Peter Bakker, President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), was today ordained Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, in recognition of his long-lasting commitment to engaging business in tackling global sustainability issues. Peter received the decoration on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary celebrations of Nyenrode Business University, from the Mayor of Stichtse Vecht, on behalf of HM King Willem Alexander of the Netherlands.

At our Council member Meeting in Singapore, we were proud to announce the recipients of the 2018 Leading Women Awards. In a ceremony sponsored by Firmenich, we heard from these women who are business leaders and how they are working to achieve the SDGs.

And the winner is... WBCSD’s short film, “The Natural Solution!” Honored to win the Judge’s Award at the 2018 tve Global Sustainability Film Awards - a competition for films that powerfully portray solutions for sustainability. Did you know that the world could blow past 1.5°C of warming as soon as 2040 unless we implement solutions now? Natural climate solutions could capture 37% of the emissions reductions needed & can be rolled out today.

In Singapore, the Global Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) announced that the CEO of Phoenix, Mr Gaurav Dhawan, the world’s second largest rice trader, is to become its new Chair from 2019. The GAA collectively addresses sustainability challenges affecting agri supply chains and helps to improve resilience of farmers across the world.

Novartis shared their experience in implementing their newly-released sustainability strategy to achieve economic and global health progress while cutting greenhouse gas emissions across their supply chain.

In this Panorama piece, we explore how emerging tech-based tools and instruments hold the potential to raise the bar when it comes to embedding respect for human rights in company operations and along value chains - ultimately potentially improving the lives of millions.

Last Monday 19 November was World Toilet Day and WBCSD participated in an event in Geneva, organized by the Toilet Board Coalition (TBC) in partnership with Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and SDG Lab to highlight the role of businesses in scaling-up sanitation solutions.

It’s Natural Capital Week in Paris, a series of events advancing the agenda of business and government decision-making, assessment and policies around nature. WBCSD is excited to be part of a new EU-funded campaign, We Value Nature, and we’ll lead business capacity building starting in 2019. We’re also announcing the transfer of our Natural Capital Protocol Toolkit to MIT’s SHIFT.tools. Check it out.