Thu, Jun 21, 2012 -
Rio, Tuesday 20 June 2012 - Today a group
of leading governments join together in
a unique initiative to commit to corporate
sustainability reporting, in support of
paragraph 47 of the UN Conference on Sustainable
Development - Rio+20 - outcome document.
Brazil, Denmark, France
and South Africa are forming a group of
'friends of paragraph 47' to advance corporate
sustainability reporting, and to that effect
they have invited Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to support them.
Further Resources
Denmark & South Africa Show the Way:
Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Reporting CrBan Ki-moon speech: 16 February
entitled ?Business Perspective for Sustainable
Growth?Global Reporting InitiativeUN Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)Their
vision is that corporate transparency and
accountability are key elements to enhancing
the private sector's contribution to sustainable
development. Making sustainability reporting
standard practice among companies will contribute
to monitor the impacts on and the contribution
to sustainable development by the corporate
sector.
The announcement was
made at the event 'Denmark & South Africa
Show the Way: Corporate Social Responsibility
and Sustainability Reporting Create a Green
Economy and Sustainable Development', held
today at Rio+20, in the presence of Ms.
Amina Mohamed, Deputy Executive Director
of UNEP. Together with the announcement
they invited other governments to join.
In the coming months
they will have their kick off meeting to
carve out their scope of work.
Brazil, Denmark, France
and South Africa are pioneers in sustainability
reporting practice and policy. They are
now taking the opportunity provided by the
global political agreement at Rio+20 to
share their experience with the rest of
the world and contribute to making corporate
sustainability reporting standard practice.
At today's event Mr
Villy Søvndal, Minister for Foreign
Affairs for the government of Denmark, encouraged
fellow leaders to adopt similar strategies
to Denmark, where large companies are required
to report their economic, environmental
and social performance, or explain why they
do not report.
Søvndal comments:
"Governments can play a crucial role
in driving sustainability practices and
disclosure at a national level. In Denmark,
the legal requirement for the largest companies
to report is having positive effects - increasing
Danish companies' international reputation
and creating value for the companies and
their stakeholders. These positive outcomes
have in turn motivated more companies to
address their Corporate Social Responsibility
and to report on their sustainability performance.
The Rio+20 Conference should inspire more
governments and businesses to adopt sustainability
reporting as a driver for sustainable development".
Similarly, in South Africa companies listed
on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are required
to produce a report integrating their financial
and sustainability performance, or explain
why they do not - a requirement of the King
III Code.
Edna Molewa, Minister
of Water and Environmental Affairs for South
Africa, explains the benefits. "King
III has provided a platform for compulsory
integrated sustainability reporting for
all companies listed on the Johannesburg
Stock Exchange (JSE), this means that all
these companies are required to report on
their environmental, economic, social as
well as governance performance. Adoption
of more sustainable approaches will create
new green jobs, open up new investment opportunities
and export markets; supports the creation
of knowledge based economy and allow South
Africa to set standards and demonstrate
thought leadership."
Today's commitment from
governments is an important continuation
of a development that was started at the
Johannesburg Sustainable Development Summit
in 2002. At this summit, sustainability
reporting was endorsed in paragraph 18 of
the Plan of Implementation, with encouragement
for business to use the Global Reporting
Initiative's Sustainability Reporting Framework.
Since 2002, the Global
Reporting Initiative, of which UNEP was
a founder, has developed into the global
de facto standard for sustainability reporting.
Thousands of companies have responded to
the Johannesburg call by reporting their
sustainability performance, both in industrialized
and emerging economies. Companies and their
investors, customers, and employees have
discovered the value of transparency for
business, markets, and communities. UNEP,
through its Finance Initiative, has been
working with financial institutions since
1992 to encourage the incorporation of corporate
sustainability considerations within their
financial decision making - for which the
availability of more and consistent data
is key. Today's commitment offers the opportunity
to scale up reporting efforts and to respond
to the needs that still persist.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and UNEP Executive Director, said:
"Year in and year out trillions of
dollars flow in and out of investments across
the globe, a proportion of which is assisting
in generating the conditions for a transition
to a low carbon, resource efficient, job
generating Green Economy".
