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A Pretty Good COP After All

While in many ways COP 17 lived down to the low expectations most observers had set beforehand, in the end, it turned out to be surprisingly productive. In particular, there is now widespread recognition of the need for a growing interplay of multilateral and unilateral actions, by both governments and the private sector, and several key outcomes of the conference are being seen as sufficient enough to get the international policy process back on track in years ahead (after near total collapse in the two years since Copenhagen).

SustainAbility Chairman Geoff Lye was at the conference throughout the last week of negotiations, and shares initial reflections on the outcomes in his final dispatch on the event. Others in the series can be found here: one two, three , four, five, and six.

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Engaging Stakeholders Network News

SustainAbility's Engaging Stakeholders Network is a group of global companies driving best practice accountability in pursuit of a more sustainable world.

Recently members met for our annual workshops, to explore topics as diverse as social impact measurement, ratings, the true value of social media, and members' own “dilemmas”.  One dominant thread emerged: to create real business value from sustainability we must go beyond our comfort zones and do more to engage mainstream audiences and actors in our efforts.  Michael Sadowski reflects on what he took home from the workshops in an article on GreenBiz, where he highlights a number of promising examples of companies leading the way, and notes that we must now work to replicate, scale and mainstream such initiatives.

On 8th December Engaging Stakeholders members joined SustainAbility founder John Elkington and Director of The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project Jessica Fries to discuss their work with the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), and to hear their insights on the future of integrated reporting.  You can read John's latest article on this critical topic on Guardian Sustainable Business.

If you're interested in joining or finding out more about the Engaging Stakeholders Network, please contact stakeholders@sustainability.com.

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Traceability in the Pipeline

Traceability is a key theme in the current wave of interest in corporate transparency and accountability. The apparel, IT and food sectors have all come under pressure to be transparent about the provenance of materials, components and products in their supply chains. Now attention is turning to oil and gas, with particular emphasis on so-called 'unconventional oil production'.

• The Inevitability of Traceability in the Oil & Gas Sector – Geoff Lye writes on Guardian Sustainable Business about the growing NGO, regulatory and customer pressure that is shaping expectations of increased transparency on the origins of the fuel we burn. | Read more
• Bigger than It Appears – Jeff Erikson writes about the recent decision to delay decision on the XL Pipeline, which has become a lightening rod for activism on unconventional oil production. | Read more

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