, the UN System, and 

the Global Compact Network Brazil, brought together 2,700 

business leaders, investors, academics, government officials, 

environmentalists, and grassroots activists. 

“The Corporate Sustainability Forum outcome document 

shows the solid commitment to sustainable development 

among the business community, and the creativity of their 

new approaches to low-carbon solutions, reducing poverty, 

empowering women, and restoring fresh water resources,” 

said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. 

Among the decisions taken were: 

An offer by business leaders to be a part of the creation and 

promotion of new Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable 

Development Goals concept has attracted broad support 

among governments negotiating the Rio+20 outcome text, as 

well as captured the imagination of the general public. An 

existing set of global objectives, the Millennium Development 

Goals, are mostly geared to the deadline in 2015. 

A communiqué signed by 45 CEOs of major corporations outlines 

ways that governments can do better on water management and 

how they can set frameworks that will help business to scale 

up its own role in reducing usage and restoring natural sources. 

Companies advancing the tenets of Corporate Water Sustainability 

as well as Ecosystems Management are pushing the boundaries 

of innovation on a number of levels. Examples include: 

• Developing new or enhanced technologies for water efficiency 

and waste-water management. 

• Developing water-sensitive products and providing watersensitive 

services. 

• Performing research and data analysis with respect to water. 

• Recognizing that water is a major gender issue. 

Valuing ecosystems and natural capital. 

Nearly 300 institutions of higher learning endorsed a plan 

to place sustainable development at the heart of college and 

university curricula. Collaborations, for example in the form 

of corporate-academic and multistakeholder partnerships, are 

taking place in a variety of ways and give practical meaning 

to the fifth and sixth Principles for Responsible Management 

Education (PRME) on partnership and dialogue, respectively. 

Notable examples involve the close collaboration between the 

PRME and the UN Global Compact and include: 

• Faculty engaged in the PRME Working Group on Anti-Corruption. 

• Efforts are planned for fall 2012 to raise greater awareness 

about human rights principles as well as to bring the issue 

of corporate responsibility for respecting human rights to 

business school audiences. 

• Some PRME signatory schools have collaborated closely with 

Global Compact Local Networks by holding conferences and 

workshops, providing capacity such as hosting the Network’s 

secretariat, and developing and providing training on corporate 

sustainability. 

• Joint projects between PRME and Global Compact LEAD 

include providing analytical support and capacitybuilding 

efforts such as developing a board of education 

program. 

Follow-up to Rio+20: 

Capacity-Building with 

new CSR Manager 

Platform 


CSR-Manager.org is the new, advanced web presence of the renowned 

United Nations Global Compact International Yearbook. 

The aim of the website and the yearbook is to create a global 

overview of achievements in corporate social responsibility 

(CSR) and to build up capacity for more comprehensive and 

sustainable management of these activities. Both the yearbook 

and the website offer proactive and in-depth information on 

key sustainability issues to stakeholders around the world, and 

each promotes unique and comprehensive knowledge-exchange 

and learning in the spirit of the UN Global Compact Principles. 

These two international media outlets help to advance transparency 

and promote the sharing of best practices. Perhaps most 

significantly, they give a strong voice to the regional and global 

CSR actors that are at the heart of sustainable development. 


23


Since its launch in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact 

has emerged as one of the world’s most influential platforms 

for corporate responsibility. Its structure as a global network 

presents a unique opportunity to take a closer look at both 

global and regional developments and interpretations of 

corporate social responsibility. 

In order to highlight some of the important issues that the 

Global Compact seeks to address and to showcase good practices 

by Compact participants, the macondo Media Group and 

the Global Compact Office formed a successful partnership in 

2009 to produce the Global Compact International Yearbook. 

The CSR-Manager.org website expands on these activities for 

2012, offering unique and tailored content. CSR-Manager.org 

focuses explicitly on capacity-building and provides a blueprint 

for corporate responsibility. 

Approach 

Corporate social responsibility has become an essential part 

of doing business. These days most large companies want to 

do the right thing on issues such as respecting human rights, 

protecting natural resources, preserving labor standards, protecting 

the environment, and fighting corruption. 

At the same time, however, the approach to such topics could 

have a more wide-ranging impact. Small and mid-sized companies 

frequently feel overwhelmed when it comes to the 

subject of CSR, or just left out in the cold. Many of them are 

already taking a great deal of responsibility, but they lack a 

workable strategy. They need a place where they can share 

their experiences with CSR activities and gain management 

know-how. 

There is broad agreement among all actors in the CSR sphere 

that better incentive structures are needed, incentive structures 

that will allow firms of various ages and sizes to get involved. 

Important adaptation measures have been put into practice 

so far: LEAD, for example, under the leadership of the United 

Nations Global Compact, is setting the goalposts for the CSR 

movement even further forward. Partnerships between the 

UN Global Compact and the GRI; initiatives like the PRI and 

the CDP; and political CSR recommendations such as those 

of the European Commission are bringing existing instruments 

closer together to create a greater level of coverage. 

But it is sometimes difficult for beginners to find their way 

around these structures. 

While the sustainability movement has made great strides in 

recent years, significant challenges still remain, as UN Global 

Compact Executive Director Georg Kell has noted. If we are 

to establish corporate social responsibility on a larger scale, 

we must stimulate collective action, bring CSR stakeholders 

together, and help smaller companies close gaps in performance. 

Solution 

This is where CSR-Manager.org comes in. This new online 

resource is a blueprint for corporate sustainability management, 

a rich database for shared learning. At CSR-Manager. 

org, companies will find the tools and training to integrate 

CSR in the way that is right for them. 

Together with its partners, CSR-Manager.org offers a platform 

to help firms meet regulations, manage CSR strategies, and 

develop their companies strategically. It is also dedicated 

to non-business stakeholders and includes their expertise, 

opinions, and projects. 

By bringing these different actors together, the CSR-Manager. 

org network acts as a virtual bridge between experts and 

beginners, creating a platform for knowledge and dialogue. 

The site makes the shared learning approach of the UN Global 

Compact accessible to small and mid-sized companies as part 

of the course of doing business. Bringing together experts from 

the academic and business worlds, as well as civil society, the 

site gives new meaning to the concept of “common growth” 

as an ideal platform for new and continuing education in 

sustainable economic activity. 

The website also serves as a space where those in charge of 

CSR can themselves reflect on it. These days, participants who 

concentrate on day-to-day business can end up falling further 

and further behind on economic, environmental, and social 

challenges. They need a way to manage the signal and information 

overload from news, e-mail, social networks, meetings, 

and teleconferences. Time to reflect is valuable – and good 

advice is more expensive than ever. With specialized editors 

who preselect content, and internationally recognized experts 

as part of the site, CSR-Manager.org offers information that is 

exactly what CSR managers need. 

Capacity-Building 

The online features at CSR-Manager.org provide a diverse 

array of instruments for capacity-building. We offer specialized 

occupational continuing education and training 

designed to be used in the field, as well as dialogue and 

networking opportunities and E-Learning courses. Designed 

to inspire advanced performers to reach the next level of 

sustainability, CSR-Manager.org sets targets that all companies 

can work toward in order to ascend the learning and 

performance curve. 

Knowledge-transfer 

Development requires change. CSR-Manager.org provides 

networking and training opportunities for experts, leaders, 

and decision-makers in business, politics, and civil society 

worldwide. 

Continuing education and training 

CSR-Manager.org offers sector-specific and practical programs 

for experts and leaders working around the world. 

Organizing multistakeholder dialogue 

Change does not happen without dialogue. CSR-Manager.org 

hosts global political dialogues, sector-specific dialogues, and 

expert dialogues as appropriate for the subjects discussed and 

the groups of participants involved. 

Building networks 

We offer members the opportunity to expand their personal 

and professional contacts and interact with one another 

through global networking. 

E-Learning 

Learning and communicating across any border – this is 

the idea behind our Academy feature. CSR-Manager.org is a 

virtual learning platform in collaboration with well-known 

universities and supranational organizations. 

Partnerships for strategic consulting 

Capacity-building through strategic corporate development 

is how CSR-Manager.org offers programs that are a perfect fit 

for personnel issues and can assist with the development of 

appropriate management structures. 

Publisher 

macondo Media Group is the creator and publisher of CSRmanager.org. 

Involved with the UN Global Compact and GRI 

since 2002, macondo is recognized as one of the leading CSR 

publishing houses in the German-speaking region. macondo 

also publishes the Global Compact International Yearbook. 

Selected authors of macondo publications include H.E. Ban 

Ki-moon, Bill Clinton, Georg Kell, Anthony Giddens, Achim 

Steiner, John Elkington, and many others. 

Find out more: csr-manager.org 

Dr. Elmer Lenzen is founder of the 

macondo Media Group, publishing 

house of the Global Compact Yearbooks 

and the new CSR Manager Platform. 


25

Agenda 


From Corporate Handouts 

to Corporate Partnerships 


27

Agenda 


Philanthropy is about donating to charity without expecting a return. Companies have 

historically contributed to society in this way. Strategic philanthropy, which is a more 

modern approach, is about directing corporate giving to a cause that is aligned with the 

core business. Yet in the 21st century, strategic philanthropy does not suffice in providing 

leadership. There is a growing demand for companies to move beyond strategic philanthropy 

to modern community partnerships, co-creating solutions to pressing societal and 

environmental problems by contributing core competencies and truly aiming for impact. In 

the process, shared value creation for both society and the company is not only desirable for 

companies, but also to stakeholders. 

By Veronica Scheubel 

The term philanthropy can be traced to ancient Greek (“to 

love people”). In the context of what companies usually do, 

this may seem a little incongruous. It involves the giving of 

money, goods, services, time, and/or effort to support a socially 

beneficial cause, with no (or little) reward for the donor. 

Corporate philanthropy is often also called corporate giving. 

Corporate donations are about “the writing of checks to charity.” 

Companies donate some of their profits, or their resources, 

to nonprofit organizations. Giving is often handled by the 

company directly, or it may be done through a corporate 

foundation. Typical causes supported include artistic, religious, 

sports, charitable, and humanitarian causes as well as support 

for educational institutions. Local donations especially tend 

to go “all over the place” – to schools and kindergartens, 

theaters and museums, hospitals and orphanages, the local 

fire brigade and the local swimming pool. This is called “unstructured 

giving.” 

History of corporate philanthropy 

To understand the history of corporate giving, it is helpful to 

think back to the roles of some companies in 19th century 

industrialized society. Back then, corporate giving was often 

an integral part of how companies supported their employees’ 

existence: for example, by funding their housing, setting up 

schools for their children, or financing a hospital for the 

community. Those companies understood back then what 

the World Business Council for Sustainable Development 

states in its “10 messages by which to operate”: “Business 

cannot succeed in societies that fail.” They understood that 

in order to do business effectively, they needed to contribute 

to the creation of local infrastructure. However, as business 

became more market-oriented and government’s role grew – 

especially in Western society – the motivation for corporate 

giving changed. 

Sometimes it was cut almost completely; other times it was 

sidelined to an obscure part of the organization. More commonly, 

it was (and often still is) not “managed” at all. Sometimes, 

a company’s giving interests simply depended on what 

causes or charities the CEO’s spouse wanted to see supported. 

Giving money is still an important element of how a company 

supports the communities in which it operates – but it is just 

the beginning. Sometimes it may be in the company’s interest 

to support an issue or cause that is not aligned to the business 

– for example, when a particular cause is very important to a 

local stakeholder whose support is needed. We also see small 

companies in villages donating to local community causes in 

order to maintain good, long-term relations with their customers 

and out of a sense of responsibility as “corporate citizens.” 

For any sizeable company, however, it is advisable to keep 

the sums that are going into unstructured corporate giving 

relatively small. Any company can make its donations even 

more effective by aligning them to its business. This is called 

“strategic” philanthropy. 

More focus: Strategic philanthropy 

Given that companies also look for a return – usually a reputation 

benefit – for making their contributions, increasingly 

they are looking to focus their corporate giving. This is called 

strategic philanthropy. Companies have been adopting increasingly 

strategic approaches in their support of important causes. 

Through strategic philanthropy, companies seek to align their 

charitable giving with a cause that connects to their core business. 

Companies that pursue this path might say, “We only give 

money to hospitals,” or “only to community organizations in 

our region,” or “only to causes that support children’s education.” 

Thinking about a strategic focus for corporate giving 

also means considering the potential reputation value gained 

from a focused approach to giving. For example, it makes 

sense from a public recognition and credibility standpoint 

for a pharmaceutical company to support cancer research, as 

opposed to arts and culture programs. 

For strategic philanthropy, it is helpful to look at the company’s 

business strategy or, if it exists, corporate responsibility / sustainability 

strategy. Are there some specific themes that could also 

be followed in the company’s giving? For example, the majority 

of Avons’ customers and employees are women. It therefore 

makes sense for the company to be actively involved in charitable 

initiatives around breast cancer and against domestic violence. 

Beyond strategic philanthropy: Why “just giving” is no 

longer enough 

By the late 1990s, it had become clear that national governments 

were increasingly losing power and influence. Civil 

society started to assume a more important role. Stakeholders 

became increasingly aware and – in light of societal and 

environmental issues – demanded both transparency and 

collaborative contributions from companies. In 2000, a report 

on the top 200 corporations by the Institute for Policy Studies 

established that of the top 100 financial entities in the world, 

51 were companies, and only 49 were nation states. In this 

context, companies are seen as having a growing role in helping 

to solve social challenges related to employment, health, 

safety, education, culture, and the environment. 

A new role for corporations: Modern community 

partnerships 

This new role for business asks companies to think together 

with governments and NGOs on a higher level about finding 

and co-creating solutions to pressing problems – and then to 

apply those solutions together in local contexts. This new thinking 

represents a shift in roles, emphasizing the participatory 

responsibility of all sectors for co-creating societal innovation 

and change – for collaborative impact. 

Clear Shift toward more 

strategic partnerships 

37% 

20% 

Doing this work together demands cross-sectoral commitments, 

making partnerships increasingly important. It also requires 

a range of collaboration and partnering skills that companies 

need to develop. These cross-sectoral commitments tend not 

to be called strategic philanthropy, but rather “corporate community 

involvement.” Since the beginning of the millennium, 

corporate community involvement has been the term most 

5% 

Zero 

19% – 20% 

21% – 50% 

51% – 75% 

More than 75% +14% 

18% 

22% 

Percentage of corporate NGO partnerships described as 

strategic (corporate respondents) 

57% of companies classify their partnerships as “strategic” 

(up 14% on prior year) 

Source: “The Changing Face of Corporate Partnerships,” C&E Advisory 

(www.candeadvisory.com/barometer), March 2012 


29

Agenda 


used for active community partnership projects between a 

company and/or governments and/or NGOs in the countries, 

regions, or communities where a company operates. 

Aiming for impact 

These are partnerships aimed at co-created solutions, to which 

the company contributes funding, project management, corporate 

core competencies, and employee involvement. In such 

partnerships, companies aim for societal impact. As a second 

step, they can then also leverage the results of their efforts in 

stakeholder communications or marketing to achieve business 

benefits (e.g., an improved reputation, an enhanced brand 

image, or expanded markets). 

Enlightened self-interest 

Leveraging results for business benefit is what is called “enlightened 

self-interest,” and it is now a generally accepted 

concept. The thinking is as follows: If a company claims that 

they are doing good for society only because of their ethical 

convictions, stakeholders will most probably be skeptical and 

not believe them. If, on the other hand, companies are only 

concerned about their business benefit and neglect the needs 

of society, stakeholders will be outraged (and the company 

runs a clear risk of failing in the long run). What has emerged 

in corporate practice is a balanced, threefold approach: 1) 

striving for real societal impact, based on sound ethics and 

values; 2) implementing programs through co-creating community 

partnerships; and 3) leveraging results for improved 

reputation, brand image, and sales. 

Should companies undertake this work through a 

foundation? 

A foundation is often set up independent of – and therefore 

remote from – the company, which separates it from business 

interests. It is good for purely philanthropic giving, yet 

much less suitable for direct strategic community involvement 

initiatives. There are many legal limitations in profiling and 

involving the company, so added value from a foundation’s 

giving record cannot be leveraged directly through the company’s 

communications and marketing. Stakeholders also 

increasingly perceive starting a foundation as “outsourcing” 

a company’s contributions to society. Accordingly, it is more 

effective to deliver significant, strategic social impact from 

within the company, as an integral part of the business and 

the overall corporate responsibility / sustainability strategy 

that involves employees and core competencies. 

“As companies continue to strategize their corporate responsibility 

activities, corporate foundations become more popular as 

a way for companies to continue with charitable and philanthropic 

commitments (...) On the other hand, if companies want 

to distance themselves from philanthropy entirely, foundations 

might become less popular, with those already in existence 

either wound down or shifted towards a totally independent 

model.” (The SMART Company Report 2007) 

But are we all talking about the same thing? 

There is some confusion regarding terminology. Some companies, 

especially in the United States, still speak of strategic 

philanthropy, although they have progressed to sophisticated, 

strategic community involvement. Some companies, like IBM, 

Microsoft, and Disney, will call such strategic involvement 

their “corporate citizenship.” 

Philanthropy, in the strictest sense, is about donating money to 

charity, which is considered a hands-off approach. Community 

involvement, as defined in our book Corporate Community 

Involvement: The Definitive Guide, is about being involved in 

a charitable project as a co-creating and participating partner: 

co-creating the concept, co-managing the project, and contributing 

core competencies and employee involvement. Usually, 

measurement and evaluation as well as communication are 

also managed in partnership. 

Yet other companies that are doing “just philanthropy” will 

call this their corporate citizenship or their CSR – although, 

strictly speaking, a company’s corporate social responsibility 

extends also to its human resources and supply chain policies 

and to the management of its overall stakeholder relations. 

What are stakeholders looking for? 

Between the confusion of notions around strategic philanthropy, 

corporate community involvement, corporate citizenship, CSR, 

and the latest notion – shared value creation – what is it 

that the world’s stakeholders are looking for? 

Stakeholders may want to ask a few questions like “So what 

does your company do in this area?” The answers they hear 

will offer them more clarity on how the company is actually 

involved. 

that companies contribute more than just funds in strategic 

philanthropy. They want to see companies engaged with their 

best minds, and getting those best minds engaged in the community 

to co-create solutions and create collaborative impact. 

So this goes beyond donating money. It extends to contributing 

management know-how, problem-solving skills, as well 

as technological and scientific know-how. 

Coca-Cola, for example, unleashed its potential with programs 

such as the Replenish Africa Initiative, a $30 million, six-year 

effort to provide clean water and sanitation to at least two 

million people in Africa by 2015. Similarly impressive in ambition 

is the “five by 20” project, an initiative to economically 

empower five million women by 2020. 

This approach can then extend to shared value creation: Companies 

contribute solutions to societal problems and benefit 

from those solutions in their own bottom line, for example by 

opening new markets. The solar light bulbs in India that allow 

school children to study past dusk are a co-created education 

solution that is making the contributing companies real money. 

It is the same with BP’s solar cooking stoves. 

Whether we talk about strategic philanthropy, corporate 

community involvement, corporate citizenship, or shared 

value creation – we are dealing with an evolving field. It has 

evolved significantly and will continue to do so – we have 

not arrived at a final destination yet. 

The President of the World Business Council on Sustainable 

Development, Peter Bakker, says: “I’m committed to finding 

solutions, and I believe that businesses are powerful tools to 

bring these big challenges to resolution. Together, the WBCSD’s 

200+ members are galvanizing action in the global business 

community to create a more sustainable future.” 

Your company, with all its business competencies, has the most 

powerful means to contribute, and to be seen as an impacting 

partner by all relevant stakeholder audiences. 

Let’s get started. 

Stakeholders want to see contributions – but ideally more 

than just donations. In this day and age of the so-called new 

social contract, where governments, corporations, and civil 

society organizations are called on to collectively contribute 

and find co-created solutions through “collaborative governance” 

(notion first coined by Simon Zadek, then CEO of 

AccountAbility), they want to see corporate representatives 

engage at the meta level to think together with other sector 

representatives about finding solutions to our world’s pressing 

societal and environmental problems. They want to see 

For many years, Veronica Scheubel 

was in a global role as Senior Manager 

Corporate Responsibility at Nokia. She 

is co-author of the book Corporate 

Community Involvement: The Definitive 

Guide to Maximizing Your Business’ 

Societal Engagement (Greenleaf/ 

Stanford University Press 2010). 


31

Agenda 


From Competitive 

Advantage of Corporate 

Philanthropy to Shared 

Value 

The beginnings of corporate philanthropy 

To understand the global shifts in corporate philanthropy, 

visit GE, one of the world’s best known companies. GE was 

one of the earliest supporters, perhaps even innovators, of 

corporate philanthropy. The arc of GE’s corporate giving programs 

demonstrates key trends in the evolution of corporate 

philanthropy – an initial reliance on cash giving, leveraging of 

corporate assets, an increasingly global view, and more strategic 

investments that provided both social and business benefit. 

The GE Foundation began its grantmaking program in 1953. In 

the beginning, the company focused on educational institutions 

and launched the world’s first corporate matching gift program, 

which drew upon employees’ interests in and passions about 

contributing to their communities. In the 1970s, the GE Foundation 

started the National Action Council for Minorities in 

Engineering. The 1980s saw the start of grant-giving outside of 

the United States as well as the establishment of the company’s 

signature College Bound program, which was intended to increase 

the number of inner-city US students pursuing a college 

education. College Bound takes advantage of GE volunteers and 

expertise, thus leveraging more of the company’s assets than 

just its financial resources. In the last decade, the GE Foundation 

spearheaded a new program, Developing Health Globally, 

which improves the infrastructure and management capacity 

of hospitals in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. 

GE’s 50-year corporate philanthropy story is quite a departure 

from the sentiment of Milton Friedman and his famous caution 

against corporate philanthropy becoming a distraction 

in the pursuit of profit maximization. In 1984, Peter Drucker 

suggested an alternative view when he wrote about the importance 

of other stakeholders beyond shareholders, and the 

necessity for companies to consider corporate philanthropy 

as one approach to address their needs. But this view was still 

very traditional and based on the personal values of corporate 

leaders or on reputations. 

The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy 

In 2002, Porter and Kramer’s “The Competitive Advantage of 

Corporate Philanthropy” suggested a more profound role for 

corporate philanthropy. The authors suggested using corporate 

philanthropy to change a business’ “competitive context” – the 

factors that determine business success but that are beyond 

the direct control of business. Talent, prospering communities, 

and competitive rules and norms are all part of the enabling 

environment for business, and they are changeable through 

more strategic investments in corporate philanthropy. The 

graphic below shows the evolution in corporate philanthropy 

approaches toward this more strategic role. 

“The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy” 

revealed powerful examples of companies making these 

more strategic investments. Grand Circle Travel, a leading 

travel company that caters to Americans over the age of 50, 

uses philanthropy to enrich the travel experience. Travelers 

who visit overseas locations have an opportunity to experience 

orphanages, cultural museums, and schools that are 

recipients of the Grand Circle Foundation’s gifts. In the 

process, financial support from the Grand Circle Founda- 

Companies´Approach to engaging with society is evolving 

By Kyle Peterson 

FSG, the nonprofit consulting firm which I help lead, has 

witnessed an amazing evolution in corporate philanthropy 

during the last 10 years. We have witnessed the unprecedented 

examination and gradual repurposing of corporate 

philanthropy. For anyone who cares about solving social 

problems, it has never been a better time to be part of the 

private sector. 

FSG started out 10 years ago as the Foundation Strategy Group, 

a consulting firm focused on helping private foundations 

amplify the value of their charitable contributions to society. 

Interestingly, companies were not part of our original focus, 

even though we were co-founded by Professor Michael Porter 

of the Harvard Business School. However, we quickly learned 

that companies’ philanthropic giving and, more importantly, 

business innovation, had an even more powerful potential to 

solve social problems. 

The three Harvard Business Review articles written by Michael 

Porter and Mark Kramer about companies’ role in society 

– “The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy” 

(2002), “Strategy and Society” (2006), and “Creating Shared 

Value” (2011) – provide a fascinating trail of documentation 

on approaches to the shift in the corporate mindset. This commentary 

provides a brief summary of these three articles and 

what we have learned along the way. 

Traditional Reputation-Led Leveraged Strategic 

“What 

problems?” 

• Let´s ignore or understate 

the problem 

• Let´s minimize our 

responsibility 

• Philanthropy is about 

personal values 

“Problems could 

harm us.” 

• Let´s minimize the 

problem and throw 

some money at it 

• CSR & Philanthropy 

are about corporate 

reputation 

“We should do 

something.” 

• We need to add costs to 

fix the problem 

• We can use our core 

business capabilities to 

find solutions 

“We see 

opportunity.” 

• We can lower costs, grow 

revenues, or differentiate 

ourselves by addressing 

social problems 

• Even social problems 

we don´t affect pose 

opportunities 


33

Agenda 


tion improves these cultural heritage spots and important 

centers of community. 

Looking back on the article and the discussions about it with 

companies, the idea of a strategic role for philanthropy was 

a relatively new insight. FSG received many questions about 

whether strategic corporate philanthropy was a form of “selfdealing,” 

a legal term that implies that a company directly 

benefits from a corporate philanthropy contribution. All of 

the examples mentioned in the article were proper forms of 

corporate philanthropy, as they provided only indirect benefits 

to the companies that made the contribution. 

Companies were also concerned about the repercussions of more 

strategic philanthropy on their existing grantees. We continue 

to recommend that companies employ a “portfolio approach” 

to corporate philanthropy, with allocations categorized into 

“communal obligation” (giving in the community where the 

company is located, motivated by the company’s desire to be 

a good citizen), “goodwill building” (funding based on the 

preferences of key stakeholders such as employees, customers, 

and community leaders), and strategic philanthropy (focused 

on the competitive context). The notion of companies giving 

across these three categories in their portfolio approaches 

continues to make practical sense. 

Strategy and society 

Following the publication of “The Competitive Advantage of 

Corporate Philanthropy,” the article authors and FSG were 

asked about the role of corporate social responsibility. After all, 

corporate philanthropy does not explain how a company should 

consider its environmental or social “footprint” or ways that it 

can create social value through its business. In 2006, Porter and 

Kramer released “Strategy and Society,” the second in a series of 

articles that further elaborated the role of corporations in society. 

The article gently questioned corporate social responsibility 

thinking, asserting that the “prevailing approaches to CSR 

are so disconnected from business as to obscure many of the 

greatest opportunities for companies to benefit society.” Even 

today, many companies view corporate social responsibility 

from three low-value perspectives: reputation, a defensive 

posture toward external stakeholders, and murky notions of 

sustainability. These justifications for CSR result in investments 

that have little relevance to shareholders, CSR departments 

that are disconnected from business operating lines, 

and “CSR ratings” based on those who appear to be active 

corporate citizens. 

A new framework was suggested, building upon the ideas 

from “The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy.” 

The critical, new idea in this article was the observation that 

companies create more value for society through their business 

operations than through corporate philanthropy. This is a key 

idea that, frankly, is still met with suspicion, confusion, and 

doubt from companies today. Think about it: The 1 to 2 percent 

that a company can redistribute after it makes its profits pales 

in comparison to the financial resources, networks, influence, 

and problem-solving skills of its daily operations. 

The article took on one of the most obvious but often unexamined 

questions: Where should companies focus their 

attention to society? The framework prioritized social issues 

into three categories: generic (those that have little bearing on 

the company’s long-term competitive situation), value chain 

(issues that are significantly affected by a company’s activities 

in the normal course of business), and competitive context (the 

underlying drivers of a company’s competitiveness in places 

where it conducts business, as mentioned in “The Competitive 

Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy”). 

Among these issues, we noted that companies had a distinct 

choice. They could focus on the generic issues and mitigate 

the impact of their value-chain footprint or they could take 

another, more strategic path. The second, more strategic 

choice would focus on the value-chain issues that provide 

real business benefits to the company, such as cost-savings 

or a premium positioning, and the context issues that will 

ultimately determine their competitiveness. 

• Value-chain Issues: Whole Foods serves as a great example 

of this latter choice. While there is still significant room for 

improvement, the company is a leader among retailers in 

ensuring that its seafood comes from sustainable fisheries. It 

makes this choice because its customers care about sustainable 

seafood. But the company also knows that purchasing seafood 

from overfished areas is a recipe for its own disaster if it led 

to Whole Foods not being able to purchase more seafood in 

the future. Staying on the food service theme, food distributor 

Sysco increasingly purchases food from local farmers to 

reduce transportation costs and provide its customers with 

a source of competitive differentiation. Walmart has taken 

great strides in the last 10 years to reduce packaging costs 

and increase energy efficiency in its stores as well. 

• Competitive Context Issues: Competitive context serves as 

perhaps the most exciting area of potential investment for 

companies to provide mutual benefits. The example of Nestlé 

in India is illustrative of this new approach. When Nestlé’s 

milk factory in the northern district of Moga opened, only 

180 small, local farmers supplied milk. This was a significant 

problem in the company’s value chain as milk is the most 

important raw material for many of Nestlé’s products. Nestlé 

invested in small dairy owners and distribution points so that, 

after decades, the company now purchases from more than 

75,000 farmers in the region. The dairy farmers are much 

more prosperous than similar ones in other regions. 

Nestlé built refrigerated dairies, invested in veterinarians and 

agronomists – building the dairy system in Moga – to create 

what we now call “shared value.” Corporate philanthropy was 

not the tool of choice to serve the poor in Moga. Rather, Nestlé 

viewed the small dairy farmers as critical business partners, 

meriting serious investment for its long-term profitability. 

Creating shared value 

The Nestlé case served as a catalyst for the third and wellknown 

article in the series, “Creating Shared Value,” published 

at a time – January 2011 – when business was under siege. 

Despite the many dispiriting critiques of business that have 

held the public’s attention for the last two years, the article 

has established a welcomed note of optimism for the private 

sector’s relevancy in tackling social problems. The article 

articulates a clear and simple framework using this key idea: 

“Societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define 

markets, and social harms can create internal costs for firms.” 

Three levels of “shared value” build upon several of the ideas 

in the previous two articles. 

1| Reconceiving products and markets: Rather than focus on 

conventional markets and fight for a “share of the market,” 

some companies are creating new products or adapting 

existing ones to enter new markets. GE’s Healthymagination 

program is researching the needs of the underserved 

in emerging markets and producing new products such as 

portable and battery-powered EKG machines that suit the 

needs of rural India. 

2| Redefining productivity in the value chain: Building upon 

ideas from “Strategy and Society,” this form of shared value 

pushes the conventional wisdom around sustainability issues. 

Companies’ value chains often create an impact on society. 

Companies have not always calculated the internal costs 

of these so-called externalities. When companies innovate 

within their value chains, they can save a great deal, such 

as by reducing excess packaging, as in the case of Walmart 

mentioned above. We are seeing companies take notice of 

these value-chain impacts to reduce the consumption of 

water, energy, and other natural resources. Other sharedvalue 

innovations include employee productivity, as demonstrated 

by investments in corporate wellness programs. 

3| Enabling Local Cluster Development: This last form of shared 

value is a re-articulation of Nestlé’s competitiveness context 

example. We see increasingly more examples of companies 

building local clusters – the supporting organizations and 

enabling environments for their competitiveness. As another 

example, Yara, a global leader in fertilizer production, has 

invested in delivery systems for its fertilizer deliveries in 

Africa. In this case, vital infrastructure is built that serves 

both business and societal interests. 

The three forms of shared value are having profound effects 

on business. From hiring and market research to the way companies 

measure their success, corporations are innovating well 

beyond their products, value chains, and external conditions 

for success. We are also seeing a new way of working with 

government and civil society. Nongovernmental organizations 

are shifting their role from being corporate philanthropic 

grantees to becoming business partners on product R&D, distribution, 

and cluster issues such as community development. 

Incubating and accelerating shared value through 

corporate philanthropy 

So, does corporate philanthropy still have a place in a world 

where companies are looking to gain competitive advantage 

by addressing social problems? This is one of the most frequently 

asked questions we hear as interest and excitement 

for shared value grows. Interestingly, like many of the other 

facets of business that are changing, corporate philanthropy 

is emerging as a powerful complementary incubation and 

acceleration tool for shared value. 

We are seeing companies such as Eli Lilly & Company, a leader 

in pharmaceuticals, use corporate philanthropy to build the 

health systems in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, 

and India to deliver insulin for diabetes. Under its NCD Partnership 

program, the company invests in healthcare systems 

by training healthcare workers and partnering with NGOs to 

create awareness for the risk factors related to diabetes. The 

Verizon Foundation – the corporate philanthropy arm of the 

16th largest company on the Fortune 500 list – has teamed 

up with the University of Virginia to sponsor training programs 

for rural-based nurses that use telehealth technologies, 

which is an important area of business for the company. The 

Verizon Foundation’s grant incubates shared value as it helps 

thousands of underserved patients and creates new customer 

learning for the company. 

Of course, companies will continue to use corporate philanthropy 

to support the organizations in their hometowns and 

the interests of their employees and other stakeholders. But the 

rise of shared value is creating new opportunities for corporate 

philanthropy to be deployed in far more effective ways. 

Kyle Peterson is Managing Director 

at FSG, a nonprofit consulting firm 

specializing in strategy, evaluation, and 

research. 


35

Agenda 


A Global Shift Toward 


We are witnessing an exciting global movement whereby philanthropists from both 

developed and emerging economies are using targeted and innovative approaches to 

address sustainable development. Today, strategic philanthropists are responsible for 

stimulating entrepreneurship and small business development in developing countries. 

These philanthropists are increasingly recognizing the importance of adopting a more 

business-like approach to philanthropy to maximize social and environmental returns of 

their philanthropic investments. Measuring impact is also a crucial component of successful 

philanthropy and has become more prominent globally. Evaluation helps to focus on results, 

ensures effective allocation of resources, and upholds accountability. 

By Punleuk Kam and Julia Yue 

Today’s discussions on philanthropy abound with new terms: 

“venture philanthropy,” “impact investing,” “entrepreneurial 

philanthropists,” “social venture capital.” This suggests there is 

a new generation of philanthropists who are using successful 

business models in order to address global challenges such 

as poverty, education, and health. They belong to the family 

of strategic philanthropists and are celebrated by the media 

for their hands-on approaches to philanthropy that focus on 

achieving outcomes and a willingness to take risks and embrace 

innovation. As philanthropic concepts evolve, it is difficult to 

draw the line between these new types of philanthropists. In 

many cases the terms are used interchangeably. 

Strategic philanthropists take a more businesslike approach 

and look for targeted and lasting impacts. They recognize 

that they need to apply innovative approaches to sustainable 

development, focus on entrepreneurial talent, and stress 

transparency, accountability, and long-lasting outcomes. They 

understand that local ownership is important to ensure that 

actual needs are being met and results are sustainable. Whereas 

traditional philanthropy often focuses on the inputs, this 

strategic approach focuses on results. In many cases, it builds 

on the entrepreneurial tradition of creating value and the 

understanding that a business approach focused on “returns” 

on investments (albeit financial, environmental, or social) is 

what is needed for lasting social change. 

The rise of local philanthropists in emerging economies 

Traditionally, the United States has dominated international 

philanthropy, with the country’s donations totaling $290.89 

billion in 2010. Philanthropy is a large part of the US culture 

and American citizens are encouraged to get involved at an 

early age. The picture in Europe is different compared to the 

United States. With roots that go back to medieval times, 

philanthropy is considered a private matter and a form of 

patronage or charity. Philanthropists do not want to be made 

public. Nowadays the European Philanthropy landscape is quite 

scattered, ranging from pure charity to social entrepreneurs. 

While facts and figures on European philanthropy are difficult 

to acquire, accumulated spending of EU-based foundations 

was assumed to total up to €51 billion. 

But, as major emerging markets grow, the number of local 

philanthropists in these countries is growing as well. Equally, 

the environment for philanthropy in these countries is maturing 

and governments are increasingly acknowledging the 

value of harnessing the expertise of wealthy entrepreneurs. 

Some examples of regional potential are highlighted below. 

In China, where rapid development has been accompanied 

by growing social and environmental concerns, the government 

increasingly sees the potential for philanthropy to 


37

Agenda 


contribute to society and is considering joint efforts with 

private philanthropists. Chinese businessmen, such as Hong 

Kong-based Li Ka-Shing, have set up their own foundations 

and are increasingly forthcoming about their philanthropic 

givings. For example, in a joint effort with the Li Ka-Shing 

Foundation, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs launched the 

Paediatric Hernia Rehabilitation Program in 2009 to provide 

free surgery for children. 

effort to make sustainable contributions in a locally relevant 

context, strategic philanthropists are increasingly looking for 

ways to align their efforts with local and international institutions 

working on tackling development challenges. With a 

strategic approach, transnational philanthropy can leverage 

local philanthropy built on domestic values. There are huge 

opportunities to explore, specifically relating to unlocking the 

entrepreneurial potential in developing countries. 

Similarly, philanthropy is rapidly growing in the Middle East 

region. New opportunities have arisen from lending based 

on shariah principles of shared success between the operator 

and financier of a venture. Affluent business leaders are 

bringing innovation to the usual targets of philanthropic giving. 

They also provide leadership by organizing their givings 

to be institutionalized, sustainable, and – increasingly – to 

be strategic. In the United Arabian Emirates “public-private 

partnership foundations,” such as the Emirates Foundation in 

Abu Dhabi, are based on the financial contributions of both 

governmental and quasi-governmental private donors who 

provide conditions for supporting causes that maximize impact. 

In Russia, until seven years ago there was not a single private 

foundation. As of 10 years ago, overall domestic philanthropic 

giving barely exceeded $100 million. Now there is a growing 

number of private foundations being established by wealthy 

Russians. But according to CAF Global Trustees, the majority of 

newly wealthy donors struggle to identify a long-term mission 

in their giving; they aspire to embrace strategic philanthropy 

but are still looking for effective ways to address specific Russian 

circumstances. 

In Africa, foundations financed solely by home-grown wealth 

are emerging. Sudanese Mo Ibrahim – founder of Celtel 

International, a telecommunications company in Africa and 

the Middle East currently known as Zain – stepped down as 

Celtel’s chairman to concentrate on his foundation, which 

aims to support good governance and great leadership in Africa. 

The Africa Grantmakers Network – created by organizations 

such as the African Women’s Development Fund, based in 

Ghana, and the Kenya Community Development Foundation 

– aims to “change the narrative of Africa as helpless and hapless, 

tilt the balance of stories, and increase the visibility and 

knowledge of Africa.” 

Besides a growing focus on local giving, philanthropy is becoming 

increasingly transnational. As global media makes 

world crises highly visible, philanthropists are more likely to 

give to causes beyond their own tax jurisdictions to support 

underprivileged communities around the world. Wealthy 

individuals will find better opportunities to make their transnational 

giving local by registering institutions abroad or by 

partnering with local peers to operate effectively and to ensure 

that real needs are being met in the focus countries. In an 

Having an impact and being accountable 

Strategic philanthropy has clear performance expectations 

and aims to find the best opportunities for achieving social, 

environmental, and/or financial returns. This involves a strong 

focus on impact and should therefore include a focus on 

measuring performance. Measuring impact helps to: 

Focus on results: Measuring impact enables both the investor 

and the entrepreneur to keep their attention focused on what 

is relevant and what they want to achieve. 

Measure or estimate value: Strategic philanthropists are looking 

to understand the social return on investment (SROI). This 

can be used to help make decisions through cost-benefit assessments 

and understanding ultimate impact. 

Ensure relevance and allocation of resources: Through measuring 

impact, investors can see if resources are being used efficiently 

and effectively. Investors can then evaluate if their investment 

was relevant in the chosen context. 

Be accountable: All enterprises have stakeholders that affect or 

are affected by the enterprise (for example suppliers, customers, 

employees, and local governments). 

What is required to focus on impact measurement is knowing 

which value is being created for the money that is spent. 

Measuring impact is not necessarily easy. Many of the existing 

measurement tools fail to give proper insight into the associated 

impact. As a result, many promising emerging market 

ventures with the potential for significant development impact 

are evaluated on “emotional” terms or on purely financial 

terms. Neither of the two will give a genuine, rational view 

of the full potential. With a growing interest in strategic 

philanthropy, impact, and the value created by philanthropists, 

there are a number of resources available to help you 

measure and understand the impact that your investments 

are generating. 

How can impact be measured? 

As philanthropy has a strategic approach, impact needs to 

relate back to the objectives of the philanthropists and the 

investees – they should hold themselves accountable if the 

objectives are not met. For philanthropists, measurement 

approaches can be divided into different purposes to fit their 

needs. Examples include: 

Screening – Making an investment decision “up front.” This 

approach helps to estimate and understand the potential and 

feasibility for a particular investment. 

Ongoing performance tracking – Helping philanthropists and 

investees understand progress and giving them the ability 

to continuously adapt and improve to ensure they meet the 

objectives. 

Periodic in-depth assessments – Providing a qualitative snapshot 

of benefits and their relevance at a given point in time. 

A strategic philanthropy approach enables wealthy individuals 

to focus on immediate results as well as on results over 

time. Venture philanthropists looking at measuring impacts 

will need to carefully consider the timeframe for which they 

are seeking returns. 

Punleuk Kam is Head 

of Private Banking 

Marketing Business 

Support for Western 

Europe / EEMEA & 

Americas at Credit Suisse. 

In 2010/2011 Punleuk 

led Credit Suisse’s PB 

Philanthropy Initiative. 

Julia Yue is a Vice President 

at Credit Suisse Securities 

(USA) LLC in Private 

Banking Marketing. 

She is responsible for 

planning and executing 

philanthropic initiatives 

for the US market. 


39

Agenda 


Corporate 

Giving Has 

Become 

Increasingly 

Focused 

An interview with Charles Moore, Executive 

Director, Committee Encouraging Corporate 

Philanthropy (CECP). 


What is the history and mission of the Committee Encouraging Corporate 

Philanthropy? 

In 1998, Paul Newman approached Peter L. Malkin about 

creating an organization that would encourage companies to 

commit greater resources to charitable investments. Malkin 

invited David Rockefeller, Paul Volcker, and John C. Whitehead 

to join him in this effort as Honorary Chairs, and CECP was born. 

CECP was officially launched on November 18, 1999, at a 

press conference at Chase Manhattan Plaza. At this event, Paul 

Newman, John C. Whitehead, Peter L. Malkin, Walter Shipley, 

and other business leaders called upon companies to respond 

to the needs in their communities. 

CECP has since grown to include more than 180 CEO members 

– representing more than 150 major corporations and 

approximately $10 billion in annual corporate giving. 

CECP’s mission is to lead the business community in raising 

the level and quality of corporate philanthropy. CECP believes 

that discipline applies to corporate giving, like any other business 

function. When companies demonstrate programmatic 

effectiveness, fiscal accountability, and good stewardship in 

their giving programs, society and business both stand to 

benefit greatly. 

You want to raise the level and quality of corporate philanthropy. Can 

you explain to us how you will do this? 

CECP exists to inspire companies – starting with the 

CEOs – to engage with their communities in increasingly 

impactful ways; to understand that they have unique assets 

and skills that communities need, today more than ever. This 

is hard work, and as such, CECP very thoughtfully and strategically 

provides the tools to facilitate companies’ involvement 

in their communities. It is not just about doing more – it is 

also about doing so in ways that bring results. 

What is the main motivation for CEOs to engage with CECP and what 

kind of benefits will they receive? 

CECP is a network of peers. CEOs join to be a part of an 

action-oriented learning environment. They push each other 

to do more. CECP provides the motivation and incentive 

for CEOs to make corporate giving a priority. CECP is also 

a repository of best practices and resources. It equips CEOs 

and their senior societal engagement staff with the data 

and research necessary to infuse effective giving strategies 

throughout their work. 

CECP holds two annual events for its members. CECP’s Board of 

Boards CEO Conference is a unique opportunity for corporate 

leaders to share insights and best practices, and to help advance 

the business case for global corporate community investment. 

By participating in this event, global CEOs demonstrate their 

commitment to CECP’s mission. 

CECP also gathers together the senior corporate giving staff of 

member companies to share cutting-edge research, provide 

the opportunity to hear NGO and CEO perspectives in panel 

discussions, and feature keynote speakers such as, most recently, 

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of 

Huffington Post Media, and Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark, 

New Jersey. CECP releases a first look at the analysis of the 

Philanthropic Societies 

Around the World 

Asian Foundation for Philanthropy 

TrustAfrica 

The Asian Foundation for Philanthropy (AFP) is a UK-based charities in India. The development-awareness program “Jagruti” 

TrustAfrica is a Senegal-based public foundation that 

collaborative project grants, and technical assistance. The 

charity that was established in 2005 to provide a channel for the aims to raise awareness about development issues being faced 

strives to secure conditions for democratic governance and foundation’s program currently focuses on “Democracy 

South Asian Diaspora Group to better engage with development globally and to relate these to South Asia. Moreover, it works 

equitable development throughout the continent. Initiated and Civil Society” to secure conditions for democracy by 

initiatives in India. Using its network and research expertise, the in cooperation with Asian businesses on the topic of corporate 

in 2001, it works principally through collaborations and strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations; 

AFP provides avenues toward donating, volunteering, and fundraising 

social responsibility. By supporting the Asian Diaspora with 

partnerships with like-minded institutions and donors “Equitable Development” to foster African enterprises 

for grassroots causes related to social and economic philanthropic advice on where to invest social capital, the “Daan” 

across Africa. TrustAfrica aims to develop lasting solutions and achieve broadly shared prosperity; and “African 

challenges. The AFP realizes its mission through three key focus 

program provides an efficient channel for donating. It gives an 

to such intractable challenges as violence, discrimination, Philanthropy” to leverage African resources for democracy 

programs. The international volunteer program “Paropkaar” informed overview of donation opportunities that are transpar- 

and economic isolation though agenda-setting workshops, and development. 

enables British Asians to share their skills and experiences with ent, accountable, and that reach the intended recipients. 


41

Agenda 


previous year’s corporate giving data through the Corporate 

Giving Standard (CGS) results during the Summit. 

CECP provides a platform to share the important work its 

member companies are doing in societal engagement. CECP 

presents an annual Excellence Awards in Corporate Philanthropy 

in a special ceremony. The awards recognize corporate 

giving programs that excel in the areas of CEO leadership, 

dedication to measurement, partnerships, and innovation. 

CECP also spearheads the annual International Corporate 

Philanthropy Day, which focuses attention on the community 

engagement activities of member companies all over the world. 

Successful philanthropy has to include not only the top management 

levels but also the employees. How do you foster such a culture in your 

member companies? 

One of the most important things CECP does is share 

successful case studies. Companies learn from each other 

about the ways to engage employees through their societal 

engagement activities. 

CECP also shares trend data about how companies are engaging 

their employees. Companies use this data to benchmark 

their work and answer key questions, such as, “What are other 

companies in our industry doing to engage employees?” “What 

are new practices in employee engagement?” 

CECP has published important research on these issues over 

the years, such as its work with Taproot to value pro bono 

work. It has also worked with partners such as Points of Light 

and A Billion + Change on the issues of employee engagement 

and skills-based volunteering. 

Each year on the fourth Monday in February, the corporate community, 

led by CECP, observes International Corporate Philanthropy Day – an 

international advocacy day. Can you tell us what happens on this day? 

CECP member companies and partner organizations plan 

societal engagement initiatives and announcements around 

this day, and CECP works with partner organizations to communicate 

the overall benefits and importance of corporate 

philanthropy. 

International Corporate Philanthropy Day (ICPD) is an opportunity 

to: 

• Tell a company’s philanthropy story on an internationally 

recognized day. 

• Further engage senior management, employees, and nonprofit 

partners in a company’s giving programs. 

• Raise awareness of the important role of corporate societal 

engagement in fostering stronger relationships across sectors. 

• Publicize a company’s philanthropic initiatives, benefiting 

from the added media interest. 

• Enhance relationships with peers and thought leaders in the 

corporate giving community. 

CECP values its strong partnership with the UN around ICPD. 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, 

issued a proclamation on ICPD in 2012, commending CECP 

for its leadership and urging corporations to support the UN’s 

Millennium Development Goals. In partnership with CECP, 

the UN Economic and Social Council and the UN Office for 

Partnerships host a special program on opportunities for philanthropy 

to help advance the Millennium Development Goals. 

Additional ICPD activities include: 

• Letting corporate giving officers from CECP member companies 

ring The Opening Bell SM at the New York Stock Exchange. 

• Landmarks around the world light up in the colors of ICPD 

– blue and green – to mark the occasion: Trafalgar Square 

in London; the Empire State Building; Con Edison Tower; 55 

Water Street in New York; and the clock tower of the Wrigley 

Building in Chicago. 

The next ICPD is on February 25, 2013. 

CECP created the Corporate Giving Standard – an online data collection, 

reporting, and measurement tool – to provide immediate insight for 

companies on how to compare their philanthropy budgets. Can you 

explain that tool to us? 

The Corporate Giving Standard is a unique peer-benchmarking 

tool for corporate giving professionals. The CGS is 

an annual survey that provides participants with online and 

on-demand access and customized reports. Each year through 

its CGS survey, CECP collects and reports data on numerous 

aspects of corporate giving programs internationally. Launched 

in 2001, the CGS now features more than $105 billion in 

corporate giving data. 

The CGS allows peer-to-peer company comparisons, aggregated 

industry benchmarks, and internal year-over-year 

spending analyses for CECP members and measurement 

subscribers. 

What are the main trends that you have observed through the CGS? 

The first analysis of 2011 corporate giving data – the most 

recent data available – reveals that a majority of corporations 

worldwide have increased their giving year-over-year. According 

to the CGS survey – conducted by CECP in association 

with The Conference Board – companies are driving toward 

restoring corporate giving to pre-recession levels. 

Key CGS indicators for 2009–2011 tracked through a threeyear 

matched set of companies that responded include: 

• Median total giving was $24.4 million, which is slightly less 

than 2010 levels ($24.6 million) but well above 2009 levels 

($22.6 million). 

• 60 percent of companies increased their total giving as compared 

to 2009. 

• 48 percent of companies increased their giving by more than 

10 percent. 

• The Consumer Staples (25%) and Health Care industries (25%) 

had the largest amount of growth in giving. 

• Of the companies that saw increases in giving from 2009 

to 2011, direct cash was the most prevalent form of giving 

(median percent change of 18%). 

On top of this overall growth, three major trends emerged 

from the 2009–2011 data: 

• Corporate giving became increasingly focused. 

• Employee matching gift and engagement programs were 

high priorities. 

• International giving was on the rise, largely driven by significant 

revenue growth abroad. 

CECP has been preparing for this rise in global giving through 

its Global Corporate Giving Initiative. This work began when 

CECP played a leading role in developing – with the United 

Nations Global Compact – the first Principles for Social Investment 

(PSI), a set of voluntary principles to guide the ongoing 

practice of social investment by organizations seeking to increase 

the scalability and impact of charitable contributions. 

The PSI were adopted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 

demonstrating the commitment of global organizations and 

companies to measure and hold themselves accountable for 

their charitable giving. 

A 2012 CECP report, The Global Guide to What Counts: A Defining 

Moment for Corporate Giving, follows up that important 

work to provide corporations with a much needed tool to 

allow for more efficient measurement of corporate giving on 

a global scale. The definitions created by the initiative will enable 

a major shift away from corporations’ reliance on various 

country tax codes to determine what counts as a contribution 

that benefits society – a reliance that has complicated the 

practice of tracking international giving. 

Find out more: 

www.corporatephilanthropy.org 

Arab Foundations Forum 

The European Association for Philanthropy and Giving 

The Arab Foundations Forum (AFF) is a pan-Arab 

main areas. Firstly, it strives for stronger technical support 

The European Association for Philanthropy and Giving sectors, and causes. The EAPG’s program consists of 

association of foundations based in Jordan that have the that will translate into greater transparency, more effective 

(EAPG) is a UK-based membership network that combines events, roundtable programs, publications, and web-based 

aim of strengthening the capacity and infrastructure of Arab systems, and illustrate the values behind philanthropy. 

the experience, knowledge, and technical expertise of all the resources on technical, strategic, and topical issues relating 

philanthropy by providing funders with a networking structure Secondly, the association works on creating effective policy 

professions that are involved in the provision of philanthropy to philanthropy. Through strategic campaigns, the EAPG 

in the Arab region. The Forum was established in 2006 and structures to advance transparency, accountability, and 

and procurement of charitable giving advice to their clients aims to support and ensure that policies and regulations 

works as a platform for philanthropists to share information, social responsibility among Arab foundations, including 

and donors. Since its establishment in 1998, the EAPG has are developed that encourage philanthropic activity in a 

foster dialogue, share experiences, and support one another the implementation of a code of practice. Finally, it seeks 

been offering guidance about philanthropy across borders, domestic and cross-border context. 

in reinforcing social development through mobilizing private to improve efforts in the areas of networking and capacity 

capital for public benefit. The AFF program addresses three building. 

Compilation by Karen Rieckmann 


43

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

CSR in Latin America: 

A General View 

By Estrella Peinado-Vara 

Multilateral Investment Fund 

Member of the IDB Group 

It is difficult to generalize when examining companies’ social and 

environmental responsibility situations in Latin America, largely due 

to the economic, social, and cultural differences in the region. Mexico, 

Central America, the Caribbean, the Andean region, and Southern 

Cone share many similarities but are separated by many differences. In 

addition, similarities and differences also occur within the countries; this 

adds to the variety of topics covered by CSR, the various approaches that 

companies may have to it, and does not allow for general statements 

about the complexities of the social and environmental problems facing 

Latin America. This article addresses some of the peculiarities of CSR in 

Latin America in terms of topics, tools, and relevant issues, including 

differences between itself and other regions, particularly Europe. 


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Issues such as the environment, human rights, child and forced 

labor, working conditions, and anti-corruption are common 

interests throughout the world. However, having identified 

these overarching issues, it must be pointed out that the priorities 

of Latin America differ from those of Europe, the United 

States, and Canada. Labor issues in this region have not been 

sufficiently addressed by most national laws (compared to 

Europe), so they are a priority. The high disparity of income 

levels also makes economic inclusion an urgent matter, one 

that needs to be addressed in order to reach the poorest and 

most vulnerable in a practical and effective way. There are 

also countries in which certain sectors dominate the economic 

sphere, and of course the CSR sphere, such as mining in Chile 

and Peru. Additionally, in other countries of Latin America, 

social conflict is widespread and the need must be focused 

on how to cope using the help of the private sector, as is the 

case in Colombia. 

The progression of CSR requires certain conditions. These are 

the same conditions that are required for a good business climate: 

an optimal regulatory and fiscal framework, financial 

markets, and institutions that function, among other things. 

Clearly, there are still many difficulties that slow CSR progress 

in Latin America more than in other regions, such as weaker 

institutional capacity and corporate governance and less 

favorable business environments. Some capital markets are 

relatively underdeveloped; therefore, issues such as corporate 

governance are not a priority. Nonetheless, there are also initiatives 

such as the BM&FBOVESPA Novo Mercado (the New 

Market listing on the Brazilian Securities, Commodities and 

Futures Exchange) that require certain governance conditions 

that also support sustainability issues. 

As for the regulatory framework and regarding the difficulties 

in Latin America, in some cases there are regulations on environmental 

conservation, labor rights, protection of consumer 

rights, corporate governance, and business ethics. However, 

sometimes the scope is very limited and it is difficult to enforce 

compliance. Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Argentina are some of 

the countries that have implemented legal reforms related to 

corporate governance and the stock market. 

From a management standpoint, CSR performance indices and 

tools that present the business case have not yet been developed 

in their entirety. It is indisputable that there are business 

benefits, but the full causation is still difficult to establish and, 

therefore, it is also difficult to convince everyone of how good 

it would be to conduct business in a sustainable fashion. The 

most dangerous misconception is that operating in a socially 

and environmentally responsible way is an expense and not an 

investment with returns in the short, medium, or long term. 

This has led many managers to underestimate the power of CSR. 

