CEE April-June 2012

inclusive, low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. We need to act urgently to reach the required scale. Governments need to show political leadership and put in place the right supportive framework conditions, and we need to continue to work with civil society. What have been the key advances made by WBCSD towards sustainability? WBCSD has served as a major force in raising awareness of sustainability issues among companies in general, but also in pushing forward some specific concepts. Today, we have reached a stage where we start to focus on commitments, actions and implementation of solutions to attain sustainable development. Twenty years ago, CSR was hardly on the business agenda - it was a fuzzy concept, considered as a 'nice thing to do.' It was also felt as something beyond business responsibi lity. But today, the companies understand that they have a CSR responsibility and that it is not in conflict w ith being profitable. WBCSD was one of the first business groups to explore the roles that companies and markets could play in development overall. It's been a long journey, moving from CSR to sustainable livelihoods and now to inclusive business. The council has also played a unique role in opening doors and becoming a 'partner of choice'. A good example is our recent Vision 2050 report that outlines a roadmap to 9 billion people living well and within in the planet's resources by mid-century. This report is serving as a discussion platform to drive innovation. Climate change is regarded as the 'greatest market failure the world has ever seen.' You r comments? It's strong statement but I would pretty much agree. It is indeed shocking that governments of the world cannot agree on a common path to address an obvious, serious risk for global society - especially since we have the technology to move forward. It's also a wake-up call that the old way of dealing wi th intergovernmental relations has come to an end and that we need to find new ways to manage the world. Bottom-up actions to reduce carbon emissions, broken down by industry sectors, will be a more effective approach . It is, however, extremely encouraging to see that at national and city levels, policy makers and businesses are working together to make progress, regardless of global results. Are there any specifi c case st udies that you'd like to share as model examples for the business houses to follow? The best case studies are those that focus on inclusive business and on how companies, induding local Indian businesses, are expanding access to basic vital products and services to millions of underserved people across the country. Nokia is facilitating mobile payment services for the poor; Unilever is improving hygiene of millions of villagers; GE developed a miniaturized electrocardiorgraph that doctors can carry in a backpack to remote areas; Novartis is enhancing access to essential health products and health education in villages and Coca-Cola and other WBCSD members teamed up with Water Health International to provide clean drinking water in rural areas. The key features are that these companies are working with partners on the ground to deliver these products and services, and these proposed solutions are scalable. Courtesy: Business India, Apri/1, 2012, P136. The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) CSI, a global sustainability prog ram The CSI ( www.wbcsdcement.org) is a voluntary sector initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (www.wbcsd.org) , based in Geneva. Switzerland. CSI has 24 members, from very large multinationals to smaller local producers covering around 30% of global cement production. To date, the CSI remains one of the largest global sustainability programs ever undertaken by a single industry sector. The main purposes of the CSI are: x explore what sustainable development means for the cement industry; x identify actions and facilitate steps cement companies can take, individually and as a group, to accelerate progress toward sustainable development; x facilitate exchange of innovation and good practices in tackling sustainability issues between members; 60