Get Started for FREE
Sign up with Facebook Sign up with X
I don't have a Facebook or a X account
|
Rescooped by
Willy De Backer
from The Great Transition
onto Business & Sustainability |
Scoop.it!
Unilever's CEO talks to Reuters about moving away from a focus on short-term corporate results.
Unilever is one of the few multinationals seriously committed to the transition towards a sustainable one-planet economy.
 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
Scoop.it!
New report finds only 129 of 4,069 largest companies listed on the world’s stock exchanges are disclosing the most basic sustainability information
Willy De Backer's insight:
Good Guardian article about the the failure of multinational companies to deliver on their sustainability rhetoric.
Scoop.it!
The expansion of renewable energy will slow over the next five years unless policy uncertainty is diminished, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today in its third annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report.
Willy De Backer's insight:
The falling support of governments for renewables has little to do with economic facts (costs) but all with heavy lobbying from the brown industry.
Scoop.it!
Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World by 2050 “Combining passion and hard evidence, How on Earth is a fascinating, highly original book. It points to how not-for-profit organizations can play a major role in building a more caring and sustainable economy. […]
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
August 28, 2014 1:42 AM
Must-read book for anyone interested in the real, planetary limits-based future of business and economics.
Scoop.it!
Fresh analysis of 613 of the largest U.S. companies says incremental progress is a good start — but a new report shows it's time to pick up the pace.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
May 2, 2014 2:15 AM
Most corporations still see sustainability as a "nice to have", not as a critical necessity for their long-term future. "Incremental progress in tackling global climate change and other sustainability threats is simply not enough". We need Pavan Sukhdev's "Corporation 2020" .
Scoop.it!
The world's largest CEO sustainability study shows most companies are not integrating social, environmental and governance issues into their core strategies
Willy De Backer's insight:
Very good article once more from Guardian's Jo Cofino on the lack of real sustainability transformation of large companies. Even if CEOs understand the challenges, they cannot make the business case in these times of austerity and economic crisis.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
September 21, 2013 3:36 AM
Very good article once more from Guardian's Jo Cofino on the lack of real sustainability transformation of large companies. Even if CEOs understand the challenges, they cannot make the business case in these times of austerity and economic crisis. 
Stephane Bilodeau's curator insight,
September 21, 2013 7:47 AM
The study, of more than 1,000 top executives from 27 industries across 103 countries, comes hard on the heels of depressing results from two other recent surveys, one from the UNGC and the other from the global NGO CDP, which also provide concrete evidence of the lack of corporate progress. 
Eli Levine's curator insight,
March 11, 2014 1:34 PM
The failure to adapt and shift according to one's more generalized and larger self interest will be what kills the species. More specifically, it'll be what kills their particular brain type amongst the species, assuming that the rest of us don't go down with it.
Silly brains.
Think about it.
Scoop.it!
CDP analysis reveal lack of action on emissions by top FTSE Global 500 corporations, writes Jo Confino
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
September 15, 2013 8:14 AM
Great but bleak article by Jo Confino in the Guardian.
Scoop.it!
In recent times, the issue of sustainable consumption has gained renewed attention and relevance.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
May 10, 2013 2:18 PM
interesting article on the use of redesigning consumption products to advance sustainability - does not address the issue of sufficiency though..;
Scoop.it!
Businesses will stick to the status quo whatever the disastrous consequences unless we build a credible sustainability vision
Willy De Backer's insight:
"To create the pathway for fundamental change, it is therefore vital that we mainstream a credible vision of a prosperous future within planetary boundaries, but the sustainability movement has so far failed to do this." - so correct!
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
April 13, 2013 5:06 AM
Excellent article by Jo Cofino of the Guardian underlining the need for the sustainability movement to stop analysing and start doing. 
Antoine Moore's comment,
April 16, 2013 8:47 AM
To me the most salient statement of this article was this: Standing back from the whole sustainability debate, the sense I have is that before we can come up with a credible future vision, we must firstly let go of our egoic need to be in control and be right. The paradox is that only by embracing uncertainty, will the way forward start to manifest." Business leaders have to become more comfortable with uncertainty and not knowing upfront the way forward which presumably might also suggest the possibility of not acting but rather sensing into the storyline unfolding in the field of one's experience.