However, some methodologies adapted to national realities 

have begun to emerge. These methodologies seem more convincing 

since they reflect better the local social and business 

situations. This is the case with some indicators developed by 

the Ethos Institute in Brazil, and its Spanish versions, translated 

and adapted by the Instituto Argentino de Responsabilidad 

Social Empresaria. It is also the case for specific indicators for 

Central America, developed by local networks promoting CSR, 

as well as management models of CSR for small and medium 

enterprises, such as the network developed by Forum Empresa 

(network of national organizations that promote CSR in the 

Americas) or Deres in Uruguay. However, the practical implementation 

is still limited. 

A responsible private sector 

The good news is that companies in Latin America are realizing 

the need for responsible behavior. In the region, there are 

three conditions that favor the development of a responsible 

private sector. First, the presence of multinational corporations 

concerned about financial, social, and environmental sustainability 

that maintain the standards of the parent companies. In 

this case, the domestic company imports and adapts the parent 

company’s CSR practices. There are some cases where the opposite 

occurs and the local model is exported to other markets, 

including the parent company’s model, as was the case with the 

practices of Danisco’s human resources in Brazil. Second, reactive 

behaviors are also common. There are companies that learned 

the hard way and realized the importance of the social license 

to operate, or that learned about environmental sustainability 

only after suffering negative consequences (boycotts, litigations, 

etc.) due to their irresponsible behaviors (labor disputes, community 

conflicts, environmental disasters, etc.). Third, many 

civil society organizations, multilateral development organizations, 

and visionary leaders are promoting CSR and the impact 

that companies can have on economic and social development. 

Linked to this last point, numerous organizations have been 

making progress in promoting CSR since the late 1990s: global 

organizations like the World Business Council for Sustainable 

Development – which has national chapters in almost every 

country in Latin America – or the 19 organizations that are 

part of Forum Empresa, representing Argentina, Brazil, Canada, 

Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, 

Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, 

Uruguay, and Venezuela. 

Some of these institutions have been supported by multilateral 

efforts from the likes of the World Bank, the Organization of 

American States, and the Inter-American Development Bank, 

which, through its Multilateral Investment Fund, has promoted 

responsible social and environmental practices through research, 

publications, and financial support. One of the highlights of 

their promotional efforts is the Inter-American Conference on 

CSR, which has been held annually since 2002. The financial 

support has focused on institutional strengthening and implementation, 

especially regarding value chains and initiatives for 

private sector contributions to equitable economic development. 

Other global initiatives worth mentioning are the Equator 

Principles, the Global Reporting Initiative, and obviously the 

United Nations Global Compact because of its relatively high 

success among businesses interested in Latin America. Each 

initiative operates within its own sphere of action. Sometimes 

they are confronted with certain limitations due to the nonbinding, 

voluntary nature of their principles or guidelines and 

because sometimes there is no method of verification. However, 

they have proved to be effective promotional tools for CSR, its 

complexities, and its realities, and they have demonstrated 

the need for company-led action. These organizations and 

initiatives have two objectives. The first objective is to build 

a strong business case to prove that, in order to maximize 

profits, companies need to take into account their environmental 

impact, human rights records, labor conditions at their 

facilities, and anti-corruption measures, or they must suffer 

the consequences. The argument does not revolve around 

maximization of profits versus socially and environmentally 

responsible operations. Nowadays, the conversation is about the 

need to implement socially and environmentally responsible 

practices to maximize profits. The second objective – very 

much reflecting the reality of Latin America and the Caribbean 

– consists of working toward more equitable societies, 

which, in turn, will make it easier for businesses to thrive. 

Relevant issues for Latin America 

The priorities for businesses and the expectations of stakeholders 

in Latin America are similar to those of developed countries, 

but not exactly the same. There are universal themes such 

as the environment, human rights, working conditions, and 

forced labor, which are becoming more important, mostly in 

developing countries. Environmental and climate change issues 

are becoming particularly relevant for emerging economies 

in Latin America, since there has been gradual economic and 

productive growth. But this growth has not been accompanied 

by environmental legislation, all while there has been an 

increase in the use of natural resources. 

1| Environment 

Some large companies have taken initiatives to reduce their 

environmental impact in terms of emissions and consumption 

of energy and water resources. This is the case of CEMEX. As a 


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“multi-Latin” company that produces and distributes building materials 

and cement in over 50 countries in the Americas, Europe, 

Asia, and the Middle East, their operations have a significant 

environmental impact on CO 2 

emissions. It is an energy-intensive 

industry with high impact because of the quarries as well as 

the transportation and manufacturing processes. The company 

has developed a sustainability management strategy, including 

using substitute materials that require less energy in processing 

alternative energy sources (biomass, reuse of waste materials as 

oils, solvents, and tires) and renewable sources (wind), and it is 

also searching for more energy-saving methods in the process. 

Also an important environmental issue for countries like 

Brazil and Colombia is the loss of biodiversity. Natura in 

Brazil is a cosmetics and personal hygiene company (with a 

direct sales force of resellers in over 5,000 cities in Argentina, 

Chile, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and France). The 

company aims to contribute to sustainable development by 

focusing on environmental conservation and biodiversity. One 

of its features is the use of natural products; it buys part of 

its inputs in terms of fair trade and organic origin and pays a 

premium of 15 percent on average. 

2| Economic opportunities for the excluded 

About 360 million people (or about 70 percent of the Latin 

American and Caribbean populations) live on less than $300 

per month. One mechanism that is yielding results is the 

inclusion of low-income and vulnerable populations in value 

chains as commercial partners. It is about creating economic 

opportunities for groups and entrepreneurs from the base of 

the economic pyramid who – with some support, training, 

and technical assistance – can provide goods and services to 

businesses. These are creative solutions implemented by the 

companies that solve business issues and contribute to the improvement 

of living conditions of disadvantaged communities 

while expanding markets and increasing profitability. Business 

initiatives now offer creative solutions that also successfully 

contribute to alleviating poverty and social problems. 

These 360 million people should also be seen as potential 

clients and customers. Many of them have no access to basic 

services like water, energy, education, health, and financial 

resources. Infrastructures are deficient and the governments 

are failing to provide these services in an efficient way. For 

example, about 40 million people do not have access to a reliable 

energy source in the region. In these cases, and from a 

developmental standpoint, priority should be given to models, 

products, and services that offer strategic guidance in helping 

to improve the lives of the people (such as providing access 

to water, energy, education, and health) rather than simply 

searching for the market potential at the base of the pyramid 

per se (which can lead to increased indebtedness of the population 

or unnecessary consumption). 

Masisa is an example of a company that has a comprehensive 

approach to sustainability, closely linked to business development 

with the base of the pyramid to combat poverty and 

exclusion. Masisa, with the help of the Multilateral Investment 

Fund, supports training for building and assembling furniture 

that is specially designed for very low-income households. 

This also generates employment for the same groups through 

manufacturing and assembling. 

3| Labor conditions 

Responsible management of human resources and ensuring 

fair working conditions, security, and decent wages are particularly 

important since labor laws in many Latin American 

countries may be insufficient. Some cases of forced labor, the 

use of child labor, or extreme working conditions in some 

labor-intensive sectors have required action in the development 

of fairer and more responsible practices – not only for 

the impact on the image of companies, sectors, and countries, 

but also for productivity reasons. Furthermore, the lack of 

provision of basic services by the state, such as education 

and health, allows companies to expand their functions and 

provide these services for their own good as well as to have 

human resources available to them that are healthy and 

educated. Volkswagen in Brazil created primary care clinics in 

its plants, which significantly reduced employee absenteeism. 

Ingenios Pantaleon sugar mills in Central America improved 

working conditions and provided accommodations for temporary 

workers – mostly displaced people during the harvest 

season – and these practices resulted in higher productivity. 

There have been improvements in labor conditions, but it 

is certainly one of the pending issues that would have the 

greatest impact and a multiplier effect on the welfare of the 

population of Latin America. 

Different approach 

In comparison with Europe, the differences in Latin America 

are striking, firstly because of the level of development of 

the overall market (institutions, incentives, legal framework, 

etc.). For example, what in some emerging countries in Latin 

America are considered a model of responsible practices 

concerning working conditions are the bare legal minimum 

in other, more developed countries. In general, the existence 

of the welfare state, strong institutions, and supranational 

organizations such as the European Union, which supports 

the development of a more responsible private sector, change 

the circumstances substantially. 

The social and environmental consequences of uneven economic 

development play a role. In Europe, up until now, 

companies, civil society, and the state can meet their responsibilities 

more easily, while in Latin America, the private sector 

has to assume additional responsibilities (training, education, 

health, access to basic services) if it wants to operate under 

certain favorable conditions. Companies have little or no choice 

but to be creative and implement initiatives to address these 

market – or, rather, state – failures. 

Another issue is the pressure that stakeholders have over the 

companies, which is usually very closely linked to the level of 

development and the level of activism of the right stakeholders. 

In Europe there is a deeply rooted tradition of a social economy 

where businesses, government, civil society, and unions each 

have their reserved space and actively participate in most 

decision-making processes. This dynamic does not exist in 

most Latin American countries – civil society organizations, 

which could play a control role and act as the voice of citizens 

(or some groups), are generally weaker. Precisely for all these 

reasons, the expectations placed on the private sector in lessdeveloped 

countries are greater. 

Public policy 

Specific public policies on CSR in Latin America are almost 

nonexistent. However, the necessary policies would be those 

for the promotion and creation of incentives that encourage 

more responsible behavior. Public policies should retain the 

voluntary nature of CSR, without forgetting that there are basic 

issues to cover such as human rights, child labor, pollution, 

functioning financial markets, etc. 

Basically, the public sector’s role should be to implement 

measures to streamline the business climate first and foremost, 

and once this happens, it can create or provide incentives 

for responsible behavior. The market should be developed 

in such a way that consumers, funders, employees, and civil 

society would each have a role in making companies become 

more responsible. In Latin America there is a pressing need 

for strengthening the civil society and establishing – with 

government support – more opportunities for dialog among 

the stakeholders. This could also help improve the bad image 

(sometimes rightly, sometimes not) that the private sector has 

in many Latin American countries. 

How to promote CSR in Latin America 

There may be different approaches in promoting CSR in Latin 

America and the Caribbean, but to convince business managers, 

nothing is better than using the business case. CSR is not only 

profitable, it is necessary to improve business competitiveness 

and help contribute toward improving the lives of many people. 

CSR not only can enhance business competitiveness but also 

contribute toward equitable development. 

Business associations enjoy a privileged position in promoting 

responsible business behavior through advocacy and training 

of key personnel in companies. In addition to supporting the 

initiatives of industry associations to which they belong, companies 

can take a leadership role. They can show to their peers 

that CSR is “working,” in addition to requiring responsible 

behavior of their suppliers, distributors, and other companies 

within their value chains. 

Conclusion 

Latin America faces a series of obstacles in furthering the 

development of CSR. These difficulties are the same barriers 

that private-sector development faces (weak institutions and 

business climate). Legislation is not conducive, and disbelief 

or skepticism about the business case of CSR is still apparent. 

In order to overcome the barrier of skepticism, it is necessary 

to convey the business case and show it – perhaps more in 

emerging countries than elsewhere because of the additional 

challenges. Numerous examples show that no matter the 

industry, its size, or the social issue, companies must find 

their own models for implementation of CSR to be profitable. 

Inevitably, CSR in Latin America is different from that 

in Europe because of very different realities. 

The business sector in Latin America cannot ignore the lack 

of infrastructure and weak institutions. Producing goods and 

services responsibly can help alleviate some of these shortcomings, 

or at least contribute to social stabilities that influence 

some of these elements in the background. 

CSR is becoming increasingly more common in the region, 

but a lot still needs to be done regarding the promotion, 

implementation, monitoring, impact measurement tools, as 

well as issues that concern the public and social sectors. In 

emerging economies, as in most Latin American countries, the 

private sector (with the drive and the support of the public 

and social sectors) has the capabilities and tools to generate 

wealth while contributing toward more equitable economic 

and social development. A responsible private sector is the 

best guarantee of progress for the region. 

Estrella Peinado-Vara is a Senior 

Specialist at the Multilateral Investment 

Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American 

Development Bank (IDB). She works at 

the IDB since 2002, focusing on privatesector 

development, corporate social and 

environmental responsibility, and value 

chain. She holds an MBA from Georgetown 

University (Washington, DC). 


49

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

By Prof. Paul Alexander Haslam 

An Evolving 

CSR System in 

Latin America 

A decade ago, corporate social responsibility had only just 

emerged on the agendas of businesses operating in Latin 

America. Corporate commitments were limited to the largest 

firms, usually the multinationals; public awareness and demand 

for corporate responsibility was low; governments were 

uninvolved; and civil society organizations promoting CSR 

were still new and, for the most part, funded from elsewhere. 

In the last 10 years, corporate social responsibility has matured. 

Firms of many sizes are turning to CSR, public awareness has 

grown, and civil society has increased the local ownership of 

the concept in a way that connects with the long-standing 

ethical expectations of these societies. However, outside interests 

remain influential in the promotion of this concept, 

namely via multinational corporations headquartered in the 

North and their governments, multilateral funding agencies, 

private foundations, and, most recently, internationally networked 

NGOs. 

This article examines the important changes that have occurred 

in the evolution and practice of CSR in Latin America 

over the last decade. In particular, it takes a second look at 

the key relationships behind the development of CSR in the 

region – described elsewhere as the “CSR system.” 

A decade of CSR 

The context for CSR is different in Latin America than in most 

developed countries. The countries of the region are considered 

to be “developing” – the majority of which fall into the 

“upper-middle income” category. Latin America is nonetheless 

characterized by high levels of poverty and inequality: The 

indigent and non-indigent poor were estimated to comprise 

30 percent of the population in 2011. In the aftermath of two 

decades of globalization, liberalization, and privatization, companies 

have become more prominent in the lives of citizens 

in a context where the reach of the state is often limited. CSR 

beyond compliance with the law does not mean much when 

the law itself is often poorly enforced. For this reason, social 

struggle and advocacy in Latin America has been focused on 

the extension and defense of citizenship rights vis-à-vis the 

state. In other words, although corporations can contribute 

more to development in Latin America, we should not forget 

that more effective state regulation of business activities is a 

precursor to better CSR. 

Although it is important to contextualize the limits of CSR in 

the region, it is also evident that the last decade has seen an 

important expansion of corporate activity in this area. In 2004, 

I wrote that the overall picture for CSR in Latin America was 

one in which private sector participation, government advocacy 

and promotion, and general public awareness was relatively 

low. Private sector activity was incipient, and a number of 

business-industry NGOs had only recently been established to 

promote CSR. Of course, these results varied greatly across the 

region. Brazil led the Americas, attaining a level of engagement 

with CSR that was similar to more developed countries. The 

next best performers were the most industrialized countries 

(Argentina, Chile, and Mexico), followed by lower levels of CSR 

in the rest of South America, and a virtual absence of activity 

in the Caribbean and Central America. 

Almost a decade later, the picture has changed. Public and 

business opinion surveys, such as those conducted by CSR 

network Forum Empresa and by accounting firm KPMG in 

2011, gave insights into both the growth of CSR and its limits. 

Both surveys reported an increase in sustainability reporting 

by companies in the region: Forum Empresa witnessed an 

increase in sustainability reporting from 40 to 47 percent 

during the 2009–2011 period; while KPMG revealed that the 

use of reporting assurance in some countries topped that of 

many developed countries (e.g., Brazil 40%, Chile 37%, Mexico 

25%). This picture should also be regionally disaggregated. 

KPMG, which only included three Latin American countries 

in its sample, revealed significant variations in sustainability 

reporting (Brazil 88%, Mexico 66%, Chile 27%). The first two 

countries, which were also included in their 2008 survey, 

had shown increases of 10 and 39 percent, respectively, over 

the three years prior. Although CSR uptake by companies in 

Latin America has improved, the sub-regional discrepancies 

I identified in 2004 still appear to be relevant. 

CSR has diffused from multinationals to large domestic firms 

that have found CSR to be part of the modern management 

package needed to compete in global markets. In small and medium 

enterprises as well as micro-enterprises, ethical concerns 

tend to be intertwined with the personal values of the owner 

– often related to Catholic philanthropic principles – and 

to a personal engagement with workers and the community. 

Forum Empresa reports that consumers are interested in 

purchasing goods from responsible companies. But public 

opinion surveys also reveal a lack of confidence in the private 

sector – derived in significant part from the belief that there 

is poor government oversight of business activities. 

In many ways, the institutional framework that encourages 

CSR has matured. A decade ago, a large number of business 

and industry civil society organizations were created, often 

via funding from sources outside the region, such as the Inter- 

American Development Bank, the Netherlands Organisation 

for International Assistance, and corporate foundations such 

as AVINA and W.K. Kellogg. AVINA alone supported some 160 

CSR-related organizations between 1999 and 2009. Corporate 

membership in these organizations has skyrocketed over the 

last 10 years or so: Forum Empresa (region-wide) 385 to 2,643; 

Instituto Ethos (Brazil) 11 to 1,340; CEMEFI (Mexico) 28 to 

495; Acción RSE (Chile) 14 to 93. These organizations have 

now matured as national champions and public voices for 

corporate ethics and responsibility. 

The evolving CSR system 

Although corporate social responsibility is often portrayed as 

a voluntary initiative by businesses acting as good corporate 

citizens, the reality is that a business acts in the center of a 

system of pressures, incentives, and advocacy that involves 

many other actors. This is particularly true in Latin America and 

the Caribbean, where pressures and incentives often originate 

from outside the country in which the firm has its operations. 

I call this set of pressures and incentives that surround the firm 

the CSR system. It can be understood as a set of inter-linked 


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actors at the international, home-country (of a multinational 

corporation), and host-country levels. It includes international 

actors (multilateral organizations and transnational activist 

networks); home-country actors (multinational corporations’ 

head offices, private foundations, home-country governments, 

and academic institutions); as well as domestic (host-country) 

actors (the firm implementing CSR, government, universities, 

business and industry CSOs, independent NGOs, academic 

institutions, and organized labor). 

Three changes to the CSR system in Latin America have become 

particularly evident over the last decade. First, international 

norms of CSR, such as those promoted by the Global Compact 

or the Global Reporting Initiative, have become more influential 

and pervasive among firms. Second, home-country 

governments are increasingly interested in influencing the 

• International System. Influences from multilateral organizations 

continue to have an important impact on the development 

of CSR in the region. Norms of responsible corporate 

behavior, such as those associated with the Global Compact, 

Voluntary Principles, and Global Reporting Initiative, have 

become more influential among firms over the last decade. 

Global Compact Local Networks have been established in 

many Latin America countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, 

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, 

Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Large domestic corporations 

increasingly see the adoption of these norms as being asthe 

CSR System in Latin America 

Host-Country 

System 

Universities 

Home-Country 

System 

Business/ 

Industry NGOs 

Universities 

Private 

Foundations 

National 

Government 

ethical behavior of their companies abroad. Third, while 

sympathetic business and industry NGOs remain important 

to public debate, the rise of contentious, globally networked 

NGOs has created a real watchdog capability in civil society. 

Multilateral 

Organizations 

Firm 

Implements 

CSR 

Multinational 

Enterprise 

National 

Government 

National 

NGOs 

Workers 

International 

NGOs 

Market 

Financing 

International 

System 

sociated with modern management techniques, and essential 

to competing with foreign firms and doing business abroad. In 

addition, financing for large-scale investments increasingly requires 

adherence to CSR norms, such as those found in the International 

Financial Corporation’s Sustainability Framework. 

Multilateral development agencies and private foundations 

based outside the region have also been significant 

contributors to the development of CSR in the region. The 

Inter-American Development Bank and its private sector arm, 

the Multilateral Investment Fund, continue to fund CSR activities 

throughout the hemisphere. The Americas Conference 

on Corporate Social Responsibility (2002–present), funded 

by the Inter-American Development Bank, is particularly 

noteworthy for its ongoing contribution to CSR promotion 

across the region. Private foundations and home-country 

development agencies have also been active in establishing 

a network of organizations that promote CSR. 

• Home-Country System. In addition to the obvious impact of 

multinational corporations’ head offices on the adoption of 

CSR policies, home-country governments of these firms have 

also begun to play an important role. Increasingly, homecountry 

governments are under pressure from domestic 

constituencies to ensure that their companies are acting 

responsibly abroad. This is particularly evident in the extractive 

sector. In Canada, which is an important source country 

for foreign direct investment in mining in Latin America, 

domestic NGOs and their political allies have pressured the 

government to regulate the activities of Canadian mining 

firms abroad. Although this regulatory agenda was rejected 

by the Canadian government, it felt compelled to create an 

Office of the Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor, and publish 

a periodical CSR E-Bulletin as a way to deflect civil society 

criticism and encourage Canadian firms to follow sustainable 

and responsible practices. In this respect, home-country 

governments, as a result of civil society pressure, can play an 

active role in encouraging CSR practices in host-countries. 

• Host-Country System. The collection of pressures and incentives 

described above converge around the firm implementing 

CSR in the host-country system. Historically, public 

awareness and media engagement – and even government 

oversight – have been relatively weak. Business and industry 

NGOs promote CSR, but as a “sympathetic” civil society, 

their approach is one of dialogue, consensus-building, and 

leading by example – not pressure in its political sense. In 

this respect, the principal pressures on the firm stem from 

core stakeholder constituencies such as organized labor and 

local communities. Here we see a significant change over the 

last decade, whereby local organizations based in affected 

communities engage in contentious politics supported by 

networks of like-minded NGOs at the national and international 

levels. This is a fundamental change that brings 

contentious civil society into a watchdog role that has the 

potential to hold firms accountable – in a context where 

the reach of the state is limited. It is particularly evident in 

the extractive sector, where civil society mobilization across 

local, national, and international scales has forced firms 

across the industry to more seriously engage stakeholders 

or risk losing their social license to operate. 

Conclusion 

Over the last decade, CSR has become increasingly wellestablished 

in Latin America and the Caribbean. Uptake by 

companies has increased dramatically, as has public awareness. 

Although local ownership of CSR and its integration with 

domestic philanthropic traditions has increased dramatically 

over the last 10 years, the CSR system in Latin America is still 

distinguished by the influence of outside actors: the leading 

practices of multinational corporations; the role of private 

foundations, multilateral development agencies, and homecountry 

governments; as well as transnational activist networks. 

A decade ago, a CSR system had been established in Latin 

America that did an admirable job of promoting the concept, 

but it was poorly suited to monitoring or promoting compliance. 

With the passage of time, the maturation of civil society, 

and the development of global reporting norms, the system 

has improved. The development of home-government interest 

in promoting good business practices abroad and a contentious 

internationally-networked civil society suggests that the 

CSR system can evolve to be more effective. However, moving 

beyond compliance with the law remains limited due to the 

weak regulatory capacities of many governments and the 

pressing concerns of decent jobs and economic development. 

Prof. Paul Alexander Haslam is 

Director of the School of International 

Development and Global Studies, 

University of Ottawa, Canada. He is 

currently researching the effects of CSR 

on local communities affected by the 

mining industry in Latin America. 


53

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

Should Poverty 

Alleviation Be Part 

of MultinationalS’ 

Corporate 

Responsibility? 

By Dr. Lourdes Casanova and Anne Dumas 

After a gap of 20 years, Rio de Janeiro will again be hosting the 

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also 

known as Rio+20. In 1992, at the Earth Summit (Eco-92), Latin 

America was getting out of the so-called lost decade, following 

the debt crisis of the 1980s. The economy was growing slowly, 

inflation was high, and high levels of external debt reduced 

investments in infrastructure. Over the last 20 years, Brazil has 

become the sixth largest economy in the world. Today, there is 

economic stability, low inflation, and almost 40 million Latin 

Americans have come out of poverty in the last years. Even the 

global financial crisis has had mild effects on the region. The 

private sector has emerged stronger and has played a key role 

in the recent Latin American success story. However, despite the 

growth, social problems persist. Rio+20 provides a wonderful 

opportunity for the private sector to showcase both its business 

success and efforts to alleviate poverty and promote green energy. 

Emerging multinationals from Latin America 

Emerging multinationals have grown exponentially. In the 

2011 Global 500 ranking of the magazine Fortune, a total of 

115 companies – almost one in four of the total – come from 

emerging countries, whereas only 47 were represented in 2005. 

With this emerging power comes the responsibility to contribute 

to be part of the solution to the world’s social challenges. The 

Canadian magazine Corporate Knights published the rankings of 

its eighth Global 100 for “a better and cleaner capitalism.” This 

year the ranking included three Brazilian companies: Natura 

Cosméticos S.A. – which was number two overall in the world 

– Banco Bradesco S.A. (number 61), and Petrobras (number 81). 

Social contributions to society have been part of the vision 

for many Latin American companies – some of them more 

than 100 years old – often due to the religious beliefs of the 

founders. Most recent initiatives in the region started around 

1997, as did Forum Empresa, an Inter-American network that 

includes the United States and Canada and has 3,300 affiliated 

companies. The World Business Council for Sustainable 

Development, which originated at the 1992 Rio Summit, has 

18 member organizations – 13 are affiliated companies from 

Latin America and nine are from Brazil. Some important organizations 

– such as Peru 2021; the Ethos Institute in Brazil 

with 1,477 member companies; RSE in Chile; Costa Rica’s 

Asociación de Empresarios para el Desarrollo; and Red Puentes, 

a network of Latin American NGOs – are all looking to make 

a contribution toward the development of their own societies 

and to work more closely with stakeholders. The Inter-American 

Development Bank has supported many of these initiatives. 

At the same time, Brazil has become a hotspot for social entrepreneurs, 

and more than half of all Brazilian companies 

have embraced social policies, according to the Ethos Institute. 

Entrepreneurs and executives alike are leaving traditional 

businesses and embarking on entrepreneurial projects with 

a social development priority. In 1995 Rodrigo Baggio created 

the Committee for Democracy in Information Technology with 

the mission of utilizing information technology as a tool for 

social inclusion in low-income communities. The Committee 

creates schools around Brazil and it has started expanding the 

model to other emerging countries such as India. 

Brazil also has tough environmental laws. The 1995 Environmental 

Crime Law states that Brazilian executives can be sued 

in court if they fail to meet a number of health, environmental, 

and safety standards. In 2009 Brazil approved the National 

Policy on Climate Change and, more recently, the Forest Code 

to reduce deforestation. 

Mexico has taken a more philanthropic view concerning the 

contributions of its multinationals toward the improvement 

of its societies. In 1988 Manuel Arango, an important business 

leader, created The Mexican Centre for Philanthropy with 

59 companies, 92 foundations, and 45 business leaders. The 

idea at that time was to focus not only on philanthropy but 

also on environmental and sustainability issues as well. Since 

then, the Centre’s activities have include helping companies 

to implement CSR policies. 

Latin American companies (and companies from emerging markets 

in general) operate in a harsh economic and social context. 

Despite these harsh conditions, many Latin American firms 

have succeeded globally with strong leadership and important 

homegrown capabilities such as agility in decision-making and 

flexibility in action. While most of these emerging-market 

multinationals have a social dimension as part of their DNA 

and engage with employees and local communities to improve 

their social lives (by providing housing, education, and special 

health benefits), an important question has arisen in recent 

years: Should poverty alleviation be part of the role and the 

social commitment of successful Latin American multinationals? 

Poverty alleviation in Latin America 

The strong economic growth in Latin America since 2002 has 

been very beneficial for the poor, as the size of the middle 

classes in the region has increased. The percentage of people 

living below the poverty line has decreased almost 20 percent 

in the last 20 years, but the level of those living below it is 

still 30 percent – and those living in extreme poverty account 

for 12.8 percent of that total. The Latin American region still 

has one of the highest levels of economic disparity in the 

world. Emerging multinationals from Latin America have 

thrived and want to engage in poverty alleviation programs 

and sustainable development. Many of the poor work in the 

informal economy. Employees in the informal sector have no 

rights and their work is part of their survival. 

In this context, it is important to identify channels by which 

private and public sector leaders can have an impact on re- 


55

Agenda 


ducing poverty. In general, one can identify three channels 

for raising people out of poverty: enterprise, distribution, and 

government revenue. These channels are inter-dependent 

and, as shown below, each presents important challenges 

in ensuring that they yield the desired benefits in terms of 

poverty reduction. 

Enterprise channel: Companies create employment. A job in 

the formal sector is often the passport to improve the social 

lives of those in the community. It gives employees and their 

families access to health services, among other benefits, and 

offers training that is linked to their new jobs. At the same 

time, foreign (and local) direct investment increases demand 

for products and services from local suppliers. However, many 

of the foreign multinationals arrived in Latin America during 

the privatization program of the 1990s in the service sector. 

State-owned telecom, electricity, airline, and water companies 

changed ownership. As soon as the private, foreign, or local 

company took over, redundant employees were fired. Since 

the 1990s many of the foreign companies, in fact, destroyed 

more jobs than they created. 

Distribution channel: C. K. Prahalad, with his concept of the 

fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, highlighted for the first 

time the enormous potential of the poor as consumers. One of 

the unique characteristics of emerging-market multinationals 

is their ability to offer successful products and services to 

those four billion people in the world who live on less than 

$2 per day. Banco Bradesco launched a service in Brazil for 

those without bank accounts, allowing them to make financial 

transactions through their mobile phones. The Mexican-based 

mobile company América Móvil has based its success on 

understanding the mobile phone needs of the lower-income 

population. The early expansion of prepaid cards is one of the 

reasons for the higher mobile penetration in Latin America, 

with respect to other emerging markets. 

Government channel: Governments can act as redistributors of 

wealth through the distribution of tax revenues. The government 

revenue channel’s efficiency depends on the ability of 

the government to collect taxes and on how they invest them. 

However, global competition between different parts of the 

world has obliged governments to take special measures to 

attract foreign direct investment. To compete, different governments 

offer a range of perks, including free import and 

export of products, tax exemptions for a couple of years, and 

often free land. Capital is usually allowed to move freely and 

multinationals – local and foreign – have the ability to allocate 

capital efficiently and minimize their tax burdens. These 

mechanisms to reduce corporate taxation can be damaging 

to emerging markets with small tax revenue bases. The 2007 

Latin Economic Outlook of the OECD Development Centre 

states that the extreme inequality in the region could also be 

alleviated through the redistribution of taxes. 

The moral case 

Latin American multinationals from Mexico to Brazil feel the 

need to engage with their communities and societies. Thus, it is 

not surprising that we can find a number of local multinationals 

where ethical values have been integrated into business strategies. 

The Mexican company Bimbo is well known for its policy of 

avoiding layoffs, even in times of crisis, and for introducing 

various incentives to strengthen loyalty and build the notion 

of common interest among its staff. 

The same goes for the Brazilian cosmetic company Natura 

Cosméticos, an ecological brand. The company is based on an 

environmental concept in which its products are created through 

the sustainable use of natural products sourced from the Amazon 

rainforest by poor indigenous communities. Its business model 

has improved the lives of about 1.1 million Brazilian women and 

more than 200,000 in other countries working in direct sales. 

The company, which does not do animal testing, considers that 

responsible practices form a part of the company’s everyday 

operations, from production to its business relationships. 

The restaurant chain Astrid and Gastón represent another 

example of the implementation of CSR. The founders, Astrid 

and Gastón Acurio, see their chain of restaurants as being 

intimately related to the improvement of Peruvian lives. They 

want Peruvians to rediscover the value of their unique local 

agricultural products and, through them, improve the image 

of Peru, a country that has suffered a lot from bad press 

internationally. They also opened the Instituto Culinario 

Pachacútec, named after the shantytown where it is located. 

The institute accepted 30 students from 700 applicants last 

year. The school is free and financed by donations. 

The business case 

Many companies in the world have, at times, been accused 

of using social initiatives as a public relations exercise to improve 

their images. However, social programs do help to move 

companies to the next stage of success and to better integrate 

them with the concerns of the societies in which they operate. 

Quality of education is seen as one of the main challenges 

for Latin America to attain the next stage of development. 

Companies that help to improve the level of education of their 

employees, as well as their employability, provide long-term 

benefits to those who set up specific programs. For example, 

the biggest Brazilian private bank, Banco Itaú-Unibanco, has 

made education projects the priority of its social policies. 

Through their educational program Raizes e Asas (Roots 

and Wings), the bank invests $12,000 per student. The Inter- 

American Development Bank has launched an employability 

program Entra 21 with the International Youth Foundation 

and partners from the private sector. Enova in México designs, 

builds, and operates more than 42 small educational centers 

(Red de Innovación y Aprendizaje, Learning and Education 

Network) for low-income urban communities. 

Some companies such as the Mexican building materials company 

Cemex are able to address the moral concerns and help the 

entrepreneurship spirit of the poorest segments of the population. 

In 2000 Cemex launched Patrimonio Hoy (Patrimony Today). 

The initiative offers microcredit to help low-income families to 

improve their houses; Cemex employees offer free advice; and 

the company provides fixed-price building materials. Almost 

265,000 families have received a total of $135 million in loans 

in Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. 

Brazilian oil producer Petrobras has committed to a wide 

variety of development schemes, showing that long-term 

involvement in CSR can also lead to long-term benefits. The 

company states that they have to create a policy “which brings 

socio-environmental results to society, aggregating social 

technologies. ”Petrobras adds, “in developing countries, if we 

want to make a difference we must go further from what the 

law demands.” The company collaborates with UNICEF and 

22 companies in Latin America and the Caribbean to focus 

on children’s education. Petrobras has been a participant of 

the Global Compact since 2003 and is part of the Dow Jones 

Sustainability initiative and the Brazilian Business Council for 

Sustainable Development. As one of the 10 biggest companies 

in the world by market capitalization, Petrobras has adopted 

CSR as an integral part of its mission and business strategy. 

A “New Deal” against poverty? 

A number of Latin American governments have launched 

public policy programs to tackle poverty. These programs have 

also served as catalysts to involve firms from the private sector. 

A good example is Fome Zero (Zero Hunger), which includes 

various programs such as Bolsa Família (Family Allowance), 

which was launched in 2003 and reaches about 12.7 million 

families with incomes of $70 per month. Each family receives 

about $17 a month per child attending school. According to 

the World Bank, 75 percent of Brazilian families in the bottom 

20 percent income group are receiving Bolsa transfers. Brazil 

is exporting its know-how to other developing countries such 

as India and even New York, which copied its conditional cash 

transfer program. In 2010, the total budget of the program 

reached $6 billion. The program, the biggest of its kind in 

the world, also encourages the participation of civil society 

for monitoring and evaluating the efficiency of the programs. 

The private sector is also supporting this initiative. Mexico has 

a similar (and older) program, called Oportunidades. 

However, poverty reduction has not been part of the traditional 

commitments of multinationals to the society in which 

they operate. Even the Global Compact – which was created 

in 2000 by the United Nations and has 8,000 participating 

companies, unions, NGOs, and governments from all over 

the world – does not consider the social concerns of emerging 

markets such as poverty alleviation and social inclusion. 

Moving forward to a better society 

Corporate scandals in the United States and Europe and the 

economic crisis have put companies under increasing media 

scrutiny and resulted in public distrust. 

Various countries have widely benefited from consensus-based 

reform initiatives. In Europe, the 1978 Moncloa Pact was 

a turning-point in the history of post-Franco Spain. It was 

prompted by the country’s economic turmoil after the 1974 

oil crisis. The government, unions, political parties, businesses, 

and civil society came to a consensus on the way forward for 

the country’s transition toward democracy and prosperity. 

There needs to be a broad Moncloa-style consensus on the 

future of social responsibility in Latin America. Business and 

the private sector should endeavor to make growth more equitable. 

The need for the private and public sectors as well as 

civil society to work together in Latin America is more urgent 

than ever. The Rio+20 meeting provides an excellent occasion 

for this commitment for a better society. 

Dr. Lourdes Casanova is specialized in 

international business with a focus on 

Latin America and emerging market 

multinationals. She is responsible at 

INSEAD of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 

women initiative and co-leading InnovaLatino, 

an OECD/INSEAD research 

project funded by Fundación Telefónica. 

She is member of the task force “ICT & 

Innovation” for the B20 summit. 


57

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

Social Responsibility 

Networks in the 

Banana Industry 

By Prof. Dr. Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez 

There is evidence that in the last two decades, international 

civil society has played a dynamic role in improving environmental 

and working conditions in regions such as Latin 

America. Such improvements have occurred side by side 

with indications that trade liberalization and the decline of 

the state’s regulatory role since the 1980s and the advent of 

globalization in the 1990s has exacerbated inequalities, social 

exclusion, and triggered environmental degradation. It has 

also provided incentives for a cost-reduction “race to the bottom,” 

and therefore an imbalance in trade relations. There 

are strong indications that these apparently contradictory 

phenomena (care and competition) occur simultaneously in 

different industries across the globe. 

Although corporate social responsibility practices and policies 

are voluntarily designed and adopted, it is in many cases 

compulsory due to the pressures of market forces. Social and 

market pressures have obliged companies to develop “socially 

engineered” goods and services. The production and distribution 

processes of these goods must be continuously improved 

to have a perceived positive effect on the employees, communities, 

and the environment. For consumers, this means 

having the choice of buying a product guilt-free. Making an 

analogy with GMOs (genetically modified organisms), these 

products could be termed EMOs (ethically modified organisms). 

However, an approach beyond CSR is required and it must be 

observed at the international level. The development of EMOs 

has been facilitated due to the increased ability of both the 

production systems and marketing strategists to target their 

brands to niche markets, in addition to activists targeting 

brands to apply pressure for change. 

Those that have denounced the negative aspects of trade liberalization 

and globalization have identified and stated that to 

redress these issues and ameliorate the harmful consequences, 

an accountable, transparent, participative, and transnational 

governance system is required. Within the specific case of 

the banana industry, it has been clearly observed how local 

socially- and environmentally-driven initiatives of producing 

regions in Latin America have received feedback from consumers 

in non-banana-producing countries. This has taken place 

through the establishment of social responsibility networks 

(SRNs), which are relationally connected to local and international 

actors who coordinate the adoption of social and 

environmental responsibilities. The nodes of the SRNs in the 

banana industry are multinational companies, independent 

producers, governments, community-based organizations, 

trade unions, international nongovernmental organizations, 

shareholders, certification agencies, consumer associations, 

and consumers. 

According to the FAO, in 2010 the world export of bananas 

reached almost 14 million tons. Although the largest producers 

of bananas are India, Brazil, and China, the main exporting 

countries are currently Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and 

the Philippines – together they account for 73 percent of the 

world’s banana exports. 

Civil society’s social responsibility within the banana industry 

is to foster and regulate social, economic, and political 

activity through non-state/non-corporate interdependent 

governance. In other words, it can act through monitoring 

agencies to encourage desirable behavior from corporations 

and governments, and it can regulate the interdependent relations 

via networks in the absence of an oversight organization. 

Organized international civil society – composed of local 

and international nongovernmental organizations – regards 

itself as the main alternative to regulation that operates outside 

the framework of the nation-state. Although currently 

there is not a globally defined framework that is enforceable 

through international legislation, international civil society 

organizations generally operate based on Western principles 

of human rights, and increasingly in accordance with the Ten 

Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. Within the 

scope of the banana industry, international NGOs operating 

in consumer markets have used mechanisms such as rallies, 

protests, marches, and campaigns through social networks, 

boycotts, and other public actions as catalysts for change when 

dialogue with decision-makers in a corporation or government 

has failed. These actions are usually designed strategically to 

gain immediate attention and to obtain short-term responses. 

The main mechanism is to attract mass attention or media 

coverage by exposing the socially unacceptable behavior of 

governments or corporations. 

Organizations at the international level that represent the 

interests of workers via trade unions’ representation include 

the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, 

Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers’ Association (IUF), 

which was founded in 1920. The position of the IUF regarding 

accountability and enforcement strongly suggests that the role 

of trade unions on the ground is critical. If trade unions have 

a role in the development, establishment, and monitoring of 

CSR programs, then CSR might be recognized as positive by 

trade unions. At the same time, there are other instruments 

such as the International Framework Agreements (IFA) to 


59

Agenda 


empower local trade unions at the international level. An IFA 

is an accord negotiated between a multinational company 

and a sectoral trade union federation with regards to international 

activities. Within the banana industry, Chiquita Brands 

International was the first – and so far the only – banana 

company to sign an IFA with the global union IUF and the 

Latin America Federation of Banana Workers Union in June 

2001. The agreement, “Freedom of Association, Minimum 

Labour Standards and Employment in Latin American Banana 

Operations,” involved Chiquita Brands committing to the ILO 

conventions regarding freedom of association and collective 

bargaining, and also covered other issues such as forced labor, 

child labor, non-discrimination, and health and safety. These 

ILO conventions are also reflected in certifications and codes 

of conduct of major banana companies. 

Over the last two decades, several NGOs dealing with the banana 

industry have been created in banana-consumer countries to 

challenge practices in the producing countries. Some of the 

most active NGOs within the international banana industry 

are: BananaLink, BanaFair, Euroban, Rainforest Alliance, Ethical 

Trade Initiative, and Social Accountability International. 

Consumer awareness concerning the ethics of banana production 

and trade was raised by cases such as the second 

International Tribunal on Water in Amsterdam in 1992, 

which condemned Dole Food Company (formerly Standard 

Fruit Company) for seriously polluting the Atlantic region of 

Costa Rica through its banana operations in the Valle de la 

Estrella. There were legal proceedings taken by former workers 

against Del Monte, Dole, Chiquita, and agrochemicals firms 

from 1965 to 1990 for injuries sustained from direct exposure 

to Nemagon, a nematicide. In 2007, Chiquita pleaded guilty to 

the Justice Department of the United States for making extortion 

payments to the AUC paramilitary group in Colombia in 

exchange for protecting the lives of workers. 

ded in an SRN is that if local trust is built and maintained, it 

benefits them because it stabilizes relationships (and therefore 

controls production costs), thereby enhancing economic efficiency 

and improving the predictability of profits. 

Simultaneously, since the 1990s, there has been increased 

awareness of and commitments to certification schemes on the 

international level. Supermarkets, retailers, and other buyers 

increasingly consider certifications as being critical requirements 

for bananas and other agricultural products. The benefits as a 

result of the SRNs in the banana industry have been mostly in 

areas such as health and safety at work, trade union recognition, 

protection of biodiversity and water sources, and perception of 

safety in the producing regions. Within the areas of health and 

safety, the explicit benefits have been a decrease in workplace 

accident rates, a reduction of hazards in the workplace, a reduction 

in the exposure to pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and 

an increase in environmental awareness. Top-down influences 

that have affected these positive changes can be traced back to 

the demands of consumers put upon retailers and supermarket 

chains. Consumers receive real-time information from international 

NGOs on the conditions experienced by workers and 

the communities where bananas are produced. Some NGOs 

and trade unions participate in the design and monitoring of 

certification. Top managers at multinational corporations have 

progressively adopted objectives linked to corporate citizenship 

and have included key performance indicators for social and 

environmental functioning of their operations and strategic 

planning. Bottom-up initiatives can be traced to the workers. 

Workers have organized themselves in the banana industry, 

generally within trade unions, which act politically at the domestic 

level via community-based organizations, and political 

parties, in which workers and their families participate. At the 

local level, workers’ activism mobilizes financial, labor, and 

political resources in order to focus attention on areas that 

affect workers the most. Social foundations, which are financially 

supported by banana-producing companies, formulate 

their priorities partially based on the key needs identified by 

workers and their families, and allocate resources for either 

satisfying theses needs or mobilizing resources from national 

or international funding agencies. 

SRNs in the banana industry have influenced the improvement 

in perception of security in a positive way. In regions with histories 

of violence, such as Uraba in Colombia, several groups acted 

together with local and national authorities toward achieving 

a reduction in the violence, and developing a peace-building 

process in the region. Specific improvements in security as a 

consequence of the SRNs in Colombia were: the increase in 

democratic spaces for political participation, with different 

actors partaking in political and socioeconomic development 

processes within the region; increased levels of negotiations 

with government agencies; the intensification of dialogue; and 

informed communication with international actors. 

The dynamics of interconnecting consumers’ concerns and 

workers’ struggles increased the influence that could be exercised 

through international civil society, in the sense that 

workers’ voices could be echoed in market-driven ethical 

practices. The most significant effect it has achieved is the 

tacit power it has given to workers on the ground. Workers 

and their representatives (trade unions and community-based 

organizations) have gained an understanding that the circumstances, 

conditions, and needs have become known and heard 

internationally by groups of people with demonstrated commitments 

based on solidarity and social responsibility. This 

has given them not just negotiating power when bargaining 

working conditions, but it has also situated them in an international 

network, opening up new fields of activities and 

strategies of influence. This bottom-up phenomenon – which 

is based on acquired knowledge in international politics and 

business, and access to international social networks – serves 

the purpose of connecting workers and local communities to 

markets and international communities. 

Several consumer and activist groups have been created in 

the agricultural trade area. Fairtrade and organic production 

are encouraging the exercise of politics by consumers. Consumer 

actions in importing markets have a potential impact 

to address trade relations at the policy level. This would at 

least allow for the survival of developing countries within the 

competitive international market. 

Within the banana industry, SRN initiatives vary according to 

the motivations and capacities of different actors. For instance, 

at the local level in the banana industry, there are initiatives 

planned and implemented by banana-producing companies 

(mostly multinational companies) aimed at building trust 

with workers, local communities, and national governments. 

When local CSR efforts are connected to a wider set of domestic 

stakeholders, then they can be conceptualized as part of an 

SRN. The rationale for a banana company to become embed- 

Prof. Dr. Maria Alejandra Gonzalez- 

Perez is Full Professor, Head of 

Department of International Business, 

and Coordinator of the research 

group on International Studies at the 

Universidad EAFIT in Colombia. She 

is part of the network of the virtual 

institute of UNCTAD, member of the 

Global Compact Network in Colombia, 

and she is also a research associate at 

the Centre of Innovation & Structural 

Change (CISC) in Ireland. Prof. Dr. 

Gonzalez-Perez holds a PhD from the 

National University of Ireland, Galway. 


61

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

Corporate Complicity in 

Human Rights Abuses in 

Latin America 

Efforts to establish an agenda of corporate 

responsibilities with human rights in 

Latin America have led to modest, if not 

aspirational, results. However, recent 

developments suggest that this agenda is 

gradually gaining ground, as seen through 

its appropriation by states, companies, 

and civil society advocacy groups as an 

interpretative framework for their actions. 

The emerging dynamics of collaboration and 

conflict between such actors – within and 

across national borders – contribute toward 

defining the broad substance and scope of 

this emerging agenda. 

By Dr. Marcelo Saguier 

The linkages between corporations and human rights have 

been addressed in mainstream discussions mostly as a regulatory 

challenge. The so-called return of the developmental 

state in some Latin American countries over the last decade 

has expanded the scope of these linkages to incorporate the 

view that human rights can only be fully realized with social 

inclusion, social protection, and democratization. In addition 

to a responsible and accountable private sector, the promotion 

of human rights also requires the active role of the state 

in setting an enabling policy context, regulatory instruments, 

and means for participation in strategic economic sectors. In a 

post-neoliberal context, there is space for experimenting with 

innovative policy and regulatory approaches to advance the 

agenda of corporate accountability with human rights through 

more effective state-company governance arrangements and 

judicial practices. 

Moreover, the agenda of corporate responsibility with human 

rights in Latin America is also shaped by international 

normative processes, such as the UN Secretary-General Special 

Representative’s “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework. 

This opened the discussion of what constitutes corporate complicity 

with human rights and how to differentiate between 

public and private responsibilities. Though the UN framework 

has still not fully entered the public debate in Latin American 


63

Agenda 


societies and the mass media, it has made great progress in 

shaping the global debate on a norm-based corporate regulation. 

However, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 

have been more influential in Latin America, given that they 

provide an instrument of accountability that has been used 

by claimants seeking to redress corporate abuses. 

Private-led initiatives for corporate social responsibility have 

been another vehicle used to open up the discussion of human 

rights responsibility within the business community. In the 

late 1990s, human rights responsibilities did not feature in 

the agendas and language of most companies. The UN Global 

Compact process has contributed toward mobilizing this 

agenda, as well as toward systematizing and consolidating the 

panoply of voluntary initiatives publicized as corporate social 

responsibility. It has recently sets itself the goal of generating 

the expectation that adherent companies need to publicly 

demonstrate compliance and transparency with the Global 

Compact Principles. The development of a Communication 

on Progress mechanism and the incorporation of the Global 

Reporting Initiative’s reporting guidelines along standardized 

performance indicators are steps in that direction. 

Notwithstanding the relative merit of such initiatives in 

creating conditions for greater corporate accountability with 

human rights, compliance remains a great challenge. Extractive 

industries are increasingly becoming the main source of 

socio-environmental conflicts throughout Latin America, as 

related to corporate complicity in human rights abuses. In the 

mining sector alone, there are presently 161 conflicts that affect 

212 local communities in relation to 172 mining projects 

and 254 companies. During 2009 anti-mining activists were 

tortured and assassinated in Mexico and El Salvador, allegedly 

with the complicity of the Canadian companies Blackfire 

Resources and Pacific Rim. Moreover, there are issues relating 

to corporate complicity in the agriculture industry such as 

negative health impacts, environmental damage resulting 

from the use of pesticides, illegal land acquisition, and forced 

evictions of local populations. 

This has led many civil society advocacy groups to engage with 

the corporate responsibility agenda as a means toward opening 

up a broader public debate about the policy, regulatory, and 

socioeconomic implications for human rights and development, 

as related to the increasing influence of transnational 

corporations in all spheres of society. Among the most visible 

initiatives, there is the regional mobilization of victims of 

corporate-related abuse within the organization of public 

opinion tribunals, such as the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunals 

on Neoliberal Policies and Transnational Corporations in Latin 

America, which were held in Peru in 2008. 

The field of corporate accountability with human rights is 

leading to the intersection of state-, company-, and civil society 

responses across different institutional settings in ways that 

suggest possibilities for constructive synergism. Transnational 

civil society advocates use OECD National Contact Points to 

bring about pressure for changes in corporate conduct regarding 

human rights in line with OECD Guidelines. Accountability 

synergism increases when states introduce policy reforms and 

judicial actions that support civil society initiatives in home 

and host countries. 

The company Nidera in Argentina exemplifies this. It was 

accused in 2011 of human rights abuses against temporary 

workers at its corn-processing operation facilities in Argentina. 

Investigative reports were commissioned by the Argentine 

government. The information gathered helped support legal 

actions in national and provincial courts and a complaint was 

filed by Argentine and Dutch NGOs at the Netherlands’ OECD 

National Contact Point. At the same time, the Argentine government 

promoted a change of the national legislation that 

regulates temporary rural employment to prevent unregistered 

and unprotected work. It also centralized the recruitment of 

rural work within the Ministry of Labor, in light of the alleged 

complicity of the subcontracted recruitment companies that 

provided services to Nidera. With such policy changes as a 

background, the OECD Guidelines facilitated a constructive 

space of negotiation between the complainant NGOs and Nidera. 

An agreement was reached in 2012, in which Nidera committed 

to strengthening its human rights policy, to formalizing 

human rights due diligence procedures for temporary rural 

workers, and to allowing NGOs to monitor its operations in 

Argentina. Private and public engagements at the national 

and international levels worked as complementary leverages 

to increase corporate accountability. 

Constructive synergies of state and civil society engagements 

can also be seen in transnational litigation. In 2012 the Colombian 

trade union Sinaltrainal and the European Center for 

Constitutional and Human Rights filed criminal charges against 

Nestlé and members of its senior management through the 

Swiss public prosecution. They are accused of complicity in the 

murder of a trade unionist committed by paramilitary forces 

in Colombia in 2005. Similarly, the companies Drummond and 

Chiquita face trials in US courts – they were accused under 

the Alien Torts Claim Act for complicity in the assassinations 

of trade unionists in Colombia. Non-legal opinion tribunals 

organized by civil society groups in Latin America compiled 

accusatory information that later had probative value in the 

legal courts. In 2011 a US court accepted the compensation 

claim against DaimlerChrysler AG filed by torture survivors 

and 22 relatives of Argentinean trade unionists who disappeared 

during the last military dictatorship (1976–1983). The 

company was accused of complicity in human rights violations 

and state terrorism. These cases illustrate the application of 

an extraterritoriality principle with respect to legal corporate 

responsibilities with respect to human rights in overseas 

operations and the role of civil society advocacy in bringing 

these companies to justice. 

These are illustrative examples of the ways in which the 

agenda of corporate responsibility with human rights is being 

shaped by the intersection of public and private actors vis-à-vis 

instances of corporate abuse in Latin America. It suggests a 

growing synergy between different international instruments 

as well as national judicial and policy opportunities. Stimulating 

such synergies is one avenue toward moving ahead with 

the accountability agenda. Likewise, the improvement of due 

diligence and reporting processes – in addition to third-party 

monitoring – is an opportunity for the private sector to bolster 

the transparency and adequacy of their commitments to 

respect human rights. Legislative reforms that make corporate 

disclosure and reporting mandatory can help companies that 

seriously commit to genuine actions to differentiate themselves 

from others. The fact that actors engage with multiple 

institutional and normative spaces with a narrative of business 

complicity with human rights is a recent and promising 

development. These spaces open up opportunities that are 

valuable, but ultimately the determinant is who uses them, 

how, and for what purpose. 

Dr. Marcelo Saguier is an Associate 

Professor of International Relations at 

the School of Latin American Social 

Sciences (FLACSO) in Buenos Aires. He 

is also a Research Fellow at Argentina’s 

National Scientific and Technical 

Research Council (CONICET). 


65

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

The Importance 

of Protecting 

the Rainforest in 

South America 

The Amazon basin gives South America the largest contiguous block of rainforest in the 

world: It extends over an area of almost seven million square kilometers and is one of the 

largest natural carbon sinks on the planet. Experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature 

(WWF) estimate that over the last 50 years, nearly 20 percent of the rainforest has been 

destroyed through logging, natural catastrophes, and industrial exploitation. Any relaxation 

in forestry legislation could accelerate species extinction in Brazil even further. 

and fuel increases in the coming decades, so will the impact 

on our planet’s natural resources.” This is the reason that an 

important task for the future is to link the rising demand to 

sustainable resource management. There are three specific 

areas to focus on: 

• Agriculture 

• Energy production / infrastructure 

• Natural resources / mining 

Cultivation, not overcultivation 

According to the WWF, the current deforestation situation 

in the Amazon has reached a point of frightening efficiency: 

The machinery that has been perfected takes only a few 

seconds to transform a living rainforest the size of a football 

field into a dead wasteland. An area of rainforest the size of 

at least three football fields is being lost every minute. That 

means that in the time it has taken to read this text, at least 

one more football field’s worth of rainforest has disappeared. 

Land reclamation for agriculture is the greatest danger to 

South American rainforests. Driven by the growing demand, 

each year more areas are being turned over to agricultural 

use. What’s more, the global need for bioethanol has led to a 

sudden expansion in the areas used to cultivate soybeans and 

corn. Ever-larger areas of rainforest are being cleared for new 

pastures and grazing lands. Such global clear-cutting already 

makes up more than 20 percent of CO 2 

emissions worldwide. 

The WWF is confronting the problem with a dual-track strategy: 

Supply-chain standards have been jointly agreed with 

policymakers and large firms and are being implemented 

to the greatest extent possible. Since the main agricultural 

products of meat (food), soybeans (animal feed/biofuel), sugar 

(food/biofuel), and palm oil (diesel) are in demand worldwide, 

however, global standards are needed. These standards would 

essentially prohibit the agricultural exploitation of areas with 

high ecological benefit. The results have not yet put an end 

to such land reclamation, but they could bring it down to a 

significantly lower level in many countries. 

A living space for human beings 

opment, but when poorly planned, the negative impacts can 

exceed the short-term benefits.” 

