Report points businesses towards a sustainable future

The New Nature of Business report, a cross-disciplinary project be funded by the US National Science Foundation, has devised an 8-point plan designed to halt unsustainable levels of environmental degradation wrought by the private sector.

The report was authored by the University of Sydney Business School’s Professor Steve Elliot, Oregon State University’s Sally Duncan and consultant Nigel Malone. It has been endorsed by a wide range of environmental agencies, academic institutions, government utilities and firms including BP, Dow Chemicals and Wipro.

The report’s executive summary says that the degradation of the natural world is impacting dangerously on the availability of everything from clear air to food, water and natural resources that were once abundant. Furthermore, the destruction of habitats is leading to a decline in species, and that climate change is now a major contributor to the forces that threaten ecosystems and biodiversity worldwide.

“Distracted by global transformations and local crises, business has overlooked environmental degradation and the consequent destruction of biodiversity,” said the director of the board of the United Nation’s Global Compact, Matthew Tukaki, in the foreword of the report. “Business needs to make two urgent responses to these environmental challenges; reduce its adverse impact and increase its favourable impact on the environment.”

The report goes on to provide firms with a decision-making framework for an environmentally sustainable future. The framework begins with an examination of environmental awareness levels within a firm and of relevant environmental issues, and continues on to the formulation and implementation of appropriate responses. The framework also covers the identification of sustainable business opportunities.

Wipro Chief Sustainability Officer Anurag Behar wrote in the report about the importance of engaging employees in the transition to sustainable operations. “We had regular communications to build awareness, employee eco-chapters at our sites and employees proposing improvements in their areas and taking responsibility for them,” he said. “In isolation, these may not seem significant but employee engagement and ownership are critical - they create the corporate environment and build the culture.”

BP Group Ecology Expert Mark Johnson meanwhile said that his company identifies its key environmental challenges through its risk processes. These processes “cover both current risks (issues which occur now and may affect our business operations now) and strategic risks (issues which are being talked about and may affect our business operations in 5 to 10 plus years)”, he said.

Professor Elliot said many firms have not responded to existing environmental challenges because they are unaware of them, are uncertain of their relevance or are uncertain as to how to deal with them.

“Some firms, particularly in the services sector, do not see that they are at least in part responsible for the degradation that we see all around us,” he said.

“Irrespective of their sector, it’s no longer good enough for firms to adopt CSR policies that focus only on their employees or the local community. To be good corporate citizens they must also act to protect the environment.”

The report can be found at http://www.newnatureofbusiness.org/report.