The Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) has decided to join the international Live Earth movement following a call from the President of Hungary, János Áder, and the WBCSD. The initiative encourages the active participation of member companies for getting the most people to join up.
“Live Earth: Road to Paris” will allow people to have their voices heard and let world leaders know that their citizens expect them to act this year on climate change – said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . The specific goal is to get one billion signatures from concerned citizens before the UN climate change conference convenes in Paris in December 2015.
According to the Business Council it is extremely important that the Paris Climate Summit is successful. Accordingly, it seeks to support the campaign actively. The initiative was launched in January this year by former US vice-president Al Gore, and has been personally promoted by János Áder in Hungary.
Last year more than 100 scientific and civil experts and CEOs actively contributed to defining the goals for Hungary to be met by 2020, including those relating to climate change. The next step is to specify exactly what the contribution of business will be in order to facilitate the meeting of these goals (http://action2020.hu/climate-change/).
A Hungarian website www.elobolygonk.hu, established by the President of Hungary, will be the platform for collecting these ‘climate-votes’ and ensuring that your personal support will be counted in the international campaign.
The BCSDH believes that if its member companies join the initiative, actively use their own assets and motivate their stakeholders to dynamically participate in collecting domestic ‘climate votes’, it will make a significant contribution to meet the global ‘a billion signatures’ target. Our mother organisation, WBCSD, is a global partner of the initiative.
Let’s join our voices in demanding environmental accountability from world leaders!
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-09-04 13:45:002015-09-04 13:45:00BCSDH has joined János Áder’s call to action – Let’s deliver a simple message to world leaders: take climate action now!
Our member, the Deloitte Hungary will be carrying out a survey aimed at assessing the current state of CSR and sustainable development in Hungary and 10 other Central European countries.
BCSDH helps to spread the questionnaire and make possible to the member companies to participate in the survey.
Earth Overshoot Day is the annual marker of when we begin living beyond our means in a given year. While only a rough estimate of time and resource trends, Earth Overshoot Day is as close as science can be to measuring the gap between our demand for ecological resources and services, and how much the planet can provide.
The Cost of Ecological Overspending
Throughout most of history, humanity has used nature’s resources to build cities and roads, to provide food and create products, and to absorb our carbon dioxide at a rate that was well within Earth’s budget. But in the mid-1970s, we crossed a critical threshold: Human consumption began outstripping what the planet could reproduce.
According to Global Footprint Network’s calculations, our demand for renewable ecological resources and the services they provide is now equivalent to that of more than 1.5 Earths. The data shows us on track to require the resources of two planets well before mid-century.
The fact that we are using, or “spending,” our natural capital faster than it can replenish is similar to having expenditures that continuously exceed income. In planetary terms, the costs of our ecological overspending are becoming more evident by the day. Climate change—a result of greenhouse gases being emitted faster than they can be absorbed by forests and oceans—is the most obvious and arguably pressing result. But there are others—shrinking forests, species loss, fisheries collapse, higher commodity prices and civil unrest, to name a few. The environmental and economic crises we are experiencing are symptoms of looming catastrophe. Humanity is simply using more than what the planet can provide.
Source: Global Footprint Network
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-08-13 13:22:252015-08-13 13:22:25In less than 8 Months, Humanity exhausts Earth’s budget for the year
US President Barack Obama has unveiled what he called “the biggest, most important step we have ever taken” in tackling climate change.
The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources.
However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. “I’m convinced no challenge provides a greater threat to the future of the planet,” Mr Obama said. “There is such a thing as being too late.”
Those opponents say Mr Obama has declared “a war on coal”. Power plants fired by coal provide more than a third of the US electricity supply. The revised plan will aim to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.
“We are the first generation to feel the impacts of climate change, and the last generation to be able to do something about it,” Mr Obama said. He likened the plan to taking 166 million cars off the road in terms of environmental impact. He called taking a stand against climate change a “moral obligation”.
