Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

BSR 20th Anniversary Report, Conference Outline Building Blocks to Accelerate Sustainability Progress

Oct 23, 2012 9:00 AM ET

SAN FRANCISO, October 23, 2012 /3BL Media/ - BSR’s 20th anniversary Report—launched today to coincide with the opening of the BSR Conference 2012—shares a vision of the change needed to accelerate progress on sustainable business. In “BSR at 20: Accelerating Progress,” BSR assesses how far the world has come in solving sustainability challenges, and what we need to do now to fast-forward progress. 

“As BSR celebrates its 20th year—and its 20th Conference—sustainability has entered the mainstream,” said BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer. “Businesses and institutions around the globe are working to create an economy that thrives within planetary boundaries and enables all of the world’s people to lead dignified, prosperous lives. Turning this vision into reality is the central challenge of the 21st century.”

In the Report, BSR lays out the four building blocks that will get us there:

  1. Integrated business models
  2. Financial markets that promote long-term value
  3. New frontiers of collaboration
  4. Empowered individuals and connected communities

Building on those themes, the BSR Conference, taking place today through Friday, October 26, in New York, has gathered an estimated 1,000 senior business, civil society, and policy leaders, and features: 

  • Global leaders, including Marks & Spencer Chief Executive Marc Bolland, Nobel Laureate José Ramos-Horta, Princeton Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, EDF President Fred Krupp, and Head of Native Organic Products Leontino Balbo Jr., among others.
  • More than 35 interactive sessions on cutting-edge sustainability issues.
  • Media briefing on the “State of Sustainable Business”: BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer will be available for media interviews in person at the event: 3-3:45 p.m. Thursday October 25 at the Grand Hyatt New York (Chrysler room, mezzanine level).
  • Real-time, online coverage integrating news stories, blog posts, tweets, photos, and videos posted at www.bsr.org/conference; Twitter updates will be available via the hashtag #BSR12.

About BSR

BSR works with its global network of nearly 300 member companies to build a just and sustainable world. From its offices in Asia, Europe, and North and South America, BSR develops sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. Visit www.bsr.org for more information about BSR’s more than 20 years of leadership in sustainability.