(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) July 14, 2010 - Sustainability has undoubtedly become a source of tremendous social progress as organizations apply considerable resources, expertise and insight to activities that benefit society and business alike. As sustainability focuses on a company's most material issues, it is imperative to align corporate sustainability actions and programs with core business strategy.

New research conducted at the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) confirms the hopes of many over the last 15 years, that issues of Sustainability will become a normal consideration when doing business. With much hard work by non-governmental organizations, business and government, the global business community is starting to understand the urgency for including Sustainability into their long term strategies, as well as report these strategies to their outside stakeholders.

The following represents some of the findings of CSE:

• Some form of Sustainability Reporting will supplement conventional environmental regulations and reporting, in the coming years

• Suppliers will now be targeted and brought in-line with the Sustainability efforts of their buyers, to support a more Sustainable Supply Chain

• A mixed pool of knowledge sources and their agendas, including groups in government, academia, and business, continue to muddy the definitions and concepts of Sustainability

• Regulation of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility in various regions of the world will now need to come together for the creation of more uniform frameworks

• Sustainability frameworks will continue to evolve to fit into current financial methodologies used for analyzing company performance, and perceived risks

• Government regulation of Sustainability issues is set to become the norm within the next five to ten years.

• Sustainability reporting frameworks, such as the GRI’s G3, will continue to add value to investors’ analysis as they highlight Corporate Sustainability Strategy and Vision, Brand Management, and Environmental and Social Risk reduction. It is becoming more accepted that conventional financial reporting represents a less complete picture of a company’s performance

• Sustainability reporting is now the norm with global companies’ reporting to stakeholders in various regions of the world, even though reporting in this fashion is still overwhelmingly voluntary

Corporate professionals are increasingly required to be aware of the issues of Sustainability and the proper systematic approach to address risks. The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence has designed intensive professsional certification training titled, Accredited Sustainability (CSR) Practitioner Workshops, which are certified by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), and designed for professionals responsible for the management of Corporate Social Responsibility, Marketing, Public Relations, and Environmental activities. 

What professionals are saying about us:

“I appreciated the teamwork, collaborative approach, and availability of the instructors for questions and discussions. It was great!” 
 - Grant Buma, Green Team Leader, Sara Lee Corporation

“The interactive nature of the training, with lots of time dedicated to discussion rather than  istening to a presenter, is what I liked the most"  - Ms. Melanie Brooke-Lander, HS&E Director, Baker Hughes

“CSE puts sustainability issues and solutions in one place, providing increased clarity to the CSR executive. I found the course both informative and highly interactive”     - Cortney McDermott, Head of CSR & Sustainability, The North Face EMEA - VF Corporation 

Professionals will advance their CSR understanding, acquire the skill and knowledge that will bring added value and authenticity to their company, and also earn an official business qualification.

The ultimate goal of the CSE workshop in North America is to provide the tools and training that will instill the growing importance of corporate social responsibility into company strategy and also help them demonstrate ethical business practices. This will in turn build corporate and community recognition in sustainable business through the examination of current best practices.