Mr Obama brushed off the notion that the plan is a “War on Coal” that will kill jobs and said he is reinvesting in areas of the US known as “coal country”.
“Scaremonging” tactics will not work to stop the proposal, he said.
“If we don’t do it nobody will. America leads the way forward… that’s what this plan is about. This is our moment to get something right and get something right for our kids,” he said.
The deal at a glance
What does it do to combat climate change in the US?
The Clean Power Plan sets standards to reduce CO2 emissions by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030, which is 9% more than the proposed rules previously set forth by the Obama administration.
How?
It sets carbon pollution reduction goals for power plants and requires states to implement plans to meet goals. States have until September 2016 to submit plans, but must comply by 2022.
Why are some US states opposed?
Coal mining states such as Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky fear their economies would suffer and people would be laid off.
Is President Obama trying to set an example?
The Administration believes the plan will boost a major climate summit in Paris in December and encourage other countries to submit their own plans.
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-08-06 11:44:072015-08-06 11:44:07Climate change: Obama unveils Clean Power Plan
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) envisions a world where the long-term environmental and social performance of a business is reflected in its success alongside financial indicators. Businesses depend on people as employees, customers, suppliers, retailers, governors and neighbors, and are inextricably connected to the societies within which they operate. Their interactions with society can have significant consequences and must be taken into consideration when measuring and valuing a company’s overall performance.
Despite the significant number of tools available for social impact measurement, businesses are struggling to identify fit-for-purpose approaches that will enable the use of social information to inform strategy and decision-making.
As part of the WBCSD’s Redefining Value program, the development of a Social Capital Protocol aims to bring together and align current expertise in measurement and valuation. Therefore, we are providing a platform to kick-start collaboration.
With this paper, we are calling upon organizations, experts and practitioners, across all sectors and disciplines, to join us in consolidating these efforts. This must be a collaborative initiative to build the critical mass necessary to ensure a legitimate and broadly accepted result for companies, shareholders and stakeholders.
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-07-09 09:38:322015-07-09 09:38:32Measuring, valuing and managing a company’s social impacts: A call for collaboration
In May 2015 a new chapter of the Action 2020 Hungary program kicked off with serious intellectual energy within the walls of program sponsor KPMG. The Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH) introduced its major sustainability program which calls the Hungarian business sector to action. After having identified the goals it is now time for companies to contribute to implementation by making commitments and identifying business solutions.
In five groups of experts more than 60 representatives from the civil, scientific and business sector discussed the effect of the measurement indices and started to identify exemplary business solutions.
‘Work based on live discussions between each sphere and immediate feedback ensured the creation of an inspiring and creative framework for the successful fulfilment of the tasks that were undertaken. It would make sense to continue with that kind of directness and method of cooperation. It could also create value for the other working groups of BCSDH’ – explained Attila Chikan Jr., Action 2020 Hungary Working Group Leader and CEO of ALTEO.
During the workshops, the experts tried to identify forward-looking stimulus measures which could be employed to meet all the planned objectives. Mandy Fertetics, Head of Corporate Programs BCSDH, added: ‘The most difficult task is to identify indicators and metrics since we have to take into consideration different business sizes, industries and activities, but we also have to make it possible to summarize the results. In addition, the reference base year, the measurement of changes in units, the investment of the enterprises’ resources (on the input side) and the selection of result and impact indicators also represents a challenge.’
Dr. László Pintér, professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at CEU and Senior Fellow and Associate of The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) praised the uniqueness of the consultation process: ‘This Hungarian process is also unique in terms of its international cooperation and the way that the business sector is playing such a proactive and forward-looking role in initiating cooperation with prominent scientific and civil experts to develop national sustainability goals. The participatory process itself creates exemplary and important benefits, not to mention the significance of addressing the upcoming questions: the integration of macro level risks into business, the measurement of effects and the identification of business solutions that go beyond business as usual.’