This also holds true for energy production, which is becoming 

more and more important. Using fuels from non-fossil 

sources is important, but those in power must proceed with 

caution. For example, South American heads of government 

plan to set up more than 150 hydropower stations over the 

next 20 years, a number that many scientists believe exceeds 

the critical margin for many ecosystems. Since most of the 

power stations are located on tributaries of the Amazon, they 

have a substantial influence on the bisophere of the entire 

region. Peru’s Marañón river alone would be overloaded with 

81 planned projects. 

The future of the gold miners 

The subject of minerals and fossil resources has again become 

an important issue for environmental groups, for the additional 

reason that most mines belong to small-scale enterprises. If 

large operating companies could be held to high environmental 

standards in the past, it is precisely these small-scale miners 

who lack the money – and above all the technology – to satisfy 

the most minimal environmental standards. These “mini 

mines” also fell considerable amounts of wood, overfish, and 

overhunt in the surrounding environment, and dump the 

chemicals that accumulate from their mining activity into the 

surrounding waters and groundwater. Redoubling attempts at 

education would therefore provide a solution to this dilemma: 

Knowledge-transfer would increase mine operators’ awareness 

of the ecological problems in the region and reduce the 

detrimental effects on the environment. 

Amazon forests in danger 

In 2012 the Brazilian Parliament decided to significantly ease 

the laws protecting the rain forests, which have existed since 

1965. Massive local and international protests led to a partial 

veto by President Dilma Rousseff in may. She blocked 12 

paragraphs, but according to WWF this is far from sufficient 

to protect past achievements in conservation. 

By Dennis Lohmann 

In the Amazon basin alone, there are over 400 species of 

mammal, more than 1,200 species of bird, and some 3,000 

species of fish, according to WWF figures – as well as more 

than 40,000 proven plant varieties. 

At the same time, the growing economies in South America 

have a legitimate interest in making use of their forested areas 

responsibly. WWF recognizes this fact as well, as stated on 

the organization’s website: “As market demand for food, fiber, 

Forests also provide the basis for human existence: Some 30 

million people live in the Amazon basin alone. In the individual 

provinces, the highest priority is to supply the population 

with food, power, and daily necessities. WWF has spoken out 

unequivocally against such “development at all costs” and 

advocates designing methods of land and water transportation 

that are in harmony with nature. The challenge here is to 

increase collaboration between environmental organizations 

and policymakers. As WWF has stated, “transportation and 

infrastructure are essential for national and regional devel- 

Dennis Lohmann works as an editor for 

the macondo Media Group. 


67

Inside ... 

Agenda 


Latin America 

Number of COPs Revised in the region (Graph 1) 

(by dec. 2011) 

The UN Global Compact 

in Latin America – Trends 

and Topics 

7% 

2% 

4% 

10% 

3% 

13% 

2% 

4% 

18% 

30% 

2% 

Argentina 

Bolivia 

Chile 

Colombia 

Mexico 

Panama 

Peru 

Dominican Rep. 

5% 

Brazil 

Ecuador 

Paraguay 

Uruguay 

Source: Pacto Mundial. Elaboración: Centro Regional 

Labor standards, human rights, environmental conservation, 

and transparency – the core issues of the United Nations Global 

Compact are especially vital in the developing economies. 

Latin America and the Caribbean are remarkable examples. “El 

Pacto Mundial en América Latina y el Caribe. Memorias 2011: 

Informe de Gestión,” a publication of the Global Compact 

Regional Center, gives a detailed view on the present situation 

of the Global Compact in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The whole region includes more than 1,500 companies in 13 

Local Networks. Thus, Latin America represents 9 percent of 

the whole UN Global Compact, with a 5 percent rise in the last 

year. After Europe it is the biggest regional network. 

The actual situation of companies in the region is described by 

the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America 

this way: After the global crisis in 2008/2009, GDP grew at a 

significant rate of 5.9 percent in 2010. In 2011 it dropped to 

4.3 percent, mainly because of three factors: the reduction 

of global growth, measures in Brazil to reduce its internal 

demand, and the insecurity of the markets. Countries with 

the biggest economic growth were Panama, Argentina, and 

Ecuador; those with the smallest growth were El Salvador, 

Cuba, and Brazil. 

In 2012 Latin America is facing a decline in growth of approximately 

3.7 percent, basically because of the problems in 

the euro zone. Experts consider the situation in Latin America 

nevertheless as being robust for decent economic and social 

development. What made this possible? The publication 

“Memorias 2011” argues that the reasons are: good handling 

Missing Elements in 

the Beginner COPs (Graph 2) 

in % 

100 

75 

50 

25 

0 

35 

Letter by CEO 

88 

Evaluation of results 

35 

Human Rights 

Source: Pacto Mundial. Elaboración: Centro Regional 

Labor Standards 

19 15 

Environment 

of public spending, high foreign currency reserves, and low 

public debt as well as low external debt rates in most countries. 

To stimulate regional growth and human development, the 

United Nations Development Programme recommends the 

following: 

66 

Anti-Corruption 

• Better access to renewable energies and a global tax on 

transactions in foreign currencies to finance the mitigation 

and adaptation to climate change and to foster sustainability 

and equality. 

• Fuel consumption subsidies, which still are common in many 

countries of the region, favor those with the means to own 

an automobile, and at the same time create incentives for 

the excessive depletion of resources. There are countless 

cases where subsidies in agriculture, energy, and water are 

linked to environmental damage. 

• Some policies are conducive to meeting some targets, but 

result in delays of others. An example: Although the coal 

subsidy in developing countries promotes growth, it also 

contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Such 

policies may have positive effects on global equity, but are 

negative for sustainability. 

• The situation might also be the opposite: Policies can improve 

sustainability, but affect equity negatively. By example, some 

regulations that restrict the access to goods in common use, 

such as forests, may help to preserve the natural resource, 

but deprive the poor their main sources of livelihood. 

The work of the Global Compact 

With this background, and against the backdrop of a new 

global crisis, the Global Compact offers a strategic platform 

for the active involvement of companies through collaboration 

with its stakeholders. The initiative is seen as an effective 

tool for addressing the challenges of business on sustainability. 

However, Latin America is also the region with the highest 

number of delisted signatories due to failure in sending its 

Communications on Progress (COPs). 

The COPs retain the integrity of the initiative, serve as the means 

of communication between companies and their stakeholders, 

and are the main reference point of the Global Compact. In 

February 2011 the differentiation program entered into force 

as a new policy of the COP, which classifies the reports into 

three levels: Apprentice, Active, and Advanced. The analysis 

of this year’s data shows that of 435 COPs, 69 percent are at 

the level PM Active; 27 percent at the Apprentice level, and 

4 percent at the Advanced PM level. 

Finally, regarding the classification, the Office of the Global 

Compact has shared the information available on the missing 

elements in the COP categorized Apprentice level. Graph 2 

shows that the biggest challenge of the COP at this learner’s 

level is the evaluation of results and that the subject least 

reported on is anti-corruption. 

Compilation / Translation: Dr. Elmer Lenzen 


69

Best 

Practice 

74 

106 

162 

76 

108 

Adecco Group 



Banco León 

BASF 

112 

Bayer 

100 

Bosch 

164 

Bradesco 

114 


Human Rights 

Adecco Group 

Banco León 

EDF Group 

Groupe SEB 

Interamerican 

Medcom 

Mitsui 

Novo Nordisk 


SK Telecom 

Teck 

Tristar 

100 


Bosch 

ManpowerGroup 

74 

Environment 

106 


BASF 

Bayer 




Essent 


MAN 

Metso 

MTN 

Vestas 

Development 

Camposol 

Copeinca 


Furnas 

GDF Suez 

Nestlé 

Netafim 

Rogers 



Carrefour 

The TMS Group 

Yüksel 


136 

156 

162 

136 

156 

116 

137 

138 

118 

78 

120 

142 

144 

122 

166 

80 

82 

124 

102 

84 

128 

86 

130 

148 

150 

88 

Camposol 

Carrefour 


Copeinca 



EDF Group 

Essent 

Furnas 

GDF Suez 



Groupe SEB 

Interamerican 

MAN 

ManpowerGroup 

Medcom 

Metso 

Mitsui 

MTN 

Nestlé 

Netafim 

Novo Nordisk 


Bradesco 



152 

168 

90 

94 

96 

Rogers 



SK Telecom 

Teck 

158 

The TMS Group 

98 

Tristar 

154 


132 

Vestas 

160 

Yüksel 

Solely responsible for the editorial contributions under the heading "Best Practice" are the companies and their authors themselves. 


71

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

74 

76 

78 

80 

82 

84 

86 

88 

90 

94 

96 

98 

Adecco Group 

Banco León 

EDF Group 

Groupe SEB 

Interamerican 

Medcom 

Mitsui 

Novo Nordisk 


SK Telecom 

Teck 

Tristar 


100 

102 

Bosch 

ManpowerGroup 

Human Rights 

Labour 

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the 

protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and 

Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in 

human rights abuses. 

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association 

and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; 

Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory 

labour; 

Principle 5: the effective abolition of child 

labour; and 

Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in 

respect of employment and occupation. 


73

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Adecco Group 

The REDvolución – 

Combating Spain´s High 

Unemployment 

By Margarita Álvarez and Lilian Furrer 

Adecco, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions, took unprecedented action on the 

streets of Spain on October 27, 2011. The aim was to use its expertise to help people unlock 

their potential, make a step into work, and integrate into society in an innovative and highimpact 

way. Driven by the belief that work is a fundamental right and a basic need, Adecco’s 

REDvolución initiative focused upon combating Spain’s rising unemployment and on 

lending a helping hand to as many people as possible. At the end of 2011, around 5.3 million 

people – or close to 23 percent of the working population – were out of work. 

The day was called a REDvolución in recognition 

of the “need for change.” It was 

made possible by the highly committed 

Adecco branch network in Spain, which 

colored the streets red at 300 “hot spots” 

around the country. Adecco employs 

1,500 colleagues, and while 400 of its 

staff manned the 300-branch network 

– assuring minimum office operations 

– about 1,100 colleagues took to the 

streets for the day while wearing their 

red REDvolución shirts to offer practical 

job-finding support to 70,000 people. 

Reaching out to people in need 

The contact activity was carefully orchestrated. 

Everything was geared to 

address some of the main challenges 

unemployed people face when trying 

to find work. A leaflet was developed 

with “top 10 tips” on how to prepare a 

curriculum vitae (CV) and how to give an 

effective interview. Research by Adecco 

shows that three out of five people do 

not prepare properly for a job interview 

and four out of five CVs are poorly structured 

or contain editorial errors. Armed 

with their leaflets and motivated by the 

cause, Adecco colleagues – working in 

twos and threes – hoisted REDvolución 

flags in high traffic areas. These included 

bus and train stations and shopping 

malls. Pre-briefed about how to interact 

with the public, at 9:00 a.m. colleagues 

started approaching people in the streets, 

enquiring if they or anyone they knew 

needed help in their job search. Word 

of mouth soon spread news of the REDvolución 

around the streets of Spain. 

People began to flow into the flagged 

areas. By 4:30 p.m. Adecco colleagues 

had completed conversations with 70,000 

people looking for help, and the leaflets 

were completely out of stock. 

The idea for Adecco to use its expertise 

in this extraordinary “out of the 

office” way was inspired by Adecco colleagues. 

Enrique Sánchez, Executive 

Committee Member and Regional Head 

Enrique Sánchez, 

Regional Head of Adecco 

Iberia & Latin America, 

supporting the cause. 

An Adecco employee in Guadalajara 

consulting two young people. 

of Adecco Iberia and Latin America – 

who himself joined the REDvolución 

– explains: “Colleagues tell us that the 

most motivating part of their role is 

helping people transition into a job and 

sustain their employability, unlocking 

their potential in a very concrete way. 

Our REDvolución harnessed this motivation 

and was a practical demonstration of 

social responsibility face-to-face, directly 

helping people who need our expertise.” 

From the street to the workshop 

But the day itself was just the starting 

point of follow-up support. The “top 10 

tips” leaflet also included an invitation to 

register online for a free two-hour workshop. 

The workshops provided an ideal 

opportunity for job-seekers to explore the 

tips in detail and apply them to their own 

CVs and interview techniques. The 500 

workshops, designed for a maximum of 

12 people each, took place in November 

and December across the nation. All were 

fully subscribed, adding up to a total of 

4,000 attendees. 

Feedback from people looking for 

work and who attended the workshops 

was powerful. Many people have gone 

on to find work. While this cannot be 

precisely measured – as participants are 

in no way tied to Adecco – appreciative 

comments have flooded in. One attendee, 

a 38-year-old woman from Castellón, took 

part in one of the workshops, and within 

one month found a job as an administrative 

accountant. “They gave us useful tips 

on how to make a job interview successful,” 

says the woman. “But most of all it 

gave me the opportunity to have a more 

personal contact with the Adecco team. 

It resulted in a personal interview with 

a consultant and finally in an interview 

with a company. Shortly after I got the job!” 

Making a difference 

Involvement in the REDvolución certainly 

fueled the sense of purpose Adecco 

colleagues have about their roles. Ana 

Rosa Gordo, responsible for Research and 

Development at Adecco, says, “I feel very 

proud of having participated in such an 

altruistic initiative, especially thinking of 

the tough times Spain is going through 

with such high unemployment. That 

Adecco Spain went out on the streets 

and contributed in this different way to 

a national problem – lending a helping 

hand – felt incredible.” 

Because the initiative’s purpose 

was to show Adecco’s corporate social 

responsibility, only a brief press statement 

was issued on the eve of October 27 to 

inform the broader public. However, the 

REDvolución captured media attention 

nationwide, reflecting the importance of 

the economic and employment issues that 

were addressed. Adecco Head of Marketing 

and Communications in Spain, Margarita 

Álvarez, said, “We recorded over 300 

items of press and broadcast coverage, 

acclaiming the value of the initiative.” For 

example, national radio station Onda Cero 

reported, “The Adecco team went out on 

the streets. Now there is no more excuse 

for not having an up-to-date CV or for 

not knowing about the most important 

points a CV should include. Adecco has 

great knowledge about the labor market 

and went out on the streets to clarify any 

doubts in relation to job-seeking.” 

The REDvolución continues 

After such a powerful initial impact, the 

REDvolución has continued its pace. In 

March 2012, an Adecco REDvolución day 

took place in Portugal. Also in March, a 

REDvolución was initiated to provide 

personalized support to 300 families in 

Spain who have no member of the family 

in employment. Given the very high level 

of unemployment among young people 

in Spain, which is above 40 percent, an 

Adecco REDvolución day and follow-up 

workshop campaign is being planned 

for various university campuses in the 

fall 2012. Expanding upon the theme 

of the role and importance of work as 

a human right, Enrique Sánchez adds, 

“The economic and unemployment crisis 

in Spain is also a social crisis, impacting 

individual and family life nationwide. 

Some groups are particularly affected – 

young people leaving school or university 

and jobseekers over 50. Having a job 

creates a sense of inclusion and gives a 

meaning to people’s lives: Work is after 

all the foundation of society.” Through 

projects such as REDvolución, Adecco 

is reinforcing its role in society. With 

around 700,000 associates who work 

with Adecco every day, we are living our 

promise of “better work better life,” supporting 

individual and family life and the 

economic success of clients and society. 

Work is a fundamental need and should 

be a basic human right for all people. 

More information: www.laredvolucionadecco.com 


75

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Banco León 

Cards of Hope Program 

our values of commitment, integrity, collaboration, 

and respect require us to demonstrate 

socially responsible behavior.” 

their administrative expenses, and provides 

artistic and recreational activities 

for participating children. 

them we can change the social reality of 

these children and give them a chance, 

the hope of a different life.” 

By Zoila Bello 

As a participant in the Global Compact initiative since 2006, Banco León has been promoting 

the Ten Principles of this network through its management. Respecting the protection of 

internationally recognized human rights within its sphere of influence and promoting the 

effective abolition of child labor are two of the Principles that Banco León has been supporting. 

This has been done through its Cards of Hope program and its approaches to education as well 

as to children living in poverty and with social risk in the Dominican Republic. 

Within the framework of its principles 

and values, Banco León has approached 

various segments of the community in a 

consistent and systematic way through 

corporate social responsibility programs 

that are specifically targeted toward 

education and children living in conditions 

of poverty and social risk in the 

country. 

“Banco León has always had a clear awareness 

of its responsibility to its staff, customers 

and communities, which goes 

beyond the provision of financial services,” 

says Jose Enrique Sanoja, Vice 

President of Corporate Relations and 

Marketing. “It’s about making the lives 

of others simpler by transforming their 

social reality. 

Our vision calls upon us to expand our 

legacy of success in business, which involves 

educating and training our employees, 

customers, and communities. 

Our principles of cultivating win-win 

relationships, acting ethically, and working 

for a better nation are clear expressions 

that our actions must be linked to 

the search for the common good. And 

Banco León understands social responsibility 

as “a form of committed and 

assumed generosity to be given to others 

through training, experience, work, and 

enthusiasm in search of the common 

good and the satisfaction of influencing 

positively by example. That is, to work 

for a better nation,” says Sanoja. 

There is always hope at Banco León 

Cards of Hope, instituted as a CSR program 

in 2004, is an initiative that seeks 

to improve and expand the educational 

programs of the participating entities so 

that more children can benefit and be 

cared for. It provides a fundraising tool 

for the sustainability of institutions and 

The program is intended for nonprofit, 

nongovernmental entities working to 

benefit children in conditions of poverty 

and living with social risk in the 

Dominican Republic. It is aimed at children 

between 6 and 12 years of age who 

belong to those institutions. 

“During the implementation of the program,” 

Sanoja adds, “the children participate 

in painting workshops, where 

they are motivated to draw about two 

main topics: mothers and Christmas. 

These works are then evaluated by a jury 

made up of bank executives and national 

plastic artists. Ten or 15 winning works 

are selected to become greeting cards for 

Mother’s Day and Christmas, and with 

THE SITUATION OF EDUCATION IN THE 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AT A GLANCE 

• The Dominican Republic has a total population of 10,010,590, of which 

3,034,997 are children and young people from 5 to 19 years of age; that is, 

approximately 30 per cent of the Dominican population is of school age. 

• 20.1 percent of children from 10 to 14 years of age are working and 37 

percent of them do not attend school. 

• The Dominican school-aged population that cannot read or write is attributed 

to various causes: having to drop out of school to work and earn money; in 

other cases there was no school in their locality, or the school was very far 

away. Also, the lack of classroom space prevents children and youth from 

attending school. 

• During the 2009–2010 period, the Dominican Republic had 11,402 schools, 

10.6 percent fewer than in 2007–2008. 

• Of these schools, 6,932 are public, 37 percent fewer than in 2008, and 4,178 

are private, 190 percent more than in 2008. 

• Private education in the Dominican Republic is expensive. 

• Twelve percent of the total school-aged population is not enrolled. 

• In 2010, there were 1,731 minors arrested for offences such as theft, robbery, 

fighting, aggression, drugs, homicide, and rape, among others. 

Source: National Office of Statistics (ONE). www.one.gob.do/index.php. 

During the nine years of its implementation, 

the Cards of Hope program has 

achieved the following results: 

• Five to 12 institutions participate every 

year. 

• 150,000 children have benefited. 

• 2,130 paintings have been made by 

participating children who live in 

conditions of poverty and are at social 

risk. 

• 195,000 cards have been printed. 

• More than $250,000 have been raised 

for participating institutions. 

Fe y Alegría and the cards of hope 

program 

Ana Divi Arbaje, Communications Director 

of Fe y Alegría, one of the institutions 

that has participated in the Cards 

of Hope program, says: “The Cards of 

Hope program of Banco León connects 

us with other institutions. It is a way to 

know each other and to obtain alliances 

in favor of all.” 

Through Cards of Hope, in 2011 Fe y 

Alegría was able to train 45 teachers 

from the southern area of the Dominican 

Republic, strengthening the subject areas 

of Spanish and mathematics. Acción 

Callejera, another recipient institution, 

reinforced the afterschool programs in 

10 communities in Santiago, Dominican 

Republic, where 1,820 children received 

comprehensive education along with 

their families. 

Other institutions allocated funds to 

cover transportation costs, administrative 

services, payment to teachers, special 

language and music programs, and the 

purchase of instruments and educational 

tools. 

Other programs such as Creemos, Sonrisas 

de Reyes and Ecoactivo are being 

developed at Banco León based on the 

pillars of education and childhood. 


77

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

EDF Group 

Fighting Fuel Poverty – 

Supporting Our Most 

Vulnerable Customers 

heating or lighting, making them even 

more difficult to spot. 

Because electricity is a basic need, 

EDF drew up a Group position at the 

end of 2011. Its goal is to prevent its 

customers from experiencing difficulties 

and to help solve the difficulties of 

those who do. 

Fuel poverty is a growing problem throughout Europe. As it varies widely from one country 

to another, each country has its own definition specific to its context and history. Electricity 

companies are involving themselves in public schemes in compliance with regulatory 

requirements and in action taken on their own initiative. 

A regulatory framework forming 

a commitment 

In France, the public service contract with the state sets out most of the action 

taken by EDF under regulatory schemes. EDF supports the French social tariff 

(“Tarif de Première Nécessité”) introduced by the public authorities in 2004. 

The tariff reduces electricity bills by an average of €95 a year. The number of 

households eligible is about 1.3 million. 

This social tariff makes it possible to identify the most vulnerable households 

early on and then offer tailored assistance to help them manage their energy 

consumption. Customers in difficulty may also request assistance from the 

housing solidarity fund (Fonds Solidarité pour le Logement), which gives them 

access to housing, enables them to remain in it, and also helps them to settle 

their unpaid bills. EDF, which set its contribution at €22 million a year, is the 

second-largest contributor after the local authorities. 

In the United Kingdom the new British regulations took inspiration from the 

proactive programs undertaken by EDF Energy over the past several years (the 

Energy Assist tariff as well as the Energy Trust Fund, in operation since 2003 

and which has helped more than 20,000 households heavily in debt or on low 

incomes). 

With the Warm Home Discount system introduced in April 2011, the regulations 

have become more binding and now require electricity suppliers to give 

discounts to their fuel-poor customers. Suppliers with over 250,000 customers 

are now to spend an aggregate amount of £250 million in 2011 - 2012. 

In France, 8.2 million people – representing 

some 3.6 million households and 

13.5 percent of the population – live 

below the poverty line and are more 

particularly affected by fuel poverty. 

Another statistic provided by the French 

statistics institute INSEE shows that 3.5 

million households report that their 

homes are inadequately heated. In the 

United Kingdom, the number of households 

in fuel poverty was estimated at 

5.5 million – 21 percent of the population 

– at the end of 2009. In connection 

with the publication of his report in 

March 2012, John Hills specifies that 

nearly 8 million people – or 2.7 million 

households on low incomes – face 

higher energy costs than middle and 

high-income households (with an aggregate 

fuel poverty gap of £1.1 billion, 

projected at £1.6 billion in 2016, as a 

result of the poor housing conditions 

in particular). 

Since fuel poverty is not necessarily 

synonymous with poverty per se or 

with unpaid energy bills, it is difficult 

to identify those affected; but it is necessary 

to do so if action is to be taken. 

Meanwhile, more and more people are 

deliberately depriving themselves of 

“As a responsible energy company, we make a 

commitment to supporting our most vulnerable 

residential customers. We work with 

governments, local authorities, NGOs, and other 

stakeholders to promote the most efficient use 

of energy in order to reduce consumer costs. 

With our partners, we also develop countryspecific 

solutions and programs to support 

vulnerable households." 

Improving housing and social 

mediation 

Aside from regulatory frameworks and 

new advisory services such as Accompagnement 

énergie (energy support), 

which was launched in 2011 to provide 

advice on such matters as tariffs, energy 

management, and more flexible payment 

schedules, EDF is building partnerships 

in accordance with its sustainable development 

policy to fight fuel poverty in 

two ways. The first is to improve the energy 

efficiency of housing. Poor housing 

conditions trap vulnerable households 

in a vicious circle. 

In France, EDF has undertaken to 

provide €49 million for the “Habiter 

Mieux” (Live Better) program between 

2011 and 2013. This public program will 

thermally renovate the 58,000 housing 

units belonging to fuel-poor homeowners. 

This commitment further supports 

the voluntary action taken by EDF, and in 

particular its “2000 toits, 2000 familles” 

(2,000 roofs, 2,000 families) operation 

carried out by the Fondation Abbé Pierre, 

which builds energy-efficient social housing 

for disadvantaged people (for 2,025 

families at the end of 2011). Other activities 

are carried out in conjunction 

with social housing authorities (about 

100,000 housing units in 2011). 

Meanwhile, EDF Energy has been 

working for 10 years with the London 

city authorities on the London Warm 

Zone program, which identifies the most 

vulnerable households and invests in 

energy efficiency improvements. The 

result: 57,000 housing units have been 

insulated since the beginning of the 

operation. In addition, EDF Energy is 

continuing its financial contribution, 

over a period of three years, to the government’s 

Community Energy Saving 

Programme (CESP) aimed at improving 

the insulation of housing in disadvantaged 

neighborhoods (involving more 

than 100,000 housing units). 

The second way in which EDF is 

fighting fuel poverty is by forging partnerships 

with social mediation structures. 

Without such structures, it is indeed difficult 

to reach out to people in difficulty 

and explain to them how they can obtain 

the assistance for which they are eligible 

and receive personalized advice about 

ways to reduce their energy consumption. 

By the end of 2011, EDF had set 

up such partnerships with nearly 200 

outreach and contact points in France. 

It further strengthened its partnerships 

with the social support community in 

2011 by renewing its agreement with 

the national union of local social action 

centers to step up its activities carried 

out with social workers. It also offered 

support by continuing with many other 

nationwide partnerships like the “Unis 

In France, EDF is working with NGOs 

such as "Le Secours catholique" to 

provide vulnerable customers advice 

on energy efficiency and help them to 

reduce their bills. 

Cités Médiaterre” program, under which 

young people doing civilian service reach 

out to residents of underprivileged neighborhoods 

and help them modify their 

energy consumption. 

In Hungary, EDF DÉMÁSZ began 

in February 2012 to support an unpaid 

bills management program initiated by 

the Hungarian branch of the Order of 

Malta, providing funding of 100 million 

forints (about €336,000). Those eligible are 

customers that meet a number of social 

criteria as well as families whose electricity 

has been or is set to be cut off due to 

non-payment of bills. They receive support 

in managing their energy consumption. 

In Poland, Group companies generate 

electricity but do not sell it to 

individual customers. However, they 

too have made a commitment to fight 

fuel poverty via partnerships in a country 

where more than 13 percent of the 

population lives below the poverty line. 

For example, EC Krakow offers heat to 

NGOs helping the poor, and helps the 

underprivileged via its Gorace Serce 

company foundation. 


79

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

GroupE SEB 

self-assessment 

on Human Rights 

By Joël Tronchon 

Having become a participant of the UN Global Compact in 2003, Groupe SEB is committed 

to respecting the Ten Principles of the agreement. For the Group, which has a presence in 

several continents, including Asia, it was necessary to find a tool capable of transforming 

this commitment in principle into a concrete reality. This would enable an evaluation of the 

manner in which these Principles were taken into account locally in each of the Group’s 

subsidiaries. Accordingly, in 2007 the Group adopted the HRCA Quick Check (Human Rights 

Compliance Assessment) – a self-assessment tool developed by the Danish Institute for 

Human Rights and supported by the United Nations. 

In a wider context, Groupe SEB has 

initiated the creation of a global Ethical 

Code, which will be distributed in 

2012 to all of its employees. Based on 

the Group’s values, this will specify the 

main rules of conduct for employees and 

will address 18 key themes – from the 

respect for Human Rights to measures 

for combating corruption – and including 

non-discrimination, environmental 

protection, and the prevention of conflicts 

of interest. 

Adaptation to the Chinese context 

In late 2010, the five sites of Supor – the 

Groupe SEB subsidiary based in China 

and Vietnam – underwent a self-evaluation 

using the China Business and Social 

Sustainability Check (CBSSC). This tool 

is a version of the HRCA Quick Check 

adapted to the Chinese context by the 

Danish Institute for Human Rights, and 

produced in both English and Chinese. 

Twenty-eight questions based around 

245 indicators examine themes ranging 

from working conditions (overtime, 

salaries, holiday, minimum age, training, 

equality of treatment, safety, etc.) to the 

impact on local communities and supplier 

monitoring. 

The questions are generally similar to 

those set in the HRCA Quick Check, but 

they are more specific and take into account 

certain local particularities, for 

example the special attention given to 

nondiscrimination against migrant workers 

and to the accommodations offered to 

workers. The self-evaluation produced 7 

“red” and 36 “yellow” responses, relating 

particularly to working hours, health and 

safety, holidays, and supplier monitoring. 

Action plans are being implemented 

and a new check will be carried out in 

two years. 

In total, at the end of 2011, 99 percent 

of the Group's personnel were covered 

by the HRCA Quick Check or its Chinese 

equivalent, the CBSSC. 

What is the HRCA Quick Check? 

Available online, it consists of indicators 

developed on the basis of the Universal 

Declaration of Human Rights – the 1966 

International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights and around 80 other major international 

treaties and conventions. The tool 

comprises 28 questions based around 240 

indicators aimed at determining whether 

the company has Human Rights policies 

or guidelines and whether these are correctly 

applied through the company’s 

procedures and practices. Naturally, the 

HRCA Quick Check covers Principles 1 

and 2 of the Global Compact concerning 

Human Rights, but it also monitors compliance 

with labor standards (Principles 

3, 4, 5, and 6) together with measures to 

combat corruption (Principle 10). 

Management and deployment 

Groupe SEB was one of the very first 

French companies to implement the 

HRCA Quick Check. It is managed by 

the Sustainable Development Department, 

with the aim being that each 

entity – whether industrial, logistical, 

or tertiary – should carry out a selfevaluation 

on average every two years, 

in a logical progression. The answers 

to the questions are classified into four 

levels: red (immediate action required), 

yellow (issue being addressed), green 

(site complies), and gray (unknown/not 

applicable). The Sustainable Development 

Department examines the results 

in conjunction with the site concerned. 

In late 2009, the HRCA Quick Check was 

deployed across all of the Group’s entities 

in the world with more than 10 staff, 

thereby covering 95 percent of personnel, 

excluding Supor, the Chinese subsidiary 

integrated into the Group in 2007. This 

first wave of self-evaluations produced 

10 “reds” and 60 “yellows” in the more 

than 1,500 responses. Most of these were 

linked to relationships with suppliers, 

and particularly to the absence of explicit 

references in contracts to compliance with 

Human Rights principles. The Sustainable 

Development Department established corrective 

action plans from the points raised. 

A second wave was organized in 2011 

in which 70 sites were involved. The 

questionnaires were completed jointly by 

the sites’ Directors and the local Human 

Resources Managers. This second deployment 

produced a single red response, and 

nearly 150 yellow responses, demonstrating 

once again that respondents were 

keen to point out areas for improvement. 

A global action plan 

Among the areas for improvement addressed 

during the last deployment of 

the HRCA Quick Check, the monitoring 

of suppliers was the most problematic 

for the majority of sites. Confronted with 

this observation, new corrective measures 

have been taken by Groupe SEB’s Purchasing 

Division. A Responsible Purchasing 

Charter will be finalized in 2012 and sent 

to all of the Group’s suppliers. In particular, 

it will include the Ten Principles 

of the Global Compact and will collect 

the different social and environmental 

requirements, which are currently contained 

in different documents. Similarly, 

social and environmental audits will 

be outsourced in the future on a global 

basis, and targeting will be conducted 

by means of a supplier marking system. 

Human Rights: 

Supor’s action 

plans 

“In 2011, all of Supor’s entities 

in China and Vietnam have 

evaluated their practices in terms 

of Human Rights by answering 

the questions of the CBSSC. 

They have done this with sincerity 

and honesty, without concealing 

weak points. These weak points 

related in particular to the 

duration of work, to holidays, and 

to certain aspects of health and 

safety. All have been the subject 

of corrective action plans which 

I supervise with the Industrial 

Director. For example, it has been 

decided to progressively reduce 

the maximum duration of weekly 

work, and to ensure compliance 

with mandatory rest days. The 

CBSSC is a tool that helps us 

to progress: We will carry out 

another check in two years.” 

Oliver Dong, 

Human Resources Director at Supor 


81

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Interamerican 

“Actions of Life” – 

Actions of Responsibility 

for Society 

By Yiannis Roundos 

Contributing to society with social responsibility initiatives and actions constitutes a core 

element of INTERAMERICAN’s mission. For this reason, the company invests significant 

amounts of time into various social actions, above and beyond the responsible practices that 

it has integrated into activities of its business operations. From its inception until today, it 

has continually focused on the people and society in general. 

ity seeks medical care as a last resort. 

It should be noted that the Roma have 

no social security coverage for healthcare 

because they are not registered as citizens. 

Preschooler school-readiness test 

The Open Embrace association of Friends 

of Social Pediatrics and Medicine organized 

a model school readiness test 

program for children of preschool age 

and implemented it in 2012 for a third 

consecutive year, with the sponsorship 

of INTERAMERICAN. The program consists 

of pre-symptomatic testing for the 

early identification of health problems 

preschoolers may face before entering 

primary education. It was organized 

under the auspices of the Ministry of 

Education and the Ministry of Health and 

was prepared by the University group of 

the 2nd Pediatric Clinic of the University 

of Athens. 

In 2011, INTERAMERICAN continued to 

implement its far-reaching and ambitious 

program of social responsibility initiatives, 

which it has been developing since 

2004 under the title “Actions of Life.” The 

“Actions of Life” program is based on two 

defining parameters: 

• the relevance of the actions to the company’s 

business activities, with the use 

of its services systems and know-how 

in actions that contribute to society; 

• the participation of its workforce, with 

the effective sensitization and voluntary 

contribution to society by its employees, 

which underscores the company’s idea: 

“INTERAMERICAN is its people.” 

Structure 

The “Actions of Life” program is structured 

around the following thematic axes: 

• health care 

• risk prevention (road safety issues and 

risks from natural phenomena) 

• support for vulnerable social groups 

• environmental protection 

• culture, education, and sports 

In spite of the adverse financial circumstances 

over the last two years, which 

have also had a significant impact on 

the private insurance sector, in 2011 

INTERAMERICAN not only maintained 

but actually strengthened the “Actions of 

Life” program, proving its interest in dealing 

with the problems of Greek society. 

Focusing on children’s needs and 

their rights 

The primary healthcare and health education 

provision program for Roma children 

in Attica, organized by Medecins 

du Monde (MdM) with the support of 

INTERAMERICAN, was completed and its 

objective was fully achieved. The program 

was held from October 2009 to October 

2010 at reservations in Elefsina, Aspropyrgos, 

and Nea Zoi. 

The program covered the actions of the 

MdM mobile unit at the aforementioned 

reservations, which included: the provision 

of primary healthcare; treatment 

and pharmaceutical coverage; preventive 

medical care and provision of information 

on the importance of health care; 

referral of cases for further medical care 

and social support; where necessary, recording 

of health data of children for 

medical and epidemiological research; as 

well as inoculation. In total, 780 inoculations 

were performed and 552 Roma 

children were examined, while 145 new 

health booklets were issued. The pediatricians 

and health visitors of the MdM 

mobile unit also provided education and 

training on essential health issues, while 

the necessary health certificates were 

issued to the pupils of the 7th Primary 

School of Aspropyrgos, the majority of 

whom are Roma. Statistically, approximately 

two out of three children that 

received care were under five years of age. 

The Roma: A population with a high 

level of exposure to health risks 

Roma children run the greatest risk of 

suffering from tuberculosis, malnutrition, 

accidents, and dental problems and are 

less likely to develop immunities. They 

are a recognized high-risk group for iron 

deficiency anemia and food poisoning 

and their emergency hospitalization rate 

is constantly increasing, since this minor- 

Sponsoring children of ActionAid 

In 2011 INTERAMERICAN continued to 

provide support to ActionAid for the 

“Sponsor a Child” program, increasing its 

sponsorships of children to 67, compared 

to 55 in 2010, and 40 in 2009. 

With this program, ActionAid – an international 

organization active in more 

than 50 countries – focuses on creating 

the basic infrastructure in order to secure 

food, drinking water, and education for 

children in the poorest regions of Africa, 

Asia, and Latin America. This costs less 

than €1 per child per day. 

Working with UNICEF for children’s 

rights 

INTERAMERICAN works closely with 

UNICEF and has supported and participated 

in the organization’s initiatives in 

Greece since 2008 within the framework of 

“Actions of Life” – INTERAMERICAN’s corporate 

social responsibility program. For 

the third year in a row, INTERAMERICAN 

has supported the Intercultural Festival 

organized every December by UNICEF 

Greece. The company provides free insurance 

coverage at the visual arts exhibition 

“Resist,” organized by UNICEF and the 

Municipality of Athens in Technopolis 

in support of UNICEF’s goals. 

With this event, UNICEF aims to highlight 

the message that every child has the 

right to survival, education, growth, and 

protection from abandonment, abuse, 

and exploitation. The event gathered approximately 

500 children from indigent 

families, immigrant families, institutions, 

and other disadvantaged groups. 

Furthermore, UNICEF is attempting to 

minimize the consequences of the crisis 

for the children in the Horn of Africa. 

INTERAMERICAN responded to the global 

organization’s appeal for help. 

Support to The Smile of the Child 

In 2011 INTERAMERICAN continued 

its support for The Smile of the Child 

association. The company renewed the 

insurance policies under which it insures 

the association’s vehicles for free while 

also insuring new vehicles. 

Why 

INTERAMERICAN 

supports 

"Sponsor a Child" 

The company participates in 

the “Sponsor a Child” program 

because with its contribution: 

• it fulfills its commitment as a 

participant to the United Nations 

Global Compact to support 

children’s rights, thereby confirming 

its mission as an insurance 

organization to improve the quality 

of life of as many children as 

possible; 

• it increases awareness among 

the company executives, who are 

motivated to make the necessary 

budget provisions in order to 

participate in the program; it also 

communicates the idea of social 

responsibility to the employees. 


83

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Medcom 

The Children First 

By Lilinés Urriola Herrera 

In the past year, Panama has made some important and positive headlines worldwide. The 

country was awarded an investment grade credit rating by both of the globally renown ratings 

agencies, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s. Also, the New York Times named Panama as 

the number one travel destination in 2012. The country also had economic growth of 8 percent 

from 2006 to 2010, and in 2011 the country’s economy grew 10.6 percent, making it one of the 

fastest-growing economies in Latin America. 

Despite all the good news the world is 

reading about Panama, the isthmus is 

currently encountering a series of severe 

problems regarding malnutrition 

and extreme poverty. The number of 

Panamanian children suffering from 

low birth weight and stunted growth 

surpasses the numbers of most of the 

poorest countries in Central America. 

Figures depicting chronic malnutrition 

reach 62.0 percent in indigenous communities 

and 10.5 percent for children 

in urban areas. The infant mortality rate 

is 1.3 percent, according to the country´s 

National Institute of Statistics and Census. 

According to the United Nations 

Economic Commission for Latin America 

and the Caribbean, Panama is also facing 

an economic inequality problem. 

In 1996, RPC Television, a television network 

owned by Corporación Medcom, 

proposed the project “Los Niños Primero” 

(The Children First) to Nutre Hogar, a 

nongovernmental organization that has 

been helping with assistance, recovery, 

and prevention of child malnutrition 

since 1988. Nutre Hogar was founded by 

Monsignor Romulo Emiliani, who had 

also founded various apostolates and 

social projects that still benefit the children 

of Panama. His seal of approval gave 

confidence to the people regarding these 

types of projects. The main idea of the 

project was to help an NGO that involved 

civil society with the economic support 

of two of the corporation’s clients as 

sponsors (Petróleos DELTA and Super 99). 

Our medium created a triangular alliance 

with sponsors to accomplish the project, 

which focused primarily on creating a 

public awareness campaign about child 

malnutrition in Panama, along with 

national food drives. Corporación Medcom 

offered its multimedia platform to 

assist in the spread of publicity for the 

campaign at no cost by donating its main 

product, which is airtime. In 2011, our 

corporation donated $348,676 in free 

airtime in addition to volunteer time 

from our media teams to produce news 

coverage, radio and television interviews, 

reports, and live feeds to promote the 

campaign. The corporation also coordinates 

monetary donations made by 

the two sponsors – the donations are 

targeted solely for the construction of 

new recovery centers. Our corporation 

offers sponsors a competitive marketing 

plan that includes news coverage as 

well as reports about and promotion of 

their brands and products in exchange 

for donations for Nutre Hogar. In 2011 

the commercial packages ran for a net 

investment of $18,000, which returned 

$78,771 in total airtime to each sponsor. 

The campaign and food drives are supported 

by more than 2,000 volunteers, 

who offer their time every year to make 

this the most important campaign and 

food drive in the country. The first campaign 

was created to build a recovery 

center for malnourished children in 

Los Valles de Cañazas in the Veraguas 

province. The success measures for this 

first project were not only the amounts 

of money or donations that were to 

be received for the construction and 

maintenance of the center, but also the 

way in which the center would become 

entirely self-sustainable. It is important 

to mention that each of the centers is 

self-sustainable and is, in fact, managed 

by all the members of the community 

with the help of Nutre Hogar. 

Los Valles de Cañazas was the first community 

to receive a recovery center, due 

to the severe child malnutrition and 

extreme poverty rates in that area. Despite 

all this, the community was wellorganized 

and had previously made a 

formal request for help to Nutre Hogar. 

This happened before RPC Television 

proposed the project to all the parties 

involved. The community in El Valle 

de Cañazas not only benefitted from 

the construction of the center, but due 

to the exposure they received through 

our media platform, they were able to 

improve their infrastructure with new 

streets and highways. It used to take 

about two hours to get to Cañazas from 

the closest city – today it takes about 

30 minutes. 

In 2012 the project “The Children First” 

marked 16 years of uninterrupted success. 

Thanks to the annual food drives 

and donations, it has built 8 community 

centers and 42 sub-centers nationwide. 

The food collected in the drives serves 

as back-up to feed all the centers and 

sub-centers nationwide. Corporación 

Medcom’s efforts and commitment 

to execute the campaign have been 

directly involved in the construction 

of centers in the following places: El 

Copé de Olá, Quebrada Guabo, Las Pipas 

de los Pozos, Ballestilla, Chiriquí Viejo, 

Divalá, Buenos Aires de Ñurum, and 

the first center in Los Valles de Cañazas. 

It is also responsible for the construction 

of the sub-centers in the following 

places: Tolote, Orema, Huacas, Cerro 

Ortiga, Suiche, Los Guarumos, and 

Lajero Abajo. 

Susy de Varela, National Director of 

Nutre Hogar, describes “The Children 

First” as “a project model of successful 

development, which can be used as an 

example for other countries because it 

is very broad through its emphasis in 

primary childhood, but is also directed 

to the entire family nucleus.” 

Our best practice example project fulfills 

most of the eight Millennium Development 

Goals because it helps eradicate 

extreme poverty and hunger; promotes 

gender equality and empowers women; 

reduces child mortality; improves maternal 

health; and ensures environmental 

sustainability. Also, it is important to 

mention that the following community 

centers have been declared malnutritionfree: 

Los Valles de Cañazas, El Copé de 

Olá, Las Pipas de los Pozos, Quebrada 

Guabo, and Ballestilla. The centers are 

operated entirely by the inhabitants of 

the communities where they are located. 

They are self-sustainable because the 

food served in their dining halls, which is 

not from the food drives, comes directly 

from local farms in each center. They are 

also conscious of the environment because 

the stoves have “Eco-Tec” technology, 

which reduces the average amount 

of firewood used by the burners by 35 

percent. The centers also have waste 

incinerators to prevent the pollution 

of rivers and they also offer orientation 

for the beneficiary families. 

By 2011 Nutre Hogar’s community centers 

had 37 operating dining halls; they 

have served 5,044 communities; benefitted 

2,800 families; and have educated 

3,947 people on topics like health, 

nutrition, production, and community 

organization and stimulation. Corporación 

Medcom, as a socially responsible 

organization, is proud to have been the 

creator of the project “Los Niños Primero” 

(The Children First) and hopes to be an 

essential part of it for many years to 

come. 


85

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Mitsui 

Great East Japan 

Earthquake Restoration 

Efforts 

March 11, 2011 – This will be a date long remembered by 

Japan and the world at large. Since the aftermath of the Great 

East Japan Earthquake that hit the Tohoku area north of Japan, 

Mitsui & Co. (“Mitsui”) has been conducting various activities 

in terms of recovery support through social contribution 

activities and through Mitsui’s core business. 

By Mitsui & Co. Restoration Support Team 

As the events following the earthquake 

unfolded, Mitsui considered what the 

company and its employees could do to 

help the affected areas in urgent need 

of a lifeline and all manner of supplies. 

Calls and requests offering support and 

donations flooded into the social contribution 

team from all over Japan and the 

worldwide network of Mitsui. A crossorganizational 

Restoration Support Team 

was immediately set up within the company 

to help gather knowledge and information 

to provide optimal emergency 

support to the affected areas. 

On March 14, Mitsui decided to 

provide 400 million Japanese yen to support 

the company-wide collective social 

contribution efforts. Out of this budget, 

345 million yen was provided directly 

to the affected areas, and the remainder 

was utilized as donations to NGOs and 

in-kind support. In August, an additional 

400 million yen was allocated for the 

restoration efforts, some of which was 

provided as a donation for building a 

library in the affected areas. 

An example of the types of in-kind 

support offered was the provision of solar 

lanterns to the areas that lacked electricity. 

On March 18, a total of 4,000 solar 

lanterns were delivered by truck to the 

evacuation shelters in Minamisanrikucho, 

Miyagi Prefecture. In addition, the 

Food and Retail Business Unit provided 

bread, milk, and other food staples, and 

transportation logistics support was provided 

to deliver a solar-powered container 

facility – this was the kind of support 

that was possible due to the specific 

strengths and business activities of the 

Mitsui Group. 

Demonstration of employees’ efforts 

and good will to help 

In addition to the above corporate donation 

and in-kind support, Mitsui’s 

employees responded very quickly and 

proactively in lending both personal and 

voluntary support. As soon as calls for 

donations were posted on the company 

website, donations poured in at an unprecedented 

rate, resulting in a total of 

more than 47 million yen in less than 

10 weeks. The company then took a vote 

from employees on where these donations 

could be best allocated, and as a 

result donations were allocated to the 

affected prefectures and selected NGOs. 

The effort is ongoing, and the cumulative 

amount of employee donations collected 

as of the end of Fiscal Year 2012 was 

around 52 million yen. 

The company also provided a platform 

to encourage employees to participate 

in volunteer activities in the 

affected areas. First of all, Mitsui decided 

to change the guidelines and to extend 

the volunteer leave to a maximum of 10 

days per year. Second, Mitsui partnered 

with the NGO Japan Emergency Network 

(JEN) to set up details and logistics for 

the employees’ volunteer program. The 

program commenced in May 2011, with 

a maximum of 10 employees visiting the 

seriously affected areas in the northern 

part of the Miyagi prefecture. Activities 

ranged from cleaning up debris from 

houses, buildings, schools, and rivers to 

setting up nets and the necessary infrastructure 

to rehabilitate the fishery and 

oyster culture that the region is famous 

for. As of the end of May 2012, 660 employees 

participated in the volunteer 

activities, and the effort and good will 

shall continue. 

For the children’s future: Books and 

room to read 

On the day the earthquake and the tsunami 

swept through the northeastern coast 

of Japan, the city of Rikuzen Takada in 

Iwate Prefecture faced massive damage of 

the facilities, including the city’s municipal 

library. The Imaizumi Shrine was also 

3,000 books were donated 

to the “Rainbow Library”. 

left completely devastated, and only the 

800-year-old Japanese cedar tree survived 

the massive waves of the tsunami. Mitsui 

decided to donate a library facility to be 

built on the shrine’s compound, using 

lumber from trees that are grown and 

managed in Mitsui’s company-owned 

forests located in Hokkaido. More than 

3,000 books were donated to the “Rainbow 

Library,” which started operation in 

November 2011. The Rainbow Library 

is run and operated by an organization 

consisting of novelists and publishers, 

and is expected to continue operation 

for two years. On December 25, Mitsui’s 

employees volunteered to visit the library 

and helped organize the Christmas Book 

Reading event for children. The library 

provides a space filled with the scent of 

natural wood – a community where 

both parents and children can relax and 

enjoy reading various books and novels. 

What we can do together to realize a 

sustainable environment 

In order to improve and resolve various 

environmental issues that have arisen 

due to the earthquake, Mitsui decided to 

provide Restoration Grants geared specifically 

to the activities and research aimed 

at the establishment of a sustainable 

society in the affected areas. Since the 

aftermath of the earthquake, Mitsui made 

four calls, which ultimately resulted in 

711 applications. Based on the selection 

process, Mitsui decided to provide 943 

Employee Volunteer 

Activity 

million yen to 77 projects. Given that 

restoration efforts require continuous 

involvement and attention, in addition 

to the conventional activity and research 

grants, Mitsui decided to continue calls 

for applications for Restoration Grants 

for the Fiscal Year 2012. 

Contribution through our strength 

in core business activities 

Mitsui is considering possible business 

activities that are tied to the local communities 

in the affected areas over the 

medium to long term. Consideration 

is based on specific requests from the 

affected areas and whether or not such 

activities would contribute to the new 

and sustainable development of the 

Tohoku region. 

For example, Mitsui has assisted 

Car Sharing Japan in providing car sharing 

activities for areas in need of basic 

transportation. Work is also currently 

under way to identify and implement 

new projects related to restoration of 

the industrial platforms in areas ranging 

from fishery to agriculture, healthcare, 

energy, and transportation. 

We hope that by utilizing the knowledge 

and know-how of all employees 

and through contributions by the entire 

Mitsui Group, the engagement will lead 

to growth in employment and restoration 

of the societal foundation to support 

stable and sustainable growth in the 

Tohoku region. 


87

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Novo Nordisk 

Wellness for All: 

Thinking Globally, Acting 

Locally 

By Scott Dille 

NovoHealth is a worldwide company program seeking to develop a workplace culture 

that promotes and supports healthy living for all employees – an opportunity for Novo 

Nordisk to practice what we preach. NovoHealth inspires healthy living among Novo 

Nordisk employees as a means to prevent Type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle-driven diseases. 

NovoHealth gives us an exciting opportunity to bring the organization together across the 

globe, support our colleagues, address our social responsibility as an employer, and improve 

business performance. 

Guo Yun, 

Human Resource Director 

Novo Nordisk China 

There is no dispute that our planet is 

coming under increasing pressure to 

meet our resource demands and sustain 

its resilience. It is also becoming 

apparent that the global rise in lifestylerelated 

non-communicable diseases 

(NCDs) – like Type 2 diabetes – share 

many of the same root causes. Not only 

does a growing and aging urban middle 

class with unsustainable consumption 

patterns threaten to push us toward 

the limits of natural resources and 

planetary life support systems, it also 

threatens to compromise the health of 

the next generation. The sad outcome 

– if nothing is done to reverse it – will 

be a rise in lost life years and quality of 

life, resulting in stagnating productivity, 

anemic development, and swelling 

healthcare costs. 

To put things into perspective for 

employers worldwide, 25 percent of the 

36 million deaths from NCDs each year 

occur in those aged 60 and under – in 

other words, among the working-age 

population. The cost from NCDs to the 

world economy over the next 20 years 

is estimated by the World Health Organization 

and Harvard University to 

be approximately $30 trillion. 

This year’s Rio+20 United Nations 

Conference on Sustainable Development 

is yet another ideal opportunity 

to address these challenges at the global 

level. And hopefully we can put things 

back on a sustainable path. Novo Nordisk 

stands ready to support global 

solutions, but we are convinced that 

our greatest contribution needs to take 

place locally. 

As the global leader in diabetes 

care, Novo Nordisk is driven by a very 

simple commitment: to help people 

live healthier lives. Our leadership is 

defined by our actions with the goal of 

enabling people to live longer, healthier, 

and more productive lives. One place 

where we can make the most impactful 

difference is with the 35,000 people 

who come to work every day. It is this 

opportunity to make a difference that 

drives our internal NovoHealth global 

initiative. 

Change starts from within 

NovoHealth began as an executive 

management-led initiative to lead 

the fight against diabetes internally. 

It started with local activities focused 

on Novo Nordisk’s operations in Denmark. 

In 2006, it was decided to build 

NovoHealth into a global program, supporting 

affiliates and employees across 

the globe. 

The global launch took place in 

January 2008, when NovoHealth was 

introduced to the top 300 managers 

in the company and the local implementation 

began. A cornerstone of 

the program’s rollout was respect for 

cultural differences – for each of us to 

achieve a lifestyle change as individuals, 

encouragement is a step in the right 

direction. To truly succeed, change 

must start from within. 

Today, NovoHealth is based on 

four global standards that form the 

foundation of our voluntary employee 

health promotion program and support 

employees in leading a lifestyle that 

prevents diabetes and other NCDs. The 

four key health areas are: 

• Provide healthy food in the workplace 

and encourage a healthy diet. 

• Provide access to and encourage employees 

to do physical activity. 

• Provide a smoke-free work environment 

and emphasize the benefits of 

non-smoking. 

• Provide access to and encourage health 

checks with individual advice. 

Going forward, NovoHealth will continue 

to support the organization’s employees 

in living a healthier lifestyle with respect 

to future challenges, i.e. our company 

growth, aging workforce, etc. To ensure 

success, processes are measured to 

identify and build on what works (stop 

smoking, eat healthier, be more physically 

active) and prioritize best practices 

that have an impact. 

“Human beings are at the center of 

concerns for sustainable development. 

They are entitled to a healthy 

and productive life in harmony with 

nature.” 

Rio Declaration on Environment 

and Development, Principle 1 

Sharing best practice – Action on 

Diabetes 

In September 2011, the United Nations 

held a High-level Meeting on Non-communicable 

Diseases. One of the important 

and valued outcomes was a political 

declaration calling for multi-sectoral 

interventions to include “the provision of 

incentives for work-site healthy-lifestyle 

programs” and specifically calling on the 

private sector to “promote and create 

an enabling environment for healthy 

behaviors among workers.” NovoHealth 

fit perfectly with the declaration as an 

existing program that we could leverage 

outside of our own walls. 

According to the International Diabetes 

Federation, more than 20 percent of 

Qataris have diabetes, one of the highest 

rates of diabetes prevalence in the region. 

Bringing this number down requires a 

tremendous joint effort. 

“Action on Diabetes” was launched 

in November 2011 as a partnership between 

the Qatar Supreme Council of 

Health, the Hamad Medical Corporation, 

the Qatar Diabetes Association, Maersk 

Oil, and Novo Nordisk. The project’s 

ambition is to raise awareness of diabetes, 

advise on how to prevent it, and support 

people already living with diabetes to 

manage their health better. 

NovoHealth entered into the partnership 

as a means to help Maersk Oil 

Qatar implement an employee health 

program for all their employees, ensuring 

support for better health and providing 

opportunities for individuals to reduce 

personal risk factors that predispose 

them to diabetes and other NCDs. We 

will bring our knowledge and experience 

with health promotion to the table, but 

also rigorously analyze what works best 

in Qatar and which best practices can be 

used in other work settings. 

Recognizing opportunities to make 

a difference 

With more than a third of the global 

workforce suffering from preventable 

diseases annually, inaction will lead to 

a significant financial burden on businesses 

and the economy. But there is 

also an opportunity here for focused, 

localized action. It is estimated that up 

to 40 percent of NCDs can be prevented 

through workplace wellness schemes, 

and they have demonstrated a clear return 

on investment with cost savings of 

up to $4 for every $1 spent. By starting 

within our own organizations, workplace 

wellness schemes, like NovoHealth, can 

address lifestyle changes and promote 

health, creating shared value for both 

society and companies. 


