Roundup from the WBCSD Liaison Delegate Meeting

Our Liaison Delegate Meeting was held from 19-21 April. With more than 35 sessions across three days, this fully virtual LD Meeting was attended by over 500 sustainability leaders, experts and guests joining from 78 countries. We’ve put together a highlight video and short session summaries for your convenience. If you weren’t able to attend, we would truly appreciate if you could take two minutes to respond to our feedback survey. Your insights are instrumental to understanding why you did not join but also to improving our events and delivering content adapted to your needs.

Business response to the COVID-19 crisis in India

The current situation in India is sobering: A new Indian mutation, mass gatherings across the country, and relatively low vaccination rates have combined to see daily transmissions rise from 25,000 to 360,000 in just 6 weeks. The health system is overwhelmed. 3,500 people are dying each day. And the trend is up. Grasping the scale of these numbers makes this crisis a concern to all of us. Whether we live in India, employ a workforce there, or simply feel the human connection of watching a tragedy unfold. Our colleagues at WBCSD India have put together this one pager that shows the ways business can help, sharing details of trusted organizations and initiatives dedicated to helping people on the ground. We have also gathered a some best practices from companies in India that are stepping up in any way they can, if you need an idea of how to help.

WBCSD member companies launch new project to advance global health and wellbeing

The new “Healthy People, Healthy Business” project will focus on articulating and realizing the role that business can play in supporting universal access to the highest possible standards of physical health and mental wellbeing, and the ways that health is deeply connected to issues including equity and the climate crisis. It will seek to build a cross-sectoral coalition within WBCSD to identify private sector priorities and opportunities to drive progress, with a focus on stakeholders including corporate employees as well as vulnerable populations around the world.

IPIECA and WBCSD launch SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector

IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for advancing environmental and social performance, and WBCSD, have launched an SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector. The Roadmap identifies 10 SDGs on which the industry can have the biggest impact by driving innovations in its own operations and across the supply chain. These 10 SDGs underpin eight impact pathways grouped into three interconnected systemic themes of climate, nature and people.

What skills strategies for the new world of work?

What skills strategies do businesses pursue for the new world of work? How does work, and the skills to fuel it, lie at the heart of Vision 2050 and the SDGs? A short insight article by Filippo Veglio (Managing Director, People & Society at WBCSD) and Nazrene Mannie (Executive Director, Global Apprenticeship Network).

A Nature-Positive World: the Global Goal for Nature

Co-authored by Johan Rockström, Harvey Locke and CEOs of a dozen conservation and business organizations, including WBCSD, this paper makes a strong case with scientific justification for the necessity to ensure there is more nature by 2030 – drawing on 78 published academic papers.

Ensuring sustainability information is decision-useful: new guidance on assurance

Marking a significant step forward in supporting assurance for non-financial reporting, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) recently published Non-Authoritative Guidance on Applying ISAE 3000 (Revised) to Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance Engagements in collaboration with WBCSD to ensure robust and decision-useful sustainability information. The guidance will reach over 170 professional accounting bodies across the globe. In addition to working with the IAASB on the guidance, WBCSD has produced the freely available Buyers' Guide to help companies procuring external assurance.

Natural capital accounting: understanding challenges and pursuing standardization opportunities

WBCSD; in collaboration with Valuing Nature, has launched a report focused on corporate natural capital accounting resources and applications, identifying best practices, challenges and standardization opportunities the promotion of standardized natural capital accounting for business. This is a contribution to the EU Life funded Transparent project, a collaboration between the Capitals Coalition, Value Balancing Alliance and WBCSD.

Business voice leading up to the UN Food System Summit

WBCSD is actively mobilizing the private sector to transform food systems ahead of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit (FSS) in September. The Pre-Summit scheduled from 19 - 21 July in Rome is confirmed to take place in a hybrid format. As a convening member of the Private Sector Guiding Group, WBCSD is organizing regular CEO consultations while supporting the development of priority areas of action for business to further drive collective actions and build coalitions.

Science-to-Policy dialogue paper focused on agricultural production and equity

WBCSD’s Science-to-Policy outcome paper presents key policy asks for agricultural production and equity within food systems. The results from the Science-to-Policy Dialogue, together with additional research and analysis, will result in the production and equity chapter of the WBCSD Food and Agriculture Roadmap.

The life cycle of forest products: new video by the Forest Solutions Group

This video from WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group (FSG) describes the life cycle of forest products, starting in the sustainable working forests from which they originate. It aims to raise awareness of the role of forests and forest products in the global development agenda. Its simple narrative is centered around FSG’s mission to grow the circular bioeconomy and a thriving forest sector that sustains healthy productive forests and people’s well-being.

Strategy and innovation for sustainable development: Group projects – Leadership Class of 2020

In 2020, the WBCSD Leadership Program brought together 42 participants from WBCSD member companies under the theme of Strategy and innovation for sustainable development. This report includes their research and findings covering risk management, energy technologies, deforestation and much more, with recommendations on how to overcome global challenges.