The Sustainability Learning Forum

Focus on Qualification

Klaus Hübscher, Weidmüller
Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG

The Weidmüller Group founded the Weidmüller Academy back in 2003. It is in this institution that the electrical engineering specialist bundles all of its corporate qualification activities. “We never lose sight of the challenges of the future and the changes taking place in the global markets when working in the Academy,” continues Dr. Niggemann. “Our main areas of concern are lifelong training and continuous knowledge development.” more[...]

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Projects

Juan Ramón Silva Ferrada, Acciona
Acciona

The Social Impact Management methodology aims to integrate Social Impact Management into all levels of the process of identifying opportunities as well as bidding on and executing projects at ACCIONA, with a proactive focus on a commitment to the communities in which it operates. more[...]

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Mobility PostNL Helps 7,650 Employees Toward a New Future

PostNL
Ingrid Stuurman, PostNL

PostNL is the national postal company in the Netherlands and currently employs more than 59,000 people. Since 2009, the postal market in the Netherlands has been entirely free. In 2013, PostNL’s share in this market was 79 percent and its revenue was €4.3 billion. In the period between 2006 and 2013, the letter volume handled by PostNL decreased by 40 percent. One of the measures PostNL is being required to take to adjust its operations to this volume decline is changing from being a delivery company with full-time postmen and postwomen to a company with part-time deliverers. more[...]

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Cambodia and Vietnam: Linking Stakeholder Engagement to Corporate Social Responsibility Programs

Jeffrey Revels, TMS Group
TMS Group

For nearly three decades, the TMS Group has been at the forefront of the fashion industry as a globally-based fashion and apparel innovator, with core competencies in research and development, product design, fashion-trend analysis, and production sourcing / quality management. With operational offices in seven countries, the TMS Group customer-base spans every continent. In alignment with Mission and Vision Statements, in the first quarter of 2013, the TMS Group expanded its global presence and operations with the opening of the regional office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. With a foothold in Cambodia, the operations for both Cambodia and Vietnam can be managed. more[...]

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Participatory Communication with Employees

Pierina Amayo, Copeinca
Copeinca

CFG Investment and COPEINCA are Peruvian fishing companies that belong to the Pacific Andes Group. They are engaged in the extraction, processing, and production of fishmeal and fish oil for indirect human consumption. Also, they aim for direct human consumption through the production of canned mackerel and anchovy. Since september 2013 the integration process of these companies started and in the near future we expect to conclude this fusion process. Both companies are committed to sustainable development as a smart way to do business, considering that to ensure sustainability is an essential requirement to ensure that ethical principles, respect for people and the environment meet the challenges of acting on social responsibility and environmental, the Millennium Development Goals and Global Compact principles. more[...]

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Bettercoal: Tackling sustainability issues in coal purchasing

RWE
Marga Edens, RWE

The energy transition has many facets. Not only is the structure of electricity generation shifting, but the procurement of fossil fuels is changing as well. In ever more places in the world, natural gas and coal are now being traded on commodity markets, somehow comparable to petroleum. It has not always been this way, especially with coal, which was previously obtained mainly from domestic mines. But this is changing now. In Germany for example, 2018 will mark the end of domestic extraction. Germany is already supplying a huge amount of its demand forcoal from other continents. This leads to new challenges with regard to sustainability issues. The markets have become a great deal more liquid. Most of the coal on offer comes from mines in South Africa, Colombia, and Russia; their geological features allow coal to be extracted at significantly lower costs than in Western- European countries like Germany. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the conditions under which such mining takes place and allegations have been made that the mining in thesecountries has an negative impact on workers, the local people and the environment. Many of these countries do not have the detailed environmental impact assessments, socially acceptable resettlements, and rules for workers’ representation in decision-making that we take for granted in OECD-countries. Often the statements issued by mining companies contradict reports from environmental associations, human rights organizations, and trade unions. more[...]

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Achieving Sustainable Education

Dr Peter F. Tropschuh, Audi AG
Dr. Antonia Wade, Audi AG
Martina Biendl, Audi AG
Audi AG

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development that is currently underway aims to offer all people the opportunity to achieve a worthwhile future while also integrating knowledge about sustainability into the education environment. Education also plays an important role for businesses, since their success is based on having well-trained, highly qualified, and skilled employees. As part of its corporate responsibility strategy, AUDI AG therefore invests at all levels in the training and advancement of its employees, expands the range of education in the regions surrounding its corporate sites, and works to help underperforming and socially disadvantaged students. To put the strategic mission “We live responsibility” into practice, Audi also trains its employees specifically on the issue of sustainability. more[...]

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Taking Our ‘Way to Work’ onto the Streets

Lilian Furrer
Adecco Group

As global attention intensifies on the rising tide of unemployment – and above all on youth unemployment – Adecco, the world’s leading provider of HR solutions, took decisive action. On April 30, 2013, more than 10,000 employees in 50 countries mobilized and offered their expertise as part of the multifaceted Adecco Way to Work™ program. It is designed to provide practical and inspirational support to a generation at risk of exclusion from the world of work. Street Days, an online career center, coaching events, and an innovative work experience contest reached more than 500,000 young people. more[...]

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CSR in South Africa

Editorial Team

Professor Ralph Hamann is Research Director for the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. His areas of expertise include Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2006 he was involved as a researcher at the UN Global Compact Learning Forum, which took place in Ghana. For the UN Global Compact International Yearbook, Hamann highlights the “paradox for CSR in South Africa” and beyond. more[...]

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Pre Organic Cotton Program: A Shift To Organic Farming

Itochu

In September 2012, more than 150 delegates from corporations, international organizations, governments, and NGOs around the world gathered at Business, The MDGs and Beyond – a forum run as a side event to the UN General Assembly in New York. ITOCHU Corporation represented the Japanese corporations that are members of the UNDP-led Business Call to Action (BCtA) and spearheaded a panel at the first session, “Innovative Business Models for Sustainable Development.” At the forum, ITOCHU presented the Pre-Organic Cotton Program, an initiative of its Textile Company, which contributes to overall development in the cotton farming communities in India through poverty reduction and improvements in farmers’ health and the farming environment. more[...]

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Occupational Safety Management – A Systematic Approach to Achieving Success

Bernhard Schwager
Bosch Group

Occupational health and safety management for associates is one of a company’s key processes. This applies primarily for humanitarian reasons but is also true from an economic perspective. Occupational accidents, illnesses, and diseases are costly for companies and society. Today, technical safety aspects combine with the requirements of ergonomics, user-friendly organization of work, and health protection to form a system-oriented approach to occupational safety. more[...]

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Combating Child Labor in the Supply Chain in India

Steffen Kurzawa, Bayer CropScience
Bayer Group

Child labor cannot simply be eliminated by decree. To this day it remains deeply rooted in many societies. In particular, subsistence farmers still frequently resort to child labor to manage their fields. Implementing the effective abolition of child labor may be laborious and time-consuming for businesses if child labor is the norm. Yet pursuing this approach is worthwhile in every way, as shown by an example from India. more[...]

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Margaret Thatcher’s unacknowledged grandchild

Prof. Andrew Crane, Schulich School of Business

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HR Managers - just making excuses

Elaine Cohen, Beyond Business Ltd

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Family Friendly Enterprise: Slovenia Leads The Way

Prof. Wayne Visser, Kaleidoscope Futures

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