Winnie Byanyima is Executive Director of Oxfam International. She served 10 years as a member of the Ugandan parliament. A recognized women’s rights advocate, she founded the still-thriving civil society organization, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE). Ms. Byanyima served at the African Union Commission and as Director of Gender and Development at the United Nations Development Programme. As part of her drive to bring women’s perspectives into core development issues, she co-founded the Global Gender and Climate Alliance and … “Recognizing Leaders: Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam International”
A few weeks ago I moderated a lively discussion with four thought leaders working on the front lines of business’ role in mobilizing action on climate change. Steve Howard (Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA), Niall Dunne (Chief Sustainability Officer at BT), Paul Dickinson (Executive Chairman at CDP) and Edward Cameron (Director of Partnership Development and Research at BSR) each shared their views on the challenges and opportunities for business to play a more active role in engaging the public in … “Climate Change Mobilization – The Role for Business to Engage Consumers”
Sometimes, the present bodes well for the future. Last week I attended the 2014 Net Impact conference in Minneapolis, and it was a buzz of energy and enthusiasm: everywhere one looked there were high-caliber students and “professionals” in CSR and sustainability wanting to forge greater connections to deliver impact. The energy in the sprawling Convention Center was contagious, with professionals feeding off the ambition and enthusiasm of rising leaders in the room. While the focus of this event tends to be … “Net Impact 2014: The Future of Sustainability Leadership”
I had the pleasure of attending the 2014 BSR Conference last week, and was blown away by the number of interesting, thought-provoking speakers the event featured. There were many inspirational moments during the three days of convening, and so I thought I’d share my top 5 quotes from the conference. These comments not only sum up some of the key themes that ran through the entire event, but are also great food for thought for the GlobeScan nexus of brand, … “BSR 2014: Five Quotes to Make You Think”
For the past six years, GlobeScan has partnered with BSR in conducting the annual State of Sustainable Business survey. This survey gleans insights from professionals within BSR member organizations on emerging trends, priorities, and practices across a range of environmental, social, and governance issues. In 2014, for the first time, some of the survey questions were extended to undergraduate and MBA members of Net Impact (read the report). The goal was to measure the ways that current and future sustainability leaders view … “State of Sustainable Business – Perspectives from Current and Future Sustainability Leaders”
Full Report of the BSR/GlobeScan/Net Impact State of Sustainable Business Survey – Perspectives from Current and Future Leaders.
A Study on Sustainability Trends & Business Priorities SAN FRANCISCO, USA – 6 November 2014 – BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), GlobeScan, and Net Impact have jointly released a new industry study which reveals how current and future leaders view the state of sustainable business, including some notable similarities, differences, and emerging trends. Overall, there is remarkable alignment between the perspectives of current and future leaders on the state of sustainable business. Results suggest that prospective business professionals are fairly realistic about the challenges that current sustainability … “Comparing the Perspectives of Current and Future Sustainability Leaders”
Three themes stood out for me in the midst of all the great presentations and discussions on the first day of the Sustainable Brands conference in London. First, we kept hearing about shifts in the relationship between brands and consumers and the opportunities that are opening up for marketers. James Goodman (Forum for the Future) reflected that brands need sustainability and that the relationship with consumers is moving from the linear to the circular. There’s also increasing complexity in channels of influence, … “Opportunities to Reimagine Brand Purpose: 3 Key Takeaways from Day One at Sustainable Brands London 2014”
Our annual State of Sustainable Business Survey, conducted with BSR, again provides important insights into the priorities, perceptions and challenges being faced by businesses and the sustainability professionals who work within them. The infographic below highlights just a few of the key findings from this year’s survey. We see that transparency is both a significant challenge for business, but also a highly important tool in helping to improve continuing low levels of public trust in business. This year we also point the … “Infographic on the State of Sustainable Business”
I had the honour to moderate an insightful and inspiring webinar on October 27 with three diverse and remarkable thinkers, all of whom have recently published excellent books on the topic of enlightened business leadership: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, Chairman of the Foundation for the UN Global Compact and former Chairman of Shell and Anglo American, and author of Responsible Leadership: Lessons from the Front Line of Sustainability and Ethics. Christine Bader, a visiting scholar at Columbia University,former policy manager at … “On the Front Lines of Progressive Leadership: Lessons Learned for Shared Success”