NGOs and businesses: a possible equation?

What do NGOs think about their links with businesses?

Chris Harris is deputy director for Greenpeace France. He was invited today to the conference on the relationships between NGOs and business.

"We came to this forum in order to discuss how companies can better manage their activities to act for the planet. Some companies talk, but it's simply to avoid doing. We are here today to confront the corporate world and the NGOs. Companies that are involved in a process of certification are already changing their way of thinking. A lot of companies do what they are doing because they had to face
environmental problems. They would not have come by themselves to the negotiation. I do not want to accept any compromise. NGOs that are funded by businesses may compromise their independence."

Scott Poynton is the CEO of Tropical Forest Trust, a non-profit organisation that works with businesses in order to have them work with sustainably managed forests.

"This forum is a healthy mix: companies are not always aware of the
environmental consequences of the products. They need NGOs to realize that.
There are two solutions: either NGOs campaign againt businesses, which is
useful. Or they can meet in places like here, which is healthy too. Greenpeace
wants to protect the forests for environemental concerns. Firms need the forests
for economic concerns. In the end, they all want the forests to be conserved:
having them to meet each other cannot hurt!"

Nancy Dale is the executive director of Action Against Hunger (United States).

"Although there are lots of biases on both sides, NGOs have to learn how to work
with businesses. In my organization, we are increasingly working with
businesses. We have a partnership with Weight Watchers: for each pound lost, one
pound is given. It is a win-win proposition. NGOs can have positive effects on
businesses, but the reverse is also true: NGOs are not so pure!"

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Sharing reponsibility workshop: include the employees

Saturday morning workshop aimed to help the companies including their employees into the protection of the environment process. "Companies should maintain their efforts and move from awareness to actual training" said Olivier Classiot. According to Goeff Townsend, "they have to motivate, excite and enthuse" people. And Scott McAusland stressed that "transparency is essential since what cannot be measured cannot be changed".

Main topic of the conference: how to include the employees into the process.

Goeff Townsend explained on stage that companies have "the responsibility to educate people". In his speech, based upon concrete examples of what his own firm implemented, he stressed that companies need more consumers feedback and to establish a long-term relationship with them. "If you take it seriously, you will see the benefit" he said. He presented an 8 step-method: make a start, establish why engaging sustainability, identify a few top issues, communicate your intentions, make a strategic commitment, engage in the process (implement training and empower people), establish consumers focus, innovate, and make regular reviews.

Scott McAusland insisted on how important it is to develop a common language for sustainability reporting and to build a common frame of reference. His company aims to bring business leaders together and collects companies' reports to evaluate how they act (or not) to protect the environment.

Elizabeth Pastore-Reiss concluded: "Cultural change is really the issue."

Anne Cantener
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Summary: The long road towards responsible companies

SER. Three letters to evoque the Social and environmental responsability of economic actors. Friday, a conference was dedicated to the SER of these companies, featuring Marc Roquette, the president of the group bearing the same name, and Deon Rossouw, president of the ISBEE (International society of business, ethics and economics).

Throughout the conference, Marc Roquette dedicated himself to describing an "experiment of thought", around the future of organic chemistry. An experience destined to produce more while emitting less CO2. Marc Roquette employed himself to present to the public what the industrial production, in particular his personal group's, could become from then till 2 100, if responsible practices were applied. If these ideas are to be materialised one day, the petrochemistry of today could be replaced by "vegetal chemistry". His final objective : to produce without CO2 emissions. To achieve this, he has the ambition of "combining nuclear fusion with the culture of micro-seaweeds". Marc Roquette's speech was however missing his own definition of a responsible company.

A gap that the South-African dean Deon Rossouw rapidly filled. (See interview of Deon Rossouw).

"To solve the crisis, we need to rethink the role of the company and the economy in the society [...]. A good balance is to be found between regulation and responsibility. [...] A balanced regulation that still allows for imaginative responsibility."

Going further than the technical aspects outlined by Marc Roquette, Deon Rossouw underlined that "something has to change in people's minds in order for these technical procedures to become reality".

Lucile Sourdès and Marie Rouarch

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Interview : Deon Rossouw on the issue of ethics

Deon Rossouw is the President of the International society of business, ethics and economics. On friday, he took part in a conference about the responsible company, and had the opportunity to share his views on ethics, business corporations and regulation.





