Top 5 Insights from CSR Leaders in 2013

NBS presents the most popular Thought Leader posts from 2013.

In NBS’s Thought Leader Forum, world experts on sustainability issues offer guidance on sustainable business models for the 21st century.

Highlights from 2013

Here are 2013’s most popular Thought Leader posts:

1. Real Collaboration Takes More than Meetings and PowerPoints

“The good news is that people everywhere now talk about collaborating to address systemic problems,” writes Peter Senge (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). “The bad news is that not everyone collaborates effectively.” Senge identifies the conditions that turn differences into an asset. (For more on collaboration, see NBS’s recent report, Sustainability through Partnerships.)

2. Making Systems Thinking More Than a Slogan

John Sterman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) describes how the world operates as a system — and how businesses can use that knowledge to respond effectively to challenges. His recommendations include: acknowledge constraints, move beyond technical solutions, confront our values, and recognize that we can make a difference.

3. 2015 Will Bring “Sweeping Changes” to Capital Markets

“The future will be different,” writes Bob Willard. Three new initiatives (a ratings standard, reporting framework, and guidance) will lead markets to consider companies’ sustainability performance. Willard describes how companies can become “future-proof.”

4. “Greening Is Not Enough”: 4 Steps to Corporate Leadership on Climate Change

“While it seems ‘sustainable business’ has blossomed, the environment reminds us that we’re failing to address the key sustainability issue — climate change — at anywhere near sufficient scale,” write Michael Toffel (Harvard Business School) and Auden Schendler (Aspen Skiing Company). Operational improvements are insufficient, they say; companies must spur government action.

5. Fire Ants, Kinkajous and Pipelines: How Business Can Partner for Biodiversity

Biologist Francisco Dallmeier (Smithsonian Institution) has worked extensively with energy companies on biodiversity projects. Such partnerships reduce risk and contribute to science. Dallmeier describes partnership best practices —and how a tree canopy bridge in the Amazon allowed kinkajous to cross a pipeline.