Eli Levine's curator insight,
March 11, 2014 2:25 PM
Even if a new and functional vision of the world were to come up, would they listen?
Would they see?
We're a species that is perfectly capable of adaptation and self-produced evolution.
How is it that these folks aren't changing themselves for the sake of their own long term (and short term, btw) beneft?
Where is the failure to connect?
And, more importantly, how do we actually change them, before it's too late for all of us?
Think about it.
Scoop.it!
"Porter goes so far as to say that the benefits of the capitalist system are not being seen by greater society. It’s not that profit is inconsistent with society’s needs, but rather it is seen as coming at the expense of society rather than to its benefit. If the 20th century model for capitalism was “What’s good for business is good for society,” Porter sees the 21st-century model as the converse: “What’s good for society is good for business.”
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
March 26, 2013 3:12 PM
Interesting article in GreenBiz on going beyond the usual sustainable business framework.
Scoop.it!
We have built a world in which competition rules but it's time to pay more attention to the art of collective leadership, says Petra Kuenkel...
Good article in the Guardian Sustainable Business blog on the need for a new governance culture in business as well as society as a whole.
Scoop.it!
Unilever's CEO talks to Reuters about moving away from a focus on short-term corporate results.
Unilever is one of the few multinationals seriously committed to the transition towards a sustainable one-planet economy.
Eli Levine's curator insight,
March 11, 2014 2:36 PM
It's funny how by focusing on what you should be focusing on, that you tend to be able to succeed.
We still need to focus on reducing the attention towards profits and financial gain and shifting it to well being, health, survival and well being (at least, from a governing perspective). However, this is a positive development in the business community and it should be fostered by investors and financiers.
The human world is going to have to take a much more mature and holistic view of itself, if it is going to be able to survive, let alone, be able to truly thrive. That's just the way it's going to be. And, I can't believe that there are so many conservatives and ideologues out there who will kill themselves off for the sake of not changing or the sake of their unworkable ideas and principles.
Think about it.
Scoop.it!
"Business leaders, said Porter, should focus on creating win-win outcomes that strengthen society as well as satisfy the profit motive. They can do so by reaching out to serve broader constituencies and by being attentive to long-term social impact."
The World Bank blog tackles Michael Porter's "Shared Value" concept but avoids the tough question: what if "shared value" approaches bite into corporate profits? If interests of shareholders clash with interests of society, which side wins in a world rules by the financial markets?
Scoop.it!
Unilever has announced it will reach its target of 100 percent certified sustainable palm oil covered by GreenPalm Certificates by the end of 2012, three years ahead of its original schedule.
Applause for Unilever but this sustainable sourcing success does not yet make it a sustainability leader. It still remains a consumption-driven instead of a prosperity-driven company
|
Scoop.it!
Last July the government agency, which has collected mundane statistics on energy matters for decades, quietly revealed that 127 of the world's largest oil and gas companies are running out of cash.
Willy De Backer's insight:
By investing in expensive hydrocarbon projects, the brownies are undermining the future of our economies. But only few people and even fewer governments get it.
Stephane Bilodeau's curator insight,
August 30, 2014 1:34 PM
"Some of the summer's biggest news stories took place in the bombed schools of Gaza, the abandoned hospitals of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the wheat fields of eastern Ukraine and the bloody mountains of northern Iraq. But one of the most important made virtually no headlines at all, and seemed to only appear on the website of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Last July the government agency, which has collected mundane statistics on energy matters for decades, quietly revealed that 127 of the world's largest oil and gas companies are running out of cash. They are now spending more than they are earning. Profits have lagged as expenditures have risen. Overburdened by debt, these firms are selling assets. The math is simple. The 127 firms generated $568 billion in cash from their operations during 2013-2014 while their expenses totalled $677 billion. To cover the difference of $110 billion, the energy giants increased their debt load or sold off assets. Given that the gap between earned cash and spending stood at a modest $10 billion in 2010, that's a significant change for the industry as well as the global economy it fuels."
Scoop.it!
"Global warming is here, human-caused and probably already dangerous — and it's increasingly likely that the heating trend could be irreversible, a draft of a new international science report says."
Willy De Backer's insight:
good to see this draft synthesis report being leaked, as it will allow to track what will be deleted or downplayed in the final version.
