Global Compact International Yearbook 2016

is not an argument in favor of decarbonization, it is rather
a signal that the real big business with the black gold is just
at the beginning.
Measures to take
• Honestly, a lot of expectations depend on disruptive innovations
in the future. New players, new products, and new
ideas will stir up the markets.
• We have to use limited resources more intelligently: The
circular and shared economies have shown us new business
models that address this aspect.
• Efficiency is not only a topic for engineers and graduates in
business administration. It is foremost a topic for product
designers and product developers. We have to form a new
aesthetic that shows how cool it is to buy without packaging,
to shop without plastic bags, and to live without disposables.
• We will need a holistic calculation of costs. It is too simple
to calculate a price without taking into account the up- and
downstream supply chains. Sport shoe manufacturer Puma
is a good example for showing us the way companies can
do it. I do not know if this holistic calculation of costs must
have an effect on the price itself, but it will have an effect
on transparency and awareness-building. Such a holistic
concept of costs, by the way, corresponds with the holistic
concept of capital that the International Integrated Reporting
Council is discussing.
• Politicians will have to write the regulations. Global solutions
are desirable but not obligatory. It is erroneous to believe
that there is no alternative to globalization. National, or
even regional regulations show us that there is always an
alternative and competition is the way to improve systems.
See how California emissions legislation is breathing fire
into the belly of the EU administration.
None of these descriptions offers a concrete, one-step solution
for practitioners. This is up to you. You have to realize that
corporate sustainability is a compass, not a map.
Dr. Elmer Lenzen is founder and CEO of macondo
publishing GmbH, publisher of the Global Compact
International Yearbook and the CSR Academy. He has
a PhD in Journalism and studied at the universities of
Münster and Bochum (both Germany) and the UCR in
San José (Costa Rica).
Jim Yong Kim
World Bank Group President:
“There is a growing sense of inevitability
about putting a price on carbon
pollution. In order to deliver on the
promises of the historic Paris climate
agreement, a price on carbon pollution
will be essential to help cut
emissions and drive investments into
innovation and cleaner technologies.
Prices for producing renewable
energy are falling fast, and putting
a price on carbon has the potential to
make them even cheaper than fuels
that pollute our planet.”
Prime Minister
Hailemariam
Dessalegn
Ethiopia:
“We should now follow up the Paris
Agreement with adequate actions,
national policies, investment schemes
and regional and international
initiatives and partnerships. I iterate
Ethiopia’s commitment to the global
efforts to overcome dangerous climate
change and ensure sustainable development.
We will use every policy
instrument, including carbon pricing,
which is found to be effective,
efficient and fair.”
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Global Compact International Yearbook 2016