20th Consultative meeting on Business & Industry - 2003
Presentations

The meeting served to exchange views, experience and planned activities post-WSSD, helping to support improved knowledge and a pro-active understanding of:

• the current climate change debate
  
  
• sustainable cities management
  
  
• life cycle management,
  
  
• sustainability indicators and reporting in industry sectors
  
  
• corporate environmental and social responsibility (CESR), and
  
  
• the impact of trade on the environment globally

Opening, welcome and introduction

Dr Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, UNEP introduced Monique Barbut, incoming Director of UNEP DTIE

Töpfer recalled the first World Industry Conference on Environmental Management (WICEM), held at the Palais des Congrés in Versailles from 14 - 16 November 1984. Initiated by UNEP, WICEM was sponsored by world industry and UNEP in co-operation with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Over 500 participants from 71 countries gathered to discuss environmental management, industrialisation models, pollution control, standards, voluntary codes and the role of multinational companies. He quoted the French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius who stated during the closing session in 1984: "Could such a conference have been held 20 years ago, or even 10? In effect our work here suggests a dawning awareness by industrialists that they too must participate in the managing of the ecological problems engendered by their activities."

New winds of change in the climate debate

Geoff Jenkins of the Hadley Centre (UK Meteorological Office) gave an update on global climate change predictions.
(Presentation - PDF - 1.31MB)

Colin le Duc of the Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Group discussed the impact of emerging legislation and the role of carbon screening, preparing the way for emmissions trading.
(Presentation - PDF - 313 KB)

New initiatives, models to build and manage cities sustainably

Geoff Levermore, chair of a CIB working group on Climate Change and the Built Environment, argued the case for triple bottom line accounting in an approach that entails both adaptation and mitigation.
(Presentation - PDF - 620KB)

Peter Jones of the company Biffa described new innovation in landfill operations and how his company is investing to develop mass balance resource flows for geographic regions, specific materials and specific industry sectors.
(Presentation - PDF - 4.02MB)

Linking with the current debate on water and sanitation, Ralf Otterpohl of the International Water Association presented new solutions in ecological sanitation.
(Presentation - PDF - 262KB)

The Life Cycle: From research to reality

Luis Alberto De la Torre, past director of the Peru Cleaner Production Centre, identified challenges and barriers to introducing new life cycle approaches experienced in Latin America.
(Presentation - PDF - 2,88MB)

Kevin Bradley, Executive Director of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment explained the role of life cycle thinking in environmental management systems.
(Presentation - PDF - 695KB)

Speaking on behalf of the International Life Cycle Panel, Lennart Karlson of ABB reported on the experience of his company and the outcomes of an international conference on environmental product information recently held in Stockholm.
(Presentation - PDF - 231KB)

Rebekah Young of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development gave her perspective on a new approach to consumption and production, reminding participants of progress made with the concept of eco-efficiency.
(Presentation - PDF - 102KB)

Corporate environmental and social responsibility (CESR)

Representatives of the core UN agencies involved in the UN Global Compact gave a brief update on their activities in support of the initiative.

Kai Bethke, UNIDO
(Presentation - PDF - 192KB)

Paola Pinoargote, ILO
(Presentation - PDF - 73,2KB)

Lene Wendland, OHCHR

Cornis van der Lugt, UNEP
(Presentation - PDF - 213KB)

A Business perspective

Richard Holme, past chair of the ICC Environment and Energy Commission, reflected on his experience in the mining industry and the ongoing WSSD debate on partnerships.

A Labour perspective

Jim Baker of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions gave a labour perspective of the CSR movement.

An NGO perspective

Steve Sawyer of Greenpeace International gave an environmental perspective on what results have been accomplished to date through partnering with business and industry.
(Presentation - PDF - 1,72MB)

A view from the sideline
Triple bottom line author John Elkington highlighted different waves of environmental awareness over the last 20 years and challenges companies face in developing new business models.
(Presentation - PDF - 298KB)

Sustainability Reporting: Are the markets taking note?

Paul Hohnen, Vice President of Strategy for the GRI gave an update on uptake of the GRI Guidelines.
(Presentation - PDF - 48,8KB)

Geneviève Ferone, co-founder and President of the European rating agency CoreRatings, spoke on the usefulness of sustainability reports from the perspective of rating agencies and explained the approach of her agency.
(Presentation - PDF - 95,6KB)

Jonathan Cohen, Programme Manager of AccountAbility, focused on questions related to verification and materiality as well as the role of the new AA1000 assurance standard developed under the auspices of his organisation.
(Presentation - PDF - 1,81MB)

Trade and Environment: Life after Cancún

Charles Arden-Clarke of the Economics and Trade Branch of UNEP DTIE examined some of the shifts in the negotiating and institutional dynamics of trade liberalisation post-Cancún, with specific reference to the environment and sustainable development.
(Presentation - PDF - 2,66MB)

A business perspective was given by Ulrike Schmülling of the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe.
(Presentation - PDF - 1,81MB)

Giving a view from the South Julia Oliva of The Centre for International Environmental Law argued that industry must play a fundamental role in ensuring that developed countries live up to promises of making Doha the "development round".
(Presentation - PDF - 104KB)

Tom Crompton of the World-Wide Fund for Nature focussed on the implications of failure at Cancún for the 'trade and environment' elements of the Doha mandate, as well as what oportunities failure provides for re-evaluating the goals of multilateral trade policy.
(Presentation - PDF - 0,99MB)