The Blue Resilience Brief outlines areas where scaling-up joint science-industry action could enhance the resilience of the blue economy and contribute towards a more sustainable future.

The black summer of 2019-2020 has seen the Australian landscape suffer unprecedented destruction. Climate change will continue to dramatically alter our environment, threatening political stability, degrading entire ecosystems, displacing whole communities and undermining business operations. To respond, businesses will need to undergo drastic transformations, embrace emerging economic opportunities and deeply embed principles of sustainability. Businesses no longer have the luxury of time. They must step away from a business as usual approach and reposition themselves as more responsible and sustainably savvy. In 2020, activism will continue to grow globally; lack of trust in both public and private institutions shows no signs of waning; investor pressures on businesses to perform better in matters of ESG will become more pointed; the gap between those that understand business ethics versus those that do not will grow; and the need for business leaders to set bolder human rights and environmental targets will become more pronounced. This report outlines the key pressures facing businesses in 2020, and what companies can do to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the challenges in our landscape to ensure their long-term viability. The opportunity for business to respond and lead the change is clear. How they choose to tackle these major pressures however will be both critical and defining.

Showcases business leadership on climate action aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Featuring solutions and strategies developed by companies that have taken the 1.5°C pledge, the report examines how business leaders are integrating this process into corporate strategies and generating employee buy-in. 

This report draws on corporate emissions and target data submitted to the SBTi and CDP — as well as extensive interviews with businesses and other stakeholders — to explore the progress the SBTi has made in driving the adoption of SBTs by businesses and the impact this has on decarbonising the economy.

Climate change and human rights can no longer be approached as separate issues. With every passing year, the consequences of our changing climate threaten a widening range of fundamental human rights. And with regulation lagging behind, companies are taking the initiative to address the interlinked nature of these issues.

Updated version Within the Peer Learning Group Climate of the German Global Compact Network (DGCN), companies explored the challenges associated with developing climate targets, and discussed possible solutions, methods and applications with experts and representatives from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). This publication summarizes core findings of the discussion and proposes solutions to challenges. The focus is on the selection of a method for developing a science-based GHG emission reduction path, the interpretation of results, the criteria of the SBTi for an official approval of science-based targets, and the treatment of scope 3 emissions. Thereby, the paper serves as a compact introduction science-based target setting.

Building on the original Guide for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability published in 2015, Version 2.0 provides further guidance to General Counsel to ensure they are better placed and better equipped to drive change and deliver value to their organizations through an increased focus on corporate sustainability. Topics include: Corporate Sustainability and Business Integrity Corporate Sustainability and Business Integrity Human Rights and Supply Chain Due Diligence Corporate Sustainability and Grievance Mechanisms Challenges to Corporate Sustainability - Managing a Crisis Please fill out the form below to download the full guide.

Investigates six sectors and analyzes how selected companies have turned climate risks into climate opportunities. Considered one of the most urgent risks, climate change is already determining how markets are evolving. Factors like new consumer preferences, new regulations, changing investor focus and market prices will increasingly favour the climate, and create a new kind of pressure on companies.

Business Leadership Brief For Healthy Planet, Healthy People provides a holistic approach and outlines concrete actions for companies to embed health and empowerment in their policies, systems, and operations. This publication is available in English and Spanish

Represents more than a decade of research on sustainable business. Together with the UN Global Compact Progress Report, it forms the world’s most comprehensive research to date on business contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2019 study draws on insights from more than 1,000 CEOs from 21 industries and 99 countries, including over 100 in-depth interviews, and nearly 1,600 senior business leaders who responded to the UN Global Compact implementation survey.

Outlines how companies can embed human rights into their corporate strategies and advance people-centred solutions to growing global challenges. The report presents snapshots of good practice from companies participating in the UN Global Compact, highlights insight by Global Compact Local Networks around the world, and showcases initiatives that are advancing seven major themes: future of work, climate justice, effective remedy and grievance mechanisms, migrant rights, gender equality, due diligence and tackling working poverty.

This guide aims to help companies set effective site water targets that are informed by catchment context, which can create value and lessen risks for the company and support collective action. This guide is intended for site staff or technical water specialists responsible for water management, and relevant corporate staff. This guide lays out three key elements for setting effective site water targets: Water targets should respond to priority water challenges within the catchment; The ambition of water targets should be informed by the site’s contribution to water challenges and desired conditions; and Water targets should reduce water risk, capitalize on opportunities, and contribute to public sector priorities. This case of the Santa Ana RIver Watershed illustrates how the guidance was applied by a group of companies in that watershed.