DELAWARE, Ohio, Aug. 8,
2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Executives from 80 leading
corporations, NGOs and other organizations based in the U.S.
Midwest – and reporting an aggregated $2.1
trillion in revenue – met to discuss how their organizations
could accelerate their sustainable practices at the second annual
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) U.S.
Midwest Conference.
Held on the Columbus, Ohio
campus of The Ohio State University on
Aug. 2, the conference was
co-sponsored by Greif, Inc. (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B), SC Johnson,
Battelle and the Dow Chemical Company.
Representatives from the invited organizations discussed U.S.
water trends; tactics that companies can employ to promote and
accelerate more sustainable consumption; and the implications of
Rio+20 for corporations. Organizations also shared best practices
to foster collaboration at the national and regional levels.
Greif Executive Chairman Michael
Gasser welcomed the group, setting the tone for the
day. "This meeting is action oriented," he said. "So first, I
challenge us all to reach a combined 1 percent water and energy use
reduction by next year's conference."
Gasser continued, "Sustainability drives innovation for
corporate leaders who are managing their businesses for long-term
growth – and creating a better future for their children's
children."
In his keynote remarks, WBCSD President Peter Bakker said, "Everyone talks about
sustainability, but the world is not getting better. We need
radical change. We need to act now."
According to the WBCSD report Vision 2050, nine billion
people will share the planet by mid-century. Twenty-nine leading
global companies from 14 industries collaborated to write the
report, which resulted from an 18-month combined effort of CEOs,
sustainability experts and more than 200 companies and external
stakeholders in 20 countries. It features agreed-upon must-haves if
the world's population in 2050 is to live well and within the
limits of the planet's resources.
Geneva, Switzerland-based
Bakker said, "If we are to save the world, it is business that will
have to do it, and the U.S. must lead.
"The question is, how can we scale up sustainability as part of
the core of our business, as part of the core of our economic model
to truly transform the world?"
Bakker said businesses can start by initiating sustainable best
practices in their sectors, then continue with cross-sector
innovation, consider the "eco-costs" of their value chain
decisions, define the rules of business for reporting and develop
an MBA for the future. Businesses must balance their financial,
natural and social capital to create the radical change that is
necessary to address the resource challenges that are looming.
Keynote speakers were Battelle CEO Jeffrey Wadsworth, and Patrick Doherty and Colonel Mark Mykleby of the New America Foundation.
Panelists included representatives from Kimberly-Clark
Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Veolia Water, American Electric Power, Clean
Water America Alliance, Unilever, PepsiCo, PwC, Greif, Inc.,
SustainAbility, GlobeScan, The Sustainability Consortium, Full
Economic Citizenship Initiative, Groundswell, TruCost and the
Fisher College of Business at The
Ohio State University.
About the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WBCSD brings together forward-thinking corporate leaders who
galvanize the global business community to create a sustainable
future for business, society and the environment. The CEO-led
global association is composed of approximately 200 environmentally
responsible companies and is committed to providing business
leadership as a catalyst for change toward sustainable development.
The Council provides a platform for companies to explore
sustainable development and share knowledge, experiences and best
practices.
About Greif, Inc.
Greif, Inc., a leading global industrial packaging manufacturer,
has a long-term commitment to creating and engaging in sustainable
business practices and supporting humanitarian relief efforts.
Greif has invested in manufacturing process improvements that
reduce waste, energy and water use. In addition, Greif developed a
durable, low-cost backpack that eases the burden of human transport
of clean water in developing economies, partnering with Impact
Economics for distribution. The backpack, PackH2O, has been
proven in use in Haiti,
Guatemala, Uganda and Kenya, and was designed to create local
community business opportunities. Greif's goal is to sell and
distribute 100 million backpacks around the world by 2017.
For more information about Greif's sustainability achievements,
see www.greif.com/sustainability.
SOURCE Greif, Inc.