Ceres releases road map for sustainable businesses

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A new report from Ceres, a Boston-based organization that promotes sustainable business practices, outlines the imperative that companies must make immediate and meaningful social and environmental improvements if they are to win in the resource-constrained 21st century.

In its new report, The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, the organization provides a plan for organizations that want to embed environmental and social responsibility into their corporate DNA.

“If businesses deepen their efforts to solve social and environmental threats, it will position them to innovate and compete in the fast-changing, resource-constrained global economy,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, in a statement. “It is no longer enough for companies to have special projects or initiatives. Comprehensive sustainability strategies are expected.”

The same press announcement included a comment from Hannah Jones, vice president of sustainable business and innovation at Nike, which is a Ceres supporter: “Integrating sustainability is not just good for business; it is essential if we are to continue to grow economies and create jobs in a world of increasingly constrained resources.” Nike recently released its corporate responsibility report outlining its sustainability strategies.

The Ceres road map includes 20 key expectations that sustainable companies should address including guidelines for governance, stakeholder engagement, disclosure and operations performance. Under these headings, specifics include:

— Make energy efficiency and renewable energy the foundation for company operations;

— Design and implement closed-loop systems so that air and wastewater emissions are eliminated and zero waste is produced;

— Require 75 percent of top tier suppliers to meet company sustainability performance standards;

— Dedicate 50 percent of research and development investment to developing sustainability solutions;

— Compensate and provide incentives for top executives and other employees to drive sustainability into the business.

The full report and summary documents are available on the Ceres Web site.