89

Best Practice 

Human Rights 


Responsible Engagement – 

Core Element of Securing 

Human Rights 

By Natalia Gonchar, Marina Ee and Elena Alyokhina 

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy) is the operator of the 

Sakhalin-2 project, which involves the development of two oil and gas fields offshore from 

the Sakhalin Island. 

Sakhalin-2 is one of the world’s biggest 

integrated oil and gas projects. The company 

was established in 1994 specifically 

for the development of this project. Since 

1999, the company has been producing oil 

from Molikpaq – Russia’s first offshore 

ice-class platform – as part of Phase 1 of 

the project, during ice-free seasons. Two 

more offshore platforms were built and 

commissioned during Phase 2, which also 

included the following: around 300 km 

of offshore pipelines to connect all the 

platforms to the shore; some 1,600 km of 

onshore oil and gas pipelines; an onshore 

processing facility; an oil export terminal; 

and Russia’s first liquefied natural gas 

plant, launched in 2009. As Russia’s most 

innovative and technologically advanced 

project, Sakhalin-2 plays its part in the 

overall development of the Russian oil 

and gas industry. 

In recent decades, more attention has 

been paid to the social responsibility of 

business and the effective cooperation between 

business, governments, and society. 

Global experience has confirmed that 

only businesses that follow responsible 

business practices can achieve long term 

success. These practices are based on 

respect for human rights, transparency, 

non-financial reporting, environmental 

responsibility, caring about personnel, 

and making contributions to the sustainable 

development of the region. 

In the age of economic globalization and 

the current financial crisis, corporate 

social responsibility (CSR) assumes special 

significance. What are the benefits 

that responsible business practices can 

provide? Internally, this is an effective 

risk-management mechanism that can 

prevent or minimize the problems within 

a company, with contractors, or across 

an entire value chain. Externally, this 

gives an opportunity to share best CSR 

knowledge and to promote it globally, 

which, in the end, contributes to global 

sustainable development 

For Sakhalin Energy, the five CSR pillars are: 

• observance of and respect for human 

rights 

• accountability and transparency 

• ethical behavior 

• respect for stakeholders’ interests 

• supremacy of the law and compliance 

with internationally accepted codes of 

conduct 

Effective stakeholder engagement is an 

important and integral element of successful 

operations of the company. The 

statement on transparent and open stakeholder 

engagement is included in the 

company’s General Business Principles. 

Sakhalin Energy uses a systematic and 

proactive approach based not only on 

Russian national standards but also on 

the best international standards. Special 

engagement programs are carried out 

for communities and vulnerable groups 

that may be affected by the company’s 

activities. 

Sakhalin Energy’s engagement with stakeholders 

is based on the commitments set forth in 

the key corporate documents, which include: 

• “Statement of General Business Principles” 

• “Sustainable Development Policy” 

• “Commitments and Policy on HSE and 

Social Performance” 

• “Public Consultations and Information 

Disclosure Specification” of Social 

Performance Standard 

“Implementation of a project like 

this would not be possible without 

strict adherence to the best international 

standards in business ethics 

and corporate social responsibility 

(CSR), and sometimes even development 

and implementation of new 

standards. Strong, transparent, contractive, 

and systematic cooperation 

and two-way communication 

with all groups of stakeholders has 

proved to be the backbone of success 

and has been highly appreciated 

by all groups of stakeholders 

and experts.” 

Andrei Galaev, CEO of Sakhalin Energy 

• “Public Consultation and Disclosure 

Plan” 

The above-listed documents define the 

engagement strategy, principles, mechanisms, 

and tools. The company reports 

on engagement outcomes primarily via 

public consultations and information 

disclosure reports. 

Stakeholder engagement mechanisms 

and tools are selected based on the 

stakeholder engagement goals and the 

stakeholder group. 

Five basic complementary and interdependent 

mechanisms are used: 

• Impact assessment – free, prior, informed, 

participatory consultations 

with project-affected communities. 

• Ongoing three-level system of direct 

communication with community – 

open public meetings; focused / group 

/ individual meetings and workshops; 

Community Liaison Officers’ open 

hours and special information centers 

in local libraries in 23 Sakhalin 

communities, etc. 

• Grievance addressing procedures. 

• Partnerships – strategic cooperation 

with public and authorities in delivering 

social and environmental projects 

based on co-ownership and equitableness. 

• Public reporting – primary annual Sustainable 

Development report prepared 

as per Global Reporting Initiative and 

AA1000 standards. 

All of them proved their efficiency and 

value, both for business and stakeholders 

during all project development phases 

of Sakhalin-2. 

Grievance management 

Large-scale projects like Sakhalin-2 inevitably 

generate questions and concerns 

for residents living in the project area. 

In order to ensure that public grievances 

are processed in a timely and effective 

manner and in accordance with international 

best practice, the company developed 

and implemented its Grievance 

Procedure. This procedure is one of the 

key elements demonstrating the social 

responsibility, respect for human rights, 

and high social standards adopted by 

the company. 

The procedure guarantees that grievances 

are resolved in a timely and effective 

manner, that they are less likely to reappear, 

that they are properly documented, 

and that the respective corrective and 

preventive measures are taken. 

The following are key principles of Sakhalin 

Energy’s Grievance Procedure: 

• Legitimacy and incorporation into 

management systems (the grievance 

procedure consists of elements and 

mechanisms that ensure trust by stakeholders 

and affected groups targeted by 

this procedure). The Grievance Procedure 

includes independent procedures 

of assessment, resolution, and monitoring 

of grievances. The grievance 

status and progress are controlled by 

the company’s top management, and 

audited both externally and internally. 

Furthermore, the grievance handling 

process is assessed by the company’s 

inter-directorate committees, registered, 

and tracked in the automated incident 

tracking system. 

• Accessibility (ensuring awareness of all 

targeted stakeholders). There are different 

channels for logging grievances, 

thus making the company accessible 

when communicating with complainants. 

Among those channels are the 

company’s information centers, Community 

Liaison Officers, a dedicated 

hotline, email addresses, etc. Regular 

awareness campaigns and trainings 

are held to keep communities and contractors 

/ subcontractors fully informed. 

The company uses feedback from the 

population and other stakeholders to 

assess the effectiveness of these channels. 

• Transparency and openness. The company 

regularly informs all stakeholders 

on the status and progress of grievance 

processes, provides enough details on 

its results, and incorporates the grievance 

updates in public reporting. 


91

Best Practice 

Human Rights 


• Stakeholder engagement and ensuring 

dialog while addressing grievances. 

Sakhalin Energy conducts regular consultations 

with communities and other 

various stakeholder groups with regard 

to the effectiveness of the process for addressing 

grievances. Such consultations 

are part of the community engagement 

with focus groups and constitute an 

integral part of internal social performance 

monitoring. Special emphasis is 

put on dialog with complainants as part 

of the process for addressing grievances 

and the decision making required for 

its resolution. 

• Predictability in terms of process and 

ensuring concerted actions. It is a clear 

and straightforward procedure, which 

sets time limits for each stage of grievance 

handling and communication with 

complainants throughout the whole 

process. 

• Confidentiality. All grievance-related 

issues are addressed confidentially. Information 

of complainants is not to 

be disclosed without a complainant’s 

written consent. 

• Applicability both for the company and 

contractors. The company’s Grievance 

Procedure is mandatory for all of the 

company’s functions, as well as for its 

contractors and subcontractors. 

• Using the experience gained for preventive 

and proactive measures and continuous 

improvement. All grievances 

filed with Sakhalin Energy are tracked 

and the tendencies are analyzed. Based 

on such analysis, recommendations are 

formulated for the company’s respective 

functions and contractors / subcontractors 

with respect to impact mitigation 

and preventive measures. 

Safety is our first priority 

Safety is one of the most critical human 

needs, along with the need for food, 

water, and housing. Globally, more than 

220 million people are annually affected 

by natural disasters, and more than 66 

million of them are children. A child’s 

safety is an overall priority, as children 

are more vulnerable and helpless in a 

dangerous situation. 

The Asia Pacific region is vulnerable to 

many types of disasters. The environment 

conditions of Sakhalin Island, located in 

the Russian Far East, resemble those of 

the true Arctic. In addition, the island has 

a high seismicity and susceptible to other 

natural calamities such as hurricanes, 

tsunamis, forest fires, etc. Operating 

in the harsh environment of the island, 

Sakhalin Energy uses a systematic approach 

regarding health, safety, security, 

and environmental management in order 

to ensure continuous improvement in 

performance. The company is seeking 

to achieve the highest standards and is 

following corporate principles and values, 

with a key focus on safety. 

At the same time, effective stakeholder 

engagement and appropriate communication 

regarding safety has become one 

of the key priorities of Sakhalin Energy. 

Educating children on rules of conduct 

during emergencies is a critical element 

of community preparedness. Due to the 

complexity of the goal and the significant 

area of coverage, a partnership was established 

between Sakhalin Energy, the 

Sakhalin Ministry of Education, and the 

Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMER- 

COM). The partnership promotes rules 

of safe behavior in order to minimize 

the risk of children finding themselves 

in emergency situations. These efforts 

have been realized through the Sakhalin 

Energy’s program “What to Do in 

Emergency Situations.” 

The program 

“What to Do in Emergency Situations” has 

been in operation since 2005. The program 

introduces modern technology and 

safe behavior education for preschoolers 

and school-age children. These children 

can, in turn, teach preparedness for 

emergency situations to their relatives 

and friends. The integrated program is 

implemented using four main means: 

1. Educational cartoons 

Specially created animated cartoons aim 

at enhancing children’s awareness of 

safe behavior in different situations. 

The main character of these clips, a boy 

named Senya, teaches children the rules 

of behavior in emergencies and ways 

to prevent dangerous situations in a 

simple and understandable form. The 

cartoons’ topics cover many dangerous 

situations that children would find in a 

modern society: road traffic, games on 

the ice in winter, bathing in unknown 

water basins, earthquake, tsunami, snow 

avalanche, etc. The cartoons have undergone 

expert review in the Russian 

Emergency Psychological Aid Centre 

of EMERCOM and are used in different 

regions of Russia. 

2. Resource classrooms for life 

safety fundamentals 

Resource classrooms for conducting lessons 

on “Fundamentals of Life Safety” 

have been equipped and opened in 12 

Sakhalin districts. 

These classrooms are used for conducting 

lessons for students of schools where the 

resource classes are located, as well as 

offering activities for parents and students 

of other educational institutions, 

teachers from other districts, and the 

general public. In 2011 a professional 

contest was organized for specialists 

teaching safety essentials. More than 

40 teachers from 13 Sakhalin districts 

participated. One result of the contest 

was a book of best teaching practices, 

“Fundamentals of Life Safety,” which was 

published and distributed in all Sakhalin 

schools and libraries. 

3. Special safety events 

The special events involving preschoolers 

and primary school children are 

held on a regular basis and are targeted 

to consolidate and practice knowledge 

about the rules of safe behavior. Using 

role play techniques, life-size puppets – 

the animated cartoon character Senya 

and his friend Vas’ka the Cat – remind 

the young participants about the safe 

behavior rules and conduct subject trivia 

games. Such events are always an ap- 

preciated break for the young residents 

of the island. 

The biggest event is traditionally arranged 

on the second Wednesday of 

October – the International Day for 

Natural Disaster Reduction. Hundreds 

of schoolchildren from all over Sakhalin 

take part in safety contests and receive 

expert refereeing from EMERCOM professionals. 

4. Special safety projects 

• The special project “Senya and I go 

to School” is targeted at first-grade 

pupils. Going to school marks the start 

of a new period in a child’s life. It is 

naturally characterized by greater independence 

and more responsibility, 

including responsibility for personal 

safety. Under this project, each firstgrade 

pupil of Sakhalin (in total about 

5,000 children) was presented with a 

comics book based on the animated 

cartoons of Senya’s adventures. The 

lessons and events devoted to life safety 

fundamentals were conducted in all 

Sakhalin schools. 

• Sakhalin is a place with magnificent 

landscapes. Many Sakhalin families are 

keen on hiking. The project “Safety of 

Tourist Routes” was naturally supported 

for implementation by all partners. 

The ecological trail to Chekhov Peak – 

the most popular tourist route among 

Sakhaliners – was properly equipped 

and accompanied with information 

stands. It was coupled with an informational 

and promotional event on safe 

hiking, as well as a creative contest: 

On a Hike with Senya. More than 500 

creative works were submitted. 

• The special project “Senya Warns” includes 

the marking of tsunami and 

snow avalanche danger zones as well 

as a dedicated information campaign. 

In 2011 it was launched in Nevelsk, a 

Sakhalin district that suffered from 

an earthquake and its consequences 

in 2007. 

In 2011 the program website was 

launched (www.senya-spasatel.ru) with 

all program-related materials made available, 

making it helpful for teachers, 

parents, and children. One can find 

promotion materials on safety essentials 

to be used in class (cartoons, comics 

books, handouts, etc.) or for after-school 

activities (scenarios of the events), and 

watch favorite cartoons online. 

A partnership approach and joint publicprivate 

efforts have allowed all participants 

to consolidate resources effectively 

and carry out actions more productively 

and on a substantial scale. 

Program recognition was analyzed in 

the course of an independent public 

opinion survey. It confirmed 90 percent 

recognition of the program among 

children. Can Senya be more popular 

than Mickey Mouse?... For Sakhalin, the 

answer is yes. 

“A topic unusual for corporate programs 

should be noted – safety of 

children and promotion of behavior 

rules in emergencies, which is 

however a fairly urgent problem 

for residents of Sakhalin and 

Kamchatka. The partnership with 

relevant organizations, first of all, 

with regional EMERCOM, ensured 

the professional approach and high 

level of execution of all the program 

elements – from the cartoon 

clips to the life safety classroom 

equipment.” 

The Corporate Donor, All-Russian contest 

for Best Social Investment Practices, arranged 

by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vedomosti 

newspaper, and the Forum of Donors. 

“Implementation of the ‘What to 

Do in Emergency Situations’ joint 

program for Sakhalin EMERCOM 

is one of the ways to train the 

population in the sphere of life 

safety. In addition, this program 

helps increase the efficiency of 

educating children – the hero of the 

cartoons Senya and his advice on 

safe behavior rules are well-known 

to young residents of Sakhalin and 

the Kuril Islands. Children are our 

future, and ‘What to Do in Emergency 

Situations’ contributes to 

making it safer.” 

Taimuraz Kasayev, Chief of Sakhalin 

EMERCOM 


93

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

SK Telecom 

A Journey of Passion 

and Innovation Toward 

Stakeholder Happiness 

Like most other countries across the globe, Korea has many issues to tackle regarding the 

widening gap between education and wealth levels. To narrow the gap, SK has enacted 

a wide range of social activities as well as made efforts to drive economic growth as a 

responsible corporate citizen. But in the process of undertaking such activities, SK soon 

realized that simple acts of charity are not enough to find an efficient solution to the 

deep-rooted malaise in society, and that a social enterprise can be a mechanism to address 

pressing issues and create sustainable values. As the first step toward utilizing such a 

valuable tool, SK raised KRW 50 billion in 2009 to support social enterprises on a large scale. 

Chey Tae-won, Chairman of 

SK Group, invited Chinese 

opinion leaders to discuss 

issues and challenges for 

social enterprises at the Boao 

Forum for Asia 2012. 

Offline contests are also conducted to 

develop ideas and train social entrepreneurs. 

Lastly, we undertake pro-bono volunteer 

work to utilize the expertise of SK 

employees to better develop social enterprises. 

They can provide financing, 

marketing, and legal support, depending 

on their areas of expertise. This greatly 

helps social enterprises improve their 

sales, reduce expenses, and raise sustainability. 

Pro-bono activities also provide personal 

fulfillment for participating SK employees. 

They feel rewarded, gain a sense 

of accomplishment, and improve their 

capabilities through these activities. All 

of these things reflect our efforts to create 

value by reinforcing the SK model. 

Outcome and future plans 

By the SKT CSR Office 

Why social enterprises? 

When a company creates social value 

by carrying out its for-profit business 

activities, it is called “a social enterprise.” 

The Korean government has been active 

in supporting such companies as 

a way to create jobs and social services 

for the underprivileged. With governmental 

subsidy programs for certified 

social enterprises, the number of social 

enterprises has grown rapidly over the 

last five years. 

However, most of the newly established 

social enterprises have been struggling 

both commercially and financially. Some 

of them went out of business right after 

the government stopped its support. 

There are two reasons behind such failures. 

First, many social enterprises were 

founded by social entrepreneurs lacking 

entrepreneurial mindsets. Secondly, 

young talented workers do not want to 

work at social enterprises, fearing that 

such companies cannot make profits. 

Unlike in the West, where social enterprises 

are usually established by businessmen 

with innovative ideas and an 

entrepreneurial spirit, the ones in Korea 

were mostly initiated with the help of 

government subsidies. Recognizing such 

problems, SK has taken the initiative 

in establishing and supporting social 

enterprises. 

We opted for two ways to grow social 

enterprises. First, we leveraged our social 

partners’ various capabilities. This was to 

create maximum synergy by combining 

different but complementary strengths. 

So far, six social enterprises have been 

built within the context of three projects: 

Happy School for afterschool education; 

Happy Library for providing small libraries 

in apartment complexes; and Happy 

New Life for jobs to ex-convicts. Second, 

we utilized SK’s own business acumen 

in establishing, facilitating, and operating 

social enterprises and created four 

social enterprises – one good example 

of which is Happy ICT. Established by SK 

Telecom, Happy ICT fully leverages its 

own R & D to develop PC or smart phonebased 

applications for public interest. It 

provides jobs to the underprivileged and 

the disabled. 

In the past, most of the jobs created 

by social enterprises were menial jobs 

that did not require specific skills. Their 

profitability was low and working conditions 

were poor. Even though there were 

various IT training programs certified by 

the government, they did not guarantee 

any actual jobs in the IT sector, thereby 

failing to address the jobless issue of 

the unemployed. Happy ICT creates an 

opportunity for the underprivileged to 

land value-added and high-paying jobs 

in the technology sector. In the long 

term, Happy ICT is expected to build a 

social safety net in the mobile sector and 

reduce digital divides between different 

social classes by developing applications 

and websites for the public good that 

had not been sufficiently provided due 

to profitability issues. 

Support and ecosystem for social 

enterprises 

Even before establishing our own social 

enterprise, SK had provided support by 

facilitating the establishment of 62 social 

enterprises. We have utilized about 

$18 million in funding and provided 

management mentoring to social entrepreneurs. 

For example, Happy Lunchbox 

provides free meals to low-income 

seniors and children who skip meals to 

save money. It was started in 2005 as 

part of the effort to create jobs for the 

underprivileged. There are 30 Happy 

Lunchbox Centers across the country, 

which provide meals for 12,000 people 

a day. We were involved in the lunch 

distribution facilities in the initial stage, 

supported their management costs for 

two years thereafter, and we continue 

to conduct sanitary checks on facilities 

while providing consulting services to 

ensure management efficiency. 

We are also working to create and support 

an optimum ecosystem for social 

enterprises. To attain this goal, we built 

a website named “Se-sang,” which promotes 

on- and offline communication 

for those interested so they can make 

their voices heard through the website. 

People can also benefit from SK’s research 

results, which are shared freely 

on the website in order to help with any 

issues about running a social enterprise. 

Compared to traditional corporate social 

contributions, social enterprises create 

much more value. They teach people 

how to catch fish – rather than just 

distribute fish for one meal – and teach 

them how to then go on and transform 

the fishing industry itself. Corporate 

social contributions need strategic endeavors 

– like teaching people how to 

fish and transforming the fishing industry 

– in order to generate maximum 

output with minimum input. In this 

context, social enterprises can be the 

optimal tool to innovate society. 

We aim to create 4,000 jobs and establish 

30 more companies by 2013. 

Over the long term, we will extend 

our innovations further to come up 

with real and applicable solutions to 

global issues. We are building a new, 

innovative model to further develop 

social enterprises. We understand that 

there are diverse challenges on the road 

ahead. However, we are sure that we 

will overcome them and successfully 

develop a new model that will serve 

as a guide for others to improve their 

communities in the most efficient and 

innovative way. 


95

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Teck 

Addressing the Global 

Health Issue of Zinc 

Deficiency 

By Emily Hamer 

A mother and child visit a health post 

in Senegal to learn about the best 

way to treat the child’s diarrhea. 

Teck is a diversified resource company committed to 

responsible mining and mineral development with major 

business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc, 

and energy. The pursuit of sustainability guides Teck’s 

approach to business. The company, which is based in 

Vancouver, Canada, is building partnerships and capacity to 

address sustainability challenges within the regions in which 

it operates and at the global level. 

As one of the world’s largest producers of 

zinc, Teck is committed to raising awareness 

about – and helping solve the global 

health issue of – zinc deficiency, thereby 

supporting UN Millennium Development 

Goal 4 to reduce child mortality by twothirds 

of 1990 levels by 2015. 

Global issue of zinc deficiency 

Zinc is an essential micronutrient for all 

living organisms that protects the body 

from illnesses and helps fight infections, 

yet 2 billion people around the world are 

not getting enough zinc through their 

diets. Tragically, nearly 450,000 children 

die every year from disorders related to 

zinc deficiency. In fact, more infants die 

from diarrhea-related diseases associated 

with zinc deficiency than from malaria, 

HIV/AIDS, and measles combined. 

According to the World Health Organization, 

zinc deficiency is one of the leading 

risk factors associated with diseases such 

as diarrhea, contributing to the deaths of 

800,000 people each year. Zinc deficiency 

is typically the result of inadequate dietary 

intake of zinc. The problem is 

particularly profound in the developing 

world, where most populations have 

plant-based diets that are low in zinc. 

Zinc, a product of mining, is particularly 

effective in treating diarrhea. 

Teck’s involvement 

The challenge the world faces is not to 

produce more zinc. It is getting zinc 

into the diets of people suffering from 

zinc deficiency. This requires education, 

better distribution networks, and 

greater awareness of the dangers of zinc 

deficiency. Under the leadership of Don 

Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck and 

former Chair of the International Zinc 

Association (IZA), Teck has been actively 

involved in working with international 

organizations to find solutions to the 

global issue of zinc deficiency. 

Zinc and health at Teck 

In 2011, Teck launched its Zinc and 

Health program, which now includes 

partnerships with UNICEF, Free the 

Children, The Micronutrient Initiative, 

the Government of Canada, BASF, the 

Ministry of Agriculture in China, and 

other organizations. 

Teck’s Zinc and Health program includes 

a range of initiatives aimed at increasing 

awareness about the dangers of zinc deficiency 

and helping save children’s lives. 

Awareness 

The company has engaged its own employees 

at offices and through operations 

around the world via a variety of 

initiatives, including lunch and learn 

sessions, a Zinc and Health newsletter, 

and a website, www.zincsaveslives.com, 

which includes an online store where all 

proceeds from the sale of Zinc and Health 

branded items go toward supporting zinc 

supplementation programs. 

Beyond internal awareness activities, 

Teck has partnered with Free the Children 

at We Day events across Canada. 

We Day is a day-long event developed 

to celebrate the power of young people 

to create positive change. It brings inspirational 

speeches and performances to 

young leaders in Canada, encouraging 

them to take action on local and international 

issues all year long. Students 

attending We Day events in 2011 learned 

about the importance of zinc for human 

health. Through Teck’s Zinc and Health 

materials, a short video, and a presentation 

by Don Lindsay, over 40,000 young 

people across Canada have been empowered 

to help solve the global health 

challenge of zinc deficiency. 

Supplementation 

In his capacity as Chair of the International 

Zinc Association, Lindsay was 

actively involved in launching the Zinc 

Saves Kids campaign, an initiative of the 

IZA to improve the survival, growth, and 

development of undernourished children 

by funding UNICEF’s zinc supplementation 

programs around the world. Teck 

is providing resources to help increase 

the use of zinc supplements with a goal 

of saving more than 200,000 lives annually 

by 2015. 

In 2011, Teck partnered with the Micronutrient 

Initiative and the Government 

of Canada to establish the Zinc Alliance 

for Child Health. The public-private civil 

society alliance is committed to reducing 

child mortality by scaling up the use of 

zinc – combined with oral rehydration 

salts – to treat diarrhea and by providing 

zinc supplementation for children 

more than six months old. This approach 

is recognized as a high-impact solution 

that targets Canada’s G8 objectives of 

the Muskoka Initiative for child health, 

and helps in the efforts to meet the Millennium 

Development Goals. 

Food fortification 

In early 2012, Teck announced at the 

World Economic Forum that they signed 

a three-year agreement with BASF to 

jointly develop innovative and affordable 

zinc fortification and supplementation 

solutions, with the goal of reducing 

zinc deficiency among 100 million 

people in developing countries by 2015. 

Through this agreement, BASF and Teck 

aim to make safe and cost-effective highquality 

food fortification supplements 

available to populations at risk of zinc 

deficiency in developing countries. This 

partnership forms part of the “Scalingup 

Nutrition” process and it aims to 

help meet the UN Millennium Development 

Goals, particularly the goal to 

halve poverty and hunger by 2015, by 

contributing to the realization of the 

Human Right to Food. 

Crop nutrition 

Zinc deficiency affects more than half 

of the world’s agricultural soils. It has a 

significant impact on crop productivity 

and may contribute to zinc deficiency 

among humans. Crop yield, food security, 

and nutritional quality can all be 

improved by ensuring that crops have 

an adequate supply of zinc. By achieving 

this, overall health and socioeconomic 

conditions in many developing countries 

can be improved drastically. 

With one of the world’s largest populations, 

China suffers from both land 

scarcity and micronutrient-deficient soils; 

approximately 61 percent of the arable 

land in China is deficient in zinc. To 

address this issue, Teck recently signed 

a two-year sponsorship agreement with 

the National Agricultural Technology 

Extension Service Centre of the Ministry 

of Agriculture of China (NATESC) to 

introduce and encourage the use of zinc 

fertilizers in China. Since March 2011, 

NATESC has been working with the IZA 

to carry out more than 40 field trials as 

well as promotional and education programs, 

including national workshops and 

training courses. The trials have resulted 

in increased crop yields, ranging from 3 

percent to 40 percent and a value-cost 

ratio as high as 5 to 15 times for farmers. 

This newly formalized agreement 

between Teck and NATESC will complement 

the work of the IZA to promote the 

use of zinc fertilizer in China. 

Teck’s Zinc and Health partnerships 

demonstrate how responsible businesses 

can take an active role and form working 

relationships with nonprofit organizations 

to help save the lives of children. 

To learn more about Teck’s Zinc and Health 

program, visit www.zincsaveslives.com. 


97

Best Practice 

Human Rights 

Tristar 

My First License – I Know 

My Road Rules 

Road accidents have become source of global concern. Whether you are a driver, passenger, 

or a pedestrian, your safety is at risk while using roads. According to the World Health 

Organization, road traffic accidents kill and injure millions of people every year – it is one 

of the top three causes of death globally. More startling is that the number of deaths and 

disabilities from road traffic accidents are increasing yearly, despite increased safety features 

in modern automobiles and improved road infrastructure. 

By Muhammad Akber 

It is projected that unless concrete measures 

are taken, the accident death toll 

will double by 2020. Those between 

the ages of 5 and 44 years are most vulnerable 

to road accidents, according to 

statistics. With the increasing number 

of accidents, awareness must be raised 

in society and people must be educated 

about road safety. One such initiative was 

undertaken by Tristar Transport LLC in 

collaboration with Total Middle East FZE. 

It is a fact that children retain habits 

that they learn in their formative years. 

Borrowing from this idea, a unique road 

safety campaign started by Tristar Transport 

LLC was aimed at educating young 

schoolchildren about road safety. The 

campaign was named “My First License 

– I Know My Road Rules.” Students aged 

4 to 8 years from various participating 

schools were targeted. Around 5,000 children 

benefitted from this campaign. Each 

session included a road safety lecture 

from experts followed by a road safety 

quiz. Since the campaign was aimed at 

familiarizing students about road safety 

rules, they had to drive a pedal car and 

follow all the basic rules as well as pay 

attention to road signs, crosswalks, traffic 

signals, and rotaries, thereby giving the 

young drivers of tomorrow a hands-on 

feel about what to expect when driving. 

There were even marshals in the field 

to manage the flow of pedal cars in the 

training hall. 

At the end of each session, each student 

was issued a plastic license bearing their 

photo, name, and the school’s name. 

The plastic license was endorsed by the 

Dubai Police – it obviously does not 

entitle them to drive, but it reminds 

them of their first lesson on road safety 

and builds a foundation for them to 

become safe drivers and promote road 

safety. A coloring booklet on road safety 

was also issued to students after each 

session to make them feel happy and 

motivated. 

The campaign “My First License – I 

Know My Road Rules” was met with a 

favorable reception from all involved 

and was a great success. The plastic license 

will remind children about the 

importance of road safety and make 

them more aware, thereby planting the 

seeds for a safer driving environment in 

the years to come. 

Statistics show that the majority of road 

accidents are the result of human behavior, 

despite technological advancements 

with modern vehicles and road infrastructure. 

Therefore, we must create 

awareness and a safety culture in road 

users to overcome this menace, which 

has become a global epidemic. As an 

active participant of the United Nation 

Global Compact, Tristar is committed 

to promoting road safety in the communities 

where we operate, and we will 

continue to offer similar initiatives for 

a safer tomorrow. The idea is to create 

a safe driving culture, wherein these 

children will broadcast the message to 

their friends, family, and society at large. 

We believe that such initiatives – if 

joined by other corporate members as 

well – will result in a reduced number 

of road accidents, injuries, and property 

damage, because these children will 

become safe drivers as grownups. This 

initiative was also recognized as a good 

practice – Tristar received the Arabia 

CSR Award under the Best Newcomer 

category in November 2011. We also 

recommend that road safety should 

be included as part of the curriculum 

for students so that we can instill safe 

driving habits in children from the 

very start. 

Project benefits 

Immediate benefits 

• The project succeeded in 

familiarizing young children with 

road safety rules and giving them a 

hands-on feel about what to expect 

when driving. 

• It helped in building a strong 

foundation for becoming safe 

drivers and promoting road safety 

because children retain habits that 

they learn in their formative years. 

• A coloring booklet and plastic 

license on road safety were also 

issued to students to create interest 

in road safety. 

Long-term benefits 

• Reduction in number of road 

accidents, injuries, and property 

damage because these children will 

be safer drivers as grownups. 

• Creating a safe driving culture, 

wherein these children will 

broadcast the message to their 

friends, family, and society at large. 


99

Best Practice 


Bosch 

Diversity – A 

Success Factor 

for Bosch 

By Heidi Stock and Annkathrin Kienle 

People in over 150 countries all around the world – 

including men and women of many different backgrounds, 

individual lifestyles, and generations – are working for 

Bosch. This diversity brings real benefits for our company, 

and it is essential for our successful business performance in 

the long term. Numerous studies have shown that increased 

diversity leads to more innovation, better problem-solving, 

and greater creativity. 

Gender 

Diversity 

Generations 

Internationalities 

Working 

Cultures 

For that reason, diversity is anchored in 

our Bosch values as a key success factor, 

is recognized as an asset for Bosch, and 

forms an integral part of many of our 

processes. Bosch committed itself to 

the topic in public in December 2007 

by becoming one of the first German 

companies to sign the German “Diversity 

Charter,” wherein companies officially 

undertake a commitment to recognize, 

value, and appreciate diversity. 

To further strengthen diversity 

within Bosch and to use this as a positive 

force for its sustainable economic success, 

the Board of Management established a 

“Diversity” project group in 2011, tasked 

with making diversity management an 

integral part of the corporate strategy. 

Bosch has decided to focus on four aspects 

of diversity: Gender, Generations, 

Internationalities and Working Cultures. 

Diversity is not just a management 

issue – because the success of Bosch 

depends on each and every one of us 

The ability to embrace different experiences, 

leadership styles, work approaches, 

and ways of thinking has become part 

Our Diversity 

Vision 

We are a global company 

manufacturing quality innovative 

and sustainable products 

and services in the fields of 

automotive technology, consumer 

goods, and industrial technology. 

We have an open and knowledgehungry 

workforce that is diverse 

and can rely on courageous, 

reliable, and responsible 

management. We emphasize the 

values of self-reflection, valuing 

differences, and conscious lateral 

thinking. 

of the Bosch tradition and changed the 

way we see ourselves. This diversity is 

also playing an ever larger part in our 

daily work environment. Every day, we 

deal with various tasks, situations, and 

people, both internally and externally, 

on international markets. And this trend 

is going to increase. 

Our internal Diversity Communication 

initiative invites associates at over 

200 locations all around the world to 

discover the world of diversity within 

Bosch. It promotes an even stronger 

focus on actively building diversity into 

the day-to-day work environment on the 

basis of cooperation and mutual respect 

between men and women as well as 

different generations, nationalities, and 

working cultures. 

One of our objectives is to increase 

the proportion of women in management 

positions from the present figure 

of over 11 percent to an ambitious target 

of 20 percent by the end of 2020. Bosch is 

therefore putting a high priority on the 

recruitment and retention of qualified 

female associates and the promotion 

of women already on the staff. Within 

our special training program the “Business 

Women’s Program,” Bosch offers a 

range of seminars as well as mentoring 

programs to future female senior managers 

and specialists. 

Internationality has also long been 

an important part of the Bosch culture, 

including international assignments, 

language courses, cross-cultural training 

courses, and the integration of a wide 

range of “cultural profiles,” to support 

our associates in their varied interactions 

with colleagues, customers, and business 

partners from different countries. 

Another dimension of diversity relates 

to “demographic change,” focussing 

on the successful working relationships 

across different generations. Both men 

and women are required to remain in 

the workforce longer, particularly in 

Europe. Lifetime learning, “mature” 

careers, effective health management, 

and systematic know-how transfer have 

therefore become key challenges for 

many companies today. Bosch is also 

keen on not losing the know-how of its 

highly motivated older associates, e.g. 

by gaining them as consultants during 

their retirement and therefore keeping 

their expertise within Bosch. Over 500 

former associates around the world currently 

benefit from this option. 

To achieve the inclusion of diversity, 

we also need the right working culture – 

one that includes flexible working hours 

instead of a culture of presence, and 

one that offers a better balance between 

family and career, for both men and women. 

In the company-wide project MORE 

(Mindset ORganization Executives), 150 

executives are currently experimenting 

with flexible working hours arrangements, 

using the time gained in this way to focus 

on their personal development, families, 

and their own interests. Others decide to 

take some “time out” to reflect on strategic 

issues, away from their workstations and 

office routines. The results have been 

excellent! Simply by daring to take the 

first step, the initial barriers have been 

successfully overcome. In a contemporary 

work environment with a mix of 

technology, effective organization, and 

teamwork, associates are able to work 

effectively without having to be present 

every minute of every working day. 

We can see: Bosch is concentrating 

on this topic. That comes as no surprise 

given the active involvement of the Board 

of Management and Bosch executives 

Diversity 

in general, who are promoting activities 

ranging from briefing events to a 

comprehensive diversity qualification 

concept. Management attitudes toward 

understanding diversity within the company 

have also been communicated in 

a series of videos. Each of us can play a 

part in expressing the Bosch concept of 

diversity because the Bosch success story is 

ultimately being written by an incredibly 

diverse group of people – including over 

300,000 Bosch associates, in locations all 

around the world. 

Diversity within Bosch as the answer 

to an increasingly diverse world 

“Diversity at Bosch has many different 

facets,” explains Christoph Kübel, Member 

of the Board of Management. “We 

have huge diversity among our products, 

our customers, our markets, and our associates, 

and that is just how it should 

be – because this enables us to respond 

to the diverse expectations and requirements 

of our customers and our markets 

worldwide. At the end of the day, we 

need the right skills and competencies 

at the right location.” 

A conceptual approach based on 

diversity fosters open, constructive, and 

creative interactions within the company. 

And this constructive, open style 

of interaction provides the foundation 

for great ideas and the company’s success. 

As our slogan “Bosch – invented 

for life” implies, we are looking for a 

diverse range of solutions rather than 

just one specific answer. 

We are therefore committed to continuing 

on our successful path, because: 

Diversity is the key to our success. Diversity 

leads to more innovation and greater 

creativity. Diversity is our advantage. 


101

Best Practice 


ManpowerGroup 

Making it Humanly Possible 

for Young People to 

Succeed 

Global youth unemployment stands at record levels and significantly outstrips that of 

joblessness rates for other age groups. Everywhere you look, the numbers are deeply 

troubling. The latest statistics from the International Labour Organization put the global 

youth unemployment rate at more than 81 million workers – 40 percent of the total 

unemployed. The developing world, with generally younger populations, is disproportionately 

affected. According to the ILO, the highest regional youth unemployment rates exist in the 

Middle East and North Africa, where close to one out of every four young people are out of 

work. 

By Jeffrey A. Joerres 

Widespread youth joblessness has many 

negative consequences, including the 

societal problems connected with idle 

youth who do not finding meaningful 

work, the undermining of traditional 

stabilizers such as families and social 

communities, and rising criminal activity. 

At its heart, work is honorable and plays 

a critical role in the lives of individuals. 

The absence of job opportunities weakens 

society at its most fundamental level. 

Moreover, deep and structural unemployment 

among young people has serious 

economic ramifications. 

The world cannot afford to lose an entire 

generation of talent. There is a growing 

chasm between the skills being offered 

by workers and those being sought by 

employers, with ManpowerGroup’s latest 

annual Talent Shortage Survey showing 

34 percent of employers worldwide are 

having difficulty filling vacancies. There 

is an oversupply of available candidates 

and a lack of available talent. This hampers 

national economies and opportu- 

nities for development, and threatens 

global economic and social recovery. Our 

Talent Shortage Survey cited key reasons 

employers cannot or will not hire, including: 

a lack of experience, technical 

skills deficiencies, and poor employability 

skills among available candidates. Lack 

of experience is clearly an infuriating 

dilemma for young people, who cannot 

hope to gain experience when they are 

not given the chance to apply schoolbased 

skills in a workplace setting. With 

the uncertainty in the global economy, 

many employers are unwilling to gamble 

on inexperienced candidates and to invest 

resources in training young people when 

more experienced workers are available. 

Young people often lack specific employability 

skills such as cooperation, communication, 

critical thinking, creativity, 

and collaboration. Collaboration is the 

answer to this widespread and growing 

social problem; it requires creative 

holistic strategies with buy-ins from 

governments, businesses, educational 

institutions, and young people themselves. 

ManpowerGroup’s core business is 

connecting people with opportunities for 

employment, and I am pleased to share 

with you some of the many ways that we 

are working with all stakeholders around 

the world to help young people unleash 

their human potential. In the end, you 

will notice a common theme – it is 

about Employment security, experience, 

gaining honor and confidence, as well 

as creating an iterative model of work 

experience and education. 

ManpowerGroup Colombia’s Jóvenes 

Visionarios (Visionary Young People) 

program – in partnership with the International 

Labour Organization, the 

International Organization of Migration, 

NGOs, and the private sector – assists 

unemployed youth who lack training 

opportunities. It targets young people 

under 18 years of age, and participants 

gain access to training facilities, equipment, 

instructors, courses, vocational 

assessments, and career guidance. This 

project has assisted almost 400 people 

in enhancing their employability. 

In the Arab world, ManpowerGroup 

is currently collaborating with INJAZ 

al-Arab to help build an Arab Youth 

Portal – a future online platform for the 

delivery of e-learning and job-matching 

to promote youth employability and 

entrepreneurship. The Arab Youth Portal 

also connects young people with each 

other, mentors, and potential sources 

of capital in order to combat youth 

exclusion. INJAZ operates in 14 countries, 

reaching 200,000 youth annually. 

Thousands of private sector volunteers, 

including hundreds of CEOs from leading 

Arab companies, have worked with 

university and high-school students to 

develop their 21st-century skill sets. 

ManpowerGroup has a long-standing 

partnership with Junior Achievement, 

the world’s largest organization dedicated 

to educating students about workforce 

readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial 

literacy through experiential, handson 

programs. In the United States, Junior 

Achievement programs reach more than 

4 million students per year in more than 

176,000 classrooms. ManpowerGroup 

is a sponsor of Junior Achievement’s 

new “Success Skills” work-readiness curriculum. 

During the 2010 / 2011 school 

year, 227 ManpowerGroup classroom 

volunteers presented Junior Achievement 

programs to 7,000 students in the 

United States. Over the past three years, 

the “Success Skills” curriculum has been 

given to more than 45,000 students in 

20 countries. 

In France, ManpowerGroup’s assistance 

to the national government’s unemployment 

program focuses on “hard-to-serve” 

candidates, including disconnected 

youth. Our Placement program envisions 

the path to meaningful employment as 

a series of progressive steps. The first is a 

rapid return to work and may include a 

short-term assignment. This is a key step 

in improving candidates’ confidence and 

motivation and establishing a portfolio of 

relevant work experience. The program 

serves about 5,000 persons per year, and 

more than 65 percent are successfully 

placed in long-term employment. 

ManpowerGroup works with many other 

institutions, too. We are leveraging our 

insight and expertise in the world of 

work to press for action at the highest 

level. As a member of the World Economic 

Forum Global Agenda Council 

on Youth Unemployment, Manpower- 

Group has addressed key influencers and 

decision-makers to strategize targeted 

responses. 

I co-chaired the World Economic Forum 

on Latin America in Mexico in April. This 

summit focused on key employment 

issues for the region, including how to 

leverage growing and youthful populations 

to improve talent pipelines at a 

time when the global balance of power 

is shifting toward emerging markets. 

This also involved recommending outputs 

to the President of Mexico, Felipe 

Calderon Hinojosa, as part of the B20 

Task Force on Employment, which I 

am co-chairing, and will culminate in 

delivering recommendations for the 

G20 summit in Mexico later this year. 

In 2010, ManpowerGroup was given 

the opportunity to testify before a hearing 

of the US Congress Joint Economic 

Committee focusing on the labor market 

and policies to foster economic growth 

and job creation. I recommended that 

a comprehensive program be developed 

to support entrepreneurs to set up and 

establish new businesses. 

Employers have a direct interest in making 

investments that will improve young 

people's ability to succeed in the World 

of Work. These investments can take 

many forms, ranging from volunteering 

in schools to engagement in training-toemployment 

or work experience programs, 

to improve the employability 

skills of youth. In all world regions it's 

clear that employers are needed to lead 

initiatives that unleash youth potential 

in the workplace. Manpower-Group urges 

all employers to step up and make a 

difference. 

Jeff Joerres is Chairman and CEO of 

ManpowerGroup. 


103

Best Practice 

Environment 

106 

108 

112 

114 

116 

118 

120 

122 

124 

128 

130 

132 


BASF 

Bayer 




Essent 


MAN 

Metso 

MTN 

Vestas 

Environment 

Anti-Corruption 

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary 

approach to environmental challenges; 

Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater 

environmental responsibility; and 

Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of 

environmentally friendly technologies. 

Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption 

in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. 


105

Best Practice 

Environment 

AIR FRANCE-KLM 

RECONCILING AIR TRAFFIC 

GROWTH WITH CLIMATE 

PROTECTION 

The aviation industry’s share of global emissions of anthropogenic CO 2 

is around 2 percent, 

which is partly due to the continued growth of air transport. Since 2007, Air France-KLM 

has been implementing a “climate plan” – a strategy to aggregate the actions already 

undertaken within the Group in addition to further actions to fight climate change. 

The increased use of fossil fuels is threatening 

the climate balance. Awareness is 

global, but the use of these fuels in areas 

such as industry, transport, and housing 

is often unavoidable. 

Faced with this global challenge to reduce 

CO 2 

emissions, only a global response 

can be effective. That is why Air France- 

KLM has been working for the past few 

years with international bodies such as 

AEA,the IATA*and ICAO to mobilize the 

airline industry on this important topic. 

The Group also takes part in research 

programs in aeronautics and actively 

supports the development of solutions 

for the use of sustainable alternative fuels. 

To reduce its own environmental impacts, 

Air France-KLM has already implemented 

*IATA – International Air Transport Association; 

ICAO – International Civil 

Aviation Organization; AEA – Association 

of European Airlines 

several measures: the ongoing modernization 

of its fleet (which emits less CO 2 

and is one of the youngest in Europe), 

introducing new piloting procedures, 

and reducing on-board weight, for example. 

These actions have produced very 

satisfactory results. In the space of four 

years, Air France has reduced its fuel 

consumption per passenger by almost 4 

percent, and reduced CO 2 

emissions by 

27 percent compared with 2005. But to 

reduce CO 2 

emissions further, sustainable 

biofuels are a promising solution. 

For Air France-KLM, developing an alternative 

to fossil fuels that is sustainable 

and emits less CO 2 

has become a 

priority. Since 2008, Air France-KLM 

has been involved in many French and 

European programs to develop and use 

biofuels under conditions that respect 

the environment and promote economic 

and social development. 

The year 2011 marked a milestone: Air 

France and KLM operated the world’s first 

two commercial flights using sustainable 

biofuels and no changes to the engines 

were required. 

In June, KLM made its first flight with 

sustainable biofuel between Paris and 

Amsterdam; from September to February 

2012, another 200 commercial flights 

were conducted. 

In October, Air France operated the most 

efficient commercial flight, which was 

between Toulouse and Paris, regarding 

CO 2 

emissions and the use of sustainable 

biofuel. The flight chose the shortest 

path, an optimum flight profile, and 

taxied with one engine turned off. The 

weight of the cabin equipment has decreased 

by 15 percent over 5 years – 

every kilo saved represents a saving of 75 

tons of CO 2 

per year for the entire fleet. 

Thanks to all these measures, CO 2 

emissions 

on this flight were reduced by 50 

percent compared to a traditional flight. 

So why do we not make this type of flight 

standard? Some ways to create savings 

have already been implemented on all 

or parts of the fleet (fuel-efficient pilot 

procedures, less weight on board, etc). 

Other ways require new international 

regulations regarding the environment 

or airspace as well as the industrial 

production of biofuels for the aviation 

industry. 

In 2011, the European Commission, Airbus, 

the biofuel production industries, 

and four airlines, including Air France 

and KLM, launched programs aimed at 

the production in Europe of 2 million 

tons of sustainable biofuel for aviation 

by 2020. This program also commits each 

actor to promote the production, distribution, 

storage, and use of biofuels from 

certified sustainable production. This 

objective requires establishing effective 

and appropriate financial mechanisms 

to support the construction of the first 

industrial production plants. 

Furthermore, Air France and KLM are 

open to the use of different raw materials, 

in that they meet sustainability 

criteria that are recognized worldwide. 

For example, their use should generate 

reductions of CO 2 

emissions and not 

have substantial negative impacts on 

the food supply, biodiversity, or forests. 

In this way, Air France is supporting an 

innovative project to produce biofuels 

from forest waste. In 2015, a part of this 

production (2,000 tons per year) should 

be available to power aircraft engines. Air 

France will take a stake in the company 

responsible for the industrialization of 

this production. 

A proven commitment 

Every year, the Group is evaluated by 

major international ratings agencies. For 

the seventh consecutive year, the Group 

was ranked a leader among airlines by 

both the Dow Jones Index and for the 

third year running was ranked “Super 

Sector Leader” in the extended “travel 

and leisure” sector. 

For more information, please visit 

the following websites: 

www.corporate.airfrance.com 

www.klm.com 

HOW DO SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS REDUCE OUR 

CARBON IMPACT? 

For growth, plants absorb CO 2 

, which is available in the atmosphere. 

Using biofuel made from plants, the aircraft only re-emit this CO 2 

into the 

atmosphere, unlike oil, whose use releases CO 2 

buried underground and 

therefore increases the volume in the air. The use of biofuels allows for a 

CO 2 

reduction of up to 80 per cent compared to a fossil fuel (according to a 

Michigan Technological University study from 2009 on the lifecycle of biofuels – 

growing, harvesting, processing, and end-use). 


107

Best Practice 

Environment 

BASF 

The Argan Program in 

Morocco 

By Raquel Ark, Charlotte d’Erceville, Viola Möller, and Anne-Laurie Rodrigues 

With the integration of Cognis and its active ingredients business, Laboratoires 

Sérobiologiques (LS), BASF has broadened its product portfolio based on renewable raw 

materials in the last years. One of renewable raw materials is Argan oil from Morocco. 

In close partnership with L’Oréal, the 

former LS organization – which has now 

become part of BASF Care Chemicals actives 

business – established a pioneering 

tripartite approach in 2008 for a greater 

commitment to sustainability and to 

foster corporate social responsibility in 

the Argan supply chain. As part of its 

Argan oil sourcing, LS* has taken a voluntary 

approach to sustainability. This 

approach contributes to the objectives of 

the Convention on Biological Diversity 

and ensures a fair return (fair price and 

capacity enhancement) by enabling cooperatives 

to gradually achieve economic 

empowerment through the sustainable 

use of natural resources. 

Sustainable sourcing of new raw 

materials 

Continuously looking for new plants 

that can be used in the development 

of innovative active ingredients for the 

cosmetic industry, LS began to study 

the local ecosystem in Morocco in 2001 

and the Argan tree in particular. Experts 

identified new uses for extracts from 

parts of the Argan tree that had previously 

not been known or used for such 

cosmetic applications. 

To take into consideration traditional 

knowledge and local expertise, a partnership 

was set up between LS and Zoubida 

Charrouf, a professor at Rabat’s Mohamed 

V University and the founder of 

the Targanine cooperative network. The 

long-term goal was to combine scientific 

innovation, commercial development of 

the Argan sector in Morocco, and certain 

sustainability principles specific to the 

requirements of the region and the Argan 

supply chain. Key elements included 

diversification of local revenues, the 

protection of the Argan forest, and the 

support of local cooperative members. 

*Former LS organization – now part of 

BASF Care Chemicals actives business 

A further step toward sustainability 

of the supply chain 

The raw materials, Argan oil, and other 

Argan products (such as pressed oil-cake 

and Argan leaves) are supplied through 

the Targanine network of cooperatives, 

which employs a mainly female workforce, 

leading to a larger number of 

women being integrated into Moroccan 

society. Products are purchased specifically 

from Targanine cooperatives set up 

in conjunction with Zoubida Charrouf, 

with the intention of not only providing 

employment but also creating shared 

ownership of the cooperative and shared 

decision making. This process helps to 

empower previously unemployed Berber 

women. 

However, LS was committed to making 

the supply chain for its Argan products 

even more sustainable and equitable, 

exceeding the requirements of some 

organic certifications and fair trade labels. 

To this end, it implemented a comprehensive 

CSR program in collaboration 

with L’Oréal and Yamana, an NGO known 

for the CSR structuring of the textile 

industry. 

To get a fair understanding of all parties’ 

needs and perceptions, Yamana 

conducted interviews with various 

stakeholders at all the different stages 

of the supply chain in order to form 

a holistic and detailed picture of the 

situation. This input has been very 

important to ensure that the process 

is legitimate, effective, and consistent 

with the local context. 

An 18-month-long program was initiated 

in June 2008 to propose relevant and 

realistic improvement measures in the 

following areas: 

Fair return to the local community: 

going above and beyond the minimum 

requirement expected to pay with fair 

prices on fair terms. The program looked 

at ways to ensure decent living conditions 

and improvements in quality 

of life. Non-monetary benefits were 

“This pioneering CSR partnership 

between a consumer goods 

company, a raw material supplier, 

and an NGO, for a multiple 

stakeholder commitment, is 

quite without precedent. It is 

an ongoing process, where we 

are already have been seeing 

satisfying results. Our local 

partners have continually reached 

a higher level of autonomy and 

independence, and as we have all 

worked together, we have made 

continued strategic progress 

while respecting the needs 

of local communities and the 

environment.” 

Charlotte d’Erceville, R&D Data and 

Sustainable Development Manager, 

BASF Care Chemicals actives business 

“All organizations involved have 

a relationship built on trust, 

sincerity, and transparency – and 

this has made possible the 

implementation of a healthy 

long-term CSR structure. LS* 

and L’Oréal trusted Yamana’s 

method and recognized the 

necessity of a holistic approach 

that included auditing, monitoring, 

and supporting suppliers, as 

well as commercial and quality 

assurance activities.” 

Eric Defrenne, Yamana National 

Coordinator 

“I have worked in the cooperative 

since its creation in 2004. As 

treasurer and cashier, I write 

the checks among other things. 

Previously, I was at home with no 

paid work, only the daily family 

tasks. The money I earn allows 

me to help my children at school. 

Schooling is free, but we have 

to buy pens, school books, etc. 

We live in a very poor area. My 

husband has a job too, but that 

alone is not always sufficient.” 

Fatima, treasurer and 

cashier of the Toudarte cooperative 


109

Best Practice 

Environment 

BASF 

“I used to stay at home; I never 

had a job before. The cooperative 

allows me to earn a regular 

income by myself. It also helps 

us to buy goods we need, by 

providing a transportation van that 

sometimes runs free errands for 

the women – the range of things 

we can buy in the douar [village] 

is very limited. Life at home is 

different, because we have easier 

access to water and electricity. My 

husband is ill and cannot work.” 

Zaima, member of the Toudarte 

cooperative 

It was the first time L'Oréal 

Research & Innovation established 

a tripartite agreement with a 

supplier and a NGO. We went 

beyond the technical & trade 

discussion with our supplier and 

designed together a long term 

program, precisely adapted to 

the argan sector specificities, 

taking fully into account local 

expectations. The NGO Yamana’s 

know-how and dialogue 

experience with stakeholders was 

a key factor of success for this 

project. Considering the progress 

achieved, we went further than 

the simple purchase of argan 

oil to the cooperatives, and we 

gradually decided to reference 3 

additional ingredients developed 

by BASF from the argan tree : 

leaves extract in 2009, cake oil 

extract in 2010 and the shellnut 

powder in 2011. Currrently, Argan 

is internationally present in more 

than 15 brands of the L’Oreal 

group : GARNIER, L'ORÉAL 

PARIS, LANCÔME, L'ORÉAL 

professionnel , Yves Saint Laurent, 

REDKEN, Helena Rubinstein, 

KÉRASTASE, KIEHL'S, LASCAD 

and in every product categories: 

skincare , haircare and make-up 

products. 

Rachel Barré, L’Oréal Research and 

Innovation - Sustainability Manager 

also considered, such as participation 

in training programs or health insurance 

for cooperative members. Besides 

promoting a better quality of life, the 

aim is to contribute to the overall economic 

and social development of the 

area. The Targanine cooperatives in Morocco 

supply Argan oil (and other Argan 

products, such as pressed oil-cake and 

Argan leaves) to BASF under fair trade 

conditions, whereby the company pays 

a fixed premium price for the product 

in advance (such as a two-year contract 

for the supply of oil). Of the total price 

paid for each kilogram of oil-cake, approximately 

50 percent is provided in 

the form of a social fund for each cooperative; 

25 percent is given to the 

Targanine Economic Interest Group for 

maintenance costs, machinery, investment, 

and management; and 25 percent 

is given to the cooperative (which is used 

indirectly for incomes). 

Non-monetary benefits: 

In addition to literacy classes and professional 

training, educational programs 

relating to environmental protection 

have also been introduced by international 

stakeholders. As a result, network 

members understand the importance 

of the Argan tree better and are more 

involved in its conservation. Increased 

financial autonomy and decision-making 

power for female workers has helped to 

raise the social status of the cooperatives’ 

women in this rural environment. 

Traceability: 

By making Argan leaves traceable, for 

example, it is possible to monitor compliance 

with good collection practices 

that are necessary for the long-term 

preservation of biomass. 

Respect for traditional knowledge related to 

local biodiversity: 

The aim was to better understand local 

perceptions of patent rights relating 

to indigenous local flora. Even where 

products had been granted patents because 

of their novelty and inventiveness, 

third-party evaluation and assessment 

of local perceptions can help to better 

guarantee that traditional knowledge is 

respected. When applying for patents, 

LS recognized its local partner, Zoubida 

Charrouf, as co-inventor of new uses for 

Argan fractions previously never used in 

cosmetic applications, thereby making 

sure that traditional knowledge and 

geographical origin were documented 

and respected. 

