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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.

 
 
 

Vision 2050

Vision 2050: Time to Transform
Launched last month, Vision 2050: Time to Transform is a framework for business action developed over the course of two years with 40 WBCSD member companies, setting a shared vision of a world in which more than 9 billion people are able to live well, within planetary boundaries, by 2050. To achieve this vision, we need transformation at scale, and business needs to focus its actions on the areas through which it can best lead the systems transformations.

The report can be downloaded here and the key messages are available here.

Check out the short social media video and the call to action video from over 20 CEOs

The infographic is available here, while the executive toolkit can be downloaded directly here.

 
 

Welcome to our new WBCSD members

We are delighted to welcome SAP as the newest member of WBCSD. SAP will be an innovation partner in WBCSD’s Value Chain Carbon Transparency Pathfinder, which is dedicated to enhancing transparency in corporate carbon emissions with the objective to ultimately decarbonize supply chains.

 
 

Member spotlights

Check out our spotlight on members' activities and announcements:

  • ACCIONA places "Sustainable Regeneration" at the core of its activities
  • Apple and partners launch first-ever $200 million Restore Fund to accelerate natural solutions to climate change
  • CMPC closes the first sustainability-linked bond (SLB) for a Chilean company
  • ERM sets ambitious net zero target for 2025
  • Evonik launches new whitepaper: Protecting freshwater with amino-acid enriched animal feed
  • Givaudan introduces Sourcing4Good program
  • Guidehouse, PepsiCo and others join forces to mobilize suppliers on climate change action
  • IBM spearheads development of OpenBuilt to accelerate digital transformation across the construction industry with a hybrid cloud approach
  • Michelin presents its “All Sustainable” strategy for 2030: Michelin In Motion
  • Nestlé to help protect and restore forest landscapes in Southeast Asia
  • New public-private coalition launched to mobilize more than $1 billion to protect tropical forests and enhance global climate action (Bayer, BCG, GSK, McKinsey, Nestlé, and Unilever)
  • Nutrien: Providing solutions for a growing world
  • PepsiCo announces 2030 Goal to scale regenerative farming practices across 7 million acres, equivalent to entire agricultural footprint
  • Quantis launches geoFootprint and eQopack, two digital business tools for more sustainable decision-making
  • Saint-Gobain sets up an internal carbon fund for its employees

 
 

Upcoming events

#FTGlobalBoardroom 4-6 May
What steps do governments, business and finance need to take in order to build a resilient and sustainable recovery? Join Peter Bakker and other policymakers, CEOs and thought leaders for three days of unparalleled insight. Get your exclusive 10 % discount code for Professional Passes (unlimited): CODE WBCSDVIP

Intenational Transport Forum Summit, 17-28 May
The ITF Annual Summit is the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers and the leading global platform for transport policy dialogue. This year, our President and CEO, Peter Bakker, will bring in the business perspective in a Ministers’ Roundtable on how to manage the transition to Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). During the Summit, WBCSD will also host a launch event for our upcoming report titled The new Mobility Landscape: Case Study on MaaS, co-written with the ITF.

ESG Roadshow: Investor-Grade ESG Reporting & Assurance, 18 May
The NBA Netherlands, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and WBCSD invite you to a virtual discussion on how businesses can meet investors' heightened requirements for sustainability information.

Movin’On Summit, 1-4 June
The Movin’On Summit is back this year, focusing on major mobility challenges and concrete, sustainable solutions that reduce the environmental impact of transport and meet societal needs. During this four-day event, WBCSD will host three sessions on the topics of commuting behavior change, mobility decarbonization and circularity in the automotive industry. Join the summit to connect with thought leaders in the mobility ecosystem and get inspired to take collective action.

Circularity 21, 15-17 June
June This is the largest online convening of professionals building the circular economy, offering thought-provoking keynotes, engaging breakouts, an interactive expo and valuable networking opportunities. WBCSD will participate in two sessions: Tools of the Trade: Circular Standards and Metrics and Circular Electronics: Designing for Next Life and New Models. Register with a special discount here.

 
 
 
   
 
World Business Council for Sustainable Development