"An intensified
commitment on sustainability reporting could
dramatically assist in accelerating and
scaling-up these positive investment flows
and bridge what is currently a big gap between
ambition and reality for a sustainable future.
The momentum is rapidly gaining ground among
countries, responsible investors, an increasing
number of corporations and forward-looking
sectors of civil society-today's announcement
offers further momentum to accelerate and
scale-up accountability towards the Future
We Want and the future seven billion people
need," added Mr Steiner.
+ More
UN and Partners Launch
Global Partnership on Marine Litter at Rio+20
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 -
Rio de Janeiro / Nairobi, 19 June 2012 -
Governments, industry representatives and
UN bodies have backed a new partnership
to tackle the damage caused by marine litter
to the environment, livelihoods and human
health.
The Global Partnership
on Marine Litter, which will be led by the
United Nations Environment Programmme (UNEP),
was launched at a side event during the
Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Further Resources
UNEP’s work on marine litterHonolulu StrategyUN
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)The
Government of the Netherlands, the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the Natural Resources Defense Council, Plastics
Pollution Coalition and a number of UN agencies,
were among those to signal their support
for the initiative.
It follows recommendations
made by 64 countries at a UN meeting held
in Manila earlier this year to step up global
efforts to protect oceans from land-based
pollution.
Despite ongoing efforts
to prevent and reduce marine debris (such
as plastic bottles or discarded fishing
gear), there is evidence that the problem
continues to grow - with significant impacts
on biodiversity, health and livelihoods.
The new global partnership
will act as a co-ordinating forum, bringing
together diverse organizations working in
the same field and encouraging governments,
NGOs, scientists and academics to collaborate.
An online forum, managed
by UNEP, will allow members of the partnership
to share information and lessons learned
on marine litter.
The new partnership
builds on the Honolulu Strategy - a global
framework for tackling marine litter backed
by governments, members of the plastics
industry, scientists, and other groups -
which was presented at the Fifth International
Marine Debris Conference in 2011.
In keeping with the
Honololu Strategy, the global partnership
will focus on reducing the amount and impacts
of land- and sea-based litter and solid
waste on the marine environment.
Overall, the new global
partnership will work to achieve the following
objectives:
Reduce the ecological,
human health, and economic impacts of marine
litter worldwide
Enhance international
cooperation through the promotion and implementation
of the Honolulu Strategy
Promote resource efficiency
and economic development through waste prevention
and recovering valuable materials from waste
Increase awareness on
the sources and impacts of marine litter
"Marine litter
affects communities and seas in every region
of the world, and its negative impacts on
biodiversity, fisheries and coastal economies
are a significant barrier to sustainable
development," said Vincent Sweeney,
Co-ordinator of UNEP's Global Programme
of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA),
at the launch event.
"There are many
solutions on the table, from curbing plastic
bag use, to increasing recycling rates.
What is clear, however, is that isolated
action will not be enough. Working with
a wide range of stakeholders, the Global
Partnership on Marine Litter aims to collectively
address the issue across national boundaries
and develop effective responses that can
be replicated and scaled up across the world."
The partnership is open
to any local or national government, industry
or business organization, NGO, civil society
group, academic institution or individual
that agrees to work towards the goals outlined
above.
The partnership will
also assess emerging issues relating to
marine litter, such as microplastics. These
are small particles made up of disintegrating
plastic items or lost plastic pellets used
by industry that are released into the ocean.
There is concern that
microplastics may accumulate contaminants,
such as polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs)
or the pesticide DDT, which are linked to
reproductive problems and other health risks.
Scientists are assessing
whether such contaminants could eventually
end up in the food chain, when microplastics
are ingested by marine animals. At present,
there remains uncertainty about the degree
to which microplastics pose a threat to
ecosystems and human health.
Over 6.4 million tonnes
of marine litter are estimated to reach
our oceans each year, with most waste originating
from land. Trends suggest that the use of
certain types of plastics is set to increase.
Individuals in North
America and Western Europe, for example,
currently use around 100kg of plastic materials
per capita annually. This is likely to increase
to around 140kg by 2015.
Research shows that
an estimated 267 marine species worldwide
are affected by entanglement in or ingestion
of marine debris, including 86 percent of
all sea turtles species, 44 percent of all
seabird species and 43 percent of all marine
mammal species.