Yamana was given the task of checking 

what impact patents have on the economic 

activity and general functioning 

of the sector as well as examining local 

people’s perceptions about how the 

patents influence their monetary and 

non-monetary returns. These interviews 

revealed local perceptions to be neutral 

and positive about the impacts of LS 

activity on the economic and social 

development. 

Protection of the biodiversity: 

To ensure the conservation of biodiversity, 

strict guidelines are followed 

during the harvesting and exploitation 

of natural Argan resources to help conserve 

the Argan forest. The supply chain 

also safeguards that the Argan products 

are cultivated and harvested in an environmentally 

sound way. Argan oil 

and Argan oil-cakes have been certified 

by Ecocert as being 100 percent from 

organic farming. 

Local empowerment: 

had the goal of increasing communities’ 

autonomy and sense of responsibility 

by training employees in technical processes, 

quality control, accounting, and 

communication. 

Through their partnership with Yamana, 

LS and L’Oréal were involved in the 

implementation of a pilot program 

that manages the mentioned social 

fund. The social fund of each Targanine 

cooperative receives 50 percent of the 

pressed oil-cake payment, and so far 

has been spent on things like spectacles, 

literacy programs, and hygiene-related 

products such as clothes, washing machines, 

and pharmaceuticals. Some 

cooperatives have spent the fund on 

health insurance to cover the women 

and their families. 

As required for fair trade certification, a 

development fund monitored by the Economic 

Interest Group receives a premium 

equal to 5 percent of the oil payment to 

finance social or technical investments. 

Yamana was involved in initiating a 

Policies and Procedures manual for the 

cooperatives that was then translated 

in Arabic language. The manual sets 

clear rules for members, similar to a CSR 

code of conduct. This increases the cooperatives’ 

autonomy and sense of social 

responsibility – a vital part of efforts to 

set up a sustainable organization that 

complies with broad CSR rules. The Policies 

and Procedures manual formalizes 

the cooperatives’ CSR processes. It covers 

various aspects, including: a democratic 

governance approach, transparency, 

and equitability between cooperatives; 

monitoring of benefit allocation; supply 

conditions; quality guidelines; and social 

and non-monetary benefits. 

Also quality, safety, and hygiene guidelines 

have been implemented in order 

to improve working conditions in the 

cooperatives. BASF continues to provide 

technical assistance on a regular 

basis. This empowers local workers in 

the areas of production, planning, and 

quality assurance. The cooperatives also 

share best practices and learnings among 

themselves to ensure continuous improvement. 

The cosmetic industry has felt the benefits 

of globalization for many years now. 

This has led to an exchange of ideas 

between different regions and increased 

access to exotic materials. As a responsible 

company, BASF finds it important 

to pay attention to sustainability on a 

global level, including environmental 

protection, respect of traditional knowhow, 

but also a fair sharing of profits. The 

only way to protect biodiversity – and 

our shared heritage – is by working 

closely alongside local communities. 

The Argan forest 

The Argan tree (Argania spinosa 

(L.) Skeels) is indigenous to 

southern Morocco. It is largely 

found in the southeast of Essaouira 

on the Souss plain. The Argan 

forest extends over approximately 

800,000 hectares and contains 

more than 20 million trees. It 

acts as a natural barrier against 

the advance of the neighboring 

Sahara Desert. The fruit of the tree 

contains a very hard shell, holding 

between one and three kernels, 

from which a valuable oil can be 

extracted. 

The Argan forest is extremely 

important in socioeconomic 

terms, as it supports more than 

3 million people (out of a total 

Moroccan population of more than 

30 million). Unfortunately, it is in 

decline as a result of changes to 

rural lifestyles. Overexploitation, 

soil erosion, and desertification 

have all played a part – as a 

result, UNESCO classified the 

Argan forest as a biosphere 

reserve in 1998. This designation 

is given to selected inland and 

coastal ecosystems where 

modern development can be 

reconciled with the conservation of 

biodiversity in practical ways. 


111

Best Practice 

Environment 

Bayer 

Making Responsible Use of 

a Scarce Resource: Water 

By Dr. Wolfgang Grosse Entrup 

duced susceptibility to stress through 

heat or lack of water. 

Another example is in Indonesia, where 

we have forged partnerships with farmers 

and are cooperating with representatives 

from local authorities. Together we are 

converting production in suitable areas 

– from planted rice to direct seeding with 

pre-germinated rice. We ourselves provide 

seed, sowing machines, pesticides, and 

training on sustainable agricultural practices. 

The result is a 10 percent increase 

in rice crop yields – and a 30 percent 

decrease in water consumption and emissions 

of climate-damaging methane gases. 

A new rice seeding technology reduces water 

consumption by 30 percent. 

The globe today faces a series of major challenges: How can we safeguard high-quality food 

and good healthcare? How can we tackle climate change and save resources? How can we 

provide as many people as possible with access to clean water? All these central questions, 

reinforced by the steady growth of the world population, have a direct impact on the Bayer 

Group. This is because healthcare, nutrition, and materials used for many daily life products 

are our core business, including contributions to climate protection and resource efficiency. 

I am convinced that holistic approaches and innovative solutions are the key to coping with 

such global challenges and to finding the right balance between economic growth, social 

welfare, and environmental stewardship. At least this is what we are striving for at Bayer. 

Access to the valuable and scarce resource 

of water is a top priority on the 

international agenda. Today, one out 

of six people have no access to clean 

drinking water. The problem of droughts 

is becoming more acute in various regions 

of the world as a result of climate 

change. As a multinational, we take it 

as our responsibility to use water as efficiently 

– and protect water resources 

as effectively – as possible. It is also part 

of our sustainability strategy to create 

business opportunities by addressing 

this challenge actively. 

Wastewater management has always 

been a core activity of our environmental 

protection efforts. The company operates 

production sites all over the world. Two 

percent of our water is used in regions 

classified by the World Resources Institute 

as “water scarce areas.” Over the course 

of 2011, we decided to further strengthen 

our water commitment and bundled it 

in a document called the “Bayer Water 

Position.” We have defined three fields of 

activity. First, we follow clear targets for 

reducing pollutants and water consumption 

at relevant production sites. Second, 

we want to contribute to more efficient 

water use and improved water quality 

with the products and technologies that 

we develop and offer. And third, we also 

support community and research projects 

that promote the responsible use of water. 

Furthermore, we share our knowledge 

and endeavors with other stakeholders, 

for example in the CEO Water Mandate 

initiative of the UN Global Compact or 

the Water Disclosure Project. 

Solutions for agriculture 

The agricultural sector accounts for 

some 70 percent of global freshwater 

requirements. This in turn makes water 

a crucial factor for crop losses in regions 

where water is scarce. Our research and 

technologies – such as the breeding 

of stress-resistant plants – ensure increased 

planting efficiency and higher 

crop yields. This is extremely important 

if we take into account that there will 

not be any more arable land available, 

but that there will be a rising demand 

for food in the future. In various research 

partnerships – for example, 

with the Commonwealth Scientific and 

Industrial Research Organisation in 

Australia – we are working to develop 

major drought-tolerant crops with re- 

Water-efficient industrial production 

In our own production facilities, we work 

to continuously improve the efficiency 

of water use and reduce water pollution. 

For this, in all three Bayer subgroups – 

HealthCare, CropScience, and Material- 

Science – we have implemented specific 

systems, standards, and technologies. 

We have developed a number of energyefficient 

technologies to purify industrial 

wastewater. These processes are successfully 

used at various Bayer sites, as well as 

by an increasing number of our customers. 

For example, through the application of 

modern sedimentation tanks, we have 

recently reduced the share of nitrogen 

compounds in wastewater at our headquarters 

site in Leverkusen, Germany, by 

more than 40 percent. In Spain, water has 

been scarce during the summer months 

in recent years. At our site in Tarragona, 

we will reduce total water use by 7 percent 

in the future, as we now collect 

rainwater there for use as cooling water. 

At the site in Baytown, Texas, United 

States, phosphorous emissions in the 

form of phosphate have been eliminated 

altogether in the production of polycarbonate 

through process improvements. 

As a participant of the Global Compact, 

we act in accordance with the values 

and principles of this initiative with a 

series of measures, only some of which 

I have mentioned. 

Bayer promotes responsibility for water 

Bayer supports various research and community activities within the scope 

of its water commitment. In keeping with Principle 8 of the Global Compact 

– “Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility” – the 

company is engaged in building awareness about the issue of water and in 

developing expertise, for example through cooperation with academia and 

farmers and support for education. 

Three examples: 

1 | Under the leadership of the Chair for Sustainable Development at Tongji 

University in China – funded by the Bayer Science & Education Foundation 

– a method has been developed for determining the water footprint of the 

Shanghai industrial region. 

2 | Supported by Bayer CropScience, the agricultural cooperative initiative 

“Nossa Agua” (“Our Water”) in Londrina in Paraná State, Brazil, aims 

at restoring the ecosystem along the Ivai and Tibagi rivers through 

reforestation along the riverbanks with native trees. 

3 | Each year, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation and the Bayer USA 

Foundation, together with an NGO, organize the International Summer 

Sustainability Camp for school students with a focus on water conservation 

and further sustainability topics. 


113

Best Practice 

Environment 


Less is More 

Less is more – This applies especially where the environment is concerned. Less energy 

consumption means more climate protection, because using energy efficiently is the fastest 

and easiest way to save energy and avoid CO 2 

emissions. This applies to all areas of life – 

including the “little things”. With super-efficient home appliances, every household can 

reduce its power and water consumption considerably. And that benefits our climate and our 

budgets. 

By Fridolin Weindl 

Since the average household appliance 

in the kitchen, bathroom, and cellar has 

a useful life of 10 to 15 years, the savings 

potential worldwide is huge. Modern 

fridge-freezer combinations, for example, 

consume around 70 percent less 

electricity than comparable models did 

15 years ago. Modern washing machines 

and dishwashers also use only half as 

much electricity as models that are 15 

years old. The reasons for this progress 

are the huge technical improvements 

and innovative technologies in today’s 

appliances. Less energy consumption 

does not, however, mean that modern 

refrigerators, washing machines, and 

dishwashers offer less convenience, performance, 

or quality. On the contrary, 

today’s home appliances deliver outstanding 

convenience and top quality 

paired with maximum efficiency. 

And to make the purchasing decision 

easier for consumers, home appliances 

in Europe have been required to feature 

the European Union’s Energy Label for 

many years. This allows consumers to see 

at a glance whether a model is energyefficient 

or a power hog. Since December 

2010, the most efficient washing machines, 

dishwashers, and refrigeration 

appliances carry the A+++ energy rating. 

The number of plus symbols makes a 

significant difference, because a model 

in energy-efficiency class A+++ consumes 

60 percent less power than a model in 

class A and is still 50 percent more efficient 

than an appliance sporting the 

A+ rating. That means that a household 

that upgrades all its appliances to superefficient 

models can save up to €270 

in energy costs each year. Savings like 

these pay for the additional cost of highefficiency 

models within a few years. As 

a result, buying a new home appliance 

will have a major impact on the size of 

your electricity bill for years to come. 

Government agencies have also recognized 

the importance of energy efficiency: 

As of mid-2012, new models of 

energy-efficiency class A will be barred 

from the market. Nevertheless, over 190 

million appliances that are 10 years old 

or older are still in use in European 

households, consuming a lot more energy 

than necessary. If these appliances 

were to be replaced with modern models, 

up to 44 billion kWh of electricity could 

be saved each year – about as much as 

the entire country of Portugal consumes 

annually. 


GmbH, Europe’s leading manufacturer 

of home appliances, has firmly established 

the topic of energy efficiency in 

its product policy and business strategy 

for many years. BSH engineers strive 

every day to continuously improve the 

convenience and performance of the 

appliances while steadily reducing their 

energy and water consumption. To make 

this progress visible and measurable, 

BSH was the first home appliance manufacturer 

to combine its most efficient 

models in a so-called Super Efficiency 

Portfolio and have the numbers checked 

by professional auditors. Each year, only 

the most efficient models on the market 

are added to this portfolio. In 2011, 

more than one in four appliances sold 

by BSH in Europe already belonged to 

this elite group. Extrapolated to the 

average lifespan of these appliances, 

this represents savings of around 1.9 

billion kWh, the equivalent of the annual 

power consumption of over 500,000 

private households in Germany. And 

since super-efficient home appliances 

with minimum consumption values 

are no longer a niche market, they are 

major contributors to climate protection. 

A look at the product lifecycle confirms 

this: Depending on the product category, 

the usage phase of the appliances currently 

in our households accounts for 

80 to 95 percent of their environmental 

impact. That is why it is so important 

to replace outdated models with new, 

energy-efficient models as quickly as possible, 

because dealing with our resources 

in a responsible manner is everyone’s 

task. “I cannot understand why energy 

efficiency doesn’t play a greater role in 

public policies,” says Dr. Kurt-Ludwig 

Gutberlet, CEO of BSH. He therefore 

appeals to government and politicians 

to address consumers more strongly 

with regard to energy efficiency. “In 

terms of energy and climate policies, 

it would be desirable if government 

were to promote the sale of particularly 

energy-efficient appliances with special 

incentive programs,” adds Gutberlet, 

“because the best energy is the energy 

that isn’t being consumed!” 

Super Efficiency 

Super-efficient household appliances make a significant contribution toward 

reducing the consumption of energy and resources in private households. Consuming 

up to 73 percent less electricity than comparable appliances from 15 

years ago, modern household appliances offer an enormous potential in reducing 

energy consumption and CO 2 

emissions. As the first manufacturer of household 

appliances, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH combined its most economical 

appliances in a Super Efficiency Portfolio and has continued to expand 

this over the past two years. The super-efficient appliances alone, which were 

sold by BSH in 2010 throughout Europe, led to electricity savings of 1.9 billion 

kWh. “With our super-efficient household appliances, we make a measurable 

contribution to climate protection,” says BSH CEO Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet. 

“Energy-efficient household appliances have an enormous potential for climate 

protection, without requiring consumers to forego comfort at the same time.” 


115

Best Practice 

Environment 


Habshan 5 – 

Going Green 

By Tony Awad 

Over the years, the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) 

has participated in and contributed to the countries and communities 

in which it has operated. Contributions have come in 

the form of monetary and in-kind donations. The “Habshan 5” 

project is an example of CCC’s sustainable engagement. 

Integrated Gas Development, also known 

as Habshan 5, is a project run by Abu 

Dhabi Gas Industries to improve the 

production of natural gas liquids in 

the region and is aimed at significantly 

boosting the Emirate’s offshore gas production. 

The reason for doing so is the permanent 

demand for energy all over the 

world. According to the UN, the world 

population is rapidly expanding. The 

world population had reached 1 billion 

people by 1800; 2 billion by 1922; and 

over 6 billion by 2000. It is estimated 

that the population will swell to more 

than 9 billion by 2050. That means that 

if the world’s natural resources were 

evenly distributed, in 2050 people will 

only have 25 percent of the resources 

per capita that people had back in 1950. 

The world has a fixed amount of natural 

resources – some of which are already 

depleted. As population growth strains 

our finite resources, fewer resources 

are available. As a consequence, there 

is a need for a more sophisticated use 

of the resources at hand as well as a 

need for more responsible methods of 

extraction. 

One of the partners of the Habshan 5 

project is the Consolidated Contractors 

Company, which is aware of its social 

and environmental responsibilities. 

In six decades of operation, CCC has 

grown to become one of the leading 

contractors in the international construction 

field, with more than 110,000 

employees comprised from more than 

80 nationalities. 

CCC is committed to providing reliable, 

amicable, and professional service to its 

clients; being supportive of local business 

and communities; and being protective 

of the environments within which it 

operates. 

CCC’s commitment to growth is firmly 

linked to the continuous development 

of its employees and its ability to provide 

them with rewarding careers. The 

company is devoted to its employees’ 

safety and health, job security, and welfare. 

Its strength emanates from its 

distinct culture; the strong and close 

relationships with its clients; its employees’ 

competence and loyalty; its 

entrepreneurial and flexible management; 

and its focus on quality, safety, 

and commercial acumen. 

CCC has been a participant of the United 

Nations Global Compact since 2001. Corporate 

social responsibility is always a 

project in progress, like the rest of CCC’s 

business. Every CCC activity and practice 

is meant to make a lasting impact, economically, 

socially, and environmentally. 

CCC’s Habshan 5 team started their green 

campaign to preserve the standard of 

living for future generations. They began 

to develop a green strategy to, among 

other things: 

1. Save energy: 

In Habshan, electricity is provided from 

diesel generators. Efforts made to manage 

consumption include: 

• Energy-saving lamps used throughout 

the camp and offices 

• Solar power supply for all security lights 

• High masts for camp lighting 

• Timers for users’ consumption 

• Fully synchronized powerhouse to ensure 

optimal operation 

• Newly installed units and offices with 

high density insulation, improving 

cooling by 43 percent 

2. Save water: 

In Habshan, water is being trucked from 

filling stations connected to desalination 

plants. Efforts made to optimize the 

consumption include: 

• Spring taps 

• Gravity water supply (10 m elevated 

tanks) to control the pressure and reduce 

consumption 

• Treated water for flushing and irrigation 

network (50 % reduction in supply) 

• Meters used throughout the camp to 

identify leaks and misuse 

• Flow regulators added on all showers 

3. Less Fuel / Gas = Saving 

(and better health!): 

Personal car travel produces CO 2 

gas 

emissions and it contributes to local air 

pollution and congestion. On average, for 

each liter of fuel burnt in a car, more 

than 2.5 kg of CO 2 

is released. Efforts 

made to manage consumption include: 

• Diesel cars (all 4 x 4) 

• Low-consumption engines 

• Proper planning for extended-hours 

requirements and night loads 

• 1,000 trees planted in Habshan – this 

will remove up to 50 tons of CO 2 

CCC proved to lead by example in promoting 

the green campaign in Habshan. 

A brief presentation titled “Habshan 5: 

The GREEN Journey” was introduced 

to the project sponsors on February 23, 

2011. The CCC Habshan 5 project team is 

fully committed to making a difference. 

It is important that we leave a legacy of 

a clean, green, and sustainable environment 

to coming generations. After all, 

our future lies in our own hands, and 

going green is the right solution for 

everyone on the planet. 

CORPORATE PROFILE 


(CCC) is a contracting company 

formed in 1952 and incorporated 

in Lebanon. The managing office 

is presently located in Athens, 

Greece. CCC is by far the largest 

engineering, procurement, and 

construction company in the Middle 

East and is ranked #18 by ENR 

magazine among all international 

construction companies. CCC 

currently operates in 40 countries 

on 5 continents. It employs more 

than 110,000 employees comprising 

more than 80 nationalities 

and is responsible for building 

some of the most challenging and 

complex facilities in the world. 

Drawing on its long and successful 

experience, CCC can provide 

a full range of project services 

– project development; detailed 

engineering, procurement, and 

construction; start-up operation; 

and maintenance – as pertains to 

the following: 

• Buildings and civil engineering 

works 

• Oil and gas, and water pipelines 

• Oil and gas, and petrochemical 

plants and refineries 

• Power plants 

• Marine works 

• Offshore installations 

• Maintenance of mechanical 

installations and underwater 

structures 


117

Best Practice 

Environment 


The German Experiment 

The German government has decided to phase out nuclear power without making any 

changes to its climate protection targets. This means that all of us will have to strengthen 

our efforts to achieve more energy efficiency by searching for additional potential that will 

enable us to reach the climate protection targets without relying on nuclear energy. There is 

no doubt about it: CO 2 

emissions will continue to rise globally. This fact makes us aware of 

the enormous responsibility that we have for the sake of the environment. 

In 1995 Deutsche Telekom was the 

first DAX 30 enterprise to commit itself 

to climate protection by incorporating 

mandatory CO 2 

reduction targets 

for Germany into its company targets. 

We are fully aware of our corporate 

responsibility and have defined our 

own ambitious climate protection goals. 

For example, our climate protection 

strategy defined in 2005 stipulated 

that we must reduce our overall CO 2 

emissions by 20 percent in the period 

from 1995 to 2020. We have already 

met this goal and have therefore revised 

our targets – to reduce CO 2 

emissions 

Luis Neves, Group Climate Change and 

Sustainability Officer, has taken over 

from Dr. Ignacio Campino this position 

as of February 1, 2012. 

by 40 percent by 2020. Neither the 

German government nor the European 

Union have such ambitious targets. 

And thanks to specific steps, we are 

on the right track toward reaching this 

milestone. 

One of the steps Deutsche Telekom has 

taken is its Green Car Policy for ensuring 

sustainable mobility throughout 

the Group. By 2015 the CO 2 

emissions 

produced by new vehicles in the Group 

fleet in Germany should be as little as 

110 grams per kilometer. In comparison, 

the European Union is demanding a 

reduction in emissions to 120 grams 

by 2015. 

In the medium term, we plan to convert 

the remaining analog parts of the 

telephone network to IP technology for 

better energy efficiency and to make 

the entire German telephone network 

ready for the future. 

Internationalizing climate 

protection 

Furthermore, we are currently working 

on internationalizing our climate 

protection strategy. Based on Groupwide 

targets, combined with identified 

potentials at the regional level, we plan 

to define individual reduction goals for 

our international subsidiaries. 

Moreover, when making investments 

we look for options that are favorable 

to our climate protection criteria. In 

the future we also want to focus on 

CO 2 

emissions throughout the entire 

value chain of our products – from 

the extraction of natural resources to 

production processes and even the sale 

of our products and services to our 

end-customers. 

Since 2009, both our new climate protection 

strategy and the internationalization 

of this approach have been led 

and monitored by the Climate Change 

Group, an in-house committee of experts. 

This project is being driven by 

Luis Neves, Group Climate Change and 

Sustainability Officer, in collaboration 

with the company’s Sustainability unit. 

“Climate protection is one of the greatest 

challenges currently facing us all. As an 

ICT company, we have an opportunity 

to offer solutions for reducing CO 2 

emissions. 

These can help shape a more sustainable 

future for millions of people,” 

says Luis Neves, explaining his motivation 

for promoting climate protection 

even beyond company boundaries. 

The great potential 

A 2009 study sponsored by Deutsche 

Telekom, the German Federal Ministry 

of Economics and Technology, 

the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, 

the Potsdam Institute, SAP, Huawei, 

Siemens and the Boston Consulting 

Group to analyze potential savings 

in the field of information and communications 

technology (ICT), entitled 

“SMART 2020,” summarized the opportunities 

available to our industry as 

follows: In Germany alone, telecommunications 

companies could save some 

13 metric megatons of CO 2 

emissions 

by the year 2020, solely as a result of 

direct savings from its own business 

activities. These include savings from 

energy-efficient data centers, virtualization 

or cloud computing, and energyefficient 

terminal equipment. 

If implemented sustainably and consistently, 

as an “enabler” the ICT industry 

could even achieve a potential reduction 

of up to 194 metric megatons of 

CO 2 

emissions over the next eight years. 

This is equivalent to cutting Germany’s 

total emissions by up to 25 percent. 

Worldwide, the figure is 7.8 gigatons of 

CO 2 

equivalent by 2020, equivalent to 

15 percent of total emissions under the 

“business as usual” scenario. The identified 

indirect reduction potential is a 

theoretical maximum, and the business 

value of this potential is estimated at up 

to €84 billion by 2020 for Germany alone. 

As one of the world’s largest telecommunications 

providers, we recognize that 

we have an obligation and the potential 

to offer climate-friendly products and 

services to our customers, and to give 

them the opportunity to make their 

own contributions to climate protection. 

Services such as our web, video, and 

telephone conferencing services support 

easier communications regardless 

of location, can help to streamline work 

processes, and are far more sustainable 

than physical meetings that entail travel 

by air, car, or rail. 

In an era where flexible working plays 

an increasingly important role (at our 

company as much as elsewhere), we 

give our customers the opportunity to 

be anywhere at any time, without the 

need for a time-consuming, climatedamaging 

journey. 

In our strategy, we have broadened the 

business base of our company and anchored 

sustainable topics such as climate 

protection. The growing energy business 

is one such example: Developing smart 

grids and using smart metering is a way 

of helping to cut CO 2 

emissions. As electricity 

meters, for example, are capable 

of sending their readings to the power 

providers at any time, travel by meterreading 

personnel becomes superfluous. 

At the same time, we are making electricity 

consumption more transparent 

and efficient for our customers, and 

thereby actively helping them to save 

both electricity and money. 

This is more than just a way of easing 

our green conscience. Using “green” 

innovations can also impact a lasting 

reduction in operational expenditure. 

The ability to not only combine but 

to proactively link climate protection 

and corporate success with a consistent 

reduction in operational expenditure 

is indicative of our company’s future 

viability. 

Climate protection and the phasing out 

of nuclear power pose a huge challenge 

for us all. The German Experiment – 

together, we can make it a success. 


119

Best Practice 

Environment 

Essent 

Essent Contributes to a 

Bio-based Economy 

By Stijn Vercauteren 

According to Essent, innovation is the key to a sustainable energy transition. That is why 

the company invests a great deal of time and energy in the development of innovative 

sustainable energy applications. In 2011, Essent therefore started a pilot location for this 

purpose that is intended to contribute to the development of a bio-based economy. 

Essent uses biomass for generating energy 

on a very large scale. The energy company 

makes an important contribution to the 

development of a bio-based economy by 

means of its knowledge and experience in 

this field. Bio-based means a replacement 

of fossil fuels and raw materials with as 

much biomass as possible. This is necessary 

because fossil fuels are becoming 

increasingly scarce and are contributing 

to the concentration of greenhouse gases 

in the atmosphere. The use of biomass 

offers Essent a good alternative because 

it is climate-neutral and, in principle, 

inexhaustible. 

Cuijk bio-energy power plant 

At Essent, Peter-Paul Schouwenberg is 

responsible for the bio-based economy 

project. “Further development of biorefinery 

is necessary for the success of an 

economy that replaces fossil fuels with 

biomass,” says Schouwenberg. “This is a 

process in which all valuable raw materials 

are removed from biomass, so that 

these can be used for diverse industries 

[see also box]. Experiments with various 

bio-refinery techniques are currently 

being performed, which was why Essent 

invested in research in this field.” 

The Essent bio-energy power plant in 

Cuijk was selected as the research location. 

This plant is suitable for using 100 

percent biomass for energy generation. In 

2011, all preparations were carried out 

and in 2012 the bio-energy power plant 

was started up to test the various types 

of biomass, such as grasses, paper sludge, 

and used wood and wood chips. Essent 

is using the findings of these tests in its 

research to discover a more optimal use 

of biomass for the bio-based economy. In 

addition, Essent is using the test results 

of the pilot location for research into 

offering energy based on the cradle-tocradle 

principle. 

Cooperation with the Dutch 

government 

Until 2011, the bio-energy power plant 

in Cuijk produced electricity with the aid 

of garden waste and wood chips from 

sources that included the forests of the 

National Forest Service in the Netherlands 

and saw waste from the wood industry. 

However, the government cancelled the 

relevant subsidies, so Essent temporarily 

took the plant offline in order to develop a 

new multi-fuel strategy. A re-launch of the 

pilot location for the innovative bio-based 

economy project was realized with the aid 

of a Green Deal with the Dutch government 

and the province of Noord-Brabant. 

A Green Deal is an agreement between 

the Dutch government, businesses, and 

organizations that is intended to make 

the Dutch economy more sustainable 

and greener. The agreement was signed 

on October 17, 2011. 

Long-term use of biomass 

The use of low-grade biomass for generating 

electricity is important for the 

bio-based economy. After all, the energy 

sector needs an increasing amount of 

biomass. These large volumes mean that 

this is not of interest only for the sector 

but for multiple sectors to refine biomass. 

By using valuable materials from the 

refining process, biomass will ultimately 

also become profitable as a fuel for power 

plants. Several parties will then benefit 

from the biomass chain, which means 

that costs can be shared. The use of biomass 

currently depends on government 

subsidies. But we want to make the use 

of biofuel profitable in the long term by 

sharing knowledge and experience with 

other sectors involved with biomass and 

that are concentrating on a bio-based 

economy. 

Toward a sustainable society 

Without solid cooperation between all 

businesses and industries involved, the 

development of a bio-based economy 

would be impossible. A major step toward 

this goal was made on September 

29, 2011, when Essent, together with 

other representatives from the business 

community and community-based organizations, 

signed the manifest for the 

bio-based economy. 

“The manifest is an important milestone 

in the development of a bio-based economy,” 

says Schouwenberg. “It contains, for 

example, important starting points for 

good cooperation. One of the initiatives 

for this objective is BE-Basic. This is an 

international public-private partnership 

in which Essent is participating that is 

committed to a sustainable society by 

means of the development of bio-related 

solutions. This initiative fits well with our 

sustainability targets and offers a good 

perspective for the energy transition that 

we aim to achieve.” 

Facts 

How does the bio-based economy work? 

Biomass contains all manner of high-grade raw materials, such as sugar, starch, 

oils, and greases. It furthermore contains proteins, amino acids, fibers, salts, and 

organic compounds. Various industries, such as the cosmetics or pharmaceutical 

industries, can make valuable products from of all of these substances. The 

substances that remain after these raw materials have been used form a good fuel 

for generating sustainable energy. 

These first have to be split up in order to remove the valuable raw materials from the 

biomass. This process is referred to as bio-refinery. This is a technique we are still 

experimenting with at this time. Useful substances are removed from the biomass in 

various steps during bio-refinery. The flow of remaining substances from one process 

could be useful for another industry. This is also referred to as the cascading principle. 

In order of decreasing added value, biomass can be a source for the pharmaceutical 

industry, the food industry, chemical industry, or paper and textile industry, and it 

can serve as fuel for the transport sector and electricity plants. This process is the 

foundation of the bio-based economy. 

Why the Netherlands? 

The Netherlands is very suitable for developing a bio-based economy. For example, 

the port of Rotterdam is an ideal logistics center and the Netherlands has a large 

chemical industry. Furthermore, the Netherlands has an innovative and effective 

agricultural sector and has knowledge institutes that are among the best in the 

world. 

Dutch UN Global Compact conference 2012 

On April 24, 2012, Essent, together with RWE, organized the annual Dutch UN 

Global Compact conference with the working title: The Green Economy – Business 

Contribution to Securing Environmental Sustainability. This theme aligns well with the 

expertise of Essent in the use of biomass as an energy source and as a raw material 

for the bio-based economy. 

Essent profile 

Essent is the largest energy company in the Netherlands. We provide our private 

and business customers with gas, electricity, heat, and energy services. Essent is 

the leading producer of sustainable energy in the Netherlands. Essent strives to 

provide energy using the most affordable, reliable, and sustainable means possible. 

At the same time, Essent continues to seek solutions that are better for people, the 

environment, and society as a whole. 

More information regarding Essent’s sustainable ambitions and initiatives – including 

the Essent bio-based economy brochure – can be found in our CR Report: 

www.essent.nl/mvoverslag. You can also send an e-mail to: cr@essent.nl. 


121

Best Practice 

Environment 


Saving Energy and 

Reducing Emissions at 

Penshibao 

By Yuanqiong Yao and Fazhong Liang 

For more than two decades, we have been committed to 

research on foliar fertilizer. We have developed a new 

generation of efficient, environmentally-friendly, highquality, 

and residue-free foliar fertilizer by conducting 

extensive tests in grain-producing areas in China via the 

Ministry of Agriculture. The findings have greatly improved 

the fertilization technologies of China and even the whole 

world, changed farmer’s fertilization habits, and promoted 

the sustainable development of the environment. 

1. The products are made of natural 

and renewable materials: The new 

generation of Penshibao foliar fertilizer 

is made of non-toxic, harmless, 

residue-free, pollution-free, natural, 

and renewable materials using a 

unique high-concentration chelating 

technology. These materials are 

highly efficient products and have 

various physiological activators rich 

in fulvic acid, humic acid, amino acid, 

and vitamins and various nutrient 

elements such as N, P, K, B, Zn, Mo, 

and Mn. 

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and the 

College of Resources and Environment 

of Huazhong Agricultural University 

(Wuhan) have conducted in-depth 

research on the mechanism of the 

new generation of Penshibao foliar 

fertilizer: Facing an abnormal climatic 

environment, increasing farming costs, 

and other phenomena, we began extensive 

product research and development 

in 2008 and aimed at increasing 

crop resistance (resistance to disease, 

drought, and cold), researching the 

products’ energy-saving and environmental-protection 

functions, raising 

the fertilizer’s utilization rate, and 

improving quality. 

We established a cooperation with 

the Ministry of Agriculture and agricultural 

academies and universities. 

We have made a great contribution 

to eight years of harvests in China’s 

grain production and are listed as the 

designated enterprise of soil testing 

and formulated fertilization by Jiangxi 

Province – the rice-producing area in 

southern China. 

The ”Program on Rice Early-Senescence 

Prevention,” which focuses on 

popularizing and using foliar fertilizers, 

was launched by Jiangxi Province 

in 2011. As one of the cooperating 

partners, our company supplied Penshibao 

products. The province served 

as a core demonstration area using 

foliar fertilizer and had an average 

increase in production of up to 8 

percent, greatly contributing to the 

province’s historic target to achieve 

a total grain output of over 20.5 billion 

Kg. At present, the “Program on 

Rice Early-Senescence Prevention” has 

been popularized across China by 

the Jiangxi Provincial Government 

and relevant departments under the 

Ministry of Agriculture. 

Additionally, Penshibao fertilizers are 

widely popular in Liaoning, Hebei, Hunan, 

and other major grain-producing 

areas, making a significant contribution 

to China’s food security. 

3. Through extensive tests and experiments 

it has been shown that: 

a. The new generation of Penshibao foliar 

fertilizer significantly increases crop 

production, provides strong resistance 

to disease and stresses, has an excellent 

effect on energy-saving and emission 

reduction, as well as an ability to reduce 

fertilizer amounts. 

See Table: Energy Saving and Emission 

Reduction of Penshibao (Taking Rice 

as an Example) 

b. Research on the “Penshibao” mechanism 

by the College of Resources and 

Environment of Huazhong Agricultural 

University (Wuhan) shows that 

the Penshibao foliar fertilizer can increase 

chlorophyll content and boost 

the photosynthetic effect to promote 

photosynthesis; it is also able to increase 

the transfer from dry matter 

to harvest matter and thus to greatly 

increase crop yields. After crops use 

Penshibao foliar fertilizer: their root 

systems grow stronger; the root systems’ 

absorption capacities for nutrients 

and moisture is strengthened; the 

crops’ internal nutrient contents are 

enhanced; the nutrient accumulation 

increases, which provides sufficient 

nutrients for crop growth and development 

and can significantly increase 

agricultural efficiency. Penshibao improves 

economic benefits and reduces 

fertilizer waste. 

4. Through Penshibao’s in-depth research 

and the testing at the China 

National Analytical Center in Guangzhou, 

it was certified that Penshibao 

foliar fertilizer can decrease the 

residual amount of soil herbicides 

to reduce farmland pollution. Acetochlor 

is currently one of the most 

important herbicides in the world. 

In recent years, due to misuse by 

farmers, acetochlor residue can harm 

Item 

Amount used 

Assuming that 

Penshibao 

is used for 

producing 450 

million mu of 

rice in China 

Penshibao 

1 ton 

64,286 

tons 

Chemical 

fertilizer 

(Urea) saved 

35 tons 

2,250,000 

tons 

crop growth. By adding 20 - 30 ml of 

Penshibao for one Mu, the acetochlor 

residue in soil can be decreased by 

57.6 - 73.8 percent, efficiently reducing 

farmland pollution and protect 

the arable soil. 

5. The new generation of Penshibao 

foliar fertilizer is a reliable and safe 

product. It has passed the ISO9001 

International Quality Management 

System Certification and ISO14001 

International Environmental Management 

System Certification. “Firstly Do 

a Good Job and Then Great Things” 

is the motto of our company. To actively 

undertake the company’s social 

responsibilities is our goal. The 

new generation of Penshibao foliar 

fertilizer can raise crop yields and 

improve crop quality. It meets the 

modern concept for economical and 

environmentally-friendly fertilization. 

With the ability to decrease the 

adverse impacts of agriculture on the 

environment and push forward environmental 

sustainability, Penshibao 

products have a huge potential across 

the global. 

Standard 

coal saved 

42 tons 

2,700,000 

tons 

Carbon 

emission 

reduced 

113 tons 

7,290,000 

tons 

1 | According to authoritative theory, 1.2 tons of standard coal are used to produce 

1 ton of chemical fertilizer, and 1 ton of standard coal will generate 2.7 tons of 

carbon dioxide. 

2 | Penshibao is a highly concentrated product. Taking rice as an example, it should 

be sprayed three times every quarter, each time for three bags with a total 30 mL, 

each Mu using about 90 mL, 1 ton of Penshibao for 666.67 hectares of land. 


123

Best Practice 

Environment 

MAN 

Climate Protection Drives 

Innovation 

By Yvonne Benkert 

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges faced by government, business, and 

society. It also brings specific opportunities and risks for the transportation and power 

engineering sectors. The MAN Group is active in both industries and produces trucks, 

buses, diesel engines, turbomachinery, and special gear units in 13 countries around the 

world. MAN is thus in a position to make a significant contribution to the reduction of CO 2 

emissions. At the same time, the company is confronted with the increasingly ambitious 

CO 2 

reduction targets set by policymakers and with growing customer expectations – in the 

transportation sector in particular. 

The MAN TGX EfficientLine saves three liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, which is 47 

tons of CO 2 

when doing 150,000 kilometers over a service life of four years. 

The MAN Group, headquartered in 

Munich, Germany, is one of the leading 

European industrial players in the 

field of transport-related engineering, 

with annual revenues of approximately 

€16.5 billion (2011). Founded in 1758, 

today the company focuses on the two 

high-growth areas of commercial vehicles 

and power engineering. As a 

producer of trucks, buses, diesel engines, 

turbomachinery, and special 

gear units, MAN employs a workforce 

of approximately 52,500 people at 31 

sites worldwide. 

The MAN Group is aware of the responsibility 

this entails. As globalization 

pushes forward and the world’s population 

increases, CO 2 

emissions continue 

to rise. While the rapidly growing 

transportation sector is responsible for 

approximately 15 percent of global CO 2 

emissions today, this figure is expected 

to reach 22 percent by 2020. The energy 

sector presents a similar picture, with 

experts predicting that by 2030, global 

demand will exceed current levels by 

more than 30 percent. 

This has led many countries to set mandatory 

climate protection targets. At 

the same time, many European Union 

member nations are applying increasingly 

stringent Euro emissions standards 

for heavy trucks, while the United 

Nations has issued Tier III standards 

for marine engines. Low-emission and 

efficient trucks, buses, turbomachinery, 

and power plants are essential for compliance 

with climate protection targets 

and regulatory requirements. Resource 

efficiency has long since become a competitive 

factor. 

Climate protection is corporate 


MAN mapped out a clearly defined corporate 

responsibility strategy in 2010. 

Encompassing the fields of action of 

environmental and climate protection, 

relationships with employees and suppliers, 

and anticorruption, it is integrated 

in the corporate and leadership culture 

at MAN. Its goal is sustainable business 

success around the globe, with legal 

compliance representing only one aspect. 

Increasingly, it is also important 

to meet the demands of a wide range 

of stakeholder groups worldwide, which 

are made more pressing by the progress 

of globalization. 

The UN Global Compact looks beyond 

national borders to establish a global 

framework of values for sustainable 

business practices. Since the MAN corporate 

culture is marked by the same 

principles and objectives, in December 

2010 the company became an official 

participant to the Global Compact, committing 

itself to the continued support 

of the Compact’s Ten Principles. One 

of these is preventative environmental 

protection. This means, for instance, 

that as we expand our business activities, 

measures that affect climate 

change move to the top of the company’s 

agenda. 

Core initiatives for implementing MAN’s 

Climate Strategy 

1 | By 2020, a 25 percent reduction in CO 2 

emissions at MAN sites (baseline: 

2008): The MAN approach encompasses improved energy efficiency; use of 

renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal); generation of energy 

using combined heat and power (CHP) plants; and integrated energymanagement 

technology and organization. 

2 | Consistently Efficient product portfolio: MAN positions itself in the 

commercial vehicles and power engineering sectors with sustainable 

products and services. 

3 | Customer involvement and dialog: MAN involves its customers and talks 

to them about ways to reduce the global carbon footprint. After all, many 

of MAN's customers have already set themselves ambitious targets for 

cutting CO 2 

emissions. 

4 | Potential for reducing CO 2 

emissions along the product life cycle: To 

identify the potential for reductions, MAN measures CO 2 

emissions along 

the entire product life cycle. 

5 | Climate Strategy management: To manage the implementation of MAN's 

Climate Strategy, the company has defined KPIs that are regularly 

measured and published. 

MAN’s Climate Strategy 

In late 2011 the Executive Board signed 

off on MAN’s Climate Strategy, which 

was developed by an internal team of 

experts. It is now a key component of 

our corporate responsibility strategy, 

targeting sustainable value creation 

and establishing guidelines for product 

development and resource-efficient 

production. It also represents MAN’s 

response to feedback from its stakeholders. 

Our international stakeholder 

survey, which was conducted in 2011 

and received more than 500 responses, 

showed that 73 percent of the participants 

regard resource conservation as 

the most important issue facing MAN, 

while 61 percent named climate change. 

The core objective of MAN’s Climate 

Strategy is a 25 percent reduction in CO 2 

emissions from its own operations by 

2020 (baseline: 2008). This represents an 

annual reduction of 125,000 tons of CO 2 

– equivalent to the annual emissions of 

a city of 22,000 inhabitants. To achieve 

this climate objective, the company is 

focusing on two areas: resource-efficient 

products and services, and resource efficiency 

in production and administration. 

The company has defined five core initiatives 

to facilitate the implementation of 

its Climate Strategy. 

Energy management at the MAN 

sites 

MAN’s approach to achieving its climate 

objective at its production sites 

includes improving energy efficiency 

and using renewables. In light of rising 

energy prices, this also makes a significant 

contribution to improving the cost 

effectiveness of the facilities. With 31 


125

Best Practice 

Environment 

MAN 

sites across the globe, MAN must also 

meet the ambitious climate targets set 

by the governments of the countries 

where it operates. In Brazil and China, 

the aim is to cut CO 2 

emissions by 36 

percent and more by 2020, while India 

is targeting a CO 2 

reduction of around 

Awards 

Green Truck: 

With the lowest CO 2 

emissions 

in the European market, the 

MAN TGX 18.400 truck received 

the 2011 Green Truck award. 

Blue Angel: 

Ten variants of the MAN Lion’s 

City bus received the German 

Blue Angel eco-label with the 

additional “protects environment 

and health” designation. 

The eco-friendly bus with a natural gas-diesel system 

can be filled up with a choice of natural gas or diesel. 

25 percent. Europe is aiming to reduce 

CO 2 

emissions by 20 percent compared 

to 2007 levels by 2020; at the same time, 

energy consumption is to be cut by 20 

percent and the proportion of renewables 

increased by 20 percent. 

At all its sites, MAN is therefore improving 

the energy-management technology 

and organization of buildings, production 

shops, and manufacturing facilities. 

In 2012 the company will analyze 

the feasibility of using its own MAN 

combined heat and power (CHP) plants 

to generate electricity at the sites with 

the highest energy needs. In addition, 

in the future all MAN sites will step up 

their efforts to use renewable energy 

resources such as geothermal, biomass, 

wind, and solar. In Changzhou, China, 

MAN Diesel & Turbo already integrated 

energy-efficiency measures during the 

construction of its new production plant. 

Efficient energy management, effective 

insulation, and modern, lighter cranes 

and machinery contribute to energy 

savings and therefore to reducing the 

carbon footprint. 

A focus on sustainable products 

The coming years will see a worldwide 

increase in the transportation of people 

and goods as well as in the demand for 

energy. With its focus on commercial 

vehicles and power engineering, MAN 

recognizes that the most effective way 

for the company to contribute to climate 

protection is through its products 

– especially since most MAN products 

have a very long service life, during 

which they are used intensively. Well 

over 90 percent of the environmental 

impacts that occur over the product 

lifecycle are generated in the use phase 

– primarily through the consumption 

of fuel and energy resources. This is 

where forward-looking product development 

comes into play. MAN analyzes 

all possible means of reducing not only 

energy consumption, but also other 

factors such as the use of lubricants. 

Additional product development criteria 

include quality, safety, and marketability. 

Given that the purchase of a 

MAN product represents a long-term 

investment, customers tend to look 

beyond attractive ecological features 

to costs, quality, and durability. 

At the same time, as customers contemplate 

the long-term aspects of their investment, 

the total cost of ownership 

is starting to play an important role in 

their purchasing decisions. For example, 

cutting a truck’s fuel consumption by 3 

liters per 100 kilometers means that if it 

is driven for 15 years, this will more than 

pay for the somewhat higher acquisition 

cost. MAN aims to work systematically to 

educate not only its managers, but also 

its sales force and customers about the 

challenges and opportunities of systematic 

climate protection. 

Consistently efficient and innovative 

Innovative transportation and energy 

solutions are the most effective contribution 

that MAN can make to climate 

protection. Consequently, we have not 

decreased our spending on the development 

of innovative and eco-friendly products, 

even in economically challenging 

times. Far from it – MAN is investing 

€600 million in a four-year program to 

increase the transportation efficiency 

of its trucks. Multiple projects have 

been launched under this Consistently 

Efficient initiative. For example, MAN 

is working to develop highly efficient 

engines that meet Euro V and Euro VI 

emissions standards. Presented at the 

IAA Commercial Vehicles show in 2010, 

MAN’s Concept S study demonstrated 

additional promising approaches for increasing 

efficiency. Aerodynamic design 

will allow trucks to consume up to 25 

percent less fuel in the future. 

Our extremely energy-efficient buses 

with hybrid drives are already on the 

market. With its standard hybrid drive, 

the MAN hybrid bus consumes up to 

30 percent less fuel, reducing its carbon 

footprint. In an innovative concept, 

the braking energy is not only used to 

drive the vehicle, but is also stored in 

“ultracaps,” which have a faster charging 

speed than batteries and are more 

efficient. 

In its Consistently Efficient Tour, which 

traveled more than 11,000 kilometers 

through a number of European countries, 

MAN showed that consistently efficient 

trucks can save up to 3 liters of diesel per 

100 kilometers over long distances, thus 

reducing CO 2 

emissions. This represents 

almost 10 percent less energy per ton of 

goods transported – a reduction that is 

achieved simply by consistently designing 

vehicles for fuel savings and with 

proven standard technology. 

MAN has also invested in innovative 

technologies in the field of power engineering, 

recently bringing the prototype 

of a new line of gas turbines to market. A 

combined CHP plant was installed at the 

Rheinberg facility of Solvin GmbH & Co 

KG, representing the first time that the 

new 6 MW gas turbines have been used 

commercially. They were developed for 

industrial use, expanding our existing 

portfolio in the low-output sector – an 

attractive growth field due to the increasing 

decentralization of power generation. 

Managing growth responsibly 

If resource conservation and energy 

efficiency were long considered specifically 

European concerns, this has now 

changed. Efficient and environmentally 

compatible technologies are in great 

demand all over the world. As Dr. Georg 

The newly developed 6 MW gas turbine offers outstanding 

efficiency for its class of well over 30%. 

Pachta-Reyhofen, Chief Executive Officer 

of MAN SE, explains: “Particularly in the 

rapidly growing BRIC markets, the focus 

on environmentally compatible and 

climate-friendly solutions has increased 

dramatically.” For example, in August 

2011, when MAN Latin America presented 

its eco-friendly bus with a natural 

gas-diesel system in Rio de Janeiro, it met 

with a very positive response. 

MAN’s efficient solutions in the fields of 

transportation and power engineering 

are opening up many opportunities for 

the Group as a global supplier. Market 

success, however, will largely depend on 

customer preferences. Providing clear and 

substantiated information helps customers 

decide how best to invest – taking 

into account not only the purchase price, 

but the total cost of ownership as well. 

This calls for an intensive dialog. Another 

part of the picture is the provision of 

support in the form of the fuel-saver 

courses for professional truck drivers, 

which MAN offers to all its customers, 

and which are becoming increasingly 

popular. In 2011 alone, almost 6,000 

drivers took part in these training sessions. 

This enabled them to use around 

5 percent less fuel from then on, cutting 

costs and CO 2 

emissions. Sixty-nine 

trainers in more than 25 countries are 

currently offering these courses through 

MAN ProfiDrive. 


127

Best Practice 

Environment 

Metso 

New Technology Brought 

Cleaner Air and New Jobs 

to Facture 

Residents of Facture, a city in southwest France, have been breathing cleaner air since 

October 2010. A biomass-fired combined heat and power plant – which is one of Europe’s 

largest and represents Metso’s latest technology – was commissioned at the energy company 

Dalkia’s new biomass power plant, located at the local Smurfit Kappa paper mill. For Metso, 

a global engineering and technology company, this delivery was an excellent opportunity 

to demonstrate its ability to support its customers in combining business objectives and 

environmental targets. 

By Paula Niemistö 

Metso’s people are committed to 

promoting the Global Compact 

Principles in their daily actions. 

The investment is the largest in France’s 

national green energy program, which 

aims to reduce CO 2 

emissions and to 

curb climate change. The plant is fueled 

with bark from the mill and forest residue 

collected from neighboring areas, 

which means that the plant is partly 

self-sufficient in fuels. The collection of 

forest residue has also created new jobs 

for the local people. 

Owned by Dalkia, the plant produces 

electricity for the national grid and generates 

process steam for the paper mill. 

With the ability to use a mix of different 

renewable biomasses, it is an example 

of a solution that enables a step-by-step 

transition from fossil to renewable energy 

fuels. The Facture power plant’s CO 2 

emissions are reduced by 400,000 tons 

annually compared to the same energy 

produced by fossil fuels. 

Environmental challenge: More with 

less 

“Energy demand is continuously increasing 

and natural resources are scarce, so 

The fuel base includes outsourced 

wood fuel and by-products from the 

adjacent pulp and paper mills. 

we should produce more with less. An 

efficient way to produce energy without 

doing it at the expense of nature is to 

use biomass as a fuel. Metso has been 

working on bioenergy since the 1980s by 

developing several remarkable technologies 

for biomass and waste-based energy 

production; the Dalkia power plant in 

Facture is just one example,” says Kai 

Mäenpää, Vice President, Europe, Middle 

East, Africa, at Metso Power business line. 

Metso’s full-scope delivery to Facture 

included the process equipment – from 

the fuel-handling systems and biomass 

boiler to the flue-gas cleaning and complete 

automation solutions. The delivery 

is environmentally advantageous, not 

only today but it will also be so in the future. 

Proven technologies in combustion, 

automation, and fuel-handling enable 

Dalkia to operate the plant in the framework 

set by tight emission guarantees. 

Plus, the power plant will be able to meet 

future regulations as well, if changes are 

made in the fuel base. 

Ambitious climate targets 

Environmental legislation is intensifying 

all over the world. In Facture, the 

monitoring and reporting of emissions 

is compliant with EU directives and local 

regulations. The customized automation 

solution provided by Metso facilitates all 

the necessary information for self-monitoring 

and for reporting to the authorities. 

The targets for curbing climate 

change have been set high: For example, 

the European Union Member States have 

been required to provide 20 percent of 

final energy consumption from renewable 

energy production by 2020. However, 

according to the International Energy Association, 

70 percent of the power plant 

capacity needed in 2030 has not yet been 

built. To meet the ambitious climate 

targets, the new capacity should mainly 

be based on renewable energy sources, 

such as biomass. 

Advanced technology a key to 

climate change 

The use of advanced technology plays a 

significant role in curbing and adapting 

to climate change. The focus of Metso’s 

research and development activities is on 

environmental technology solutions. The 

targets in this area are based on energy 

conservation and cutting CO 2 

emissions, 

among other things. The solutions represent 

new technologies, such as waste 

and biomass utilization. 

The company is currently building 

the world’s largest biomass gasification 

plant in Vaasa, Finland. As a result of the 

new solution, renewable energy can replace 

close to 40 percent of the coal-based 

energy used before. This will reduce CO 2 

emissions by about 230,000 tons per year. 

Another fuel for the future is biooil. 

As a result of active research and 

development, Metso will supply a bio-oil 

production plant to a power plant owned 

by Fortum, in Joensuu, Finland. The delivery 

involves a demonstration plant 

in which bio-oil is produced from forest 

residue and other biomasses. The bio-oil 

produced can be used instead of heavy 

fuel oil, and, in the future, it may also 

be used in biodiesel production and as a 

raw material in the chemicals industry. 

Eco-efficient solutions a natural 

outcome 

In the global effort to support sustainable 

business practices, guidelines and 

initiatives have been developed to give 

guidance to global companies. One of 

most recognized guidelines is the UN 

Global Compact initiative, which Metso 

became a participant of in 2006. 

“The UN Global Compact is a practical 

tool for us, not only in giving us motivation 

in our environmental business, 

but also on a broader scale in sustainability 

issues,” says Mäenpää. “Together, 

the UN Global Compact and Metso’s Code 

of Conduct are useful principles and 

practical tools in fostering a common 

understanding and commitment among 

our employees in over 50 countries. From 

the environmental business point of 

view, the Ten Principles of the Global 

Compact have a particularly strong link 

to Metso’s businesses. Principle 9 states 

the obligation to encourage the development 

and diffusion of environmentally 

friendly technologies. We are willing 

and able to take on this challenge.” 

Facts 

Metso is a global supplier of technology 

and services to customers 

in the process industries, including 

mining, construction, pulp 

and paper, power, and oil and gas. 

Metso has about 30,000 professionals 

based in more than 50 

countries. Metso contributes to a 

more sustainable world by helping 

its customers to process natural 

resources and recycle materials 

into valuable products. 

www.metso.com 

www.twitter.com/metsogroup 


129

Best Practice 

Environment 

MTN 

MTN Nigeria 

Leads the Way in 

Environmental 


By MTN Nigeria Corporate Affairs 

No one can miss the rustic 

ambience of Odo-Eku, a 

village in Kwara State, northcentral 

Nigeria. Bounded 

on all sides by undulating 

hills and all-year-round lush 

vegetation, the ecosystem 

of Odo-Eku and its environs 

has largely been preserved. 

To ensure that the environs 

remain untainted – despite 

the construction of a Base 

Transceiver Station under 

MTN’s Rural Telephony 

Scheme – MTN has ensured 

that the site will be powered 

by solar energy and heavy 

duty batteries. Odo-Eku is 

not the only village that will 

be connected. 

Under the Rural Telephony Scheme, 800 

villages across Nigeria will be connected, 

and 80 percent of them will run on 

alternative energy supply. It is noteworthy 

to state that this demonstration of 

environmental responsibility is not an 

isolated case, as MTN’s commitment to 

environmentally responsible corporate 

behavior is manifest in all aspects of 

our operations. This is due in part to 

one of our core business objectives: to 

impact positively on the communities 

where we operate. This is an approach 

that is carefully woven into the fabric 

of our business operations, stakeholder 

relations, and employee engagement. 

Indeed, on both the local and international 

levels, MTN continues to demonstrate 

its overriding objective to ensure that 

its operations have a minimal impact 

on the environment while at the same 

time driving environmental awareness 

among stakeholders. The MTN Group 

championed environmentally friendly 

initiatives long before awareness about 

environmental issues was discussed on 

the African continent. One such initiative 

is the Green Power for Mobile program, 

through which renewable energy sources 

such as solar, wind, and sustainable 

biofuels are used to power operations. 

MTN Nigeria has launched several initiatives 

on a national scale to ensure 

that its operations are carried out in an 

environmentally sustainable manner. 

We have deployed considerable Hybrid 

Power Solutions in our urban base stations. 