Exciting issues arose from the discourse at the thematic workshops, including the question of the use of fresh water, the contradiction between the capacity utilisation of fresh water supply and the efficiency of water usage, methodological difficulties with measuring carbon footprints, the need to integrate the concept of the circular economy, the difficulties of assessing ‘fair wages’ and the business solutions concerning non-ownership models of consumption.
The result of this process is a Tool Kit which can help companies to make commitments that can be monitored, in addition to identifying related business solutions or inspiring companies to find their own business solutions. Through this we may inspire even more companies outside BCSDH’s membership circle to contribute with business solutions to serious Hungarian social, environmental and economic challenges.
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Action 2020 Hungary:
The Action 2020 Hungary program is the Hungarian adaptation of the global Action 2020 program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – WBCSD.
Action 2020 Hungary is a platform for calling the business sector to action and for identifying the most important social, environmental and economic facts, trends and goals.
In contributing to these goals, business solutions are identified and concrete action is taken on the path to sustainable development. Food and Feed, Employment, Sustainable Lifestyles, Climate Change and Water are five focal areas for Hungary where sustainability challenges can be identified on a macroeconomic level that may have great impacts on social and economic welfare and the competitiveness of the business sector.
More than 100 scientific and civil experts and business CEOs actively contributed to defining the goals for Hungary.
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-06-12 10:51:122015-06-12 10:51:12The Civil, scientific and business experts around the table – Action 2020 Hungary reloaded
With a high level of corruption, can a country competitive? Can transparent operations increase the value of a company? Can having a dominant position be legitimate? Is being listed on the stock exchange a burden or blessing? Can publishing a sustainability report help to develop a company? Is it possible to operate ethically in an unethical environment?
The answers to such questions were sought out by ‘Future Leaders’ on the third professional training day, hosted by Richter Gedeon Plc.
József Péter Martin, Director of Transparency International Hungary, despite presenting shocking data about corruption in Hungary also stated that corruption can never be eliminated entirely but that decreasing it to an ‘optimal’ level should be a basic goal. Maintaining a good business and institutional environment in terms of transparency and a low level of corruption are essential to fostering long term sustainability and to the long term profitability of a company.
Let’s have an end to seeing stakeholders as enemies
Attila Chikan Jr., CEO of Alteo presented details about the pros and cons of transparent corporate operations from his own corporate experience. If we compare companies, ceteris paribus, those which are listed on the stock exchange are rated as being more valuable than non-listed ones: this is based on the advantages of liquidity and on their more transparent way of operating which is important to maintain investor confidence.
According to Attila, business success depends on seeing stakeholders as ‘friends’, not as enemies – of course, within reason. Such transparency does not mean sharing business secrets. The most important thing is compliance with the principle of ‘essentiality’: companies should not desire to ‘talk’ about everything, but only about important things – however, communicating about relevant information, processes and stories must be the responsibility of every company.
Passive participation in a cartel could mean committing a felony
Lawful operations and ethical business are closely-related issues – believes Dr. Orsolya Fazekas, legal counsel. Having a dominant position in a field of business is not legally forbidden and there may sometimes be a reasonable business explanation for this, but the abuse of a dominant position may have legal consequences. The following fact may be surprising, but passive participation in a cartel could have also legal consequences.
Walk around and look at the business context
Participants talked with Barbara Jánosa about the ethical business practices of Telenor. They discussed its value-based business roots, their form of realisation and the programs which can help to improve the ethical operations of small and medium sized companies.
Risk analysis and quick reactions
Zsuzsa Beke introduced the participants to the details of exchange advice / stock market reports through the example of Richter: this included an overview of expectations, benefits, risks, disadvantages and opportunities. Related corporate governance needs and their correspondence with ethical business were detailed using pharmaceutical industry practices, in doing so highlighting some interesting ethical dilemmas. In a case study about a competitor’s acquisition of an unethical market position a decision dilemma arose concerning ‘immediate reaction, high risk taking’ vs. ‘less impactful reaction, but risk minimization’.
How could we improve without revealing our situation?