Scoop.it!
How do we translate interest in Piketty's new book into policy action ?
Willy De Backer's insight:
Very good question in this New Economics Foundation article, but I am afraid the answer is not very satisfactory. Getting more people to vote will not change much. I live in Belgium where we have mandatory voting but still the silent majority votes for parties which will increase inequality in Belgian society.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
May 3, 2014 7:19 AM
Very good question in this New Economics Foundation article, but I am afraid the answer is not very satisfactory. Getting more people to vote will not change much. I live in Belgium where we have mandatory voting but still the silent majority votes for parties which will increase inequality in Belgian society.
Scoop.it!
PwC's sustainability & climate change team preview the implications of the IPCC report for business, including analysis from PwC’s Low Carbon Economy Index, and the impact of international climate change on the UK.."
Willy De Backer's insight:
very good analysis of the new IPCC report
Scoop.it!
From electric vehicles to renewable energy to LEED buildings, environmental innovation has driven transformations in industry after industry. These innovations promise rapid growth and insure profitable futures. And yet, the fossil fuel industry, the primary source of climate change, has failed to transform itself for the new reality. Why?
Willy De Backer's insight:
Very insightful blog post on why market-solutions to climate change have lost us more than 15 years and why companies are not taking climate chaos seriously. There is just more money to be made from speculation than from innovation.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
September 15, 2013 9:44 AM
Very insightful blog post on why market-solutions to climate change have lost us more than 15 years and why companies are not taking climate chaos seriously. There is just more money to be made from speculation than from innovation.
Scoop.it!
Companies in the financial sector should be environmentally responsible, but that alone is not enough to create viable corporate sustainability.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
June 3, 2013 2:41 PM
Good article but with a lousy conclusion: "Those corporations who choose not to make this shift will almost assuredly be judged harshly by history". As if they care about how history will judge them. Only solution is hard legislation, punishment for crimes and fraud, and if necessary, nationalise them.
Scoop.it!
The central theme is not global warming but resource depletion on a planet already consuming 50 percent more than its capacity.
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
April 18, 2013 3:17 PM
Good review of The Worldwatch Institute's new "State of the World 2013". "Is sustainability still possible?" - does the unicorn exist?
Scoop.it!
"Many from the “peak oil” community say that what we should worry about is a decline in world oil supply. In my view, the danger is quite different: The real danger is financial collapse, coming much earlier than a decline in oil supply".
Willy De Backer's curator insight,
April 2, 2013 2:38 AM
Gail Tverberg's interesting analysis of the link between resource scarcity and the world's financial crisis provides a lot of insight into our economic predicament.
Scoop.it!
Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has been awarded the Sustainable Supply Chain Award 2012 for its responsible way of managing its supply chain.
One of the leading sustainability-aware companies got a well-deserved award.
Scoop.it!
Some 85 percent of companies have more complex supply chains as a result of globalization, and adjusted climate forecasts mean businesses should expect climate change to have an even more destructive effect than previously assumed on supply ...
Two new remarkable reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers paint a scary 6-degrees climate future and economic turmoil for global business. High time one of the big consultancies goes beyond the usual "let's keep it positive" approach and starts talking reality.
Scoop.it!
BASF, the German chemical giant, has distanced itself from the rest of the industry by saying Europe's REACH chemical safety law was worth the investment in the end. A review of the legislation is expected this month.
Remarkable U-turn from the German chemical giant.
Scoop.it!
"Coll’s newest work, Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, makes clear that the world’s largest corporation is roughly as powerful a force on the global geopolitical stage as the world’s most dangerous terrorist network. And, not only powerful, but also sometimes working against the interests of the United States and its citizens"
Via Willy De Backer
|
It's funny how by focusing on what you should be focusing on, that you tend to be able to succeed.
We still need to focus on reducing the attention towards profits and financial gain and shifting it to well being, health, survival and well being (at least, from a governing perspective). However, this is a positive development in the business community and it should be fostered by investors and financiers.
The human world is going to have to take a much more mature and holistic view of itself, if it is going to be able to survive, let alone, be able to truly thrive. That's just the way it's going to be. And, I can't believe that there are so many conservatives and ideologues out there who will kill themselves off for the sake of not changing or the sake of their unworkable ideas and principles.
Think about it.