For instance, 1,024 hybrid sites 

have been installed, out of which 861 

have been integrated. When fully deployed, 

this will reduce dependency on 

diesel-generated power by as much as 

50 percent. Designed to induce utilization 

of the most efficient burn cycle, 

the architecture of the Hybrid Power 

Solutions also promotes battery life. The 

significance of this initiative will be better 

appreciated when considered within 

the context of the volume of diesel used 

to power our sites. MTN has more than 

7,000 base stations, with each station 

running on two power-generating sets 

24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Before now, we had practiced a proactive 

maintenance culture in which 

every generator was replaced after a 

cumulative running period of 10,000 

hours to minimize emissions, while oil 

and filters were replaced after 240 hours. 

This was limited in impact, however, 

leading to the deployment of the smart 

hybrid-power solution that – coupled 

with infrastructure optimization and 

site-sharing with other telecommunication 

operators – has gone a long way in 

reducing MTN’s carbon footprint. 

By the same token, MTN Nigeria was 

among the first operators in Nigeria to 

adopt the use of biodegradable materials 

to produce recharge cards. MTN 

adopted this long before environmentalists 

mounted a campaign highlighting the 

harmful effects of the plastic recharge 

cards on the environment. In addition, 

we introduced the virtual top-up option 

as an alternative to the use of physical 

paper-based recharge cards. To encourage 

customers to embrace this option, 

MTN gives a 5 percent discount for every 

denomination of airtime purchased. 

In furtherance of our total commitment 

to environmental sustainability, 

in 2011 the MTN Group focused on deforestation, 

global warming, and other 

environmental issues during its annual 

staff volunteerism campaign: 21 Days of 

Y’ello Care. This campaign was deployed 

in all 21 countries where MTN operates. 

MTN Nigeria, in particular, implemented 

some of the most effective environmental 

awareness campaigns by a corporate 

body in Nigeria. For the duration of the 

program, which lasted 21 days, staff of 

MTN poured into the streets of major 

cities in Nigeria to raise awareness about 

the environment. We also planted more 

than 3,700 trees nationwide. 

Many of the cutting-edge technology 

solutions the company has introduced 

in Nigeria represent significant contributions 

to the global efforts to combat 

environmental degradation and they 

present MTN as a leader in innovation. 

One such solution is MTN Telepresence, 

an immersive virtual meeting solution 

that helps executives of corporate organizations 

in Nigeria hold meetings with 

each other across extensive geographical 

spaces. With Telepresence rooms 

in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, as 

well as outside the country, executives 

can cut down on local and international 

travel, rendering their own personal 

contributions toward reducing their organizations’ 

carbon footprints. 

In order to manage eWaste effectively, 

MTN signs a buy-back clause in its suppliers’ 

contracts to ensure decommissioning 

and recycling of network equipment 

by manufacturers. In addition to this, 

waste is managed in accordance with the 

company’s Waste Management System, 

which clearly defines the standards for 

proper collection, storage, disposal, and 

reuse of waste oil and used oil filters in accordance 

with the relevant federal, state, 

and local agency requirements. We also 

ensure that only approved waste disposal 

contractors are appointed. These are all 

in line with ISO-14001 requirements. 

Evidently, MTN Nigeria is leading the 

way in its unparalleled commitment 

to preserving the environment and 

sustaining resources. In doing so, we 

are contributing to the emergence of a 

sustainable, greener, healthier nation. 


131

Best Practice 

Environment 

Vestas 

Changing the Way 

Corporations Source 

Energy 

WindMade, the first consumer label for wind energy, is moving the discussion from how 

much energy a product uses during its lifetime to the embodied energy of the product. 

Created to drive the global adoption of wind energy, WindMade is designed to inform 

consumers about the source of the energy used to make the products they buy and thus 

encourage corporations to source renewable energy to run their operations and production. 

Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2011, WindMade is backed by the UN 

Global Compact, Vestas Wind Systems, WWF, Global Wind Energy Council, Bloomberg, the 

LEGO Group, and PwC. 

By Rasmus M. Schophuus 

The companies pioneering the use of the world’s first wind power 

consumer label were unveiled on 18 November 2011 at an event 

hosted by WindMade and the UN Global Compact in New York. 

“WindMade is the first eco-label supported 

by the UN Global Compact,” says 

Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN 

Global Compact. “It is fully aligned with 

our mission to promote greater corporate 

sustainability as the critical business 

contribution to sustainable development. 

As a tangible and meaningful consumer 

label, WindMade can go a long way in 

advancing the use of renewable energy 

around the globe.” The consumer label 

has embarked on an incredible journey 

this past year, starting as an idea and 

resulting in an independent nonprofit 

organization in Brussels and 15 prominent 

global brands as pioneering companies. 

0 to 15 in just one year 

The first WindMade standard that 

outlines the criteria companies and organizations 

must fulfill to qualify was 

launched in October 2011. Since then 15 

leading global brands have signed up for 

the WindMade label. These pioneering 

WindMade companies were unveiled 

at a UN Global Compact-hosted event in 

New York in November 2011. Major global 

companies including Motorola Mobility, 

Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg, Method, 

and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) have 

procured or have pledged to procure at 

least 25 percent of their operations’ power 

consumption from wind energy. The 

WindMade label allows participating 

companies to communicate the share of 

wind power and other renewable sources 

as part of the overall power demand of 

their operations. 

“We believe in leading by example 

and have increased our use of clean electricity 

from 7 percent to 65 percent over 

the last four years,” says Sabine Miltner, 

Group Sustainability Officer at Deutsche 

Bank. “WindMade is an important step 

toward more market transparency and we 

are pleased to join this new partnership.” 

According to the WindMade requirements, 

companies using the label must 

source a minimum of 25 percent of the 

electricity consumed from wind power. 

The wind energy share can be procured 

through a company-owned wind power 

generation facility, a long-term power 

purchase agreement for wind power, or 

the purchase of high-quality Renewable 

Energy Certificates approved by Wind- 

Made. The exact percentage of the wind 

energy share will be stated on the label. 

Companies can choose to certify global, 

regional, or facility level operations – a 

distinction that will be clearly communicated 

on the label itself. 

“The supply side of the clean energy 

sector can clearly deliver, but now it is 

time to galvanize demand,” says Curtis 

Ravenel, Head of Sustainability at Bloomberg. 

“Government has done their part, and 

it is now up to the corporate community 

to demonstrate leadership by committing 

to clean energy development. WindMade 

provides us with a roadmap for achieving 

this.” 

Making way for WindMade events 

Further expanding the scope of the consumer 

label, WindMade has recently 

launched a labeling program for events. 

The WindMade standard for events is 

released in conjunction with the organization 

standard and outlines the specific 

requirements for the WindMade label 

for events under the WindMade labeling 

program. 

With this new initiative, WindMade 

enables event organizers around the world 

– regardless of the size of their event – to 

source renewable energy for their event 

and advertise this to the attendees. Since 

the WindMade labeling program only 

addresses electricity, label users are encouraged 

to offset emissions from other energy 

sources, including transport, through the 

use of credits from a widely recognized 

high-quality program. Event venue owners 

or operators may also obtain a WindMade 

company label to cover their venue, which 

will allow all events at that venue to apply 

for the WindMade event label with a 

simplified reporting requirement. 

Unique communication innovation 

WindMade was honored by the American 

Wind Energy Association (AWEA) 

with the 2011 AWEA Award for Wind 

Energy Advocacy for empowering citizens 

Morten Albæk, 

Group Senior Vice 

President, Vestas. 

to choose companies and products that are 

made using wind energy. “WindMade is 

probably the most unique communication 

innovation made in the wind business in 

the last 30 years,” says Denise Bode, CEO of 

AWEA. “Vestas deserves to be commended 

for launching this new way to drive demand 

for wind power and then letting it 

grow as a separate entity on behalf of the 

whole industry.” 

Vestas was the recipient of the Brand 

Leadership Award at the Global Awards 

for Brand Excellence summit for founding 

and developing the WindMade 

consumer label. The award jury stated 

that “WindMade has the potential to 

change the world by transforming wind 

into a tangible label, and a brand that will 

empower millions of consumers across 

the globe to every day act and react on 

climate change by choosing products that 

are WindMade.” 

WindMade products coming soon 

The first step to develop the product standard 

has been taken by the WindMade 

secretariat and it is expected that it will 

be completed before the fall of 2012. A 

sounding board of relevant corporations 

is being put in place to ensure that the 

product standard is as robust as the organizational 

one. With a product standard 

for WindMade, consumers will soon be 

able to buy products with a WindMade 

label, empowering them to make environmentally-friendly 

purchasing decisions. 


133

Best Practice 

Development 

136 

137 

138 

142 

144 

148 

150 

152 

154 

Camposol 

Copeinca 


Furnas 

GDF Suez 

Nestlé 

Netafim 

Rogers 


CSR-Management 

156 

158 

160 

Carrefour 

The TMS Group 

Yüksel 


162 

164 

166 

168 


Bradesco 



Overall, the Global Compact pursues two 

complementary objectives: 

1| Mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world 

2| Catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals, including the Millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs) 


135

Best Practice 

Development 

Camposol | Copeinca 

Bakery “La Casa 

del Pan” 

By Francesca Carnesella 

“La Casa del Pan” is an entrepreneurship 

project funded entirely by CAMPOSOL. It 

aims to provide economic and social development 

opportunities for young people 

through a strategic partnership with the 

Youth, Arts and Development Association, 

which is comprised of young people from 

Nuevo Chao, a nearby community. 

This small business directly benefits 12 

students and allows them to create and 

maintain a job, thereby helping them to 

afford college and support their families. 

There are also 45 adolescents and young 

people – members of the Youth, Arts 

and Development Association – who 

are educated, trained, and motivated 

by the young leaders of this initiative so 

that they can successfully replicate this 

initiative elsewhere. Other beneficiaries 

are the more than 50 families as well as 

educational institutions and the entire 

community, all of whom enjoy highquality 

products from the bakery. Two of 

the main customers are CAMPOSOL and 

Sodexo, whose employees are satisfied 

with the products offered. 

“La Casa del Pan” was inaugurated on 

July 21, 2011, becoming in a short time 

a model for successful and profitable 

microenterprises that can be replicated 

by other companies committed to sustainable 

development, like CAMPOSOL. 

Between August and December 2011, 

the bakery registered total sales of 

$88,581 and maintained steady growth 

each month; net earnings were $13,586, 

which represented 15 percent of sales. We 

strongly believe that in a short time this 

microenterprise has established quality 

products with good customer service 

and has gained a position in the community 

by offering competitive prices. 

Today, sales continue to steadily grow 

and revenues allow the Youth Association, 

which owns the bakery, to reinvest the 

money for expansion or innovation by 

developing new projects that create more 

opportunities for other beneficiaries. 

This program has had a positive impact 

on young people and their families, offering 

a vision of progress. “La Casa del Pan” 

has achieved sustainability through the 

commitment of CAMPOSOL, the Youth, 

Arts and Development Association, and 

the active involvement of the community, 

which, despite its great social importance, 

is not adequately addressed by local 

public entities. 

"In 2011 we fulfilled our vision for Bakery “La Casa del Pan” and I think all young 

people who are part of the Association and part of the bakery are very proud, 

pleased, and have yet to assume major challenges as a team. All young people 

working at the bakery are members of the Association and are completely able 

to assume responsibilities in the business. The group was trained in the School 

of Nova Company, a supplier, in order to learn how to prepare some products 

we sell now. We also received training on business management in CAMPOSOL 

through the project Business Links of the United Nations – the project encourages 

and supports us in efficiently managing the project. As an association, we 

are more unified than ever. We are working with new entrepreneurs who make 

us more committed to the youth. Now I have a vision of what I want to do in life: 

Help others like CAMPOSOL helped me. Currently, we are also working with the 

president of the community, Mr. Julio Romano, and we are beginning to involve 

the community itself with the purpose of carrying out joint projects. The community 

should care for the youth work carried out, thus giving sustainability to 

this job." 

Gilmer Carranza Cordova, 

Bakery Manager, “La Casa del Pan” 

EcoBusiness 

School Program 

By Francesca Carnesella 

To promote the integration of key thematic 

areas of environmental education 

in the country, a project idea was 

born: the EcoBusiness School Program. 

Created by the Institute for Promotion 

of Sustainable Development and supported 

by the Ministry of Education 

and the Ministry of Environment in 

Peru, the initiative began in 2010. The 

design of this enterprising program for 

environmental education was aimed 

at young people attending the last cycle 

of secondary education (15- and 

16-year-olds). The main objective is to 

strengthen the capacities of young people 

in identifying the realities concerning 

the environment; understanding 

market development; understanding 

the procedures and challenges of building, 

managing, and administering an 

economic enterprise that has a positive 

impact on the environment; and 

developing leadership and management 

skills. 

The main indicators of the program for 

the years 2010 and 2011 

Ecobusiness School Program 

2010 2011 

Educational Institutions trained 33 49 

Hours of training given 2,598 3,216 

Educational Institutions benefit 10 16 

Students benefit directly 210 245 

Students benefit indirectly 4,200 7,200 

Families benefit 3,000 4,800 

Voluntary hours given 105 117 

Well-aware of the need to create a sense 

of sustainability in these young entrepreneurs, 

COPEINCA chose to support 

the development of this program. The 

efforts of this initiative led us to promote 

the “COPEINCA Volunteer” program 

to encourage the participation of 

our employees. They came together in 

groups of three, four, and five to support 

each school and develop with each 

one of them a business plan according 

to their needs to develop a profitable 

project. The volunteer support was 

done online through a website specifically 

designed to encourage close 

communication between both parties, 

and scheduled visits were planned to 

strengthen ties. 

Today, we are about to begin a third year 

of support under the guidelines of this 

program and encourage new schools 

and students who want to develop an 

EcoBusiness School Program. 

"Taking part in the volunteer 

program for EcoBusiness was an 

amazing and enriching experience 

for my group and me. I know that 

many volunteers signed up thinking 

that it was a way of helping 

the boys and girls from different 

lower-income neighborhoods, but 

we never imagined all the lessons 

and experiences they would give us. 

My group worked really hard with 

the girls, who decided to recycle 

all plastic materials (PET bottles) 

into “Ecobags.” Seeing the visions 

of these girls – dreaming, creating, 

and finding solutions to everyday 

difficulties – involved us as volunteers, 

reminding us that as human 

beings we can always reach our 

goals, especially when it comes to 

giving or sharing. I strongly believe 

that it is possible to achieve much 

more with little time and small 

commitments than simply donating 

material goods. I feel happy to have 

known these girls, who are future 

leaders of our community and role 

models." 

Maria Elena Olmos, 

Volunteer for the Ecobags Project 


137

Best Practice 

Development 


Preparing Airports for 

Disasters 

Deutsche Post DHL has committed itself to continuously support the Ten Principles of the 

United Nations Global Compact. Equally, Deutsche Post DHL undertakes actions in support 

of broader UN goals and issues, especially as they relate to disaster management and 

humanitarian assistance. In this approach Deutsche Post DHL closely cooperates with the 

United Nations to amplify the efforts of other contributors. 

By Susanne Meier and Joachim Keppler 

Bangladesh, Chittagong Airport Tower 

In recent years, the number of natural 

disasters has increased significantly. According 

to estimations, the 2010 Haiti 

earthquake alone affected 3 million people, 

of which 220,000 died and 1 million 

became homeless. The challenge of helping 

affected communities can only be 

accomplished if states, civil society, and 

the private sector work together in contributing 

to possible solutions. When it 

comes to disaster management, the coordination 

of the many players and measures 

involved is a crucial success factor. As a 

globally leading logistics company with 

businesses in more than 220 countries 

and territories, Deutsche Post DHL takes 

up its responsibility to get involved and 

make a difference. 

Using its global presence and core competence 

in logistics, Deutsche Post DHL 

has developed the disaster management 

program GoHelp. It has established a 

threefold approach focusing on disaster 

preparedness, response, and reconstruction. 

The example of disaster preparedness 

shows how important a coordinated 

approach with a sustainable partnership 

is to deliver help. 

Stepping in to support 

Airports play an important role in communities, 

as they are gateways to the 

outside world. Logistics drives economic 

and social progress, providing access to 

a global transportation network. When 

natural disasters strike, airports become 

a crucial component in the process of 

delivering help as fast as possible. They 

are needed to link communities in an 

affected region with aid from the outside 

world. Before relief goods can be distributed 

to the affected population, they 

need to be handled at the local airport. 

However, storing and distributing huge 

volumes of food, medicine, and tents is 

sometimes too much for local airports, 

which are often not prepared for the 

exceptional circumstances after a disaster. 

During an earthquake in Iran in 2003, 

our employees witnessed how easily 

airports can become bottlenecks if they 

are insufficiently prepared or do not 

have enough capacity available. The 

idea of getting involved in the field 

of disaster management first came up 

after observing this need and linking 

it to our Group’s core competence in 

logistics. When the disastrous tsunami 

flooded the coastal areas of the Indian 

Ocean one year later in 2004, a team 

of DHL volunteers was mobilized and 

sent to Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka 

to support the handling of relief goods 

at the airport. 

Cooperation with the United 

Nations 

To make a long-term and global contribution, 

a strategic approach is necessary. 

Coordination and cooperation are crucial 

success drivers in humanitarian logistics. 

Through developing and implementing 

partnerships, the complementary competencies 

of the different players involved 

can be leveraged to achieve the best 

possible results. With this idea in mind, 

Deutsche Post DHL signed a Memorandum 

of Understanding in 2005 with the 

United Nations Development Programme 

(UNDP) and the United Nations Office 

for the Coordination of Humanitarian 

Affairs (UN OCHA) regarding cooperation 

in the field of disaster management. 

The partnership laid the foundation 

for Deutsche Post DHL’s global disaster 

management program GoHelp. 

UNDP Partnership 

“Our partnership with DHL is 

exemplary of how UNDP can 

work in close collaboration with 

the private sector in building the 

resilience of high disaster risk 

countries.” 

Jordan Ryan, 

Assistant Administrator and 

Director UNDP 

Establishing global structures for 

disaster response 

Observing the need for logistics expertise 

after a natural disaster and cooperating 

with the United Nations, Deutsche Post 

DHL set up its so-called Disaster Response 

Teams (DRTs). In order to guarantee that 

our DRTs are ready to be deployed within 

72 hours after a disaster strikes, we set 

up a global network of three teams covering 

Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the 

Middle East and Africa. Today, there are 

more than 400 DHL volunteers who are 

being trained on a regular basis – ready 

to deploy anytime, anywhere. 

Being called on by UN OCHA, the DRTs 

are deployed at airports to support local 

authorities in the aftermath of natural 

disasters. They organize the handling, 

warehousing, and loading of relief goods 

for onward transportation in an organized 

and effective manner. The decision 

to deploy a DRT to a specific airport is 

based on several important criteria such 

as a safe security situation, stability of 

the political situation, the agreement 

of local / national authorities, and the 

existence of the necessary infrastructural 

preconditions. 

Learning from experience 

The more than 20 deployments of the 

DRTs represent a significant contribution 

to successful disaster management. 

Using their logistics expertise, the DRTs 

help the local airport officials to cope 

with the incoming relief goods, thus 

avoiding airport congestion and reducing 

delays in the forwarding of essential 

cargo. However, it became clear that 

sometimes a bottleneck can also result 

from the inefficient usage of airport 

capacities or unclear processes and tasks. 

The level of preparation of an airport is 

linked to the ability to handle efficiently 

a major upsurge in incoming relief 

goods. Thus, an emergency plan that 

has been developed with all involved 

players beforehand can strengthen the 

resilience of an airport and save time 

when needed. 


139

Best Practice 

Development 


From disaster response to disaster 

preparedness 

In case a natural disaster strikes, communities 

worldwide mobilize to send 

relief goods to the people in need. This 

challenges airports to manage the flow 

of incoming aid as efficiently and rapidly 

as possible. From one day to the next, the 

amount of goods that need to be handled 

and stored steadily increases. The task can 

become even more difficult if the airport 

is in a remote location and its infrastructure 

is not laid out for this situation. 

Airport officials are often not prepared 

for these exceptional circumstances. They 

need to find ad-hoc solutions to gather 

enough space and staff to handle and 

store all the incoming supplies. 

This challenge is addressed by our program 

Get Airports Ready For Disaster 

(GARD). Training sessions are set up 

for local airport officials and disastermanagement 

authorities. It enables them 

to increase the capacity of their airport 

after a natural disaster. Thus, it is about 

helping people to help themselves and 

contributing to the resilience of the community. 

an airport for disaster relief operations. 

After the GARD training, the report is 

handed over to the ministry in charge. 

So far, trainings have been conducted in 

Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. All in 

all, 104 participants from 28 airports in 

Asia have been trained. 

Success factors of the GARD 

partnership 

Roles of Deutsche Post DHL and UNDP 

within the GARD program 

UNDP 

Alignment with governments and national 

authorities 

• UNDP integrates GARD into national 

disaster risk reduction programs 

Country selection 

• As GARD is most helpful in countries with 

existing disaster management structures, 

UNDP appropriates its global network to 

identify right countries 

On-site organization of the training 

• With its local experience, UNDP 

helps to take cultural and administrative 

requirements into account 

Follow-up with the government 

• Foster a sustainable approach 


Development of GARD program 

• Deutsche Post DHL develops the 

methodology including training material 

and the Airport Surge Capacity 

Assessment 

Pool of professional trainers 

• Deutsche Post DHL provides a pool of 

professional aviation trainers and adapts 

the training individually for each country 

Support of follow-up measures 

• Through its global presence Deutsche 

Post DHL is committed to continuously 

support the program with its logistics 

expertise 

“The opportunity to use our professional 

and specialist skills to 

enhance aid relief to their nations 

has not only been personally 

rewarding but, has revitalized and 

motivated my team. We are proud 

of GARD and our contribution 

to it!” 

Keith Ian Melville, Director Global Airside 

and Standards, DHL EXPRESS 

It is essential that any humanitarian 

involvement by the private sector in disaster 

management is embedded within 

the framework of the international humanitarian 

community. Bilateral or multilateral 

partnerships with UN agencies, 

NGOs, or governments are an answer to 

this need. What makes GARD successful 

and sustainable is the strategic fit 

between the involved partners in order to 

match strengths and experiences. GARD 

combines the global logistics expertise 

of Deutsche Post DHL with the powerful 

mandate of the UNDP in disaster preparedness, 

its strong link to governments, 

and its involvement in national disaster 

risk reduction programs. GARD has been 

designed to contribute to the national 

disaster management framework by becoming 

an integral part of the respective 

programs. GARD started with pilots to 

identify areas of improvement, and it is 

ready to be rolled out on a global scale. 

An efficient project management lays out 

clearly defined roles and aligned processes 

to steer the program successfully. Finally, 

a common vision for the partnership and 

trust between the partners are crucial to 

make humanitarian partnerships successful 

and sustainable. Deutsche Post DHL 

shares its logistics expertise with local 

airport authorities and thereby improves 

the resilience of the surrounding communities. 

At the same time, the program 

increases the motivation of our employees 

and strengthens their team work skills. 

GARD as well as DRTs place Deutsche Post 

DHL’s business expertise in a humanitarian 

setting and make the program GoHelp 

popular, not just among our volunteers 

but for our entire workforce. 

We help each other 

In addition to the DRTs and the GARD program, 

organized in partnership with the 

United Nations, GoHelp includes a third 

global program to provide assistance at 

the local level. The "We Help Each Other" 

fund (WHEO) gives Deutsche Post DHL 

employees the opportunity to help colleagues 

whose homes have been damaged 

or destroyed in a natural disaster. Donations 

are collected throughout the year 

through fundraising events organized 

by operational units, departments and 

individuals within the Group. The Fund 

has helped more than 1,000 colleagues 

since its foundation in 2010. 

With about 470,000 employees in more 

than 220 countries and territories, 

Deutsche Post DHL is the world’s leading 

mail and logistics services group. 

GoHelp is part of our overall corporate 

responsibility strategy under the motto 

“Living Responsibility” and thereby also 

an integral part of the Group’s strategy. 

We use our knowledge and global presence 

to make a positive contribution to 

society and the environment. In addition 

to disaster management, we focus on 

protecting the environment (GoGreen) 

and championing education (GoTeach), 

and encourage volunteering activities 

of our employees. 

GARD methodology 

GARD is designed specifically for airports 

located in disaster hot-spot areas. The 

program guides local communities in proactively 

identifying surge capacity gaps 

as part of their disaster response mechanisms 

before disaster strikes. Professional 

trainers from DHL Aviation conduct the 

training, which lasts up to four days. It offers 

participants a hands-on approach to 

disaster preparedness, mixing classroom 

elements, on-site assessment work, and 

applied surge capacity assessment reports. 

With these tools and know-how, they are 

able to make their facilities and people 

disaster-ready. The airport assessment 

is later written down into a comprehensive 

report, which shows where and 

how the capacity of the airport can be 

increased. The Airport Surge Capacity 

Assessment has been identified as a tool 

to understand the surge capacity needs of 

GARD Indonesia – Classroom training 

GARD Indonesia – Assessing the airport 


141

Best Practice 

Development 

FURNAS 

Community Development 

and Sustainability 

Since its founding in 1957, FURNAS has been working toward the development of Brazilian 

society by generating and transmitting electrical energy. Today, the company runs a complex 

of 15 hydroelectric power plants, two thermal units, and a transmission system responsible for 

40 percent of the electrical energy consumed in Brazil. As a participant in the Global Compact, 

the company promotes activities for the sustainable development of the communities in the 

vicinities of its installations, upholding the Ten Principles of the Global Compact. 

By Claudia Rodrigues Segond 

The company and social 


FURNAS is a member of the Committee of 

Entities in the Fight against Hunger and 

for Life (COEP), a human and social development 

network. Our social responsibility 

policy expresses the company’s commitment 

to rallying our stakeholders toward 

a fair society, in harmony with nature, 

based on sustainability and solidarity. 

Together with COEP, the Brazilian 

Institute of Social and Economic Analysis 

(IBASE – Instituto Brasileiro de Análises 

Sociais e Econômicas) developed a 

methodology to keep an open, ongoing 

dialog with communities to integrate 

local actors in the process of territorial 

sustainable development. As businesses 

expand, FURNAS has implemented the socalled 

Integration Nucleus Project, whose 

principle is to establish a democratic 

governance culture that seeks to integrate 

diverse social groups, local institutions, 

and government agencies to strengthen 

community bounds – a mandatory condition 

for local sustainable development. 

Communities are chosen based on their 

social, environmental, and cultural 

aspects, and preference is given to traditional 

and low-income social groups. 

Sixteen Integration Nuclei have been 

implemented so far, benefitting around 

35,000 people in the states of Rio de Janeiro, 

Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Mato 

Grosso, and Goiás. This project has shown 

itself to be not only a social catalyst and 

local sustainable development facilitating 

tool, but also an important corporate 

management tool. Experience acquired 

in every new social context is gradually 

internalized, thereby improving govern- 

ance tools and dialog with communities. 

The descendants of the former slave community 

(or Quilombo) of Araçatiba – in 

the project since 2005 – illustrate the 

success of the Integration Nucleus Project. 

Housed in the municipality of Viana 

in the state of Espírito Santo were around 

200 families, representing nearly 800 

people, in the 2010 census. This community 

came about when Spanish Jesuits 

founded the Araçatiba farm, raised the 

Nossa Senhora da Ajuda Church in 1665, 

and christened the native Brazilian Tupiniquins, 

the original dwellers, enslaving 

them to work in sugar cane plantations. 

After the Portuguese crown expelled 

the Spanish army, the native Brazilians 

living there fled, leaving the place empty. 

In 1849, Sebastião Vieira Machado, the 

farm’s new administrator, brought 800 

slaves from Africa to toil on Brazilian 

land. After slavery was abolished, the 

former slaves did not leave the area. To 

guarantee these former slaves a place to 

live, Sebastião’s children donated both 

the Nossa Senhora da Ajuda Church and 

an adjacent 21-hectare piece of land to 

the Vitória Archdiocese. As years passed, 

though, new farmers settled in the area, 

taking 16 of the 21 hectares donated to 

protect the former slaves. Today, most 

of the population works in the capital 

city of Espírito Santo. Local business is 

quite limited and prices are steep, so 

families are forced to buy outside of 

the community. 

During the project implementation, 

the main problems raised were: 

Lack of work opportunities and daycare; 

poor communication between local 

dwellers; quilombolas and other communities; 

weak community bonds; lack 

of communal areas; need to reform the 

Nossa Senhora da Ajuda Church and 

build a burial chapel; no professional 

courses and work for the young; high rate 

of drug use; no funding for maintaining 

Congo costumes for a folk group with 

indigenous and slave influence. 

Results of the Integration Nucleus 

Project 

The Araçatiba Telecenter (2006) did research 

on the local history and produced 

a video entitled “A Land of Slave Descendents 

and the Saint’s Heritage” in 

association with Espírito Santo Federal 

University. The similarly titled book was 

produced in association with IBASE (2007) 

and offered in conjunction with a number 

of workshops: social cartography to 

identify quilombola territories; production 

of Bandas de Congo musical instruments; 

and local culinary presentations. 

Courses on the Linux operational system 

and introduction to IT were offered by 

the National Service of Commerce. Education 

for cooperativism, seamstressing, 

embroidery, patchwork, and gemworks 

was given in cooperation with COEP. The 

workshop CosturArt was offered, wherein 

women learned craftwork, typical dishes, 

and the young learned hair-braiding, the 

events of a solidarity economy, and how 

to market craftwork (2008). There were 

meetings with local government representatives 

to streamline social demands as 

well as meetings with other communities 

to implement Espírito Santo Quilombola 

Community Identity Strengthening Program, 

which represents the legal process 

for acknowledging the land deeds of 

these communities (2010). There were 

also celebrations with Banda de Congo, 

folk dances, and fashion shows to market 

clothes made at the workshop Costur- 

Art, thus helping to integrate the young, 

adults, and the old, and strengthen the 

community’s identity (2011). 

The words of 

local leaders in 

2011 

“This house opened up our minds 

and gave us self-esteem. Today 

I have a job, my own money and 

I take all of this very seriously. 

Now I am a craftswoman, and 

everything I know I learned at 

CosturArt.” 

Maria da Penha Alves, 45 

“I was very shy and quiet, I did 

not speak to anyone, but I kept 

watching. Today I express myself 

better, I´ve acquired self-esteem 

and learned to value myself. In 

this community, we were awfully 

socially excluded by Viana´s 

dwellers.” 

Anna Angélica Gomes, 18 


143

Best Practice 

Development 

GDF SUEZ 

GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs 

d’Energies for Access to 

Sustainable Energy for All 

The centerpiece of the GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs 

d’Energies initiative is the 

creation of an investment fund that will 

progressively increase to around €100 

million in 2013 – 10 percent of which 

will be immediately invested in social 

business energy access projects in the 

form of equity participation. 

Installation of solar panels in Vanuatu 

By Francoise Guichard 

The GDF SUEZ Group, the world’s largest utility, is seeking to combat poverty and economic 

disparities with the launch of the GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies initiative. This global 

initiative promotes access for the poorest populations to energy and essential services and 

supports the reduction of energy poverty. It provides socially responsible investment, donations, 

as well as technical and managerial assistance, with the GDF SUEZ Group coordinating these 

various tools in support of social entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. 

Low-energy technology for social housing 

(Chênelet -France) 

The GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies 

initiative will make investments in projects 

such as the electrification of small 

villages and small-scale hydroelectric 

projects, with an emphasis on social 

entrepreneur involvement. The social 

and environmental impacts are the most 

important selection criterion. However, 

the selection process includes specific 

criteria regarding the profitability of the 

project in terms of the rate of return on 

the investment and the returns to shareholders. 

The initial investment portfolio 

includes projects in India, Indonesia, 

South America, and France. 

Company overview 

GDF SUEZ, the world’s largest utility, 

has 218,900 employees worldwide and 

had revenues of €90.7 billion in 2011. 

Listed in Brussels, Luxembourg, and 

Paris, the Group is represented in the 

leading international indices: CAC 40, 

BEL 20, DJ Stoxx 50, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, 

Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI 

Europe, ASPI Eurozone, and ECPI Ethical 

Index EMU. 

GDF SUEZ develops its businesses around 

a model based on responsible growth to 

address the key global energy and environmental 

challenges: meeting energy 

needs, insuring the security of supply, 

fighting against climate change, and 

optimizing the use of resources. The 

Group provides highly efficient and innovative 

solutions to individuals, cities, 

and businesses by relying on diversified 

gas supply sources, flexible electricity 

production with low CO 2 

emission levels, 

and unique expertise in four key sectors: 

liquefied natural gas, energy-efficiency 

services, independent electricity production, 

and environmental services. 

The challenge of global energy 

poverty 

A call to eradicate extreme poverty and 

hunger by the year 2015 is among the 

eight Millennium Development Goals 

adopted by the United Nations in 2000. 

Energy and basic services are key factors 

in the eradication of poverty. Yet more 

than eleven years later, this challenge, 

though well-known and appreciated by 

all, remains intractable. 

As of 2011, 1.3 billion people have no 

access to electricity – some 20 percent of 

the world’s population; 2.7 billion people 

– around 40 percent of the world’s 

population – rely on traditional biomass 

fuels for cooking; 880 million people are 

without access to drinking water and 

nearly 2 billion individuals are without 

sanitation services. As suggested in the 

International Energy Agency’s “New 

Policies Scenario,” this situation is likely 

to endure; in 2030, approximately 1 

billion people will still not have access 

to electricity. 

Considerable progress in energy access 

is necessary if the Millennium Development 

Goals are to be achieved. Between 

now and 2015, there will be nearly 400 

million more individuals who need access 

to electricity and 1 billion will need 

clean, non-polluting cooking facilities. 

According to the International Energy 

Agency, achieving universal access to 

modern energy services by 2030 will require 

an additional investment of almost 

$50 billion each year. While generally 

focused on developing countries, the 

question of access to energy also affects 

developed countries, where it can be a 

major social concern for low-income 

groups. In Europe, for example, between 

50 and 125 million people are estimated 

to be experiencing energy poverty according 

to the European Union. As such 

a large range suggests, this phenomenon 

is poorly defined and badly understood. 

There is now increased attention on 

how businesses should respond to a 

major challenge such as energy poverty, 

especially within the context of deple- 


145

Best Practice 

Development 

GDF SUEZ 

tion of resources (water, energy) and 

the imperatives of climate change. The 

new element in recent years has been 

the introduction of “market logic” to 

companies’ social responsibility activities. 

As Michael Porter points out in his Harvard 

Business Review article “Creating 

Shared Value,” the successful businesses 

of the future will be those that place the 

societal dimension at the core of business 

strategy. In this context, businesses in 

general – and in particular large companies 

that provide basic services – can 

play a new role by adopting appropriate 

business models. 

The GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs 

d’Energies initiative 

GDF SUEZ is convinced that business has 

a role to play alongside public institutions 

and governments in meeting development 

challenges. While 20 percent 

of the world’s population lacks access 

to electricity and more than one in four 

people are facing fuel poverty in Europe, 

access to energy is a key enabler for 

economic and social development and is 

at the heart of the fight against poverty. 

As a participant of the United Nations 

Global Compact, GDF SUEZ Group seeks 

to support the major objectives of the 

UN, including the Millennium Development 

Goals for combating poverty and 

supporting socioeconomic development. 

Launched in early 2011, the GDF SUEZ 

Rassembleurs d’Energies initiative embodies 

the commitment of the GDF SUEZ 

Group to the access of energy for poor 

people and reducing fuel poverty. It is 

a initiative of global dimension that 

consolidates concrete measures by the 

company through support for projects 

with high social impact and that promote 

access to renewable energy sources and 

reduce fuel poverty. 

GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies is a 

partnership-based initiative. GDF SUEZ 

is actively seeking to work with the development 

community, NGOs, public 

authorities, and the general public. 

With GDF SUEZ Rassembleurs d’Energies, 

the Group is implementing three levers 

and complementary strengths to expand 

access to sustainable energy for all in 

Europe and worldwide: 

• GDF SUEZ has created a joint investment 

fund – one of the first in the 

energy sector – to contribute to the 

development of social entrepreneurship 

and support projects that are sustainable, 

profitable, and replicable; 

• The new GDF SUEZ Foundation, 

through its Energy Solidarity initiative, 

is supporting the initiatives of 

NGOs and associations; and 

• The expertise and knowledge of employees 

is being mobilized through 

skills sponsorships. 

Group Profile 

GDF SUEZ develops its businesses (electricity, natural gas, services) around a model based on responsible growth to take 

up today’s major energy and environmental challenges: meeting energy needs, ensuring the security of supply, fighting 

against climate change and maximizing the use of resources. The Group provides highly efficient and innovative solutions to 

individuals, cities and businesses by relying on diversified gas-supply sources, flexible and low-emission power generation as 

well as unique expertise in four key sectors: liquefied natural gas, energy efficiency services, independent power production 

and environmental services. GDF SUEZ employs 218,900 people worldwide and achieved revenues of €90.7 billion in 2011. 

The Group is listed on the Paris, Brussels and Luxembourg stock exchanges and is represented in the main international 

indices: CAC 40, BEL 20, DJ Stoxx 50, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe, ASPI Eurozone and 

ECPI Ethical Index EMU. 

Key Group figures 

• 218,900 employees in close to 70 countries 

- inc. 61,250 in electricity and gas, 

- 77,200 in energy services, 

- and 80,450 in environmental services 

• €90.7 billion in 2011 revenues 

• €11 billion in gross investments in 2012 

Electricity 

• No.1 independent 

power producer (IPP) 

in the world 

• No.1 producer of nonnuclear 

electricity in 

the world 

• No.1 independent 

power producer (IPP) 

in the Persian Gulf 

region and in Brazil 

• 117.3 GW of installed 

power-production 

capacity 

• 14.8 GW of capacity 

under construction 

• 50% increase in 

renewable energy 

capacity between 

2009 and 2015 

• An objective of 150 

GW of capacity in 

2016 of which 90 GW 

outside Europe 

Natural gas 

• A supply portfolio of 

1,260 TWh 

• No.2 buyer of natural 

gas in Europe 

• No.1 natural-gas 

transport and 

distribution networks 

in Europe 

• No.1 vendor of 

storage capacity in 

Europe 

• 344 exploration and/ 

or production licenses 

in 16 countries 

• 789 mboe of proven 

and probable reserves 

Liquid natural gas 

• No.1 importer of LNG 

in Europe 

• No.3 importer of LNG 

in the world 

• No.2 operator of LNG 

terminals in Europe 

• A fleet of 18 LNG 

tankers inc. two 

regasification vessels 

• 1,100 researchers and experts at 9 R&D centers 

• 100,000 new hires between 2011 and 2015 of which 50% in 

France and 10,000 in Belgium 

• 1st company in the “utilities” sector worldwide 

(Forbes Global 2000) 

• Most valuable brand in the “utilities” sector worldwide (Brand 

Finance Global 500) 

Energy services 

• No.1 supplier 

of energy and 

environmental 

efficiency services in 

Europe 

• 1,300 sites 

throughout Europe 

• 180 district cooling 

and heating networks 

operated throughout 

the world 

• 48 public-private 

partnerships across 

Europe 

Environmental 

services 

• No.2 supplier of 

environmental 

services in the world 

• 91 million individuals 

supplied with drinking 

water 


provided with waste 

services 


provided with 

sanitation services 

Note: All figures current as of December 31, 2011. 


147

Best Practice 

Development 

Nestlé 

Meeting the Global Water 

Challenge 

By Susan Steinhagen 

As the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé depends on reliable access to clean 

water at every level in order to maintain our ability to meet consumers’ needs. Our long-term 

success depends on effective management of water resources that supply our everyday business 

operations and support the livelihoods of suppliers and consumers. We apply a lifecycle 

approach to assess the impacts of our own operations and those along the wider value chain 

from farmer to consumer, thereby creating shared value to both Nestlé and society. 

Nestlé’s Creating Shared Value approach 

focuses on specific areas of the company’s 

core business activities – namely 

water, nutrition, and rural development 

– where value can best be created both 

for society and shareholders. We believe 

that for our business to be successful in 

the long term, it must create value not 

only for its shareholders but also for 

society. In other words, there should 

be a clear economic or business benefit 

and a clear social benefit. 

The UN Global Compact’s CEO Water 

Mandate has been a building block of 

our 2011 Creating Shared Value Report, 

which focuses primarily on water. The 

report mirrors our efforts in five of the 

This borehole provides a community 

water source in Sérihio, Côte d’Ivoire. It 

is one of the results of a joint project 

between the IFRC, the Red Cross 

Society of Côte d’Ivoire, and Nestlé, 

which has delivered improved water 

and sanitation facilities to more than 

60,000 people since 2007. 

key elements (public policy, collective 

action, direct operations, supply chain, 

and community engagement) of the UN 

Global Compact CEO Water Mandate. The 

sixth element, transparency, is fulfilled 

through the act of reporting. 

Public policy 

For Nestlé, as for all those who are 

impacted by water-related challenges, 

solutions ultimately depend on governments 

and collaboration across sectors. 

We are committed to action-oriented 

dialog with all stakeholders, from farmers 

to policymakers, to help formulate 

strategies aimed at addressing the water 

“overdraft.” 

Last year, we formally recognized 

the Human Right to Water, and we remain 

a committed leader in the public 

policy debate on restoring the balance 

between water withdrawals and the 

availability of naturally renewed water. 

Our contribution to public policy debate 

has been through engagement at the 

World Economic Forum Water Resources 

Group – an influential public-private 

water network that seeks new insights 

into water scarcity and explores the 

opportunities and costs of possible solutions. 

Collective action 

Addressing water challenges requires 

joint efforts and collective action. We 

are working with others to share best 

practices, test new approaches and find 

effective solutions – as a founding signatory 

of the UN Global Compact CEO 

Water Mandate, and as an active member 

of leading national and international 

networks. 

We work to exchange ideas, foster 

new thinking, and develop innovative 

solutions through our involvement in 

the World Economic Forum’s Water 

Resources Group, the UN Global Compact 

CEO Water Mandate, the Stockholm 

International Water Institute, the Water 

Footprint Network, the Alliance for 

Water Stewardship, and the CDP Water 

Disclosure project. 

Direct operations 

In order to maximize operational efficiency, 

we embed sustainable water 

management into our business and implement 

water-saving programs that help 

us reduce water withdrawals, increase 

reuse, make use of alternative water 

sources, and improve the water efficiency 

of our products. Overall, between 2001 

and 2011, we reduced water extraction 

by 28 percent, while our production 

volume rose over the same period by 73 

percent. Good water quality in the areas 

surrounding Nestlé plants has direct 

benefits for our business, society, and 

the environment, so we treat all our 

water in wastewater treatment plants 

and return clean water to the environment. 

Our preference is to use municipal 

wastewater plants to ensure we return 

only cleaned water back into the environment, 

but where these are insufficient, 

we invest in our own on-site facilities. We 

have 292 such installations worldwide. 

Our efforts have been recognized 

and we were awarded the Stockholm 

Industry Water Award last year for our 

leadership, performance, and efforts to 

improve the water management in our 

operations and supply chain. 

Supply chain 

Since 70 percent of fresh water use happens 

in agriculture, we need to make sure 

we are helping the farmers in our supply 

chain manage water more efficiently. To 

improve the water management of our 

suppliers, which includes more than 25 

million people involved in the entire 

value chain, we employ more than 1,000 

agronomists and water experts to provide 

expert training and technical support for 

300,000 farmers as well as to help them 

reduce their water requirements, increase 

crop yields, and minimize pollution. 

We have more than 12 agricultural 

water management projects around the 

world, linked to the Sustainable Agriculture 

Initiative. One such project related 

to coffee growing in China has saved 80 

percent of water used in the production 

and washing process; and another in 

Vietnam is saving 1 billion cubic metres 

of water annually. 

Community engagement 

Working with nongovernmental organizations, 

we help fund, support, and run 

sustainable water management schemes, 

so that people living in the communities 

where we have facilities have access to 

clean drinking water and better understand 

the importance of hygiene and 

sanitation. In many cases, such engagement 

is directed at improving conditions 

of communities on whom we depend for 

raw material supplies. 

Our community engagement in 

water projects extends across several 

projects – from leveraging the water 

filtration plant at our Kabirwala factory 

in Pakistan through our partnership with 

the Swiss Agency for Development and 

Cooperation to deliver clean water to the 

local community, to our CHF 2.25 million 

partnership with the International 

Federation of the Red Cross and Red 

Crescent Societies (IFRC) to bring water 

and sanitation in the cocoa-growing 

villages of Côte d’Ivoire. 

Project WET (Water Education for 

Teachers) is an international NGO that 

uses educational tools to raise awareness 

of water issues among schoolchildren 

around the world. Nestlé Waters, Nestlé’s 

bottled water division, has been its main 

sponsor since 1992, helping to educate 

millions of children in more than 50 

countries. In 2011, we provided disaster 

relief in Japan, Turkey, Thailand, 

and the United States, as well as some 

continued support in Haiti. In total we 

donated more than 3 million bottles of 

water in 2011. Our goal of continuous 

improvement in operational efficiency 

and effective water management has 

benefited both Nestlé as well as the communities 

in which we operate. 

However, increasing supply and 

improving efficiency will only take us so 

far. Meeting the rest of the challenge will 

require that policymakers, civil society, 

agriculture, and industry work together 

to significantly improve the way we value, 

use, and manage this precious resource. 


149

Best Practice 

Development 

Netafim 

FDS: A Small- 

Scale Farming 

Revolution 

Hundreds of millions of smallholders are struggling to 

survive from subsistence farming in developing countries 

across South America, Asia, and Africa. Given the lack of 

water infrastructure throughout these and other areas, there 

is a critical need to make the most of the limited available 

water sources in such regions. In response, OECD countries, 

international donors, and NGOs have been promoting 

technologies such as drip irrigation, which optimizes 

resources, enhances global food security, and promotes 

sustainable productivity. 

As the global pioneer in drip irrigation, 

Netafim introduced Family Drip System TM 

(FDS) in the early 2000s. Suitable for 

small plots (250 - 1,000 m 2 ), FDS is targeted 

to smallholders, who constitute over 

half of the world’s rural poor yet produce 

about 80 percent of the food supplied in 

developing countries, according to FAO 

sources. A unique, gravity-based system 

requiring no electricity or energy source, 

FDS is revolutionizing small-scale family 

farming. Maximizing high-quality yields 

with existing resources, FDS enables 

smallholders to increase productivity 

and achieve self-sufficiency. 

Supporting Global Compact Principles, 

the user-friendly FDS is accompanied by 

capacity-building tools including cropgrowing 

and farm-management planning, 

training, and knowledge-transfer 

services. In addition, FDS is available 

with an optional “training-the-trainer” 

package focusing on drip irrigation, best 

agricultural practices, and capacity building. 

FDS is also an environmentallyfriendly 

solution that prevents water 

runoff, deep percolation, leaching, and 

soil erosion, while significantly lowering 

energy reliance and consumption. 

Much more than just technology transfer, 

FDS represents a paradigm shift by 

helping subsistence farmers build up 

their agribusiness capabilities and become 

commercial farmers. Based on 

its experience, Netafim recognizes that 

training and knowledge transfer are key 

success factors for making a substantive 

change. With thousands of successful 

deployments across the globe, FDS delivers 

benefits to farming families, their 

communities, and the world at large. 

Best Practices 

1. Modern irrigation returns to the land of 

the Incas 

Over 700 years ago, the Incas developed 

an irrigation system by artificially watering 

their plantations via terraced buildings 

in which their food grew. Historians 

studying human evolution cite this 

method as the source for water being 

considered fundamental in agricultural 

management and operation. 

As part of an Ecuadorian government 

assistance program, Netafim installed 

850 FDS units in the country’s Andean 

highlands – the same area where the 

Incas developed their groundbreaking 

irrigation method. The project gives 

indigenous communities in these areas 

the opportunity to grow their own 

basic food more efficiently and safely. 

These communities also have more time 

to engage in other activities, enabling 

them to earn extra income. At the same 

time, mothers can better manage their 

day, and, as a result, invest more quality 

time in educating and bringing up 

their children. 

Netafim is proud to be contributing to 

the social development, health, and welfare 

of communities that are continuing 

the Incas’ tradition. 

2. Partnering in Brazil 

Netafim introduced FDS to small-scale 

Brazilian growers suffering from low 

levels of food productivity and subsistence. 

In partnership with Brazil's 

Ministry of National Integration and 

CODEVASF (Company for the Development 

of the Sao Francisco Valley), a local 

government development company, 

Netafim installed a pilot project in the 

northeastern state of Piaú, a poor region 

with low amounts of rainfall. 

Based on the pilot’s success, the local 

government acquired 75 FDS kits and 

assisted families in implementing the 

system. In less than a year after the project 

was launched, growers successfully 

harvested squash, watermelon, bananas, 

Into Africa 

In addition to carrying out FDS 

projects throughout South 

America and Asia, Netafim is 

deploying the breakthrough 

system across Africa. One 

example is a recently launched 

project in Kitui in Kenya’s semiarid 

Eastern Province. Based 

on a partnership among the 

government, NGOs, and the 

private sector, the project is 

targeting 200 poor, small-scale 

crop growers – primarily women 

and elderly individuals who 

were selected by the local NGO 

Agrosphere. 

The results of the project after its 

first season were quite significant: 

• 140 percent increase in yield 

• 200 percent increase in income 

• increase in crop-growing 

capacity and know-how 

• increase in basic farm 

management know-how 

• 60 percent savings in water (due 

to moving away from bucket 

irrigation) 

To find out more about the Kitui project, 

please go to: www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=cmqyD_TjrEA 

and eggplant. Meanwhile, CODEVASF 

recently purchased over 1,000 kits and 

has begun distributing them to neighboring 

municipalities. 

The project provides growers with food 

security – while not having to depend 

on rain – high food productivity, and 

savings in water and energy, which is a 

very scarce resource in the region. As 

a result of the project, the Irrigators 

Agriculture Association was established, 

enabling participating growers to share 

their know-how and experiences. 

3. An Indian enterprise 

Netafim entered into an agreement with 

Bharti Walmart, a joint venture between 

Bharti Enterprises and Walmart, whereby 

Netafim will provide water conservation 

and sustainable food production training 

to 40,000 farmers throughout India. 

Launched in 2012, the project involves 

installation of Community Irrigation systems 

(FDS version in India) and greenhouse 

systems in model farms and six 

training centers across India as part of the 

Bharti Walmart Direct Farmer Initiative. 

The three-year project aims to drive sustainable 

agriculture, enhance agri-input 

spending efficiency, reduce intermediation 

and waste, and move farmers up 

the value chain, while increasing their 

income by at least 20 percent. 

Best of both worlds 

These and other FDS projects serve two 

main purposes – improving the welfare 

of smallholders and achieving sustainable 

productivity. And the results have 

been successful on both fronts. 

When it comes to enhancing smallholders’ 

welfare, FDS increases productivity, 

improves yields, and positively impacts 

on individual farmers and their region. 

At the same time, FDS empowers women 

– who are often responsible for fetching 

water and farming family plots in poor 

regions worldwide – by teaching them 

advanced farming practices that help 

enhance their lives. 

And when it comes to achieving sustainable 

productivity, FDS is an energyindependent, 

environmentally-friendly 

solution that optimizes available water 

and arable land resources. Addressing 

the point where many of the world’s 

challenges meet – water scarcity and 

aquifer depletion, arable land reduction 

and soil erosion, and energy constraints 

– FDS is successfully promoting Global 

Compact Principles worldwide. 


151

Best Practice 

Development 

Rogers 

Prevention of HIV and AIDS 

among the Youth 

Since 2007, Rogers has been committed to the fight against HIV and AIDS among Mauritian 

15- to 24-year-olds. Through an inclusive method based on evaluative studies and stakeholder 

dialogs, the Group contributed to the country’s progress in this nationally coordinated fight. 

By Audrey d'Hotman de Villiers 

In 2007, following a review of the impact 

of Rogers’ involvement in the community, 

the Group’s management reinforced 

its contribution to the country’s social 

and environmental development. It was 

decided that the Group’s companies 

would allocate 2 percent of their profit 

after tax (PAT) to social projects, wherein 

half of this amount would be devoted 

to a common group focus. 

Rogers defined its target through 

consultations with stakeholders, followed 

by a qualitative study on youth 

and HIV. Considering that the youth 

are the future of Mauritius, Rogers thus 

assigned MUR 20 million (€500,000) 

for the period 2007–2010 to proposed 

projects aimed at informing, educating, 

and communicating (IEC) on HIV and 

AIDS with the targeted youth in schools, 

in the community, through the media, 

and in the families. 

The 2007 statistics were alarming: 2 

percent of the population was estimated 

to be living with HIV and AIDS – thrice 

the amount in Europe. Moreover, onefifth 

of the known HIV-positive population 

in Mauritius was in the 15- to 

24-year-old age group – a troublesome 

indicator for the future. 

Rogers teamed up with experienced 

field specialists in the fight against HIV 

and AIDS through yearly calls for proposals. 

The projects supported by Rogers 

in 2007–2010 aimed at reaching youth 

from all backgrounds and in various settings: 

prevention campaigns in schools, 

peer-to-peer programs, value-based education, 

community education projects, 

and actions targeting parents as well 

as innovative projects. Most of the best 

practice experiences shared by overseas 

partners in the I.E.C. of HIV and AIDS 

were adapted to local context by NGOs 

and youth groups. 

Rogers developed a web of contacts 

with the national partners and the 

Multisectoral Committee on HIV and 

AIDS. Thus, the company was elected 

to represent private sector interests on 

the Country Coordinating Mechanism- 

Mauritius for the Global Fund and was 

invited to form part of the United Nations 

Joint Group Meeting on HIV and AIDS. 

Ongoing monitoring and evaluation 

of projects 

In 2008, halfway through the strategic 

plan, a national study was sponsored at 

the request of the National Aids Secretariat 

to assess the knowledge, attitudes, 

behaviors, and beliefs related to HIV and 

AIDS among Mauritian 15- to 24-year-olds. 

Results: The youth were better informed 

about the virus, yet they still believed 

they were immune: Only 6 percent considered 

themselves at risk of an HIV infection. 

Hence, Rogers changed its projects’ 

criteria to encourage behavior change 

among the target population. 

A qualitative sponsored study about 

communication on HIV and AIDS targeted 

to young people and conducted by 

the Indian Ocean Commission showed 

that communication between youth and 

adults on sexuality and its consequences 

was crucial to behavior change: “If parents 

don’t talk about it, it means it isn’t 

important”; “We would have liked our 

parents to talk to us about it. We believe 

our parents, we listen to them.” Thus, in 

2010, Rogers selected innovative projects 

promoting interactions between youth 

and adults. Additionally, having learned 

from its partners in the HIV/AIDS field, 

the company launched its own initiatives 

and ran national campaigns, encouraging 

parents and other supporting adults to 

talk about sexuality and HIV and AIDS 

with the youth. 

At the three-year mark, Rogers had 

invested MUR 22 million in HIV prevention: 

61 projects had been funded 

and an average of 462,000 persons had 

been reached. An independent evaluative 

study was conducted mid-2010 to 

determine the program’s impact: 

• Knowledge: “The youth are now well 

informed about HIV; they demonstrate 

no misconceptions about the transmission 

of HIV and AIDS.” 

• Attitude: “They are more tolerant toward 

people living with the virus.” 

• Beliefs: “They acknowledge that HIV can 

affect anyone, including themselves.” 

• Behavior: “However, they engage in 

risky behavior by exposing themselves 

to HIV transmission.” 

Rogers’ renewed its involvement for 

the youth of the islands 

As the results were not yet satisfactory, 

Rogers extended its 2010 - 2013 commitment 

for the younger generations, but 

this time it focused on the education and 

training of adults most able to influence 

behavioral changes of the youth. The aim 

is to educate parents, peers, educators, 

doctors, and religious leaders to serve as 

positive role models, thereby encouraging 

safer behavior. Since 2010, innovative 

projects have been set up. 

