Making stakeholder capitalism real and rewarding

The next few months will be a crucial time in our collective fight against the global pandemic – which still rages on in much of the world. This will also determine how we give meaning to “building forward better” in a post-COVID-19 world, argues WBCSD President & CEO Peter Bakker. In this context, a lot of the conversations have been focusing on the shift from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism. But Bakker cautions that “stakeholder capitalism is not yet real for business. We have no shared definition, the expectations of business are not clear, there is no roadmap on how to implement it, and much of the financial system architecture is still focused on (short-term) financial returns.” He lays out WBCSD’s ambition to take a leading role in making the building forward for a better capitalism real and rewarding for business.

PRI and WBCSD join forces to drive corporate-investor action on sustainable development

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and WBCSD – together representing asset owners, investment managers, service providers and businesses – have forged a new collaboration to create the enabling conditions for a sustainable financial system. PRI and WBCSD will work to put sustainability at the heart of financial and strategic decision making by facilitating direct conversations between investors and business about what decision-useful sustainability-related information is, and how and where that information can be used.

WBCSD releases insights into innovations that could shape and transform the next decade

We cannot predict the future, but we can identify the innovations that could shape it and the ones that we might need to push the future in a certain direction. A new issue brief outlines five business model shifts, twelve emerging technologies and eight social innovations that could shape the next decade. This issue brief is part of a series of interim outputs linked to WBCSD’s current refresh of its Vision 2050, a landmark 2010 report that laid out a pathway to a world in which nine billion people are able to live well, within planetary boundaries, by mid-century.

Indian business leaders sign action statement for a green recovery

Twenty CEOs of India’s leading businesses, including WBCSD members, have signed a call to action that outlines eight priorities for businesses to work alongside the government and civil society to stimulate green growth and create a more resilient India as it recovers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Business Statement was supported by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with the We Mean Business Coalition and its partners – WBCSD, The Climate Group (TCG), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the World Resources Institute India (WRI India).

COVID-19 Response Project on Vital Supply Chains releases new outputs

Several documents on the priorities for action have been recently published, including a perspective on a sustainable & inclusive recovery in the FMCG industry and an insight article titled “The path for a strong business response to COVID-19 and the inequities of our food system” written by Dr. David Nabarro and Diane Holdorf.

Emerging practices on employee health and business recovery

As businesses consider the return to a new ‘normal’ activity level, WBCSD’s work on Return to New Normal supports companies to understand and act to improve their vulnerability to a second wave of COVID-19, future global pandemics and potentially other kinds of future shocks. Explore the library to find examples of emerging practices on employee health and business recovery including webinars, case studies and much more.

Why realizing the Sustainable Development Goals is more urgent than ever before

WBCSD’s James Gomme explains why the SDGs, and the pathway to prosperity for people and the planet that they represent are, in many ways, more important than ever before. The Goals should be at the forefront of our thinking as we plan our long-term response and recovery from COVID-19; they provide us with a ready-made universal framework to help realize our collective ambition of building back better.

Protein Impact Framework – a flexible tool for companies to assess the sustainability & health impact of animal and plant-based proteins

The Framework supports businesses in making balanced assessments of the environmental, societal and health impacts of different animal and plant protein products and production methods. Each impact area includes a list of indicators for application and use by businesses. These indicators were selected by gathering information from literature reviews and expert interviews, by testing indicators with member companies, and by running a broader consultation on indicators.

New framework launched to help align company actions towards a net-zero built environment

WBCSD has developed the Building System Carbon Framework to enable the cross-company action needed for reaching a net-zero built environment by 2050. The Framework provides a common language for all companies in the building and construction sector. Using a common metric and a full life-cycle approach, joint solutions can be designed and implemented to help achieve system decarbonization.

New guidelines help companies maximize the opportunities of the energy transition

The guidelines aim to help energy consumers develop and implement a sustainable energy strategy for their business. The guidelines support companies to rethink how they source and consume energy within their business and across their value chain and expand their opportunities to use or invest in commercially viable low-carbon energy solutions in collaboration with partners.

Feeding a water-stressed world - how business and investors are responding

Managing risk in the food sector is inherently complex and exacerbated by the impact of climate change. One of the key risks for business in the food value chain is water and requires urgent attention, robust assessment and response. Jointly with Ceres and World Resources Institute, WBCSD organized a series of webinars to bring together leading companies, investors and other stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector to explore how companies are managing water-related risks, how investors can drive change, and highlight new methods and tools available for risk management.

WBCSD Leading Women Awards now open for 2020 nominations

We’re pleased to announce the fourth edition of the Leading Women Awards, designed to recognize outstanding female leaders and to showcase their work in sustainability towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In past years, the Awards have been limited to nominations from WBCSD member companies. However, in recognition of the special circumstances of 2020, this year WBCSD is opening a special category to businesses worldwide, to recognize women who have demonstrated exemplary leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.