Global Compact International Yearbook 2014
Fighting poverty and global warming are key challenges for mankind. „This year we are laying the groundwork for success in 2015 on three fronts: achieving the Millennium Development Goals, adopting a meaningful new climate agreement, and establishing a new vision for a sustainable future“, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the 2014 edition of the Global Compact International Yearbook. Edited by macondo publishing the new yearbook offers insights to political as well as sustainability issues. This years´ focus lies on the Post-2015 Agenda. We discuss the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals. Question are among others: Are the concepts compatible? How does the architecture of a sustainable future look like? And above all: What role does corporate responsibility play in this context? The second key aspect in our Post-2105 discussion is about measuring the SDGs. In the past indicators have been developed and used in reporting progress toward the MDGs, and now the approach to upcoming SDGs must be systematically developed. This section also includes lessons from innovation management and "big data". Climate change is another focus of teh yearbook. It counts on very prominent authors like Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Sigmar Gabriel, Vice-Chancellor of the German government and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy. Other issues are : Traceability: How certification brings positive impacts and better traceability to business. Elaborated NGO inputs by Karin Kreider, the Executive Director of the ISEAL Alliance and one of the world’s leading experts on credible certification and eco-labeling, as well as Markus Arbenz, Executive Director of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Caroline Hickson, Director of Brand, Communications and Strategic Partnerships at Fairtrade International. Mandatory CSR: When CSR discussions started in the late 1960s, early 1970s ethical and moral arguments were the drivers. Since then CSR activities have become more holistic and professional. This becomes a principle-based approach in which business seeks to identify smarter business models, products, and services. Elmer Lenzen illuminates the boder zone between voluntary and mandatory CSR.
Fighting poverty and global warming are key challenges for mankind. „This year we are laying the groundwork for success in 2015 on three fronts: achieving the Millennium Development Goals, adopting a meaningful new climate agreement, and establishing a new vision for a sustainable future“, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the 2014 edition of the Global Compact International Yearbook. Edited by macondo publishing the new yearbook offers insights to political as well as sustainability issues.
This years´ focus lies on the Post-2015 Agenda. We discuss the transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals. Question are among others: Are the concepts compatible? How does the architecture of a sustainable future look like? And above all: What role does corporate responsibility play in this context?
The second key aspect in our Post-2105 discussion is about measuring the SDGs. In the past indicators have been developed and used in reporting progress toward the MDGs, and now the approach to upcoming SDGs must be systematically developed. This section also includes lessons from innovation management and "big data".
Climate change is another focus of teh yearbook. It counts on very prominent authors like Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Sigmar Gabriel, Vice-Chancellor of the German government and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Other issues are :
Traceability: How certification brings positive impacts and better traceability to business. Elaborated NGO inputs by Karin Kreider, the Executive Director of the ISEAL Alliance and one of the world’s leading experts on credible certification and eco-labeling, as well as Markus Arbenz, Executive Director of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Caroline Hickson, Director of Brand, Communications and Strategic Partnerships at Fairtrade International.
Mandatory CSR: When CSR discussions started in the late 1960s, early 1970s ethical and moral arguments were the drivers. Since then CSR activities have become more holistic and professional. This becomes a principle-based approach in which business seeks to identify smarter business models, products, and services. Elmer Lenzen illuminates the boder zone between voluntary and mandatory CSR.
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EUROPEAN UNION<br />
INTRODUCES<br />
MANDATORY REPORTING<br />
In April <strong>2014</strong> the European Parliament adopted the long-awaited directive on the<br />
disclosure of nonfinancial and diversity information by certain large companies,<br />
amending the 2013 Accounting Directive. The directive, which adopts a reportor-explain<br />
approach, introduces measures that will strengthen the transparency<br />
and accountability of an estimated 6,000 companies in the EU.<br />
A last-minute compromise deal between EU Member States and<br />
European Parliament negotiators means that listed companies<br />
will, for the first time, be required to report on key human<br />
rights and environmental issues, including within the supply<br />
chain, if the law is adopted later by the Parliament’s plenary<br />
and the Council.<br />
“This vote is a victory for transparency and this is a great day for<br />
the future of sustainability reporting,” says Teresa Fogelberg,<br />
Deputy Director of the <strong>Global</strong> Reporting Initiative (GRI). “This<br />
agreement demonstrates the EU’s strong commitment to corporate<br />
transparency and sustainability – supporting smart,<br />
sustainable, and inclusive growth, and paving the way for a<br />
sustainable global economy.”<br />
The new rules will only apply to certain large companies with<br />
more than 500 employees. In particular, large public-interest<br />
entities with more than 500 employees will be required to<br />
disclose certain nonfinancial information in their management<br />
reports. This includes listed companies as well as some unlisted<br />
companies, such as banks, insurance companies, and other<br />
companies that are so designated by Member States because<br />
of their activities, size, or number of employees.<br />
“It is estimated that some 6,000 companies will fall under the<br />
scope of the directive. To put this in perspective, there are<br />
currently approximately 2,500 global organization sustainability<br />
reports in the GRI <strong>Global</strong> Database, which represents<br />
one of the most comprehensive databases of sustainability<br />
reporting,” explains Louis D Coppola from the G&A Institute.<br />
Scope and range were weakened during the preparation<br />
The compromise has been welcomed as a timid step forward by<br />
the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) – a broad<br />
coalition representing NGOs, consumer groups, trade unions,<br />
and academics who have been urging legislative reform. But a<br />
spokesperson for ECCJ said they were disappointed that some<br />
Member States had weakened the proposal. The European<br />
Parliament’s legal affairs committee had asked for clearer and<br />
more demanding reporting by all large companies.<br />
ECCJ coordinator Jerome Chaplier says: “This is an important<br />
step forward, as it means citizens and investors will have access<br />
to meaningful information from companies – rather than the<br />
selective and often misleading data currently provided. They<br />
will have to release details of important risks to people and to<br />
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<strong>Global</strong> <strong>Compact</strong> <strong>International</strong> <strong>Yearbook</strong> <strong>2014</strong>
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