István Szabó, KPMG’s CSR regional manager, gave an introduction and general overview of non-financial/sustainability reporting, which is increasingly expected by the public. He stressed that a report is not a ‘result’, but a description of a process which can really help a company develop.
Should we report about this?
We visited a fictitious management meeting in the afternoon where a CEO and Communication and Corporate Relations Director set out their stall against sustainability reporting with various objections and a great deal of scepticism. Every team (and their facilitator) had to offer up an HR, a financial and a marketing director to convince the sceptical management to publish detailed company data and information.
Is it possible to operate ethically in an unethical environment?
Closing the day, Erik Bogsch, CEO of Richter spent one hour with us in informal conversation. According to him, in spite of ethical challenges in industry in Hungary and in general it is possible to operate ethically even if this means creating a competitive disadvantages in the short term. Taking the ethical path is an ‘easy decision’ for the sake of long term success and sustainability. Decisions are needed and must be followed through, even if they seem difficult. While most Hungarian companies and their leaders say that they ‘ Could not plan further than one year due to the unpredictable environment’, the pharmaceutical industry innovates and develops using 5-15 year strategies.
00eszter.chikankovacshttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngeszter.chikankovacs2015-04-17 19:56:472015-04-17 19:56:47Competitiveness and transparency are closely linked
Regarding the financial expenses, it costs only 5% more globally for the economy to opt for the sustainable solution when it comes to development.
On March 26, 2015 Kitty van der Heijden, European Director of the World Resources Institution, one of the most influential persons dealing with sustainability hold a power speech at the business breakfast organized by the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Hungary (BCSDH), the Netherlands-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
István Salgó, president of the Business Council highlighted the importance of the Action 2020 program, while H.E. Gajus Scheltema, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands emphasized the economical importance of sustainable thinking.
From the aspect of the economic growth the world has reached excellent results in the previous 20 years, in the field of social justice we can be moderately satisfied: two billion more people have access to safe drinking water, 90% of the children participate at primary education, the number of the people, who are living less than 1,25$ per day, has reduced by 50 %. Nonetheless we haven’t improved any of the ecological indicators: 3,3 million people dies due to air pollution per year, 13 million ha forest area disappears per year, the CO2 emission has increased by 50%, and what is most threatening: the negative trends are growing exponentially.
In order to secure that economic growth and environment protection go hand in hand, radical and effective changes are necessary – stressed Kitty van der Heijden in her presentation. ‘Certainly there will be losers among companies and industries – especially, if they do not begin the change of their strategy in time, however, at the same time the majority of the companies can benefit greatly from the new solutions. What is the difference if the companies, from sustainable aspect, choose the right or the wrong solution? It costs only 5% globally.’ – she emphasized.
The guests learnt how the global and environmental challenges affect directly the Hungarian economy or the future operation of their companies. It became evident for the skeptics that there are a lot of new solutions and tools available, so the core problem does not lay there. The difficulty is to leave our old, well-tried solutions and practices even if those seem more viable in short-term. Those companies who have been focusing solely on financial profit are also being more and more forced to take into consideration other, not even financial risks when they determine their strategy. ‘In the coming years we have to learn how we can optimize our strategy during our decision-making in the following four dimensions: climate change, growth of the population, vulnerability of the biosphere and economic growth.’
The internationally renowned opinion leader stressed the importance of the economic growth among the four dimensions: ‘There is no doubt, that economic growth is necessary. The unemployment has to be alleviated, the social injustice has to be reduced, pensions and health care systems are necessary etc. – to reach that, we need economic growth. The question is not that we should choose between growth or sustainable development but which green solutions we can adapt that facilitate our economic development.’
At the end of her presentation Kitty van der Heijden highlighted the importance of accountability and transparency which is nowadays not a voluntary commitment of the companies. It is becoming a constrain mainly for the global companies and their subsidiaries; so companies that take the new challenges seriously, will have more competitive advantage.