What is your definition of a responsible company?



Is it necessary for governments to regulate the business world to make sure companies refer to ethical rules?



How can you make a CEO understand that ethics are not a burden but rather a chance for his or her company?



Ethics are mostly about ideas, it is rather intellectual. How can we make concrete solutions out of this concept?



The World Forum attracts people who already feel concerned about sustainable development. How do you attract other people, those who are not interested about those issues?



Collected by Marie Rouarch and Lucile Sourdès
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Examining what people eat around the world

A Malian family of 15 surrounded by their food supplies for a week. Total cost: $26. Nearby, six Australians spread out their groceries in the family kitchen. Total cost: $376. Peter Menzel's pictures shock and generate many remarks. Chosen pieces coming straight from the first floor.


Béatrice holds the forum library. She already knew Menzel's work, which she discovered on the Internet, thanks to a friend. She nevertheless stops again in front of a photo of a family from Bhoutan: 13 people gathered around a huge bag of rice.






Translation:
You can see a family gathered around their food for the week: potatoes, pepper, banana, oranges... We can imagine that these products make up their basic consumption, which is evidently very simple. In the Mexican family, we can see some Coca-Cola, some bread, a basic product, Corn-Flakes... You cant tell their country has undergone industrialisation. When I saw those photos for the first time on the internet, the contrast between industrialized countries and third world countries really stunned me. The difference in terms of quality and quantity is shocking. As far as quality is concerned, healthy food is mostly found in poor countries. They don't eat sufficiently but they eat fresh food whereas we are polluted by junk food. "

Alex is American. He lingers in front of pictures, observing the characters' facial expression, their look. And concludes that those who have the most to eat aren't the ones who look the healthiest!






Julie Albet et Diane Desobeau

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"Food vs Fuel": biofuels responsible for food crisis?

A few years ago, biofuels appeared to public opinion as an ideal solution to the issue of oil getting scarce. Cheap to produce and less polluting than petroleum, people thought they could gradually replace oil.

In this period of food crisis, everyone doesn't approve of biofuels anymore. We blame them for leading farmers to use land for energy rather than food. Specialists fear disloyal competition; biofuels producers would like to reassure the public. Two points of view are face to face.

Professor Bernardo Mançano, geographer at the Presidente Prudente University, São Paulo (Brazil):




Philippe Tillous-Borde, CEO of Sofiprotéol, processing industry of oil and vegetable proteins destined to produce, among others, biodiesel.

"Biofuels were presented as the ideal culprit, which is totally wrong and overshadows the real issue. In Africa, FAO figures show that, without deforestation, around 200 millions hectares of land in south Sahel could be farmed. But, of course, it would require facilities, building storage sites, enabling farmers of these countries to produce.

On the other hand, what happened lately is the result of several factors: drought, high demand in Asian countries and above all, we're realizing it today, enormous speculation on the raw materials market. The proof is that today we're facing a financial crisis, and markets completely collapsed. Biofuels consumption, on the contrary, is developping even more."

Mathilde Bellenger
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Zooming on the "Green Heart" Association

Three young adults, Claire, Eric and Michael, decided to dedicate their lives to sustainable development. During one year they traveled the world and came up with lots of ideas and methods that they will hopefully try to implement and develop.

"When we speak about the environment, let us not only speak negatively," stresses Eric Perdigau, co-founder of the 'Green Heart' association. "There are people who fight for the cause and have solutions to the problems." During their long adventure, the three globe-trotters indeed found solutions to the problem. There is for example an initiative taken by an Indian doctor, who created ecologic toilets to come up with solutions to all the hygiene issues his country was confronted to. There is also an Argentinian who grows a bamboo forest, which is seen as the material of the future. Indeed, a bamboo forest only takes three years in order to renew itself, whereas for an oak-tree forest forty years are necessary. As a total, thirty-two personalities behind thirty-two innovative initiatives that are all "reproductible". It is to meet these people that Eric (ex-chief in internet product), Michael (ex-consultant) and Claire (ex-assistant) abandoned their jobs. "As soon as I started working, I did not find a particular purpose in my job," tells Eric. "So I decided to take my time to realize something which made sense to me".
Their journey started in Asia, then they passed by Oceania and finally ended their trip in South America. In order to go on this journey they had to save-up for three years and collect €60, 000's worth of funds. Before leaving, their Internet based research helped them to prepare themselves for what they were going to face. Once on the field the local people were very effective with contacting the local association longing to be known.

