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Executive Brief / October 2011

Background Business, like other parts of society, will be seriously affected by the sustainability challenges and opportunities facing the world. We are still in the midst of the fall-out from the financial crisis and the economic recession. The world is seeking ways to restructure the global financial system and rebalance the role of governments and markets. What does this mean for business and sustainable development? Vision 2050 has shown that to achieve green growth and accelerate the green race toward a sustainable world, there is a need for far-reaching transformation-sweeping changes in business and society that are necessary, possible and ripe with commercial opportunity. This will require innovation at unparalleled levels, far beyond the technical realm.

The business case

The Business Role Focus Area’s mission is to explore the role and actions of business in realizing sustainable transformation. It will continue to be WBCSD’s key arena for cross-sectoral, multi-topic thought leadership, and will specifically focus on three themes: 1. Developing thought leadership 2. Advocating our positions 3. Implementing Vision 2050

Developing thought leadership The Business Role develops position papers and white papers on cross sectoral, cross work program topics which include: • The role of business and markets in reaching the Vision • Green Race / Green Economy / Green Growth topics • Reporting and transparency • Conditions, criteria for an effective organizational framework for the UN • Reinventing capitalism

Advocating our positions Countries have started to recognize and act upon the economic value in meeting the demand for green technology. As a result there is a "Green Race" emerging toward a more resource efficient economy. This presents huge opportunities for national and international economies which are recognized not only by businesses but also by countries. To succeed, a transformation of domestic markets is needed to build demand, capabilities and scale. This level of change can only be achieved in a new partnership between governments and business. Market forces alone are not strong enough to achieve such massive transformation. We need help from supportive regulatory frameworks to stimulate demand for new products and services. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have joined forces to help further the understanding of the challenges and discuss how policy can help accelerate progress. The effort is part of the Round Table on Sustainable Development, which was originally established by the OECD to provide a forum outside formal international negotiating structures for ministers, senior business leaders, decision-makers from intergovernmental organizations and other stakeholders to reach a better understanding of the relevant facts and figures in relation to possible solutions for global challenges. The WBCSD was one of the original partners of this effort in 1998. In 2011 and 2012 the Round Table will take up 4 topics related to the green growth, i.e. ways to pursue economic growth and development while preventing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and unsustainable natural resource use. These Round Tables will be supported by high quality analytical papers that distill key issues at stake and reflect up-to-date expert understanding of those issues. The WBCSD is also cooperating with the ICC in developing policy to deliver global business input on an ongoing basis to the senior G20 government officials or “Sherpa’s” who carry forward each government’s agenda from one Summit to the next. In May 2012, the UN General Assembly will hold the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro. Also referred to as the Rio+20 to mark the 20-year anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. The WBCSD is planning to have a significant presence at the conference as the main representative of business. The key

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agenda item will be the future of the Green Economy. In preparation, the WBCSD: 1) has formed a coalition with the ICC and UN Global Compact called The Business Action for Sustainable Development 2012 (BASD 2012) which is the official UN coordinator of business and industry interests at the upcoming Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20); 2) is drafting Changing Pace, a discussion paper on policy recommendations which feeds into the UNCSD process and; 3) is preparing for week long side events and a Business Day at Rio +20.

Implementing Vision 2050 The Vision 2050 project was lead by Alcoa, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Storebrand and Syngenta. It is the result of an 18-month effort by 29 companies, including CEOs and experts across 14 industries, and engages in dialogues with hundreds of companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries. Vision 2050 also benefits from the views of external experts, the work of other WBCSD initiatives and the WBCSD’s 60 Regional Network partners. The result of this combined work is Vision 2050: The new agenda for business, a report that lays out the challenges, pathways and options that business can take in order to create an opportunity-rich strategy, both regionally and globally, that will lead to a sustainable world. It was launched in Delhi, India, in February 2010. Vision 2050 defines the absolutely necessary – the things that must happen over the coming decade to make a sustainable planetary society possible. These include incorporating the cost of externalities, starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water, into the structure of the marketplace; doubling agricultural output without increasing the amount of land or water used; halting deforestation and increasing yields from planted forests; halving carbon emissions worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050, through a shift to low-carbon energy systems and improved demand-side energy efficiency; plus providing universal access to low-carbon mobility. Vision 2050 is designed as a platform for companies to use when deliberating strategies, and for use in dialogue with governments and society when considering how to achieve a sustainable future. An extensive outreach effort was put into action in 2010 which includes 11 translations and over a dozen national launches. A working document is also available providing pointers on how to run a local or national Vision 2050 project. We have also reached out more broadly at various conferences and events and have used it as a basis for the WBCSD internal strategy to 2012.

Further reading Vision 2050: The new agenda for business (2010) (also available in Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Hungarian, Portuguese Brazilian, Korean, Vietnamese, Turkish and English) Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – in brief (2010) (also available in Chinese, German, Spanish and English) Vision 2050 Mural (2010) People Matter – Engage (2010) People Matter – Reward (2010) People Matter – Lead (2011) Translating environment, social and governance factors into sustainable value: Key insights for companies and investors (2010) Sustainable Consumption: Facts & trends from a business perspective (2008) Finding Common Ground: A discussion brief on the role of business in society (2007) From Challenge to Opportunity: The role of business in tomorrow’s society (2006) Driving success: Marketing and sustainable development (2005) Driving success: Human Resources and sustainable development (2005) Catalyzing Change: A short history of the WBCSD (2005) Beyond Reporting: Creating business value and accountability (2005) These documents and more can be found at www.wbcsd.org/web/business-role.htm.

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World Business Council for Sustainable Development www.wbcsd.org 4, chemin de Conches, CH-1231 Conches-Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 (0)22 839 31 00, E-mail: info@wbcsd.org 1500 K Street NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20005, US, Tel: +1 202 383 9505, E-mail: washington@wbcsd.org

Program structure and resources

Focus Area Core Team Tbc, (Co-chair) Nokia, Esko Aho (Co-chair) Henkel, Kasper Rorsted PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ian Powell Sony, Ryoji Chubachi Umicore, Thomas Leysen Focus Area Managing Director Peter Paul van de Wijs: vandewijs@wbcsd.org Assistant Program Manager Kija Kummer Brown: kummer@wbcsd.org