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Kitty van der Heijden is the Director of WRI’s (World Resources Institute) Europe Office. Prior to this role Kitty was the Ambassador for Sustainable Development and Director of the Department for Climate, Energy, Environment and Water in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. In 2014, she was elected as “Influencer of the Year” among civil servants, and listed as 20th in the top 100 most influential people in the Netherlands dealing with sustainability
00eszter.chikankovacshttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngeszter.chikankovacs2015-04-03 14:00:442015-04-03 14:00:44Economic growth and environment protection hand in hand – this is the sole road to sustainability
Application is now open for the Gran Prize Innovative Interdisciplinary Award 2015 established by The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.
Annual prize awarded for outstandingly innovative solutions, papers and projects in response to the most pressing issues of our planet, in the field of environmental protection, sustainable evelopment, design, medicine, health preservation and development and education.
Istvan Salgó, President of BCSDH is member of the Board of Judges.
The SCCH has taken into consideration that persons, students and student groups might not yet have official publications which can be evaluated by the professional associations invited to participate in the Gran Prize award process and on the judging panel of the Gran Prize. Having taken this into account and in accord with the professionals and associations participating in the judging panel of the Gran Prize, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce hereby announces an open call to entry to the Gran Prize Innovative Interdisciplinary Award, with the following conditions:
Entries will be judged with the participation with the persons appointed by the professional associations serving on the judging panel of the Gran Prize.
Deadline for entries : April 24, 2015
Entry requirements:
– Professional resume
– Exact description of the entry and it’s beneficial, in particular innovative aspects
– Maximum length : 10 pages, not including attachments
– Auxiliary documentation of the entry, relevant for the judging of the entry
Submission:
Please upload the applications to www.swedishchamber.hu (Gran Prize submission / pályázat feltöltése) in the following file formats: Word, Excel, pdf and jpeg.
Criterias of evaluation:
– Novelty ( innovative performance, original idea )
– Social responsibility
– Sustainability
– Environmental aspect
– Potential of economic utilization
– Technological aspect
Further information:
Tel: : +36 309/708/433
Email: swedishchamber@swedishchamber.hu
Web: www.swedishchamber.hu
00adminhttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngadmin2015-03-09 17:50:522015-03-09 17:50:52Gran Prize Innovative Award 2015
At a General Meeting of the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSDH) held on 24th February, 2015 Eszter Chikán-Kovács, the new Communications Manager, was introduced. The need for the new position was bought about by the successful development of the organization.
Ida Petrik, Managing Director, said that the high standard of professional programs as well as the growing number of member companies make it increasingly important to improve internal and external communication. She emphasized that it is her pleasure that a senior specialist who had previously supported the communication-related work of BCSDH as a volunteer is now joining the organization.
Eszter Chikán-Kovács has gathered more than 10 years’ professional experience, mostly in marketing, (working in the field of brand marketing and strategy) but she has also gained experience in PR and web marketing too. She has given lectures on Marketing Strategy in higher education and worked as senior brand manager at Zwack Unicum Plc. for a long time. Now, as the mother of two young children, Eszter is returning to working life.
Eszter’s main reason for wanting to assist with the communication work of BCSDH was the inspiring fact that the organization’s work combines the promotion of economic interests with increasing social and environmental utility and defines a path by which committed business leaders may be inspired to find new business solutions that bring into being a more liveable future. She is also attracted by the opportunity to gain new professional experience. Another important reason for joining the organisation is that the BCSDH offers family-friendly working conditions, which is crucial for Eszter, the mother of two small children.
According to Eszter, her most important task as the new Communications Manager is to make more visible the idea of corporate sustainability in business media by highlighting member companies’ best practices in order to show good examples to other companies. Her strategic tasks include deepening media relations and taking advantage of the synergy between the communications activities of BCSDH and its member companies.
00eszter.chikankovacshttps://bcsdh.hu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bcsdh-logo.pngeszter.chikankovacs2015-03-03 20:04:432015-03-03 20:04:43The new Communications Manager of BCSDH has been introduced