"Tomorrow's ecology defenders"
During their entire journey, these three young adventurers kept a blog in order to inform children about their discoveries. "We worked with five-year-old kids in kindergarden, and they were not the least concerned. They helped us pass on the message to their parents." In total, seventeen kindergarden classes in France participated in this experience. Children created slogans for the environment and set-up recycling on their playgrounds. "They are tomorrow's ecology defenders." The association's next goal is to assign the 'Green Heart trophee'. The thirty-two selected projects will be presented on their website and Internet-surfers will be able to vote to choose their favourite candidate. The latter will be helped financially, thus his or her project will be developped. The adventure does not stop here for our three 'environment fighters'; they are ready to go to several cities in France and raise awareness on sustainable development. They also hope to publish a book and have a photo exhibition about their experience.

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"PVC could play a vital role in developing countries"

Dr Jason Leadbitter has been working in the chemical industry for over twenty years. His specialty : Polyvinyl chloride, better known under the nickname PVC. Invited at the World Forum in Lille to speak about how to make non toxic products, he focused on the issue of recycling.

Each year, the chemical industry produces thirty million tons of PVC. But, Dr Jason Leadbitter admits, there is one big problem: PVC is not biodegradable. A situation that has led many to sharp criticism. Dr Jason Leadbitter explains that recycling PVC is one of the main issue at stake here:

Is PVC a harm to humanity? Dr Jason Leadbitter disagrees. Very enthusiastic about PVC, he recalls two projects that were led in Erytrea and in Sudan, thanks to plastic pipes and straws:





According to him, PVC could actually be a part of a vertuous circle development project in Africa. He is full of ideas on how desalination plants could provide the raw material needed to produce PVC:




Angeline Demuynck et Anne-Julie Contenay

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Giant pic-nic on the Grand Place

Today, more than a hundred people gathered on Lille's Grand Place for a giant pic-nic. After prizegiving for the slam contest, highschoolers organized a game towards ecology. Divided into four teams (air, water, fire and earth), people had to answer questions on protecting the environment.

World forum 2008 - Pique-nique

Anne Cantener
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Evelyne Mexìa Ostler, from Mexico

She's a nice brown-haired girl from Mexico and her english is perfect. Nevertheless, Evelyne Mexia Ostler, 20 years old, has chosen a french business school for her semester abroad: ESCIP, in Saint-Omer (Pas-de-Calais). One hundred students from this school (half of them are foreigners) are here at the Forum to participe to the "Globe Trotter Game". "I am representing North America with my friends from Canada and the United States", she says.

Evelyne (who stands in the middle of the picture) studies international business and she's expecting to manage her own company: her parents have a small factory that produces roof tiles, "those things which make very mexican our houses". She would like to increase this business and she takes advantage of the forum to "get a better knowledge of the other countries, which is crucial if you want to trade with them".

She has just discovered environmental problems: "Our school asked us to do some research on sustainable development and I have learned quite a lot of things", she admits. "I did not know how significant is the water shortfall nowadays".

Since her arrival in France, she's taken some new habits, like recycling wastes, turning the light off more often or being careful about the water she uses. She wants to keep these habits after her coming back to Mexico, next january, even if she knows that some people will not understand: "When my mum sees me recycling wastes, she will ask herself what am I doing!"

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Questions to Wangari Maathai

A few hours after opening the World Forum, Wangari Maathai answered a few questions about her action. She's been fighting against deforestation for 30 years and received the Nobel Peace Price in 2004. Though she blames some companies for seeking short-term profit, she notices a great change of mentalities. People are more and more concerned.


Your actions tend to reduce deforestation, what can people do as simple citizens ?



You've been an activist for 30 years, do you notice any change in mentalities ?



What is the impact of business on the environment ?



Why is it important for you to be here today ?



Anne Cantener and Marie Rouarch


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