WALKING THE TALK
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVLOPMENT
By Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Chairman & CEO, DuPont,
Stephen Schmidheiny, Chairman, Anova Holding AG,
Philip Watts, Chairman of the Committee of Managing
Directors of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies
BERRETT-KOEHLER PUBLISHERS 2002
A LANDMARK REPORT BY THE WORLD BUSINESS COUNCIL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
PART 1
Back cover
TOP CORPORATE LEADERS SHOW HOW GLOBALIZATION CAN WORK FOR ALL
As anxiety about globalization, poverty and climate change grows, leading industrialists are arguing that not only is sustainable development good for business, but that solving social and environmental problems is essential for future growth.
In the most important book yet written on corporate responsibility – written not by outside critics, but by business people for business people – the authors draw on 67 original case studies from companies around the world. Through this important research, they clearly demonstrate that good corporate social and environmental performance is an investment that will improve the bottom line and the planet.
This official publication of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development explores, in depth, the three pillars of sustainable development – economic growth, ecological balance, and social progress. The authors argue that globalization of the marketplace is the best path toward sustainable human progress – but only if business, governments, and citizens’ groups can cooperate in creating a market that maximizes opportunity for all.
Walking the Talk provides a broad set of proven roadmaps to success, as well as real-life inspiration for business to embrace the challenge of building a global economy that works for all the world’s people.
Front cover
Stephen Schmidheiny, author of the hugely influential Changing Course, has joined with fellow prime movers in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – Chad Holliday of DuPont and Philip Watts of Royal Dutch/Shell – to spell out the business case for addressing sustainable development as a key business strategy.
The authors insist that a global partnership – between governments, business, and civil society – is essential, if accelerating moves towards globalization are to maximize opportunities for all, especially the world’s poor. They argue that far more eco-efficient and socially equitable modes of development must be pursued in order to allow poorer nations to raise their standards of living.
To achieve these aims, the book explains that markets must be mobilized in favor of sustainability, leveraging the power of innovation and global markets for the benefit of everyone. Business cannot succeed in failing societies.
Whether small, medium or large, all businesses must innovate and change to meet the social and environmental challenges of the coming years. Walking the Talk provides proven strategies for doing just that, and real-world examples of business leaders who are becoming a leading force for change – improving both their own bottom lines and quality of life for future generations around the world.
Foreword by Björn Stigson, president, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
It was with a great deal of hesitancy that we entitled our book Walking the Talk.
We do not want to claim that our more than 160 member companies are already doing precisely what many of their mission statements say they are trying to do: run their companies in the best interests of human society and the natural environment, now and in the future.
However, as provocative as the title might sound, it is what the book is about. What will it take for our CEOs to put their companies on a sustainable path? What progress has been made in the decade since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio? Which companies are trying what? What works? What does not? Where do we need help from governments? Where do we need help from other stakeholders?
The book is about dilemmas faced by companies trying to walk their talk, and the opportunities and problems in doing so.
Walking the Talk offers a ‘Foundation’ chapter in which we discuss how the business case for sustainable development has grown and changed over the past ten years. We are now more convinced than ever that companies can do themselves good through doing right for society at large and the environment.
This Foundation is followed by ten chapters we call the building blocks of sustainable progress. Each of the chapter overviews comes from our publication The Business Case for Sustainable Development: Making a Difference toward the Johannesburg Summit 2002 and Beyond, which we published as a statement to inject some business vision into the planning for the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development.
The Council also partnered with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the UN Environment Program to publish Tomorrow’s Markets: Global Trends and their Implications for Business. This report documents 19 powerful trends that are shaping world-wide markets. It is meant to help companies spot opportunities and risks, and better understand their roles in sustainable development.
Walking the Talk itself sees the globalization of the marketplace as the best path toward sustainable human progress – but only if business, governments, and citizens’ groups can cooperate in creating a market that maximizes opportunity for all.
- I would like to thank our three authors: Chad Holliday, Stephen Schmidheiny, and Philip Watts, and would like to thank the editorial team that backed them up.
Of great interest in this publication are the 67 case studies, which were researched specifically for the book. In addition, a great many of the insights and comments from business leaders and experts from around the world appear here in print for the first time. All quotations not directly attributed fall into this category. We feel this adds tremendously to the book’s value as a précis of current leading-edge thinking. Thanks are due also to those who have contributed in this way.
PART I: THE FOUNDATION
The business case for sustainable development
PART 2: THE TEN BUILDING BLOCKS
- The Market
- The Right Framework
- Eco-efficiency
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Learning to Change
- From Dialogue to Partnerships
- Informing and Providing Consumer Choice
- Innovation
- Reflecting the Worth of the Earth
- Making Markets Work for All
References
WBCSD publications
Abbreviations
Index