The Brundtland Report, a 25-year-old milestone

Photography © Le Soleil, Yan Doublet

In 1987, this visionary text laid the foundations of sustainable development. Focus on the genesis of one of the biggest stakes of the 21^st century.

In April 1987, Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian Prime Minister, presented to the UN the result of the World Commission on Environment and Development she had been chairing for the past three years. It was a report, entitled « Our Common Future », that would rapidly be known to all as the « Brundtland Report ». Written by 23 experts from 22 different countries, it officially defined sustainable development for the first time: the « development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ». In this respect, is it often said to be the founding act of sustainable development as an international stake.

But it is not the only reason why « Our Common Future » has had such repercussions and is still a reference today. There is more to it than just a « mere » definition of sustainable development, and its findings and recommendations are still extremely relevant. Why is the Brundtland Report a milestone? What is its legacy? And how can it still lead the way to a better future? Flash-back.

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Where did social enterprise come from, anyway?

Reblogged from Good.is, worte by Sarah Stankorb:

In the first installment of our new series on how social enterprise changing business, Sarah Stankorb looks at the origins of the impact economy and why the sector is blowing up today.

Businesses, even those outside the realm of greedy corporate drones, are designed to earn a profit. Other priorities, like environmental sustainability or job creation, are reached only through happy accidents or marketing ploys to help companies make more money. Surely, if you’re raking in the dough, you can’t be making a difference—at least not on purpose.

This outdated vision of commerce has multiple origins, but if asked, most students of social enterprise will point an accusing finger at Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times Magazine essay “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits.” Friedman’s point (though slightly more nuanced than the title or its interpretation might suggest) was that corporate executives have a responsibility to maximize profit. Frittering away money on other objectives—say, fighting poverty—would cheat stockholders, employees, and customers out of cash that is rightfully theirs.

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17 twitter accounts you should follow on CSR and Sustainability

Illustration by scott_hampson.

As we love sharing curated content on down to Earth, we do a daily CSR - Sustainability watch. Here are 17 of the best twitter accounts sharing great CSR / sustainability content everyday!

@3BLMedia 

For 3BLMedia, CSR is more than press releases. It is videos, blogs, and more. 3BL is the leading distributor of CSR & sustainability news and content across the social web.

@AmanSinghCSR

Experienced journalist, blogger, expert communicator, social media strategist, CSR & sustainable business, diversity, HR. Founder of Singh Solutions and ED at CSRwire.

@ClimateActio2n

Tweets on CO2 initiatives.

@CSRwire

CSRwire is the leading source of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news, reports & information. 

@davidcoethica

CSR & sustainability believer, Euro Director 3BLMedia, Founder of Coethica, small biz advocate / social enterprise supporter.

@ecomagination

GE’s forum for fresh thinking and conversation about clean technology and sustainable infrastructure.

@farmingfirst

Farming First is a global coalition calling on world leaders to increase agricultural output in a sustainable and socially responsible manner.

@GOOD

GOOD is the global association of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits powering what works. Great infographics and articles about food, environment, education…

@GuardianSustBiz

Guardian Sustainable Business: aggregated news and leading-edge views for corporate sustainability professionals.

@LiamABlack

Co-founder www.thesamewavelength.com Trustee www.nesta.org.uk President www.friendsofgrameen.com, Liam Black tweets about social business and sustainability.

@rjcrespin

Entrepreneur & business community organizer. Chair of the COMMIT!Forum & Executive Director of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Assoc.

@susanmcp1

Tweets about global innovation, social entrepreneurship, CSR, cause-marketing, fundraising, engagement strategies and host the CSRChat.

@sustainableSAP

Tweeting gen’l sustainability & CSR info and news about SAP’s sustainability solutions/efforts.

@TaigaCompany

Sustainability consultant: social media wiz for green biz.

@TriplePundit

Triple Pundit is an innovative new-media company for the business community that cultivates awareness and understanding of the triple bottom line.

@YaleE360

Opinion, Analysis and the Latest Environmental News - A Publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

@Yunus_Centre

Official twitter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Pr Muhammad Yunus, Chairman of Yunus Centre and Founder of the Grameen Bank, the bank that pioneered microcredit. He tweets about social business.

Do you have in mind more interesting twitter accounts on sustainability and CSR? Please leave a comment or answer directly on tumblr.

@Vincent_CC

Sustainability nears a tipping point

Here is a part of this great article reblogged from the MIT Sloan:

In our survey, we found that more respondents than ever before say their companies are putting sustainability on their management agendas. Our survey this year involved 2,874 managers and executives from 113 countries.  According to the respondents, 70% of companies that have placed sustainability on their management agendas have done so in the past six years; 20% have done so in just the past two years. (See “The Sustainability Movement Nears a Tipping Point.”) Two-thirds of our respondents said that sustainability was critically important to being competitive in today’s marketplace, up from 55% in our 2010 survey. Moreover, despite a lackluster economy, many companies are increasing their commitments to sustainability initiatives, the opposite of what one would expect if sustainability were simply a luxury afforded by good times.

Click here to read more and discover this article and the interesting researches and charts maid by David Kiron, Nina Kruschwitz, Knut Haanaes and Ingrid von Streng Velken.

@Vincent_CC