6,000 Parenting Packs have been 

distributed to the parents employed in 

the Rogers Group and in other major 

Mauritian companies. As most of the 

local schools do not educate students 

on sexuality and HIV and AIDS, this kit 

provides the tools to encourage and guide 

responsible adults on how to talk about 

sexuality with children 6- to 15-year-olds: 

• a DVD “Le Bonheur de la Vie”, a series 

of 20 five-minute cartoons on reproduction 

and sexuality; 

• a leaflet “My child is homosexual” – 

How to handle such a situation; 

• a practical guide on how to answer 

an adolescent’s enquiry about sexuality 

and improve the dialog between 

parents and young Mauritians’ needs 

and expectations; 

• a comprehensive booklet on HIV and 

AIDS in Mauritius; 

• a pocket guide for “Boys and Girls” 

exploring the physical changes, sexual 

development, sexually transmitted infections, 

safer sex, and contraceptive 

methods. 

Seventeen local representations 

of the La Cage aux Folles theater play 

were financed so as to stimulate dialog 

around sexual differences in Mauritius. 

Homosexuality is still taboo, and this 

worldwide, well-known theater play 

helped lighten up the issue and convey 

positive messages. 

Stakeholders were supported in 

projects pertaining to the: 

• capacity-building of NGOs: conferences 

and specific trainings; 

• advocacy and networking at the local, 

regional, and international levels to 

contribute to the fight against HIV and 

AIDS: partnerships with local authorities, 

other companies, and NGOs; 

• prevention education about HIV and 

AIDS in the workplace – through interactive 

theatre plays (theater of the 

oppressed), informative sessions on 

HIV and AIDS and homosexuality, and 

through peer education; 

• training of medical and paramedical 

staff on HIV and AIDS through a peer 

educator’s project among nurses and 

paramedical staff of public hospitals; 


AIDS in community centres; 


AIDS for students and out of school 

youth. 

Establishing a 

Health Business 

Coalition in 

Mauritius 

Rogers initiated the establishment 

of a Health Business Coalition to 

federate companies in the fight 

against major health issues in 

Mauritius, such as HIV and AIDS, 

diabetes, drug addiction, and those 

suffering from physical handicaps. 

The coalition first met in December 

2010 and by now more than 

20 companies have joined the 

network. Subcommittees meet 

regularly on the issues of diabetes, 

drug addiction, and issues 

concerning those with handicaps. 

They are currently working on 

encouraging dialog between 

the government and the NGOs 

in the respective fields and 

at providing support for the 

establishment of national 

policies and multi-sectoral 

cooperation. 


153

Best Practice 

Development 


Slum Upgrading in 

São Paulo 

management; engineering supervision; 

and design review services. The team 

now consists of more than 95 employees, 

including inter alia engineers, architects, 

technicians, and topographers. All tasks 

are performed in cooperation with the 

São Paulo Municipal Housing Secretariat, 

which provides the social support to the 

slum dwellers. 

securing the adherence to the law. São 

Paulo’s secretary for housing anticipates 

a total investment of about $35 billion 

in the program (including federal and 

Our Mission Statement 

state government resources) by 2024 – 

and TÜV Rheinland intends to maintain 

its support right up until the end of the 

program. 

By Jorge Luiz Babadopulos, Amilton Degani and Katharina Riese 

With a population of about 20 million people, São Paulo is the fifth largest urban 

agglomeration in the world. The rapid rural-to-urban migration following the 

industrialization that took place during the mid-20th century has led to an immense urban 

population increase. Today, 75 percent of the Latin American population live in urban areas. 

The city’s infrastructure cannot satisfy the needs of that rapidly growing population. 

As a result, the number of so-called slums 

has increased – these are low-income 

settlements of a city characterized by 

substandard housing, inadequate access 

to infrastructure, and insecure tenure. As 

this trend is expected to continue, the city 

of São Paulo has had to find long-term 

solutions for the massive population influx. 

One solution was the launch in the 

1990s of the “Slum Upgrading Program,” a 

large-scale urbanization project. For more 

than 20 years, DUCTOR Implantação de 

Projetos Ltda. – a Brazilian subsidiary 

of TÜV Rheinland – has been actively 

involved in this project in Latin America. 

Slums or informal settlements are the 

consequence of a multidimensional 

combination of rapid rural-to-urban 

migration, increasing urban poverty 

and low income, inadequate housing 

supply, and insecure tenure. Inhabitants 

of these settlements face multiple disadvantages: 

inadequate public services, 

limited access to healthcare and education, 

insufficient public safety services, 

and weak participation in socio-political 

decision-making processes. Insufficient 

hygienic conditions caused by precarious 

garbage removal and poor sanitation lead 

to a high mortality rate and contagious 

diseases among children. Furthermore, 

life in informal settlements is affected 

by a high incidence of crime, especially 

as related to drugs. 

The consequences of growing slum areas 

not only concern the slums themselves, 

but also the entire periphery. Brazilian 

society and its politicians are highly 

committed to finding solutions to this 

problem. As one of São Paulo’s biggest 

urbanization programs, the Slum Upgrading 

Program is intended to improve 

the environmental habitability of slums 

and ensure the respect of the human and 

civil rights of its dwellers. Due to the fact 

that the multidimensional problems 

mentioned above can only be addressed 

successfully when government and the 

private sector pool their individual 

strengths, the municipality has been 

working closely with private companies. 

Since the start of the program, TÜV 

Rheinland has been a close business 

partner of the governmental initiative. 

TÜV Rheinland provides general project 

management; cost and quality control; 

occupational safety and environmental 

Fact sheet 

Millennium Development Goal 7 

on Sustainable Development, 

Target 11: 

“To make a significant improvement 

in the lives of at least 100 

million slum dwellers by the year 

2020” 

• São Paulo Metropolitan Region: 

19.96 million inhabitants 

• City of São Paulo: 11 million 

inhabitants with about 3.2 

percent of the people living in 

precarious settlements 

• Total program capital 

expenditure: $35 billion 

• TÜV Rheinland: program partner 

since 1990s 

• As of 2012: urbanization of more 

than 50 slums 

Sources: 

The Cities Alliance; São Paulo Municipal 

Housing Secretariat 

But the success of the Slum Upgrading 

Program not only depends on good 

project management, but also on the 

extent to which the slum inhabitants are 

involved in this urbanization enhancement 

process. To ensure permanent 

benefits and sustainable improvement 

of the living standards in the settlements, 

the program contains – aside from technical 

aspects – community engagement 

aspects and adequate information for 

the slum inhabitants about the changes 

in their neighborhoods and their lives. 

Training and information sessions, also 

supported by TÜV Rheinland teams, 

help residents to become familiar with 

the new facilities in their houses and 

neighboorhoods to ensure the permanent 

benefit of those measures. 

New houses and water supply as well as 

wastewater and recycling management 

not only improve the quality of living, 

but also the environmental conditions 

of the areas. Until now TÜV Rheinland 

has been involved in the urbanization 

of more than 50 slums and underdeveloped 

poor settlements in the south and 

southeast areas of São Paulo. The initial 

achievements can be seen, as urbanized 

slums have access to proper power and 

water supplies, sewage hook-ups, and 

paved roads. In addition, parks, public 

spaces, and social and cultural establishments 

have been created to give 

opportunities to the residents for their 

recreational and educational activities. 

These achievements improve the living 

conditions of former slum inhabitants, 

enabling them to take part in society and 

exercise their citizenship. Furthermore, 

the newly established infrastructures allow 

for addressing legal violations and 

The TÜV Rheinland Group is a leading international service provider. Since 

1872, we have been developing solutions for safe and sustainable progress, 

thus addressing the tension that exists between man, technology and nature. 

Independent, neutral and competent, we are committed to helping create a 

future that meets human and environmental needs on a sustainable basis. In 

today’s changing markets, we adopt a customer and success-oriented approach 

and continuously increase our attractiveness to customers, partners 

and employees. 


155

Best Practice 


Carrefour 

Promoting sustainability 

among our suppliers 

In accordance with its sustainable development approach and its commitment to the Global 

Compact Principles regarding environment, Carrefour has created a self-assessment tool to 

support its suppliers implementing sustainable development practices. Adapted to small 

and medium-sized enterprises, this tool covers all the areas of a company activity, covering 

environmental and social issues. 

ers’ sites to validate the results declared 

identify best practices, advise companies, 

and suggest improvements.Following 

the very positive feedback in France, 

Carrefour decided to deploy the tool to 

all Carrefour brand suppliers worldwide 

in 2010 and 2011: About 6,300 suppliers 

of own-brand products now have access 

to Carrefour’s sustainable development 

self-assessment tool. It is now available 

in 15 languages. 

In order to continue helping and supporting 

its suppliers in applying them, 

the self-assessment tool will continue 

to evolve. At the start of 2012, Carrefour 

adapted the tool’s structure and 

pedagogy to the ISO 26000 Norm so as 

to provide its suppliers with an easy 

questionnaire to apply and understand 

this international norm. 

Rewarding suppliers’ efforts: The 

Sustainable Development Awards 

For the first time, Carrefour’s most 

committed suppliers received awards 

in 2009 for their sustainable development 

approaches and actions. The prizewinners 

of the Carrefour Sustainable 

Development Award are chosen on the 

basis of marks achieved through the 

self-assessment tool. 

Results are validated through consultant 

visits and judged by a panel 

comprising Carrefour’s experts and 

representatives from external organizations 

(WWF, ADEME, and LSA, a 

French retail magazine). For the third 

edition in 2011, four suppliers were 

given awards in the following categories: 

Market Products, Consumer 

Goods, Non-Food Products, and the 

“Progress” Award. These awards aim to 

encourage and promote the approaches 

of these suppliers. 

This event received the patronage of 

the French Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable 

Development, Transport and 

Housing (Ministère de l'Écologie, du 

Développement durable, des Transports 

et du Logement). 

By Sevda Latapie-Bayro 

Facts 

First launched in 2006 among 78 French 

suppliers, the sustainability self-assessment 

tool was extended in 2009 to all 

suppliers of Carrefour’s own brand food 

products in France. This global tool enables 

the suppliers to self-assess their 

performance in the following four areas 

through 49 criteria: 

• company management and policy 

• environmental responsibility 

• social responsibility 

• economic performance 

This tool also includes: 

• an online assessment questionnaire 

• 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 sustainability self-assessment tool 

has been designed with the support of the 

French Environment and Energy Agency 

(ADEME – Agence de l’Environnement 

et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie) and the 

WWF France (Carrefour Partner since 

1998). It has then three objectives: 

• raising awareness of Carrefour’s suppliers 

on sustainability; 

• enhancing sustainable relationships 

between Carrefour and its suppliers; 

• enabling suppliers to know the different 

actions they can take to be more 

sustainable and innovative with the 

Carrefour support. 

In 2010, a module was added to the 

tool to help all food product suppliers 

of French stores familiarize with the 

basics of the Bilan Carbone® methodology 

(carbon assessment) using a series 

of questions and indicators. 

Monitoring and assessment is the first 

step toward progress. As an example, in 

France, suppliers performance increased 

by 10 % between 2007 to 2010. The environmental 

criteria especially have shown 

an increase of 13 % in average.In order 

to support its suppliers, Carrefour also 

conducts advisory site visits on suppli- 

Dossier de presse 

Carrefour Group is the largest 

retailer in Europe – and the 

second largest worldwide – with 

more than 9,771 stores under 

its banner in 33 countries. It has 

more than 412,000 employees, 

including 112,440 in France. For 

more than 40 years, Carrefour 

has been a partner in the lives of 

more than 20 million customers 

in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

The Group combines different 

store formats – hypermarkets, 

supermarkets, convenience stores, 

and cash & carry outlets – and 

is constantly adapting to its 

customers’ consumption patterns 

while offering the lowest prices 

for a large range of products 

and services. With more than 3 

billion cash transactions per year, 

the Group displays its economic, 

social, and environmental 

responsibilities through its 

activities and is committed to the 

quality of its products and the 

security of its customers. 


157

Best Practice 


the TMS Group 

Managing CSR Within the 

Supply Network 

By Jeffrey Revels 

The TMS Group continues to expand and enhance both its inherent responsibility in 

corporate social responsibility and that of all our external supply chain partners. This is a 

daunting task for an organization that continues to establish itself as one of the premier 

sourcing organizations for apparel and fashion accessories in Asia. This includes a company 

structure of operations and sales offices in the United States, Hong Kong, China, India, 

Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The TMS Group’s extended supply network supports and 

services a global customer base, marketing products on five continents and in more than 45 

countries – in virtually every corner of the globe. 

In our 2009 contribution to the Global 

Compact International Yearbook, we 

introduced the core philosophy and 

cornerstone of our CSR program. This 

included the establishment of verifiable 

and transparent standards. These 

standards are embodied in our adoption 

of the Business Social Compliance Initiative 

(BSCI) and the inclusion of the UN 

Global Compact’s Ten Principles into 

our company culture and our business 

standards, which are endorsed by all of 

our suppliers. 

As we strive for continuous improvement 

of our CSR processes, we have implemented 

a more structured approach 

and framework. This strategy enhances 

our overall ability to collaborate with and 

manage our supply chain partners’ CSR 

efforts. Simultaneously, we are able to 

leverage upon emerging opportunities for 

sustainability and enhancement of CSR 

initiatives throughout the entire supply 

chain. The end result is a more robust 

program that not only protects but also 

advances workers rights, upholds local 

laws, and respects human dignity to the 

fullest extent. 

This requirement moved the TMS Group 

into the next phase for continuous improvement, 

which included managing the 

social compliance aspects of our sourcing 

strategy and supply chain partners via 

concrete business tools and best practices. 

Moreover, we selected mechanisms that 

allow for a closed-loop approach for the 

continuous improvement of suppliers as 

well as our internal efforts for all CSR. As 

such, we adopted a key process improvement 

methodology, which is well-known 

to our suppliers from their production 

environments. This specifically focused on 

the introduction of the PDCA – Plan-Do- 

Check and Act cycle process. This four-step 

management method is used in a myriad 

of industries (both automated production 

and labor-intensive arenas) for the control 

and continuous improvement of processes 

and products. PDCA is easily adaptable to 

the operational management of CSR at 

both the macro and micro levels of the 

organization. Furthermore, the process is 

directly attributable to the TMS Group’s 

efforts in achieving and sustaining supplier 

qualifications for social compliance 

at levels above 90 percent. 

PDCA cycle highlights 

This overview of the TMS Group’s adaptation 

and practical application of 

the PDCA cycle is summarized with the 

following points: 

PLAN: Review and restructure 

business processes and social 

compliance policies in order to 

improve and sustain supplier CSR 

performance 

In the case of the TMS Group, this translates 

into a comprehensive review of 

policies and procedures with respect to 

social responsibility components. This 

further includes a review of our supplier 

selection and retention policies. 

This takes into consideration that our 

sourcing and supply chain operations are 

conducted throughout Asia, and extend 

to authorized second-tier contractors. 

Hence, this “Plan” phase of CSR extends 

beyond qualifications and eligibility 

requirements – it reviews the complete 

process areas that are promulgated 

within the following TMS publications: 

1. Corporate Business Standards, 

2. Code of Conduct, and 

3. TMS Group Social Compliance System. 

DO: Implement the plan with clear 

and measurable performance 

Continuous education and training is 

the objective of the “DO” phase. On 

a quarterly basis, our regional social 

compliance entities partner with select 

international third-party agencies for 

training and proliferation of CSR best 

practices for all members of our supplier 

network. This education and training 

reviews local and global issues, notwithstanding 

BSCI and other parallel agency 

overviews. Exchanges of ideas and best 

practices with our supply chain partners 

also highlight the training seminars via 

smaller roundtable forum discussions. 

Furthermore, internal within the TMS 

organization, informal and formal CSR 

sessions are organized for the education 

of our staff with direct contact to our suppliers. 

In addition, this includes advanced 

training and certifications for our social 

compliance officers, who administer and 

Plan for changes to 

bring about improvement 

Review processes and procedures: 

• Flowchart analysis 

• Group brainstorming sessions 

• Cause and effect mapping 

ACT to get the greatest 

benefit from changes 

Implementing changes: 

• Proliferation of best practices 

• Process standardization 

• Continuous review of data 

P 

Plan 

A 

Act 

manage our regional CSR efforts. 

All key players within the supply 

chain are included in the PDCA process. 

The result of this inclusion and 

overall practices directly contribute to 

enhancing the skills and knowledge of 

our supply chain partners with respect to 

CSR. Furthermore, within our individual 

suppliers, company and individual process 

ownership is stressed as the critical 

requirement to achieve sustainable improvements 

in social compliance. 

CHECK: Complete assessments and 

analysis of data 

There are several key components of 

the “CHECK” phase of the PDCA cycle. 

Empirical and measureable feedback is 

obtained via the following mechanisms: 

1. Scheduled and unannounced supplier 

audits and feedback 

2. Comprehensive semi-annual audit 

questionnaire processes 

3. Supplier readiness as measured by 

achievement and maintaining certifications 

DO changes in controlled 

and measurable methods 

Education and training: 

• Local and international review of BSCI 

• Informal roundtable discussions 

• Formal sharing of best practices 

D 

Do 

C 

Check 

CHECK to determine if changes 

are working 

Fusion of all source data: 

• Data checksheets 

• Graphical analysis 

• Key performance indicators 

This critical phase of the PDCA cycle 

provides the feedback data. In the 

early phases of our CSR program development, 

our processes allowed full 

feedback from suppliers only during 

intermittent phases. Full questionnaires 

were administered only at the time 

of new supplier inceptions, or upon 

renewal of BSCI or other internationally 

recognized certifications. However, 

through revised practices and PDCA 

management, this is now administered 

on a semi-annual basis and provides 

valuable feedback on both the supplier’s 

status regarding CSR, and the 

effectiveness of our mentoring and 

business processes. 

ACT: Implement changes required 

to improve the process 

The ACT phase of the cycle involves external 

and internal stakeholders. Throughout 

this portion of the cycle, where data 

clearly identifies successful initiatives, 

there are three key elements that must 

be satisfied for the success of “ACT”: 

1. Ensure all new processes are standardized 

2. Communicate changes to all stakeholders 

3. Training and awareness for all new 

methods and processes 

The PDCA cycle has afforded the TMS 

Group the opportunity to explore a range 

of potential new solutions to emerging 

CSR issues and improve upon them in 

a controlled manner before implementation 

across the enterprise. The end 

results avoid large-scale wastage of both 

resources and funds that are associated 

with implementation of inadequate 

solutions. 

The PDCA cycle, when applied 

to CSR management, goes far beyond 

rudimentary monitoring processes of 

suppliers and the extended sub-supplier 

networks. The PDCA cycle can be leveraged 

upon to build and strengthen the 

overall capacity and adherence to corporate 

social responsibilities and globally 

accredited standards. 


159

Best Practice 


Yüksel 

RiseAbility 

Yüksel has been one of the major contractor companies in the region around Turkey for 

almost 50 years. As a group of companies, Yüksel is also a pioneer in terms of its efforts 

toward sustainability. Following in the spirit of RiseAbility –Yüksel’s concept of 

sustainability – Yüksel was the first company in the region to publish a GRI-based 

sustainability report in its sector. Yüksel also became the first company in its sector to 

publish an ethical code of conduct and to measure its carbon footprint. What reshaped 

Yüksel’s CSR vision and changed it from a quality-oriented philanthropic company to an 

exemplary corporate citizen about sustainability was Yüksel’s participation in the UN Global 

Compact in 2006. 

By Berkay Orhaner 

Becoming a participant of the Global 

Compact in 2006 became a milestone 

for Yüksel, reshaping its corporate policy 

toward responsibility. Henceforth, 

Yüksel has gradually become more aware 

of its stakeholders and the factors that 

are affecting its corporate sustainability. 

Besides being a leading contracting 

company in the region for almost 50 

years, Yüksel also recognizes its corporate 

citizenship. 

One of the first attempts was improving 

responsibility reporting. Communication 

on Progress reports have helped 

Yüksel to monitor its performance, not 

only for economic performance and 

social responsibility projects, but also 

regarding its resource consumption, efficiency 

in supporting society, and setting 

new sustainability targets. In this regard, 

Yüksel recently published its sustainability 

report in compliance with the 

Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. 

The report’s comprehensiveness has set 

a good example for the construction 

sector in the region. 

For the construction companies that 

have business operations in more than 

one country, communication between 

the center and various worksites is sometimes 

a problem, making central corporate 

policies difficult to implement on 

worksites. Yüksel is trying to overcome 

this potential lack of communication 

with its Ethics Hotline service. The 

Yüksel Directorate of Ethics is open 24/7 

to all stakeholders for all complaints and 

notifications. The Directorate of Ethics 

has also published a “Yüksel Business 

Ethics Program” booklet to inform all 

stakeholders about corporate codes of 

conduct. 

Construction is one of the foremost sectors 

that gives shape to nature. Furthermore, 

it is also one of the most resourceconsuming 

sectors. Therefore, respect for 

the environment should be more than a 

buzzword for construction companies. 

With this in mind, Yüksel became the 

first construction company to measure 

its carbon footprint in Turkey. As a result 

of this process, Yüksel’s carbon emissions 

have decreased approximately 70 percent 

at its headquarters. 

Permanence is a key principle for Yüksel 

to help it sustain social responsibility. 

For 17 years, Yüksel has been supporting 

one of the biggest Europe-wide sports 

events in its category: the Yılmaz Sazak 

International Age Groups Athletics Meetings. 

This event has become the major 

international platform for talented 

young athletes to gain more professional 

experience. Another source of 

major support for Yüksel has been from 

Alaca Höyük Archaeological Excavation 

Works. With their help, various valuable 

historical artifacts from the Hittite 

civilization have been brought to light 

– for example, the oldest dam in Anatolia, 

which was created by Hittites in 

1240 BC, is being used once more. This 

achievement is unique and the first of 

its kind in the world. 

At Yüksel, we endeavor to perform our 

responsibilities while also taking into 

consideration the economy, society, and 

the environment. With importance 

given to the “triple bottom line” approach, 

we named our sustainability 

approach “RiseAbility.” In order to enhance 

our impact on our profitability, 

society as a whole, and the environment, 

we are emphasizing the importance 

of sustainability in both internal and 

external corporate relations. We are 

organizing opportunities to exchange 

ideas with all our employees about our 

RiseAbility vision. Moreover, at Yüksel 

we are very pleased to be recognized as a 

model company for sustainability by our 

stakeholders. We believe that enhancing 

environmental, social, and governance 

measurements is an endless chain. With 

this belief, our concept of RiseAbility 

emphasizes our vision about not only 

fulfilling responsibility standards, but 

also raising them. 

Currently, Turkish construction companies 

have been considered as some of 

the most active international contractors. 

However, the region in which Turkish 

contractors and Yüksel are working presents 

great economic and political risks. 

Recent upheavals and reform movements 

in the MENA region directly affect 

ongoing business processes negatively. 

These recent experiences have shown 

that companies with sustainable visions 

are better able to handle a crisis 

than others. 

Construction companies like Yüksel not 

only create buildings but also directly 

shape the infrastructure of countries. We 

believe the vision of sustainability gains 

more significance in ensuring long-term 

efficiency because infrastructure directly 

affects the quality of community life. 

Therefore, as a corporate citizen, Yüksel 

aims to support the rise (Yüksel means 

“to rise” in Turkish) of sustainable wellbeing, 

because Yüksel believes abilities 

arise from responsibilities. 

“Transparency initially brings 

out the situations that need to 

be developed. Then it provides 

the realization of the necessary 

improvements and measures 

to be taken. Once this process 

is adopted, ‘enhancing activities’ 

would be substituted with ‘preventive 

actions.’ Thus, sustainability 

will be achieved.” 

Emin Sazak, CEO Yüksel 


161

Best Practice 



Education, Community, and 

Social Equality 

By Perihan Abdel Ghaly 

Arab African International Bank believes in investment in youth for a better future and 

realizes that its influence as a leading private institution has grown in parallel with its 

competitiveness. Arab African International Bank was the first bank in Egypt and the region 

to launch an education program for undergraduates in various universities across the 

country and offers awards for creative ideas. 

Ever since Arab African International 

Bank (AAIB) decided that CSR should go 

beyond traditional corporate practices 

and philanthropy, the result was a novel 

program with multidimensional impact 

and the “first of its kind globally”: the 

AAIB Award for undergraduates. It was 

launched in 2003 with one university 

and was supported by seven universities 

by 2011. 

It all started with a belief in Egyptian 

youth and their capabilities to excel if 

given the opportunity. The competition 

encourages undergraduate students to 

present innovative banking products 

and services. In 2003, AAIB launched 

the award when the gap between academic 

and professional life was clearly 

recognized. 

The competition starts with universities 

participating with various teams and 

ends with three winning teams representing 

three different universities. Each 

winning team is awarded a prize for presenting 

an innovative banking product. 

AAIB goes beyond on-the-job 

training – It starts earlier 

AAIB has a mission to prepare future 

potentials to join the financial sector 

through the AAIB Award. The competition 

entails a training program that 

introduces students to the banking sector 

and attempts to close the gap between 

academic life and professional life. 

What is special about the AAIB Award? 

It is a cross-sectoral cooperation between 

financial and academic institutions. 

AAIB is not a typical institution with 

a prize-giving approach. It is AAIB’s 

operational involvement that adds com- 

prehensive value. Students benefit from 

hands-on training provided by AAIB 

employees who volunteer their time 

and efforts to help contribute to the 

program’s success. 

The AAIB Award helps to create a positive 

attitude and atmosphere that comes 

from learning to work as part of a team, 

managing success and disappointment, 

gaining knowledge about responsibility, 

and learning time management by 

balancing training and other activities. 

Moreover, students get a feel for finance 

and training in banking, which offers 

them an introductory overview of how 

business works in practice. The students 

also need to learn to think outside the 

box and how to be innovative – this 

is what differentiates them from other 

competitors and allows them to win the 

AAIB Award. 

Assessment committee and judging 

panel – Employees’ engagement 

Volunteerism has become an element 

of AAIB’s corporate culture. Since AAIB 

launched the award in 2003, employees 

have offered to volunteer more time, 

effort, and knowledge to benefit the 

communities. The competition is of 

mutual benefit to both students and 

volunteers. It delineates the value of 

volunteerism into AAIB’s core values and 

gives students knowledge. Volunteers 

from AAIB build both “assessment committees” 

and “judging panels” to select 

the winners, while the vice chairman 

awards prizes. 

Genuine informal education – Think 

outside the box 

Competition fosters enthusiasm. The 

AAIB Award acts as a catalyst for participants 

in the program to pioneer banking 

products. They learn about money and 

banking, how to network with professionals 

from AAIB and other private 

sector institutions, as well as how to 

network with academics from various 

universities, and finally how to make 

lifetime friends. Students receive insights 

Rewarding Academic Excellence in 

Banking Products and Services 

The AAIB believes that youth are 

the “backbone” of any country’s 

development, the fertile ground 

for creativity and innovation, and 

the catalyst for change. 

into banking and business operations, 

which is a benefit for students who wish 

to join a bank someday. 

The right to equal opportunity – 

Empower and be empowered by the 

disabled 

The Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights Article 27 acknowledges the right 

of the disabled to have decent jobs and 

equal opportunities that non-disabled 

people have. Nevertheless, according 

to the United Nations, in developing 

countries 80 to 90 percent of persons 

with disabilities of working age are unemployed. 

This is how an individual with a “special 

need” is perceived – he might have the 

ability, but he is not in the workforce. In 

2011, AAIB CSR moved a step forward 

to integrate a marginalized sector that 

represents 12 percent of the Egyptian 

population into the community. The CSR 

Unit launched a pilot project that started 

with one candidate in a wheelchair who 

had speaking and hearing difficulties 

and who joined the bank for a six-week 

internship. 

AAIB customized anti-corruption 

guidelines 

AAIB has been a participant of the UN 

Global Compact since 2004 and is committed 

to fighting money laundering. 

In 2011 the CSR Unit presented anticorruption 

guidelines for financial institutions. 

The guidelines are for AAIB 

business operations and practices with 

all stakeholders. The Arab Spring helped 

illustrate the necessity to fight corruption 

and demand transparency across 

the state. 

The private sector represents more than 

half of the financial flows of the Egyptian 

economy. The initiative has fostered the 

cooperation of various departments to 

integrate the anti-corruption policies and 

procedures across all the bank’s operations. 

The CSR Unit, with the Compliance 

department, is responsible for presenting 

the new strategy to AAIB employees. 

Facts 

• Launched in: 2003 

• The first of its kind, globally 

• Started with one university 

in 2003 and reached eleven 

universities in 2011 

• Twenty volunteering staff 

• 1200 participating students to 

date 

• A hub for banking & finance 

education 


163

Best Practice 


Bradesco 

Bradesco and Accessibility 

for the Population 

Bradesco's Branch 

Language (Libras). Employees are identified 

with a badge that has the universal 

symbol for Libras. 

• On the internet, Bradesco offers content 

on Libras in the “Open an Account” option, 

facilitating the account-opening 

process. 

In its operations as one of the largest private Brazilian banks, Bradesco makes financial 

inclusion one of its main business priorities and considers this an important factor in its 

corporation positioning. 

By Eduardo Dantas 

Bradesco is present in all Brazilian municipalities. 

This coverage allows the 

bank to welcome all segments of the 

population with its “open door” policy 

and absorb demand generated by the social 

mobility experienced in Brazil from 

the country’s recent economic activity. 

Bradesco’s customers can take advantage 

of an extensive service network, 

with 7,586 service points as of December 

2011. These include: 4,634 branches, 

1,347 Banking Service Points, and 1,605 

Advanced Service Points. Bradesco also 

provides its customers with 1,477 Electronic 

Service Points, 34,839 Bradesco 

Expresso Service Points, 34,516 ATMs in 

the Bradesco Dia & Noite network, and 

12,455 machines in the Banco24Horas 

shared network. 

The organization’s financial inclusion initiatives 

are based on the following operational 

fronts: 

• presence throughout all of Brazil 

• accessible and inclusive products and 

services 

• supporting access for disabled customers 

• financial education (so that everyone 

is able to use banking products and 

services correctly) 

• insertion in underprivileged communities 

According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, 

conducted by the Brazilian Institute of 

Geography and Statistics, Brazil is the 

fifth most populous country in the world, 

with more than 190 million inhabitants, 

of which 15 percent have some type of 

disability – totaling almost 30 million 

people. 

Each year, Bradesco seeks to improve access 

for disabled customers at its service 

points as well as improve access to all of 

its products and services. Bradesco has 

been providing accessibility for customers 

and the public in general since 1998, 

with the launch of Bradesco Internet 

Banking for the Visually Impaired and 

the Virtual Vision software. Since then, 

other initiatives have been implemented 

and these actions have been intensified 

since 2007. 

At the end of 2011, 86 percent of the 

bank’s branches and 98 percent of its 

Banking Service Points were accessible 

to people with disabilities and equipped 

with at least one device for wheelchair 

users or the visually impaired. 

Incentives focused on accessibility 

Bradesco has a number of initiatives 

aimed at its customers with disabilities. 

Furthermore, the bank offers online 

courses through Fundação Bradesco and 

actively participates in events such as the 

International Rehabilitation, Inclusion 

and Accessibility Fair as well as the International 

Banking Automation Congress. 

Bradesco’s offerings include 

initiatives for the following groups: 

Visually impaired clients 

• Free Virtual Vision software allows the 

visually impaired to operate a computer 

and access Bradesco Internet Banking 

in order to consult and perform bank 

transactions using a voice synthesizer. 

• Debit and credit cards have been 

modified for use by visually impaired 

customers. Interested customers may 

request Braille cards. 

• Using embossed debit cards at ATMs 

makes it is easy to view balances, statements, 

withdraw money, and make 

transfers. The clients connect their 

personal earphones to the equipment 

and receive voice instructions. 

• A Braille or large-font printing key is 

provided to aid customers in filling 

out their checks, thereby allowing for 

greater independence in the management 

of financial questions. 

• Braille statements are provided for blind 

customers and large-font statements 

for the visually impaired. These statements 

are issued monthly, if requested 

by customers. 

• A card holder with items in Braille 

– large font and embossed – is provided 

to meet the needs of all visually 

impaired customers. This product consists 

of three flaps, with the external 

card data printed in Braille or large 

lettering, and a Welcome Kit, with a 

Benefit Guide and a Quick Guide with 

instructions for the card holder – both 

of which are also printed in Braille and 

large lettering. 

• Bradesco Cellular – In 2011, the bank 

launched an application that allows 

blind customers to conduct bank transactions 

using their mobile phones, without 

the aid of others. 

• A specific electronic security key that 

generates verbal number codes was 

developed to provide customers with 

greater security in accessing their accounts. 

• Courses at Fundação Bradesco – which, 

in addition to training the visually 

impaired to use a personal computer, 

including the Virtual Vision software – 

provide greater opportunities for social 

and professional integration. These 

courses are held at 32 school units and 

37 partner entities located throughout 

Brazil. 

Motor impaired clients 

• Bradesco Visual Mouse allows clients 

with arm motor impairment to control 

the mouse cursor on the computer 

screen using head movements, and 

therefore perform bank transactions 

at Bradesco Internet Banking. 

• Most Bradesco branches have undergone 

architectural and functional 

modifications to guarantee access to 

physically disabled customers, such 

as: designated parking spots, access 

ramps, entrance ramps, signs, elevators, 

modification of internal and external 

stairs as well as of ATM and self-service 

equipment. 

• The ATM network has been modified 

with a visor, a lateral key, and a numerical 

keyboard, adjusted for customers in 

wheelchairs. 

Hearing and speech impaired clients 

• Using specific devices and their own 

number to reach Fone Fácil Bradesco, 

customers and potential customers with 

hearing and speech impairments can 

obtain information on products and 

services offered by the bank, in addition 

to executing financial transactions – 

24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

• Most of the bank’s branches and Banking 

Service Points have employees that 

have been trained in Brazilian Sign 

Recognition by society 

Bradesco’s position has led to a number of 

recognitions, including: 

• Winner of the ECO 2007 Award in the 

Consumers and Customers category, 

with a case about the Virtual Vision 

software for the visually impaired. 

The ECO Award is organized by the 

American Chamber of Commerce in 

the United States. 

• Given the Paulista Diversity Seal (Adherence 

and Full category) in 2009, 

2010, and 2011 for actions promoting 

accessibility. The Seal is granted by the 

Secretariat of Employment and Labor 

Relations of the State Government of 

São Paulo. 

• Bradesco Seguros is among the companies 

that won the 2nd IPC Award of 

Social Responsibility, which recognizes 

the companies with the best management 

for the inclusion of disabled people 

in the labor market and society. The 

award is organized by the Citizenship 

Institution for the Development and 

Qualification of People with Special 

Needs (Instituto Pró-Cidadania de 

Desenvolvimento e Capacitação para 

Pessoas Especiais), a not-for-profit and 

nongovernmental organization. 

Visual Mouse 


165

Best Practice 



Green Delta Reaches the 

26th Year of Its Journey 

in the Insurance Sector 

By Syed Tousif Haque 

In January 2012, Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. (GDIC) celebrated its 26th anniversary 

after being incorporated on December 14, 1985, as a public limited company. The actual 

operation of the company began on January 1, 1986. At that time, the company only had 

capital of Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) 30 million. Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. now 

holds about BDT 510.3 million. 

GDIC has the proud distinction of being 

the first company in Bangladesh to raise 

its capital base to such a level. Focusing 

on risk management with minimum 

costs and personalized and prompt services, 

the company is always ready to 

fulfill the needs of all its clients. With 

high profitability and highly balanced 

quantitative growth, GDIC has attained 

an excellent market reputation and the 

confidence of its valued clients. For more 

than two and a half decades, the company 

has held a leading position in terms 

of premium collections. Green Delta 

issued its IPO on December 31, 1989, 

and listed its name on the Dhaka and 

Chittagong Stock Exchanges in 1990 and 

1995, respectively. The company has 

been awarded ratings of “AA1” for the 

long term and “ST1” for the short term 

by Credit Rating Agency Bangladesh for 

the last three years. This certainly highlights 

and acknowledges the company’s 

financial dominance and has cemented 

its positioning within the industry, along 

with its 38 branches strategically located 

across the country. Nasir A. Choudhury, 

Managing Director of GDIC, has played 

an important role in the growth of the 

company, thanks to his 54 years of experience 

in the insurance sector. 

With its strong financial reputation, 

GDIC has also invested a substantial 

amount of funds as a co-sponsor to: 

Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation 

Ltd., the country’s leading housing 

finance organization; United Hospital 

Ltd.; Progressive Life Insurance Company 

Ltd.; BD Venture Ltd., a venture capital 

company; SwissPro (BD) Asset Management 

Company; and FinExcel Ltd., an 

advisory services firm. It has also started 

a subsidiary company, Green Delta LR 

Holdings Ltd., which includes Green 

Delta Securities Ltd. – both of which 

are traded on the Dhaka and Chittagong 

Stock Exchanges. 

Green Delta Insurance Company 

Ltd. also has a Merchant Banker License 

from the Securities and Exchange Commission 

and started operations under 

the name of Green Delta LR Financial 

Services Ltd. and is engaged in fullfledged 

merchant banking. The entity 

has already generated a positive bottom 

line in its first year of operation. In 

the coming days, the merchant bank is 

expected to generate more revenue and 

uphold the image of GDIC, both locally 

and globally. GDIC has also made an 

investment in Green Delta Aims Tower 

– a joint-venture, 17-story landmark 

building in Mohakhali, Dhaka, that 

was constructed entirely with its own 

cash flow. 

As a part of the recognition for the 

contribution to the development of the 

insurance industry in the country as 

well as maintaining its standards of 

service at the same time, the company 

has been acknowledged as one of the 

top 500 companies, according to Dun & 

Bradstreet Rating Agency of Bangladesh. 

The company has also been awarded 

with many national and international 

awards: ICAB National Award for “Best 

Published Accounts”; ICMAB Best Corporate 

Award in the category “Certificate of 

Merit”; Best Presented Accounts Award 

in the category “Insurance Sector” by 

the South Asian Federation of Accounts; 

“International Quality Crown Award” by 

Bid International in London; The BIZZ 

Award by World Business Confederation 

of Business for “Leadership, Excellence 

in Management, Quality and Marketing”; 

“The Diamond Eye Award for Quality 

and Excellence” by Bid Otherways; the 

Platinum Technology Award for Quality 

and Best Trade Name by OtherWays 

in Berlin; the International Star Award 

for Leadership in quality in the Gold, 

Platinum, and Diamond categories, and 

many more. 

After 26 years, Green Delta Insurance 

Company Ltd. has now become a 

family of 20 respected board members, 

500+ committed staff, numerous valued 

clients, and thousands of esteemed 

shareholders. By 2012, Green Delta has 

been able to uphold its brand image as 

a prompt claim settler, superior service 

provider, and diversified product supplier 

– almost a one-stop solution provider 

in the insurance sector in the country. 

This has allowed it to become an institution 

with a dedicated service platform 

with a committed and skilled professional 

workforce, provide excellence in 

product diversification, and above all, 

meet the expectations of shareholders. 

Our diversified and integrated business 

model benefits shareholders as we balance 

distribution, asset management, 

insurance, and annuity capabilities to 

provide important revenue and earnings 

diversity. 

Green Delta Insurance Company 

Ltd. is committed to the principles of 

offering various insurance products to 

mitigate risks involved in everyday life. 

Hence, we have recently moved to implement 

three separate pilot projects in 

two insurance sectors: micro health and 

crop. The crop and micro health services 

will significantly contribute to protecting 

farmers from frequent natural disasters, 

the poor from catastrophic health expenditures, 

and ultimately help to eradicate 

poverty. GDIC will also work as an insurance 

partner at the World Marketing 

Summit in Bangladesh, design the micro 

health scheme for RMG workers, and act 

to implement the pilot project. 

Green Delta’s success can be attributed 

to its multiple long-term strategies. 

Creating value for its customers, 

investing in and developing the talents 

of its employees, ethical conduct, and 

assuming social responsibility are just 

a few of the ways GDIC is focused on 

maintaining a strong financial stance, 

both now and in the future. 

With the slogan “Marches with 

time,” GDIC has been helping people 

in times of need for the last 26 years, 

pulling out all the stops when needed, as 

a proud partner should. Hence GDIC has 

achieved an excellent market reputation 

with a leading position in the insurance 

industry of the country. 


167

Best Practice 



Supporting the 

Development of Youth 

Entrepreneurship in the 

United Kingdom 

The RBS Group has been a signatory of the UN Global 

Compact since 2003, and in 2010 our Head of Sustainability 

became Chair of the UK Network; working to promote the 

Global Compact’s Ten Principles among UK industries and 

the wider UNGC community. We support the Compact as 

we believe that the resources available to businesses can 

be leveraged to create sustainable development and a more 

sustainable economy – on both a local and global scale. 

As part of building a sustainable RBS, we 

recognize our responsibility to be a positive 

force in the communities in which 

we operate. One of the areas in which we 

focus is contributing to the development 

of young people in the United Kingdom. 

We do this through a range of programs 

that focus on education, mentoring, and 

fostering entrepreneurship. 

MoneySense for Schools 

MoneySense for Schools is our financial 

education program, which, over the 

course of the last 18 years, has become 

the largest financial education program 

of its kind in UK secondary schools. 

In 2007, research showed that 90 

percent of adults in the United Kingdom 

had never received lessons at school on 

managing money, while 66 percent felt 

that having lessons would have better 

equipped them to deal with the financial 

challenges of modern life. We believe 

financial awareness is a key life skill 

and our aim with the program is to offer 

every school in the United Kingdom 

the chance to teach young people how 

to better manage their money. 

MoneySense now reaches more 

than 70 percent of secondary schools 

in the United Kingdom and it has taught 

2.5 million young people about money. 

The aim is to give the opportunity of a 

financial education and to ensure that it 

is of a quality that will enable young people 

to feel equipped to make informed 

financial decisions. 

Using the skills of our staff and the expertise 

of our business, we are well placed to 

offer these vital lessons. Because better 

financial education is so closely aligned 

to our aims as a business, we are committed 

to offering our knowledge, experience, 

funding, and employee support to 

deliver this service. 

We measure the effectiveness of 

MoneySense in part through an annual 

independent research study. Launched in 

2007, each year it assesses the attitudes 

and behaviors of Britain’s 12- to 19-yearolds. 

To date, 40,000 surveys have been 

completed by young people, making it 

the most comprehensive survey of its 

kind carried out in the country. The results 

show that those who experience a 

MoneySense lesson benefit from it as they 

understand, budget, and save more. This 

demonstrates progress toward achieving 

the long-term goal of our program – to 

produce a generation of customers who 

have the tools and knowledge to manage 

their personal finances well. 

Supporting disadvantaged youth 

into enterprise 

Through our strategic partnerships with 

organizations such as The Prince’s Trust, 

we help thousands of young entrepreneurs 

gain access to the business advice 

and financing they need to start up and 

succeed in business. 

RBS has supported The Prince’s 

Trust for more than 11 years. The Trust 

runs programs to give young people from 

disadvantaged backgrounds the skills, 

confidence, and support they need for 

work and to lead successful lives. They 

work with young people who are unemployed, 

those without qualifications, 

ex-offenders, and those leaving care. 

The Prince’s Trust Enterprise program, 

of which we are the largest corporate 

supporter, offers young entrepreneurs 

loan funding, advice, and the 

support of a business mentor. Almost 

3,000 young people were directly supported 

as a result of RBS support for The 

Trust in 2011. The charity is also backed 

by RBS employees who volunteer and 

fundraise on behalf of the Trust. 

Youth poverty is a growing problem 

in the United Kingdom. There are 

more than 1 million young people in 

the country who are not in education, 

employment, or training. In 2011 RBS 

sponsored a flagship piece of research 

carried out by The Prince’s Trust, “Broke, 

Not Broken: Tackling Youth Poverty and 

the Aspiration Gap,” which highlighted 

the differences in the attitudes of young 

people from affluent backgrounds, as 

compared to those from disadvantaged 

backgrounds. The approach and support 

offered by The Prince’s Trust helps 

to bridge this disparity – more than 

three quarters of young people helped 

by The Trust go on to work, education, 

or training. 

Student enterprise 

Research has shown that enterprise education 

at school makes it more likely that 

students will go on to start a business, 

and that their business will be a success. 

We support and promote student 

enterprise and are the headline sponsors 

of two student enterprise competitions, 

run by Find Invest Grow. Together these 

represent the largest, most comprehensive 

student enterprise programs in the 

United Kingdom. 

Find Invest Grow supports undergraduates 

and recent graduates in the 

United Kingdom to start up in business, 

working with young entrepreneurs to 

support their business development and 

introduce them to suitable investors. 

Find Invest Grow has a presence both 

online and offline through a variety of 

events and competitions, two of which 

are supported by RBS and delivered to 

over 100 universities around the United 

Kingdom. 

The RBS Enterprising Student Societies’ 

Accreditation is aimed at rewarding 

enterprising undergraduate student societies 

and the teams behind them. The 

program promotes, encourages, and 

rewards enterprising activities within 

societies in an attempt to increase the 

level of enterprising skills throughout the 

United Kingdom. The RBS EnterprisingU 

is the world’s largest student business 

plan competition to find, encourage, 

and invest in students’ business ideas. 

Students submit their business ideas, 

the best of which are selected to pitch 

at a national level to an “investor panel” 

of experts. Winners can take away up 

to £25,000 for their business. 

Our support for these programs 

demonstrates how we go beyond banking 

services to equip young people with the 

tools they need to be more financially 

literate and more knowledgeable about 

business as well as the opportunities and 

services available to them. We believe 

that a generation that manages its personal 

finances well and runs profitable 

businesses will contribute to and boost 

the UK economy. 


169

Agenda 


Corporate Foresight: 

An Introduction 


171

Agenda 


By Cornelia Daheim, Holger Glockner, Klaus Burmeister, and Andreas Neef 

Business as usual is no longer an option! There is a growing 

realization among more and more politicians, businesses, and 

members of society that things cannot continue as they are. 

The number of challenges and issues that must be tackled and 

dealt with at a global level is enormous, viz.: human-induced 

climate change and the search for ways to develop a low-carbon 

economy; rapid population growth in developing and newlyindustrialized 

countries; questions surrounding which fuels 

can be used in the energy mix to meet growing demand; and 

the distribution of food and raw materials. Then there are 

also basic social questions about how to ensure that wealth 

is fairly distributed, how to overcome the persistent poverty 

in the developing world that results from the pillaging of 

natural resources, and how to encourage civic participation 

in political and economic decision-making. 

These developments, which will increasingly come to dominate 

the next decade, are linked to wholesale digital integration 

within all areas of life. The virtual world is permeating more 

and more aspects of real life. And human beings are looking 

for ways to be able to create a “second nature” at the smallest 

levels. Scientific progress has now reached the level of the very 

building blocks of human life. Our understanding of atoms, 

neurons, genes, and bits is growing all the time, and we are 

now able to interfere with their functioning and add to the 

wealth of collective knowledge. Moreover, this list also includes 

the waning economic and cultural hegemony of the West. We 

now find ourselves in the middle of a historical transition, with 

power shifting from the West to the East; China and India are 

emerging world superpowers that are now competing economically 

and politically against the United States and Europe. 

The 21st century will be characterized by a multitude of 

global challenges that will arise simultaneously and feed 

off each other. The patterns of growth and the interlinked 

effects of a great number of megatrends have hitherto been 

underestimated. Owing to the interplay of these forces, we 

could potentially find ourselves at a crossroads, with rapid 

intervention and action becoming unavoidable. The latest 

Environmental Outlook to 2050 published by the Organisation 

for Economic Co-operation and Development and a new study 

by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development 

entitled Changing Pace substantiate this prognosis. 

What is corporate foresight? 

It is vital for companies to develop new strategic planning tools 

that, on the one hand, take into consideration the short-term 

uncertainties and volatility of market developments and, on 

the other, focus on long-term objectives and the consequences 

of a particular course of action in order to manage the successful, 

sustainable, and sound growth of the organization 

and to hedge, as far as possible, current investment decisions 

over the long term. Investigating the future is not something 

that should be left to daydreamers or visionaries; it is a key 

component of dealing with our world responsibly as part of a 

complex, interlinked system with interrelated dependencies 

stemming from finite resources. 

As such, a growing number of the most successful businesses 

recognize the need to think long-term, despite being forced 

to act on a short-term basis in the current age of transformation. 

In recent years, corporate foresight has become increasingly 

widespread, professional, and diverse, and now stands 

alongside traditional, indicator-based forecasting parameters. 

As a process, corporate foresight can be defined as putting a 

company in a position that enables it to deal positively with 

mid- to longer-term challenges. In so doing, corporate foresight 

takes a continuous and systematic approach, equipped with 

a portfolio of recognized methods. Its key tasks are to pave 

the way for strategic (investment) decisions, safeguard the 

long-term competitiveness of the company, and enhance its 

innovation capacity. At its core, corporate foresight is about 

putting the findings of academic future research into practice 

to help guide strategic management. 

Corporate foresight owes its existence to the shortcomings 

of traditional management tools and philosophies. Generally 

speaking, traditional management tools that rely primarily 

on an analysis of the present (e.g., a balanced scorecard) or 

are more or less based on a linear extrapolation of the current 

situation (as with market forecasts, for example) will fail when 

faced with long-term issues, volatility, and dynamic trends. 

Corporate foresight does not seek to try to predict the future 

exactly. Rather, it tries to create a sound and comprehensible 

basis within the company for dealing with uncertainties, which 

are an inevitable component of the future. When choosing 

which methods to use, corporate foresight selects pragmatically 

from a toolbox drawn from economics, the sciences, the 

social sciences, and technology. Its actual methodological 

benefit lies in adapting the range of views and tools from 

the different disciplines to suit the task in hand, integrating 

them within a cross-disciplinary framework and, generally 

speaking, putting them together in a discursive process. In 

so doing, it is a question of thinking in terms of complex, 

holistic interrelationships; it is a matter of combining the 

different elements. 

Thinking in terms of alternative scenarios 

This is the reason the scenario method was established. The 

development of scenarios is the core method used in future 

research. The scenario technique takes into account trends as 

well as (structural) disruptions; as such, it is a suitable tool for 

dealing with both futures that are relatively certain as well 

as those that are more surprising. Unlike forecasts, scenario 

analysis does not culminate in a single view of the future but 

rather in a whole bundle of such images known as a scenario 

portfolio. Each scenario presents a closed and non-contradictory 

image of the future that is precisely described and contrasts 

from the other scenarios under consideration. 

At the most basic level, it is possible to differentiate between 

normative and explorative scenarios. Normative scenarios 

are based on desires and interests. They ask: What kind of 

future do we want? As a corollary, we then also look at how 

this desired future can be achieved. Explorative scenarios, by 

contrast, remove desires and preconceptions, and ask simply 

about the possibility, the plausibility, and/or probability of 

the future. In this respect, the key question is: How might 

things turn out? Furthermore, depending on the objectives 

of a particular approach, it is often the smaller details that 

play a crucial role in practice. 

Almost all the basic definitions used here can be contested. 

When working with normative scenarios, it is advisable to 

stay within the realm of what is achievable, since a purely 

utopian view of the future is to nobody’s benefit. However, 

the notion of what is realistic is often the subject of much 

discussion. There are similar problems when dealing with 

explorative scenarios. It is only possible to make qualitative 

estimations of plausibility and probability; there is an absence 

of clear criteria. That is why scenario processes are always a 

matter of negotiation among the participants. 

Different types of scenarios can be combined in order to arrive 

at a portfolio of scenarios that can be deployed in a variety 

of ways. For example, it is very common to find a reference 

scenario combined with different disruptive scenarios; equally, 

the combination of a “business as usual” scenario and different 

politically- or technology-driven alternative scenarios is also 

fairly normal. Normative and explorative scenarios are also 

often bundled together to create a portfolio. 

It is necessary to think in terms of scenarios in order to stabilize 

rational planning processes so as to be prepared for 

impending disruptions within the market and the competitive 

environment. 

Understanding trends and thinking in context 

Change is fed by many sources. As such, it makes little sense 

to assume that “everything” can change in an “infinite manner.” 

Instead, corporate foresight searches for signs of future 

changes that can already be observed today. It is necessary to 

use a broad-based and systematic environmental scanning 

process in order to identify trends, weak signals, and emerging 

issues of the future. As such, there is a need to have a group 

of methods, whereby trend analysis constitutes one of the 

main basic processes. Trends provide the empirical base for 

an analysis of the future. In so doing, it is first necessary to 

look at developments that can be observed today, that is, real 

and apparent phenomena. Where a trend is extrapolated into 

the future, we enter the realm of (more or less well-founded) 

supposition. 

At first, trend analysis seeks to differentiate between relatively 

certain and uncertain developments. For example, informa- 

The World in 2050 

• World population will be 9.5 billion 

• Two out of three people will live in cities 

• More than 20 percent of world population will be 

60 years old or over 

• We will have three times more cars than today 

• 200 million people will have become homeless refugees 

because of global warming 

• Loss of biodiversity will cost €2.5 trillion per year 

• There will be no more meltwater in European rivers 

Sources: UmweltDialog; Business & Biodiversity Initiative; WHO 


173

Agenda 


tion about birth rates and changes in life expectancy can be 

used to estimate, with a fair degree of accuracy, how many 

people there will be on the planet in 2030. Moore’s law, which 

states that the processing power of computers doubles on 

average every two years, has also shown itself to be relatively 

constant in the past; experts now predict that this trend will 

continue for at least another decade. However, both of these 

trends present uncertainties. How will society cope with this 

demographic shift? And what will this increase in IT power 

be used for in the future? 

Trends can also be classified on the basis of their so-called 

duration. How long will a trend still be observable? Trends 

in the world of fashion and fast-moving consumer goods are 

often short-lived (seasonal colors, fashionable drinks, etc.); 

as such, they are less useful for long-term strategic analysis. 

At the other end of the spectrum, there are trends whose effects 

unfold over several decades and at a global level; these 

are termed megatrends. For example, the proportion of the 

world’s population living in cities in the 20th century grew 

steadily, and this trend is set to continue. 

Such long-term trends play a decisive role in future research. By 

analyzing them, future researchers attempt to gain an insight 

into the drivers behind change. Moreover, it is interesting to 

consider what reciprocal effects exist between different trends. 

We can also ask: Do two trends have the capacity to feed off 

each other? Or is it more likely that they will conflict with 

one another, meaning that one might extinguish the other? 

However, trend-based thinking also has its limits. It is only 

possible to add value if trend analysis is linked to an analysis 

of possible disruptions and courses of action open to the different 

players. In this context, it is necessary for there to be a 

transition toward thinking in context, with a trend’s sphere 

being linked to that of the strategies. In this regard, the 

trend’s sphere includes both the customer and the corporate 

environment, and the strategic sphere encompasses both the 

company itself and the markets in which it operates. Within 

the framework of context-driven corporate foresight, trend 

analysis extends beyond a simple description of apparent 

changes. Its role is to recognize the patterns and underlying 

structures of change, and its driving force and boundaries, so 

that this information can be deployed to develop strategies 

and strategic plans. As such, the traditional chain, which runs 

trend – trend impact – reaction, is replaced by a new method 

of thinking: trend – context – strategy. 

Key fields of application: Strategy and innovation 

Companies cannot afford to stand still while identifying future 

trends. They must make the knowledge they have acquired 

available to everyone involved in decision-making processes. 

Companies primarily utilize corporate foresight in three contexts: 

1| to evaluate different courses of action and hedge decisions; 

2| to take account of new trends and explore their impacts; 

and 

3| to develop guidelines for positioning the company within 

the market in the future. 

In the first instance, corporate foresight enriches strategy development; 

in the second, it provides the impetus for innovation, 

particularly for new products, services, and business areas for 

the company; and, in the third instance, it coordinates the 

organization’s activities at an overarching level. In all three 

cases, both views about the future (“What are we facing?”) as 

well as ideas about how it can be shaped (“What can we do?”) 

play equally decisive roles (see Figure 1). It is always a matter 

of exhausting different courses of action while, at the same 

time, keeping an eye on the changing framework conditions. 

What success factors are there? 

Corporate foresight is more than just future research within 

and for companies. A typical research project is three-layered. 

The upper layer of corporate foresight involves monitoring 

trends and analyzing the drivers of change using projections 

about the future in the form of extrapolations or scenarios. 

The second, and more far-reaching, layer sets out the place 

of the research project within different corporate processes. 

It asks how the findings will be implemented within dayto-day 

corporate routines. How will the foresight results be 

translated into management actions, such as turning the 

findings into strategies or innovations? Finally, the third layer, 

which is the most fundamental layer, deals with future-proof 

changes within the entire organization – particularly the 

corporate culture – which can be neatly summed up in the 

slogan: “Futurize your business!” The objective is to prepare 

the company for the future by making employees aware of 

future developments, and increasing the flexibility and agility 

of the company. 

There are five factors (the “Five Cs”) that must be in place if 

corporate foresight is to succeed: 

• Competence in terms of the subject matter and the methodological 

approach (a transparent method is key), in addition 

to well-substantiated, quality results. 

• Close cooperation with the support of the top management 

and a team that is well-anchored within the company, as well 

as feedback loops that enable shared learning and guarantee 

that the results really will have strategic relevance. 

• Creativity in order to strike a balance between strict analysis 

and visionary thinking, whereby the experiment is given 

sufficient room to produce surprising results and not just 

business-as-usual scenarios. 

• Appropriate and efficient communication of the results 

within the company that steers away from simply producing 

reports that will only sit on shelves gathering dust. 

• Continuity, in the sense of establishing a foresight culture 

within the company that allows it to test out new processes, 

evaluate results on a regular basis, and adapt organizational 

processes to changing requirements. 

We estimate that half of the efforts required for a foresight 

project need to be directed toward communication, with the 

aim being to generate a sense of responsibility for the process 

and its results among all participants in order to achieve 

consensus and commitment. 

The concept of Open Foresight 

In recent years, it has been possible to observe a clear openingup 

of foresight processes with companies (Open Foresight). 

This opening-up is based on the assumption that companies 

can (jointly) shape future contextual conditions and markets 

by anticipating the dynamic reciprocal effects of social, 

technological, and economic forces through an open dialog. 

Successful foresight projects open themselves up both with 

regard to their thematic, subject-related outlooks and their 

interaction with different stakeholders. 

Open Foresight is “open” in four respects. Firstly, the process 

should include relevant stakeholders from within the company 

and its external environment. Secondly, it needs to be 

open in terms of its subject matter; it should not limit the 

substantive view of the sector too early, nor should it repeat 

all-too-common clichés regarding the future. The problems 

often begin with the terminology used or the company-specific 

jargon, which regularly hides no-go, taboo areas. Thirdly, it 

should be organized as an open process that does not end once 

a specific project objective has been formally reached. And, 

fourthly, it needs to be open with regards to disruptive trends 

and factors that make a company sensitive to disruptions. 

It is our belief that it will become increasingly important for 

corporate foresight not simply to produce findings that confirm 

what is already known, but rather to develop trends and 

empirical observations, visions and scenarios that – while 

pointing out what the future holds and possibly highlights 

new opportunities and challenges – still confirm the prevailing 

opinions, customs, and business models that are already 

present within the company. 

In particular, it can be expected that corporate foresight will 

throw up the “right” basic, if somewhat irritating, questions. 

Questioning dominant beliefs, received opinions, and paradigms 

can be constructively disruptive, turning into “interfering 

knowledge” that drives the corporate system to progress 

to the next stage of its development. More often than not, it 

is a balancing act between an over-assessment of the change 

and the danger of falling foul of the latest hyped-up, “cool” 

or “trendy” issues, on the one hand – prematurely foreseeing 

a paradigm shift in everything – and under-evaluating the 

potential of possible disruptions on the other. 

Foresight linked to sustainability 

Foresight teams and sustainability or corporate responsibility 

departments have a similar aim: Namely, to prepare the company 

for the future. Close collaboration between the two areas 

is advisable, and, in practice, this is being promoted more and 

more within large companies. By definition, there is a close 

connection between foresight and sustainability activities. 

First of all, this can be seen in their long-term orientation. 

The prevailing short-termist way of thinking within companies 

often leads to long-term failures. By contrast, alternative 

thinking and longer temporal horizons mean it is easier to be 

prepared for surprising futures as well as to implement more 

sustainable solutions within society and the economy as a 

whole. Secondly, both corporate foresight and sustainability 

management is organized in an interdisciplinary fashion. 

Both aim to integrate a number of different views (systematic 


175

Agenda 


approach). Different disciplines and research fields must be 

brought together and a common language discovered. This 

interdisciplinary collaboration requires the company to be 

able to innovate. Thirdly, both fields pay great attention to 

the translation of their findings into practical action. The 

results of foresight processes and sustainability research can 

be used to solve problems within society and the organization 

and to develop future-proof strategies. Finally, foresight 

and sustainability both pursue – at least to a certain extent 

– resolutely normative approaches. Although corporate foresight 

might only sometimes take a normative approach (e.g., 

back-casting scenarios), approaches to sustainable development 

are always normative. Normative approaches enable 

organizations to think beyond what is necessary and feasible 

at the present moment. 

Particularly if there is greater interlinking of sustainability 

management, corporate foresight, and strategy development, 

it should be possible to develop more attractive offerings for 

companies that make a contribution to solving the global 

sustainability challenges. 

Software-based foresight 

More and more, software tools are used in foresight processes; 

by using them, the predominantly qualitative findings can be 

augmented to include quantitative indicators and projections. 

As such, scenarios can be developed, for example, that encompass 

both a qualitative description of a particular image of the 

future and also contain quantitative indicators for this view. 

Examples of such quantified scenarios include, among others, 

the UNEP World Water Scenarios, the scenarios of Shell or the 

International Energy Agency, as well as the Global Europe 

2030/2050 scenarios developed by the EU’s panel of experts, 

with the size of the quantitative part differing in each case. By 

combining narratives and numbers, it is possible to improve 

the acceptance of the results by management, meaning that 

the findings can be fed more easily into numbers-driven 

strategic planning processes. 

Against this backdrop, modeling and system dynamics are 

experiencing a renaissance. In addition, web-based tools 

such as Real-Time Delphi and Prediction Markets also play a 

greater role in practice. With their help, it is possible to tap 

into the collective intelligence of employees or experts when 

evaluating future trends. Further increases in processing 

power, a web with a greater emphasis on semantics, and the 

exploding availability of data (big data) all lead to the expectation 

that there will also be approaches in the future that 

use intelligent algorithms to carry out, (semi-)autonomously, 

individual stages within the foresight process. In theory, this 

could even stretch right up to the simulation of the future 

behavior of social systems by analyzing massive collections 

of real-world data. 

In the future, however, intelligent tools are not expected to 

provide much more than mere assistance in the participation 

process, which will become more important, in order to 

guarantee that the results are accepted by the decision-makers 

within the company. Otherwise, there is the danger that management 

becomes overly dependent on impenetrably complex 

computing operations that can already be seen within sectors 

of the financial markets. 

Summary 

The necessity to adjust tools to strategic planning is apparent 

in view of the many and varied challenges that companies 

will have to surmount over the coming decade. Corporate 

foresight is an approach that is becoming increasingly established 

within the strategic management portfolio. Despite all 

the challenges that exist from a methodological and practical 

perspective, today, corporate foresight can be deemed a success 

story. Corporate foresight builds on participation and 

commitment, which is why the processes require sufficient 

time and resources. For organizations that wish to shape the 

future in a responsible manner and whose decisions also impact 

on successive generations, it is advisable that they deal 

intensively, systematically, and methodically with the pressing 

future issues of the day. What is more, corporate foresight offers 

a broad range of tried-and-tested access points to do so. 

Read the full article with additional information on: 

foresight.csr-manager.org 

Cornelia Daheim is 

managing partner of 

Z_punkt. 

Holger Glockner is Director 

Foresight Consulting at 

Z_punkt. 

The Millennium Project 

Experience 

The explosion of information, the increasing complexity of society, and the 

accelerating rate of technological change means previous information systems 

and sources are unable to give just-in-time guidance to inform the strategic 

planning process. One approach to improve input to strategic foresight is 

collective intelligence. I define it as an emergent property from synergies 

among data/information/knowledge, software/hardware, and experts (those 

with new insights as well as recognized authorities) that continually learn from 

feedback to produce just-in-time knowledge for better decisions than these 

elements would produce acting alone. The Millennium Project is a new kind of 

think tank producing foresight about the changing global strategic landscape. 

Its operations, implications for corporations, and next steps in creating a Global 

Futures Collective Intelligence System will be explained. 


177

Agenda 


By Jerome C. Glenn 

Strategic foresight is dependent on insight from data, information, 

knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom. Although 

wisdom – the right use of knowledge – may not change 

from day-to-day, the remaining elements are changing at an 

increasing pace. The volume of change over the past 25 years 

is likely to be small compared to the volume of change over 

the next 25 years. 

This is because the factors that made these changes are themselves 

accelerating, for example: Moore’s Law, bandwidth, 

integration of scientific and technological databases, nanotechnology, 

global interdependency, artificial biology, and 

Internet access. Hence, the options to create and update national, 

global, and corporate strategic foresight are so complex and 

changing so rapidly that it is almost impossible for decisionmakers 

to gather and understand the information required to 

make and implement coherent policy. At the same time, the 

consequences of incoherent policies are so serious that new 

systems are urgently needed. One approach is to create collective 

intelligence systems (CIS) for issues, countries, companies, 

universities, and the world. 

I define collective intelligence (CI) as an emergent property 

from synergies among data/information/knowledge, software/ 

hardware, and experts (those with new insights as well as 

recognized authorities) that continually learn from feedback 

to produce just-in-time knowledge for better decisions than 

these elements would produce acting alone. 

The Millennium Project has created two applications of CI. The 

first supported the development of a Global Climate Change 

Situation Room in Gimcheon, South Korea, and the second 

supported an Early Warning System for the Prime Minister’s 

Office of Kuwait. Currently, The Millennium Project is integrating 

all of its information, software, and participants into 

a Global Collective Intelligence System for global futures 

research that will be a unique resource for corporate foresight. 

The Millennium Project and 15 Global Challenges 

The Millennium Project (MP) is a global participatory think tank 

with a mission to improve thinking about the future in order 

to help improve decision-making today, the consequences of 

which have long-range, global implications. It was established 

in 1996 after a three-year feasibility study supported by the 

US Environmental Protection Agency, UN University, UNDP, 

and UNESCO. It has grown from four to 41 Nodes over the 

past 16 years. 

These Nodes are groups of individuals, networks, and institutions 

around the world that identify participants and connect 

local and global perspectives. The Nodes provide the diversity 

of input necessary for broad, balanced, and in-depth input and 

feedback to understand global change and improve foresight. 

Nodes translate questionnaires and reports, and conduct 

interviews within their cultural context. They also conduct 

special research, workshops, symposiums, and advanced 

training. Ideally, each Node has one or two self-selected volunteer 

members from government, corporations, universities, 

nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations. 

They put the “global” into global futures research – so 

necessary for today’s corporate foresight. 

MP operates on behalf of humanity, not on behalf of any specific 

government, issue, or ideology. It acts like a “TransInstitution,” 

in that its management, participants, value added, and funds 

come from government, corporations, NGOs, and universities. 

However, no one institutional category is the majority 

provider of funds and participants. MP’s reports, including 

the annual State of the Future with its 15 Global Challenges, 

provide a framework for understanding and tracking global 

and local change. 

The 15 Global Challenges are: 

1| How can sustainable development be achieved for all 

while addressing global climate change? 

2| How can everyone have sufficient clean water without 

conflict? 

3| How can population growth and resources be brought 

into balance? 

4| How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian 

regimes? 

5| How can policymaking be made more sensitive to global 

long-term perspectives? 

6| How can the global convergence of information and communications 

technologies work for everyone? 

7| How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help 

reduce the gap between rich and poor? 

8| How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and 

immune micro-organisms be reduced? 

9| How can the capacity to decide be improved as the nature 

of work and institutions change? 

10| How can shared values and new security strategies reduce 

ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass 

destruction? 

11| How can the changing status of women help improve the 

human condition? 

12| How can transnational organized crime networks be 

stopped from becoming more powerful and sophisticated 

global enterprises? 

13| How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently? 

14| How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be 

accelerated to improve the human condition? 

15| How can ethical considerations become more routinely 

incorporated into global decisions? 

The challenges are interdependent: An improvement in one 

makes it easier to address others; deterioration in one makes 

it harder to address others. As part of the corporate strategic 

planning process, one can ask: What are the implications of 

these challenges for corporate long-range strategy, marketing, 

new product development, strategic partnerships, management, 

and corporate social responsibility? 

These challenges are transnational in nature and trans-institutional 

in solution. They cannot be addressed by any government 

or institution acting alone. They require collaborative action 

among governments, international organizations, corporations, 

universities, NGOs, and creative individuals. Although listed 

in sequence, Challenge 1 on sustainable development and 

climate change is no more or less important than Challenge 

15 on global ethics. 

Each Challenge receives a one-page prognosis and a one-page 

discussion of regional considerations, all totaling 30 pages. Each 

Challenge also receives more detailed treatments, for a total 

of 1,500 pages that are suitable for keyword searching. The 

information can then be reassembled into uniquely relevant 

corporate foresight input reports. 

The 15 Global Challenges are updated and improved 

each year in a variety of ways: 

1| Insights from The Millennium Project’s own research on 

special topics such as the future of food industries, ethics, 

science and technology, environmental security, State of 

the Future Index, potential elements of the next economic 

system, and others 

2| Staff and interns scanning the Internet 

3| Experts are asked to review and improve last year’s text 

4| The 15 Global Challenges are online for public input 

5| Regional input is requested from Node Chairs 

6| Feedback is invited via Millennium Project’s 23 discussion 

groups 

7| Conferences, seminars, and publications are monitored 

8| Daily news reports from interns 

9| International travel of the lead author (50 - 60% time – 

10 to 15 countries per year), conversations, and audience 

feedback 

10| All this new information is then distilled for patterns and 

data is double-checked 

MP also produces Futures Research Methodology, now in version 

3.0 with 39 chapters on different methods, or categories 

of methods. This is the most comprehensive, internationally 

peer-reviewed source on methods to explore future possibilities 

that has ever been assembled. 

Collective Intelligence System and corporate foresight 

All of The Millennium Project’s information, groups, and 

software are being integrated into a Global Futures Collective 

Intelligence System. Collective intelligence could be the next 

“big thing” for improving corporate foresight. 

Groups of volunteer experts feed the information system and 

are fed by it. They participate in a CIS because it is synergistic 

with their work. Insights about advances in their fields are 

shared around the world; new channels for dissemination and 

feedback on their research are provided; and opportunities for 


179

Agenda 


HARDWARE/ 

SOFTWARE 

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE 

GROUPS OF EXPERTS 

DATA/ 

INFORMATION/ 

KNOWLEDGE 

collaboration on new projects are initiated. Corporations can 

set up their own CIS or use The Millennium Project’s CIS to 

search and annotate existing information; review news feeds; 

add and organize insights; check key websites; run computer 

models; use analysis software; initiate questionnaires; hold 

computer conferences; monitor discussion groups and pose 

questions to them – all integrated in one platform. 

One of the more popular futurist methods to collect judgments 

and feedback on those judgments as input to corporate foresight 

is the Real-Time Delphi – a series of rounds of questionnaires, 

each building on the results of the previous round, moving 

toward a consensus. This input to strategic foresight is good if 

you have several months to do the work, but not if you want 

to get faster results. To speed up the process, The Millennium 

Project’s Senior Fellow, Ted Gordon, invented the concept and 

wrote the software for the Real-Time Delphi as another version 

of an online structured method of collecting judgments and 

feedback for strategic foresight. In this element of the collective 

intelligence group of software, participants provide their 

answers online, and come back as many times as they want 

until the deadline to improve their answers based on feedback 

from others in the Real-Time Delphi or subsequent research. 

Lessons learned to help connect corporate foresight and 

decisions 

Good corporate foresight is not enough; it has to be integrated 

into the planning and decision processes. The Millennium 

Project conducted a study to generate a checklist that can help 

corporate strategic planners better connect their foresight to 

corporate decision-making. It is not reasonable to expect that 

all of the following recommendations can be implemented 

in every application of foresight for decision-making. Nevertheless, 

the more of these that can be done, the greater the 

likelihood will be of successful implementation of futures 

research in decision-making. 

1| Make sure leaders or the decision-maker(s) to whom the 

information is intended know what futures research and 

foresight is and is not. Make sure they are interested in 

the process, have requested the activity, and all those 

involved in the process are clear about the objectives 

and mission of the activity. Ideally, this would include a 

statement of what the decision-maker(s) would consider 

to be a successful outcome. 

2| Confirm that futures research has or will have a formal 

connection to the strategic planning process and that it is 

understood by all involved. Confirm that they understand 

that futures research provides a framework for thoughtful 

discussion, rather than predictions. 

3| In addition to the decision-maker(s), identify and work 

with a champion of the activity within the organization. 

4| If the decision-maker(s) lacks the knowledge or does not 

understand the complexities of the issues about which 

they must decide, include workshops or training during 

the research. As appropriate, use simulations or models 

showing complex interdependence of events, policies, and 

consequences of actions that can challenge stereotypical 

thinking. If possible, include discussion of the moral barriers 

to timely decision-making. 

5| Integrate the producers of futures research and the decisionmaker(s) 

into the overall process as much as possible. 

6| Information should not be limited to quantifiable projections, 

but include rich subjective descriptions of alternative 

futures that make future possibilities more real for the 

decision-maker(s). 

7| Include diverse interest groups and key actors in the research 

process to ensure that information is created about 

how a contemplated decision may affect stakeholders, 

and to reduce subsequent political impediments. Enlist 

the support of people in this process who will use or be 

affected by the activity. 

8| If there is a lack of a clear-cut strategy and goals for the 

futures research to address, then include this as an issue 

in the research. 

9| Determine who has the responsibility to act on the information. 

If no one does, then make this an issue in the research, 

and if appropriate, bring this to the news media. Similarly, 

determine if there is adequate coordination among responsible 

departments. If there is not, make this an issue in the 

foresight exercise as well. 

10| Include the decision-maker(s) in the research process to 

counter any lack of a long-term view and short-term dominance 

over more distant future considerations. 

11| Use at least one formal method that is understandable to 

all involved. 

12| Provide information that demonstrates unequivocally that 

a crisis is pending to counter institutional inertia. 

13| Include knowledge about what is possible, such as technological 

changes, to counter belief that change is impossible. 

Include information about the success or failure of other 

institutions and countries that had similar problems and 

have attempted to implement policies. If possible cite inspiring 

success stories. 

14| Make options or recommendations simple, clear, and precise, 

and deliver them in political, cultural, and social (nontechnical) 

terms, connected to goals and strategies. 

15| Demonstrate the technical feasibility of recommendations, 

including the required personal, institutional, and technological 

changes to counter the decision-maker’s fear of failure. 

16| Connect the costs to the benefits of the recommendations 

to increase the willingness to pay. Decision-makers and 

political leaders have used “financial impediments” as an 

excuse not to act, but tend not to see finance as the primary 

reason for inaction. 

17| If the information and data are inaccurate, unreliable, conflicting, 

and/or insufficient, then expose the problem, collect 

best judgments, and suggest ways of making decisions within 

the uncertain environment. 

18| If possible, include the intended actions of related institutions, 

lobbyists, and decision-makers related to the recommendations. 

19| Develop and popularize appropriate indicators in coordination 

with other related institutions in the design and 

implementation of policy recommendations. 

20| Use testimony of eminent scientists, including information 

of their estimates about probability and risks associated with 

issues and their policy solutions. 

21| Clarify the forecasted conditions with and without action, 

as a set of long-term scenarios, ranging from dreadful to 

positive. 

22| Establish linkages to other similar activities in government 

and industry, here and abroad, so that diverse inputs 

are possible and inputs can flow from non-conventional 

sources. 

23| Be innovative in the method of presenting findings to 

avoid information overload. 

24| In addition to more analytic methods, include a workshop 

toward the end of the research to give time for individuals, 

including the decision-maker(s), to integrate the concepts 

into their thinking in a group setting. 

25| Consider how to include the media in the issue, in consultation 

with the decision-maker(s). Examples include 

making the research available on the Internet, holding 

press conferences, opening communications with public 

communities and other research institutions, and even 

considering how to popularize the work via cooperation 

between artists (e.g., Steven Spielberg) and futurists in 

film, television, and other media. 

26| Make the work continuous and cumulative so that what 

is learned in one iteration is carried over to the next. It 

should not be a one-time event, but an ongoing process of 

feeding information to the decision process and responding 

to feedback from impacts. 

Corporate foresight and collective intelligence will increase 

in value as tools for dealing with increasing complexity and 

the uncertainty of change. Their integration will be important 

and would be wise to pursue, even though the software and 

management procedures for collective intelligence is in the 

early stages of development. The insights and lessons learned 

from The Millennium Project should prove useful to improving 

your corporate foresight. 

This article draws from that work at: 

www.millennium-project.org 

Jerome C. Glenn is the CEO of The 

Millennium Project and the primary 

author of the organization’s annual 

State of the Future reports over the past 

15 years, which is currently evolving 

into a real-time Global Futures Collective 

Intelligence System. 


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Agenda 

Corporate ISO 26000 Foresight 

The Role of Corporate 

Foresight in Promoting 


In this article we want to give our answer to the question about if and how corporate 

foresight can increase the likelihood that we move toward sustainability – both on a 

company and a societal level. Before entering into the discussion of what corporate foresight 

can do, let us highlight some of our observations on what is holding us back from engaging 

in sustainability actions, and thus creating sustainability of the necessary trajectory, scale, 

and velocity to actually meet the societal challenges. 

By Prof. Dr. René Rohrbeck and Pernille Kallehave 

From a humanistic point of view, it seems surprising that 

we continue behaving – individually and collectively – in 

ways that will endanger the life of future generations. But the 

world is slowly moving in the right direction, supported by 

a broad group of stakeholders. In its latest report, the United 

Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability 

seems to shift its focus from governmental initiatives 

toward action by companies and individuals. Overall, 

the expectation seems to be that while governments find it 

difficult to commit to new sustainable measures, companies 

and individuals could lead the way toward a resilient planet 

(United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global 

Sustainability, 2012). 

Companies’ ambivalent role toward sustainability 

In a recent study, KPMG argues that firms will need to work 

harder to become greener in order to prepare for rising environmental 

costs. However, many firms still find it difficult 

to engage in meaningful and lasting sustainability programs. 

When asked about the reason, some suggest that many firms 

follow the logic put forward by Milton Friedman that “the 

social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” Using 

that credo, firms – it is suggested – will only find interest 

in sustainability if an impact on profit can be expected. Many 

sustainability innovations, however, have a mid- or long-term 

payback horizon. Using traditional management metrics – 

such as calculating the return on investment, on the basis of 

discounted cash flows – would force executives to make negative 

investment decisions. Firms are also bound by dominant 

mental models, basic assumptions that have been developed 

in the past, as well as by the current business environment. 

Firms find it difficult to perceive and act upon new trends and 

changes regarding developing trajectories. 

Another issue is the systemic nature of many sustainability 

innovations. Mark Johnson and Josh Suskewicz argue in a 

Harvard Business Review article that a clean-tech economy 

requires “shifting from developing individual technologies to 

creating whole new [value creation] systems.” Such shifts have 

happened in the past, for example the shift from candles to 

electricity as the dominant form of lighting. Such a shift makes 

old value networks (candle producers, candle-holder manufacturer, 

candle vendors, etc.) obsolete and new value networks 

need to be formed (energy producers, wire manufacturers, 

light bulb manufacturers, etc.). Thus, such shifts only come 

about when multiple actors – often governments as well as 

firms, consumers, and investors – pull in the same direction 

and work toward a common goal. 

To ensure innovation toward sustainability, three things are 

needed: (1) decision-making tools that identify future value 

networks / systems; (2) common visions that identify the valuecreation 

potential to mobilize sufficient resources; and (3) frameworks 

in which the actors can organize and build confidence 

that the new value network will be created. 

There is, however, a much less debated barrier, which is also 

much more operational and much easier to overcome, in theory. 

That is the lack of joint planning and, thus, the lack of shared 

understanding about what actions need to be taken and in 

which sequence the different actors need to take them. This 

is a result of the ways that firms organize. They are complex, 

with responsibility being shared across many hierarchical levels 

and often distributed across regions and/or product categories. 

In addition, they are structured to ensure efficient operations 

in the current business logic, not in a new (for example, more 

sustainable) way. Both the complexity and the focus on current 

business methods create a powerful inertia that is difficult to 


183

Agenda 


overcome and systematically prevents planning of alternative 

trajectories. 

Thus, enabling corporate sustainability will also require reviewing 

organizational design to a certain extent. This includes 

adapting reward and recognition systems, human resource 

management, and organizational structures. In addition, the 

usage of information and communication systems can increase 

participation in strategy formation and help track the implementation 

of the strategy. 

The three elements of change 

Michel Godet and Philippe Durance turn to the Greek philosophers 

to make their point: To engage firms – and indeed the 

society – into making change, the three elements of the Greek 

triangle are needed (Godet and Durance, 2011): 

Logos: thought, rationality, discourse 

Epithumia: desire in all its noble and not-so-noble aspects 

Ergo: action or realization 

We use Figure 1 to illustrate how these three elements guide corporate 

foresight in overcoming the barriers to a sustainable future. 

What corporate foresight can do for firms 

Firms are employing corporate foresight for different purposes 

that reach from identifying emerging issues to enhancing 

strategic decision-making. Corporate foresight is built on the 

principles that: 

• we cannot predict the future, but we can explore possible 

futures; 

• the future is determined by many influencing factors, including 

own action; 

• the generation of insight into the future needs to be integrated 

with the conceptualizing and planning of responses; 

• exploring the future calls for tools that go beyond linear 

reasoning toward systemic observations and modeling; 

• approaches should be participative and challenge dominant 

mental models and basic assumptions. 

However, in many firms the full potential of corporate 

foresight remains unexplored. The majority of firms use 

foresight techniques as early warning systems for emerging 

issues, rather than as platforms to facilitate strategic conversations, 

create common visions, and plan jointly for how 

to reach them. This is where corporate foresight methods 

work best, such as scenario analysis, backcasting, and roadmapping. 

The Greek triangle guides corporate foresight and helps to 

overcome the barriers to a sustainable future 

Lack of perception of long-term 

trajectories of change 

Barriers Creating change Corporate Foresight 

Lack of decision-making tools that 

integrate systemic effects 

Lack of shared understanding of what 

actions need to be taken 

Lack of confidence that new value 

networks will be created 

Lack of visions to mobilize needed 

resources 

Logos 

Thought, rationality, discourse 

Ergo 

Action, realization 

Epithumia 

Desire in all its noble and 

not-so-noble causes 

Joint trend- and emerging-issues 

analysis 

Business modeling to identify future 

value creation networks 

Backcasting and Roadmapping for 

planning and controlling progress 

Collaborative Business modeling to 

identify value creation logic 

Scenario to create common shared 

future outlook 

Figure 1 

For example, through scenario planning, Shell identified in 

the 1970s that, in a possible future scenario, the oil-producing 

countries could jointly decide to reduce the production capacity 

to exercise political pressure and increase the oil price. This 

resulted in Shell’s anticipation of the oil crisis that unexpectedly 

hit its competitors and the world at large. 

Unfortunately, the management systems of firms reinforce 

dominant mental models and emphasize shared assumptions, 

making it much more difficult to think about other possible 

trajectories. Thus, corporate planning will always tend to 

strengthen the current path and limit the strategic agility of 

firms. In that respect, it is important to move from individual 

trend- and emerging-issue analysis to joint exercises with 

other companies, for example those from other industries or 

that have other positions in the value network so as to avoid 

competitive conflicts. 

To break away from such path-dependency, firms are starting 

to use integrated corporate foresight approaches. These often 

start with the identification of influencing factors that might be 

trend-like (with a high likelihood of continuity along its current 

trajectory) or uncertain (where the future trajectory cannot be 

predicted at all). The influencing factors are used as the basis 

for the development of scenarios that are assessed concerning 

their impact on the firm’s current strategies. 

In addition, the scenarios can be used for strategic planning. 

For this purpose, the scenarios are classified into two categories: 

favorable (where the firm can maintain its competitiveness) 

and unfavorable (where the firm would lose ground against 

its competitors). After analyzing the scenarios in depth, the 

planning can commence from the future toward the present. 

This technique, known as backcasting, consists of planning 

actions that need to be taken – starting from the future and 

working step-by-step to present time. These steps are defined 

to move toward the favorable scenarios and away from the 

unfavorable ones. 

This approach builds on a high level of participation from the 

various hierarchical levels as well as different business units 

to create a shared future vision. To create the understanding 

of what should be done and how to act, the planning is further 

detailed using roadmapping, which takes into account the specific 

perspective of each unit. The participation is essential to 

ensure the creation of common knowledge about the planned 

actions, and thus reduces the likelihood of adverse behavior 

from involved actors. 

The wide scope of possible futures identified by scenario analysis 

motivates firms to take a more long-term view. It enables top 

management to shift its discussion from “What should we do 

now?” toward “Who are we and who do we want to be in the 

future?” Judging from a recent study by Stadler, the focus on 

Future Consumer Habits 

Increasing pace of life and urban living is changing the way 

we consume. The Spanish Food Trend Trotters project has 

identified eight food trends of the next decades: 

“Food Telling”: People want to have transparent, available 

information on what they eat. 

“SuperSense”: Food has to address as many senses as possible. 

“Slowcal”: Consumers want to have food that takes personal, 

environmental, and social aspects into consideration and that 

also supports the local economy. 

“Here & Now”: Urban people want easy-to-prepare food that 

does not require much time. 

“Eater-tainment”: Eating becomes a lifestyle you share with 

others and a main leisure event. 

“MadeSimple”: The purchasing and preparation of food has 

to be easy. All products that are designed to meet these 

requirements are preferred. 

“MyHealth”: People increase personal health and body wellbeing 

by being proactive and responsible where nutrition is 

concerned. 

“EgoFood”: Postmodern people define their personal and group 

identities with the products they consume, and through the 

values and advertising messages they associate with them. 

Source: “Food Trend Trotters” project of the Azti-Tecnalia-Institute and Bilbao Design Academy 

core values and having a clear vision about the role of the firm 

increases its life expectancy. In conclusion, it can be said that 

corporate foresight provides firms with: 

• the possibility to systematically challenge dominant mental 

models and basic assumptions; 

• means to reduce ignorance toward external change; 

• methods to recognize the systematic nature of new market 

development; 

• an interpretation and response system; 

• a systematic approach to discover alternative strategic options 

and create shared visions; 

• means to counterbalance inertia induced by the management 

systems; 


185

Agenda 


• tools to break away from path-dependency; 

• a method to create a sustainable organizational design for 

the firm of the future. 

Corporate foresight to reach global sustainability goals 

When talking about global sustainability questions, we know 

that we need to get many actors and stakeholders involved. 

These have complex and often divergent objectives. However, 

the same is true for most large firms, which are faced with 

conflicting goals of stakeholders and shareholders, different 

regulatory frameworks in the countries in which they operate, 

as well as long-term contracts with buyers and suppliers. 

To move such complex systems from one state into another 

requires, in both cases, visions that are shared and strong 

enough to mobilize the required resources. 

is a good tool because it also recognizes the interdependence 

of, for example, regulatory actions from governments and actions 

from firms, and thus builds on the same systemic logic 

as scenarios. 

We hope that this article is successful in highlighting some 

merits of corporate foresight methods and approaches, and 

that it will thereby result in increased usage for bringing 

about visions, concepts, and plans for venturing together on 

the journey toward greater sustainability. 

To create strong visions, scenario analysis should be the tool 

of choice. The challenge here is to ensure a sufficient level of 

participation by the individuals who have the required decisionmaking 

powers to commit their organizations to the common 

vision. In that respect, the World Economic Forum is using a 

very successful, lightweight version of scenario analysis that 

can be run as a workshop. Influencing factors are described 

on cards, whereby stable trends are represented by one card 

and uncertain developments by multiple cards, and both 

offer possible trajectories. Subgroups select cards and create 

scenarios. All generated scenarios are presented and discussed 

by the whole group. 

For the transition to planning, we have had good experiences 

in our own projects with collaborative business modeling. 

In one project, we moderated a group composed of energy 

producers, energy vendors, ICT service, and ICT manufacturer 

firms. We organized a series of three workshops, which 

started with the identification of business model elements 

and ended with a set of viable business models. The business 

modeling approach produces more detailed understanding of 

future value-creation and value-capture systems. This allows 

for identifying the roles that are needed in the future value 

network and planning of actions to create the future market. 

The description of the value creation is also a first strong indicator 

for the attractiveness of the market, and thus creates 

the motivation necessary to ensure a sufficient commitment 

by the participating organizations. 

In this exercise, we also discovered that the idea of including 

sustainability goals into the business model was not met with 

any resistance from the participating firms; in fact the firms were 

glad to integrate societal impact into the overall business model 

design. Many firms have indeed embraced the idea of creating 

societal and financial profit simultaneously, and should thus 

not be overlooked as partners in creating sustainable solutions 

for a resilient planet. To finalize the planning, roadmapping 



Prof. Dr. René Rohrbeck Pernille Kallehave is 

is Associate Professor for Head of Development 

Strategy, Department of and Sustainability, MA 

Business Administration, (Law), Interdisciplinary 

Business and Social 

Center for Organizational 

Science, Aarhus University. Architecture (ICOA), 

Business and Social 

Science, Aarhus University. 

Strategic Foresight: 

Effective Decision- 

Support Systems 

More than ever, strategic decision-makers are expected to develop 

sustainable long-term strategies for their public or private 

organizations. Strategic foresight systems support decision-makers 

in systematically improving the quality of their future assumptions, 

strategic decisions, and plans. This article summarizes the most 

important mechanisms of support, presents three distinctive types of 

foresight systems and widely used methods, and explains how strategic 

foresight is anchored in actual day-to-day practice. 


187

Agenda 


By Dr. Adrian W. Müller and Prof. Dr. Günter Müller-Stewens 

Today’s political and business environment can be characterized 

by increasing pressure on political institutions and commercial 

companies to develop and realize sustainable strategies. The 

drivers for this necessity can be found in various contexts: the 

shortage of natural resources, climate warming, or a worldwide, 

growing number of active consumers wanting to raise their 

standards of living. Whatever the drivers may be, sustainable 

strategies are always complex and long-term in nature and, 

therefore, they will always rely on some assumptions about the 

future environment (of the public or private organization). As 

such, every strategic decision and action implies some assumptions 

about the future, whether they are explicit or implicit. Also 

W.L. Renfro notes: “Strategic decision makers must constantly 

make assumptions about the future to function. People have 

no choice to go on making assumptions (…) about the future.” 

Generally, these future assumptions can be perceived as individual 

or collective mental models and beliefs about future 

conditions, processes, or interrelations. They can be shared 

or be denied. Finally, they help strategic decision-makers to 

manage and reduce the complexity and uncertainty inherent 

in strategic decisions. In a day-to-day practice, these assumptions 

may concern the future behavior of relevant institutional 

players, new forms of consumer behavior, or the implications 

of socioeconomic changes on a current business model strategy. 

However, there is an inherent challenge for strategic decisionmakers 

working out future assumptions underlying their 

strategies. On one hand, it is evident that the quality of the 

assumptions – in terms of accuracy, actuality, and reliability 

– is highly relevant to the long-term success of a chosen 

strategy of an organization. But, on the other hand, strategic 

decision-makers are facing turbulent environments, leading to 

increased levels of uncertainty in terms of ambiguity, plurality, 

unpredictability, and insufficient information, which makes 

it even more challenging to reach high-quality assumptions 

about the future. 

Facing this accentuating gap, political institutions and commercial 

companies need to develop and implement their own 

decision-support systems that enable them to systematically 

scan their environment, observe strategically relevant trends, 

and anticipate future political and business contexts. Eventually, 

based on this enhanced future understanding and foresight, 

strategic decision-makers will be enabled to make more reliable 

decisions and develop much more sustainable long-term strategies. 

Decision-support by strategic foresight 

Strategic foresight describes different types of management 

systems that support strategic decision-making in public or 

private institutions. They provide support through an integrated 

anticipation and analysis of long-term trends (social, economic, 

technological, etc.) by a proactive shaping of alternative scenarios 

and visions of the future. Compared to other management 

intelligence approaches, strategic foresight systems can be characterized 

by a well-accepted set of methodological principles: 

• They are directed from the outside-in: The starting point of 

any decision-support is information about possible future 

trends and conditions of the external environment. Based 

on this understanding, implications and conclusions for the 

organization are deduced. 

• They are focused on the general environment: Most organizations 

know their closer task environment quite well (e.g., 

political or market environment with most important stakeholders), 

but they may have too little knowledge about the 

social, technological, ecological, or economic trends, or about 

their interferences and their impact on own strategies and 

policies. Strategic foresight systems are based on a holistic 

approach integrating those general environmental trends. 

• They are medium- to long-term oriented: Supporting strategic 

decision-making, fundamental concepts of analysis are 

medium- to long-term “pictures of the future” such as trends, 

events, scenarios, or visions. 

Following these basic principles, foresight systems provide 

strategic information and knowledge for decision-makers based 

on four essential mechanisms of support: 

• Anticipatory intelligence, by providing (often irritating) 

information about new environmental developments and 

as yet unknown issues for early recognition of chances and 

risks (scanning and monitoring systems); 

• Direction-setting, by supporting in-depth analysis in phases 

of decision preparation (using methods such as trend and 

futures studies); 

• Coordination of strategic opinions, by helping to structure 

strategic conversations and argumentation in phases of 

strategic-decision selection; 

• Innovation catalyzing, by empowering future-oriented thinking 

and collective commitment in phases of strategic decision 

transformation and implementation. 

Design of strategic foresight systems 

As research done by Müller in 2008 on 40 multinational enterprises 

in Europe shows, strategic foresight systems are often 

established for the purposes of long-term planning (78% of all 

responses) or strategic early warning (65% of all responses); 58 

percent of the respondents reported using the system to support 

innovation processes throughout the company, too. Other arguments 

to utilize strategic foresight systems are: an increase of 

speed in reaction to environmental changes, the encouragement 

of future-oriented thinking, and the facilitation of normative 

visioning. Furthermore, strategic decisions on the corporate 

as well as on the business (unit) level are being supported by 

strategic foresight systems. There is a high relevance of strategic 

foresight for decisions related to business development, 

Types of Strategic Foresight Systems 

System Types 

Primary function 

Objectives 

Core activities 

Relation to environment 

Relation to future 

Picture of future 

Anticipation 

Key concepts 

Focal points of design 

Foresight as Environmental 

Analysis Systems 

Gathering / processing of 

environmental information 

Early warning, increase of speed 

of reaction 

Analysis: scanning, monitoring, 

evaluating 

Environment rationally 

ascertainable 

Future can be partially 

forecasted 

Probable futures 

Explorative 

Weak signals, early warning 

Systems of analysis: information 

sources, filtering and systems 

corporate portfolio management, and competitive strategies. 

Although there is a certain common sense about the types of 

strategic decisions supported, the nature of the underlying 

and implemented strategic foresight systems can vary greatly. 

Three types of strategic foresight systems 

As theory and empirical research show, three basic system 

approaches can be differentiated: 

1| foresight as an environmental analysis system 

2| foresight as a future-oriented learning system 

3| foresight as a vision-building support system 

Foresight as Futureoriented 

Learning Systems 

Reflection and knowledge 

generation 

Increase of understanding of 

environmental dynamics 

Communication: irritating, 

reflecting, generating new mental 

models 

Environment subjectively 

perceivable 

Future cannot be forecasted, but 

key indicators can be assessed 

Possible futures 

Explorative and normative 

Scenario-learning, strategic 

conversation 

Structures of communication: 

participation, interaction 

Source: Müller and Müller-Stewens, 2009 

Foresight as 

Vision-Building Systems 

Shaping the future and 

collective consensus 

Bundling of organizational 

energy and forces 

Creation: building values / 

preferences, coordinating, 

mobilizing 

Environment influenceable / 

shapeable 

Future cannot be forecasted, 

but actively shaped 

Desirable futures 

Normative 

Envisioning 

Atmosphere: inspiration, 

motivation, activation 


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Agenda 


Firstly, strategic foresight can be understood and designed as a 

process to analyze the environment. Consequently, the collection 

of important information about current developments in 

the corporate environment is central. The objective is to prepare 

organizations for future developments, discontinuities, and surprises 

in their environment in order to reduce the time needed 

for decision-making. According to this understanding, strategic 

foresight is primarily concerned with probable futures. The future 

is therefore anticipated in an explorative manner, based on an 

“outside-in” analysis of the environment and the early detection 

of weak signals. The design of the foresight process is primarily 

focused on management systems’ construction and functioning 

regarding the collection and processing of information. 

The second approach to strategic foresight is particularly shaped 

by studies on “scenario processes.” Foresight is seen as an open 

Green Building Visions 

All illustrations in this chapter were done by Vincent Callebaut, 

a Belgian architect. He is considered one of the most important 

leaders in green architecture and low-emissions living. From 

New York to Hong Kong, Vincent Callebaut has proposed, with 

determination and conviction, ecological projects by creating 

local dialogues that try to raise questions about the types of 

societies we would like to live in as citizens of a global world. 

Along with great architectural collaborators 

(Jakob+MacFarlane, Claude Vasconi, Jacques Rougerie), 

Callebaut advocates for the sustainable development of the 

new “Ecopolis” via strategies of architecture that combine 

biology with information and communication technologies. 

learning process in which the organization reflects upon its 

business and strategy against the background of different future 

scenarios. Based on these scenarios, future opportunities and 

threats can be identified. The main activities are the externalization 

and challenging of existing paradigms, which lead to feedforward 

learning: “The purpose is to explore an as yet unexplored 

problematic situation. Deciding an intervention is not part of 

this foresight project. Instead we aim for sensitizing, reframing, 

surfacing assumptions, making sense, ‘seeing,’ anticipating.” 

Finally, strategic foresight can be integrated as a process of a 

vision’s normative formation geared toward the creation of a 

shared belief about the future and the organization’s objectives. 

Consequently, creativity and the concentration on a common 

goal are paramount. The main activities are the generation 

and alignment of preferences, and mobilization toward the 

achievement of common goals and visions. The organization’s 

environment is seen as being influenceable. The focus is on 

creating an inspiring culture to allow mindful exploration 

and shaping of desirable futures. The central concept is “visioning.” 

Van der Heijden describes this foresight approach 

as value foresight: “The purpose of value foresight is to bring 

groups of people together in a process of consensus building 

on the ‘future of desire.’ Value foresight helps organizations by 

strengthening future orientation, challenging groupthink, team 

building and language creation, bridge building with others, 

increasing common ground, and culture change.” 

Use of foresight methods 

Strategic foresight systems are usually built around one or 

several core methods for future anticipation. Nevertheless, 

it can be stated that there are no widely accepted standard 

methods for foresight work. Instead, organizations resort to 

a broad spectrum of methods and techniques from various 

scientific disciplines such as social sciences, economics, and 

natural sciences. Among the most widely used, different types 

of trend forecasting, the scenario technique, wild cards, or 

roadmapping can be mentioned. 

• Trend forecasting can be characterized as all sorts of integrative 

approaches to scan, monitor, and analyze relevant 

social, technological, or economic trends. Based on different 

information sources and observations, such as publications, 

expert opinions, scientific studies, etc., current dynamics and 

developments are extrapolated from the past or present to 

the future. 

• The scenario technique is a method to systematically develop 

alternative pictures of the future in order to explore future 

fields of action from a holistic point of view. Scenarios can be 

mapped and communicated in verbal, visual, or dramaturgical 

forms. Main points of interest are possible future paths 

of development, bifurcations, chances, and risks, points of 

decision and possible courses of action. 

• Wild cards can be defined as potential future events, associated 

with a very low likelihood of occurrence but with a 

tremendous impact on current social, cultural, and economic 

systems in case they occur. Examples of wild cards may be 

global pandemics, wars, economic shocks, natural disasters, 

terroristic attacks, and technological breakthroughs. Wild 

cards enforce strategic decision-makers to challenge their own 

mental models and to actively review strategies and plans. 

• Roadmapping describes a methodical procedure to structure 

and visualize a future path of development of a certain technology, 

respective of subject or field of observation. Roadmaps 

explain and illustrate actual, emergent, or potential 

developments in forms of coupled phases of development 

and they help to understand contextual interconnections 

and decision-related implications. 

As empirical research shows, a strong trend toward an intensified 

use of qualitative and participative methods, such as 

qualitative scenarios, can be observed in all sizes and forms 

of organizations. The single specific reason for it can be manifold, 

but some of the main drivers for these methodological 

adaptations may be referred to a more frequent occurrence of 

disruptive events, unpredictable behaviors, or a still expanding 

environmental complexity, thereby leading to increasing difficulties 

in forecasting a company’s environment by traditional 

means of quantitative methods and instruments. 

Alignment of strategic foresight systems 

Political institutions and commercial organizations intending 

to use strategic foresight as an effective support for their 

strategic decision-makers should understand strategic foresight 

as an institutionalized management system. Especially in the 

context of sustainable strategizing, one-time foresight exercises, 

studies, or projects are simply too limited to offer successful 

decision-support over longer periods of time. 

A special emphasis needs to be put on a consistent design and 

implementation of the strategic foresight system appropriate 

to the conditions, requirements, and expectations of the 

organization and the strategic decision-makers. There are no 

ready-made solutions: Foresight systems are as manifold as the 

organizations and decision-makers behind them. 

At its heart, a sound alignment for an effective and successful 

strategic foresight system considers all relevant dimensions of 

the systems’ design: (i) the organizational implementation, (ii) 

the process design, (iii) the selection and configuration of methods, 

(iv) cultural settings, as well as (v) the smooth integration 

of the system into the relevant decision-making processes. 



Dr. Adrian W. Mueller 

is expert and lecturer 

for strategic foresight & 

innovation at the Zurich 

University of Applied 

Sciences. 

Prof. Dr. Günter Müller- 

Stewens is since 1991 

Professor of Management 

and Organization at 

the University of St. 

Gallen (Switzerland) and 

Director of its Institute of 

Management. 

www.vincent.callebaut.org 


191

GC International Yearbook 

Imprint 

Publishing house: 

macondo Media Group 

Foreword: 

H.E. Ban Ki-moon, 

United Nations Secretary-General 

Publisher: 


Editorial staff: 

Marion Book (Senior Editor), Judith Bomholt (Editor), 

Dennis Lohmann (Editor), Malte Jonas Klingenhäger and 

Karen Rieckmann (Assistants) 

Photo Director: 

Marion Book 

Art Director: 

Katja Montag 

Text Editor: 

Robert Furlong 

Translations: 

Casey Butterfield 

Application and Approval Process to Participate: 

Starting on 25 February, 2011, all business participants that 

have submitted a Communication on Progress (COP) will 

be classified in one of two categories, based on the Global 

Compact Differentiation Programme. The Differentiation 

Programme reinforces the Global Compact’s objective of 

changing business practices through transparency, dialogue 

and stakeholder vetting. So all companies classified as “GC 

Active level” or “GC Advanced level” are supposed to have 

created a meaningful vetting process of the accuracy of their 

disclosure and performance. In this process companies also 

pass application and approval process to participate in the 

Global Compact International Yearbook. 

Authors of this edition (in alphabetical order): 

Muhammad Akber, Margarita Álvarez, Elena Alyokhina, 

Raquel Ark, Jorge Luiz Babadopulos, Zoila Bello, Yvonne 

Benkert, Judith Bomholt, Klaus Burmeister, Jenny Carter, 

Dr. Lourdes Casanova, Francesca Carnesella, Cornelia 

Daheim, Eduardo Dantas, Charlotte d’Erceville, Audrey 

d’Hotman de Villiers, Scott Dille, Felix Dodds, Anne Dumas, 

Marina Ee, Lilian Furrer, Andrei Galaev, Perihan Abdel Ghaly, 

Jerome C. Glenn, Holger Glockner, Natalia Gonchar, Prof. 

Dr. Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Dr. Wolfgang Grosse 

Entrup, Francoise Guichard, Emily Hamer, Syed Tousif Haque, 

Prof. Paul Alexander Haslam, Jeffrey A. Joerres, Pernille 

Kallehave, Punleuk Kam, Georg Kell, Joachim Keppler, 

Annkathrin Kienle, Sevda Latapie-Bayro, Dr. Elmer Lenzen, 

Fazhong Liang, Dennis Lohmann, Susanne Meier, Charles 

Moore, Viola Möller, Dr. Adrian W. Müller, Prof. Dr. Günter 

Müller-Stewens, Andreas Neef, Paula Niemistö, Berkay 

Orhaner, Estrella Peinado-Vara, Kyle Peterson, Jeffrey Revels, 

Anne-Laurie Rodrigues, Claudia Rodrigues Segond, Prof. 

Dr. René Rohrbeck, Yiannis Roundos, Dr. Marcelo Saguier, 

Veronica Scheubel, Katharina Schlake, Rasmus M. Schophuus, 

Achim Steiner, Susan Steinhagen, Heidi Stock, Maurice F. 

Strong, Douglas Tompkins, Joël Tronchon, Lilinés Urriola 

Herrera, Stijn Vercauteren, Fridolin Weindl, Yuanqiong Yao, 

Julia Yue 

Solely responsible for the editorial contributions under the 

heading “Best practice” are the companies themselves. 

Named articles do not reflect the opinions of the publisher. 

Photo Credits: 

UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras (P. 3), mangostock/Fotolia.com 

(P. 4 above, 6/7), Júlio Boaro/flickr.com (P. 4 below, 44/45), 

UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran (P. 5, 26/27), UN Photo/ 

Meike Böschemeyer (P. 8), UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe 

(P. 9 above, 12 above, 14), Felix Dodds (P. 9 below), UN Photo/ 

Yutaka Nagata (P. 10), UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras 

(P. 11 above), UN Photo/Earn Cahail (P. 11 below), UN Photo/ 

Mark Garten (P. 12 below, 21, 30), UN Global Compact 

(P. 16, 22), UN Photo/Evan Schneider (P. 18), Sakhalin Energy/ 

Rozhkov Vladlen (P. 19), Sam Beebe/Ecotrust (P. 20), Uwe 

Annas/Fotolia.com/Katja Montag (P. 23), Veronica Scheubel 

(P. 31), David Jones/istockphoto.com (P. 32), Kyle Peterson/ 

WEBB CHAPPELL 2009 (P. 35), UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan 

(P. 36), Punleuk Kam (P. 39 below left), Julia Yue (P. 39 below 

right), Charles Moore (P. 40), Rafael Matsunaga/flickr (P. 47), 

Estrella Peinado-Vara (P. 49), Paul Alexander Haslam 

(P. 53), UN Photo/Claudio Edinger (P. 54), Lourdes Casanova 

(P. 57), Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez (P. 61 right), UN 

Photo/Pernaca Sudhakaran (P. 62), Marcelo Saguier (P. 65 

below), Adecco Group (P. 74/75), Banco León (P. 76/77), EDF/ 

Philippe Eranian (P. 79), Groupe SEB (P. 81), INTERAMERICAN 

(P. 83), Medcom (P. 85), Mitsui (P. 86/87), Novo Nordisk/ LOME 

(P. 88), Sakhalin Energy (P. 91), Sakhalin Energy/Rozhkov 

Vladlen (P. 93 left), SK Telecom (P. 95), Teck/ Micronutrient 

Initiative (p. 96), Tristar (P. 98/99), Bosch (P. 100/101), 

ManpowerGroup (P. 102), Air France-KLM (P. 107), BASF 

Beauty Care Solutions France SAS (P. 108, 110, 111), Bayer 

CropScience AG (P. 113), BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte 

(P. 115), Consolidated Contractors Company 

(P. 116), Deutsche Telekom (P. 118), Essent (P. 120), Guangxi 

Beihai Penshibao (P. 122), MAN Truck & Bus AG (P. 124, 126, 

127), Metso/Seppo Kaksonen/SK-Foto (128/129), MTN 

(P. 130/131), Vestas/Jennifer S. Altman (P. 132/133), 

chungking/Fotolia.com (P. 134/135), CAMPOSOL (P. 136), 

Deutsche Post DHL (P. 138, 140, 141), FURNAS (P. 142/143), 

GDF SUEZ (P. 144, 145, 146), Nestlé/Nana Kofi Acquah 

(P. 148), Netafim (P. 150), Rogers (P. 152), TÜV Rheinland 

(P. 155), Carrefour (P. 156/157), Yüksel/16th Yilmaz Sazak 

Athletics Meetings (P. 160), Yüksel (P. 161), Arab African 

International Bank (P. 162/163), Bradesco (P. 164), Bradesco/ 

Leandro Marcondes de Melo (P. 165), Green Delta Insurance 

(P. 166, 167), Royal Bank of Scotland/David Johnstone 

Photography (P. 169), Vincent Callebaut Architectures - www. 

vincent.callebaut.org (P. 170/171, 174, 177, 182, 187, 190, 191 

above), Z_Punkt/Lichtbildwerke Thomas Schaekel (P. 176 left 

and right), Jerome C. Glenn (P. 181), René Rohrbeck 

(P. 186 left), Pernille Kallehave (P. 186 right), Adrian W. 

Mueller (P. 191 left), Günter Müller-Stewens (P. 191 right) 

and Marion Book (P. 25, 39 above, 50, 57 above, 58, 60/61, 65 

above, 66, 67, 72/73, 104/105) 

Cover: 

onebluelight / istockphoto.com 

Sales price: 

USD 30,00 | EUR 25,00 | GBP 20,00 

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. 

Copyright © macondo 

ISBN-13: 978-3-9813540-3-4 

Printed in Germany © 2012 

Useful Addresses: 

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 

Dahlweg 87 

48153 Münster, Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0) 251 – 200 78 20 

Fax: +49 (0) 251 – 200 78 222 

Mail: info@macondo.de 

URL: www.macondo-group.com 

Tax ID number: DE214683825 

United Nations Publications: 

Department of Public Information 

300 East 42nd Street, IN-919 C 

New York, NY 10017 

Sales no. E.12.II.A.1 

ISBN-13: 978-3-9813540-3-4 

Price USD: $ 30.00 


193

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 

Human Rights 

Principle 1: Businesses 

should support and 

respect the protection of 

internationally proclaimed 

human rights; and 

Principle 2: make sure that 

they are not complicit 

in human rights abuses. 

7 

8 

Environment 


should support a 

precautionary approach to 

environmental challenges; 

Principle 8: undertake 

initiatives to promote 

greater environmental 

responsibility; and 

3 

4 



should uphold the freedom 

of association and the 

effective recognition of 

the right to collective 

bargaining; 

Principle 4: the elemination 

of all forms of forced 

and compulsory labour; 

9 

10 

Principle 9: encourage the 

development and diffusion 

of environmentally friendly 

technologies. 

Anti-corruption 


should work against 

corruption in all it forms, 

including extortion and 

bribery. 

Previous Editions: 

5 

Principle 5: the effective 

abolition of 

child labour; and 

6 

Principle 6: the elemination 

of discrimination in 

respect of employment 

and occupation. 

194 

Global Compact International Yearbook 2012

“ 

This fourth edition of the Global 

Compact International Yearbook 

showcases many inspiring examples 

of businesses turning challenges into 

opportunity. 

” 

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General 

USD 30 

ISBN 978-3-9813540-3-4 

Published by 

Global Logistics Partner 

In cooperation with United Nations publication 

Printed in Germany, July 2012 – 10,000

Global Compact International Yearbook 2012

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