WRI Stories Feed: WRI Corporate Consultative Group

RELEASE: WRI Welcomes Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S., to Board of Directors

James Anderson — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:38:07 -0500

The World Resources Institute announced today that Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the United States, has joined its Board of Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dino to our Board and to benefit from his extraordinary ability to understand, communicate, and influence,” said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute. “Indonesia is a hugely important country for the future. It is both one of the richest countries in natural capital and one of the most important countries in demonstrating how natural capital can be sustained.”

Dr. Djalal is known for his distinguished career in Indonesian public service, and is a prominent civil society leader, public thinker, academic, and author. His intellectual leadership and innovative diplomacy have been credited with advancing Indonesia’s global reputation as a progressive, influential, and dynamic nation.

“I am honored to join the Board of Directors of WRI,” said Dr. Djalal. “The Institute has been at the forefront of international efforts to promote sustainable development and sustainable forestry – issues that are critical to developing countries like Indonesia. WRI is known not only for its rich intellectual resources, but also for its policy contribution, superb network, and can-do spirit that make it an exceptional think tank.”

Dr. Djalal is known for his strong commitment to environment and development issues. He was instrumental in establishing Forest Eleven (F-11), a group of tropical rainforest countries working to reduce forest cover loss, rehabilitate degraded land, and encourage sustainable forest management. Dr. Djalal has promoted the discussion of climate change through his initiatives the Innovative Leaders Forum and Generation-21.

Prior to his role as ambassador, Dr. Djalal served as Special Staff for International Affairs and Presidential Spokesperson for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He joined the department of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia in 1987 and has been posted to Timor Leste, London, and Washington D.C. as Director for North American Affairs. He has led initiatives such as the U.S. - Indonesia Security Dialogue, the Global Inter-Media Dialogue, and the Presidential Visitor’s Program. He is also the author of several best-selling books, including Harus Bisa!, which has had 1.7 million copies printed.

Dr. Djalal holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada; a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada; and a Doctorate from the London School of Economics.

A complete list of WRI’s current board members is available here.

The World Resources Institute recently honored Indonesia’s President H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with an award for his efforts to protect the Coral Triangle. Read more here.

Big Business on the Sustainability Offensive

Kirsty Jenkinson — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:04:33 -0500

This piece originally appeared in Ethical Corporation.

There is a growing trend for big…

Re-introducing the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review, Version 2.0

Suzanne Ozment — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:38:07 -0500

The World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) are pleased to announce the release of the Corporate Ecosystem Services…

Mining Megatrends for Innovation: Making a case for bolder action in a changing climate

Eliot Metzger — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:03:26 -0500

This article is one in a series of updates WRI’s Next Practice research team is sharing about its ongoing work with business to develop tools and guidance for…

Leading Companies Share Experiences, Solutions in WRI's Corporate Consultative Group

Walton Upchurch — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:53:33 -0400

Annual MindShare Meeting provides the latest environmental intelligence on greenhouse gas accounting, emerging economies, and more.

Participants from 3M, Citi, Alcoa, Disney, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Kimberly-Clark participated in a MindShare 2011 breakout session. Photo: WRI

Corporate leaders in manufacturing, retail, entertainment, health, finance, and other sectors might not seem to have a lot in common at first, given their different industries. But no matter the business, sector leaders must all stay at the forefront of environmental trends as they unfold, in order to stay competitive, manage risk and find new business opportunities.

That’s why, earlier this month over 60 of WRI’s corporate partners gathered at Citi’s offices in New York to hear about the latest sustainability developments and share challenges and solutions with one another.

The annual MindShare Meeting – the signature event of WRI’s Corporate Consultative Group (CCG) – is a chance for members to come together in person to connect with their counterparts at other CCG companies (as well as with WRI experts).

As the Manager of the CCG, I was struck by the sense of common purpose and supportiveness at this year’s meeting – not only between WRI and our members, but between the members themselves, many of whom are competitors or work in different industries. With 42 member companies from 8 different industry sectors, it’s interesting to observe the similar situations our participants face as sustainability professionals.

For instance, most participants seemed eager to help their companies innovate and think more strategically about sustainability issues, but they recognize it can be challenging to prove the “business case” internally for each new idea, particularly if the idea is cutting edge or may have an uncertain or long-term return. Participants sincerely understood one another’s challenges and were eager to learn from each others’ successes.

Some of the highlights from the 2011 MindShare Meeting:

The event covered a range of topics: from how to approach corporate sustainability efforts in India, China and other emerging economies to how to think creatively about partnerships (both inside and outside the organization) that can help companies gain market share while addressing water shortages, high energy prices and other resource constraints.
WRI officially launched the two new GHG Protocol accounting methodologies: the Scope 3 and Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standards. Many CCG members participated in the development process of these new tools.
We kicked off the new CCG Ecosystem Services Focus Area. Craig Hanson, Director of WRI’s People & Ecosystems Program, provided an overview of our work on the topic and member companies gave examples of how they’ve started to integrate nature’s benefits into business decisions. (The CCG has three Focus Areas: Climate, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services. This structure allows individuals to tailor their CCG engagement around particular topics of most relevance to their work.)
Kirsty Jenkinson, Director of WRI’s Markets & Enterprise Program, led a conversation over dinner with WRI Board Member and President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Frances Beinecke. Ms. Beinecke reflected on the journey towards workable climate policy solutions. In particular, she stressed the need for corporate leadership in the U.S., in lieu of a national climate policy.

In the past year, the Corporate Consultative Group has added 11 new members, including our first 3 companies based in Asia: Energy Development Corporation, Sindicatum Sustainable Resources and the Samsung Global Environment Research Center.

We are excited about this growing global network of formal corporate partners and look forward to the coming year. As an initial step, we’ll be delivering on some of the requests we received at MindShare for concise summaries and PowerPoints on issues relevant to business. We’ll also continue to connect WRI experts with members whenever our corporate partners have questions or require guidance on climate change, adaptation planning, GHG emissions accounting, water risk, and other issues.

Companies are a key audience for WRI, and we value our corporate partnerships. While there are several opportunities for companies to engage or formally partner with the Institute, membership in the Corporate Consultative Group is the principal way for companies to stay up-to-date on our corporate-relevant research, analysis and tools across all of WRI’s programs. To learn more, visit www.wri.org/ccg or get in touch with me directly.

GHG Protocol: The Gold Standard for Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Janet Ranganathan — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:51:25 -0400

Today the GHG Protocol launches two new global greenhouse gas accounting standards - for corporate value chains (scope 3)…

The Coca-Cola Company Donates Extensive Water Risk Database to Aqueduct

Kirsty Jenkinson — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:06:12 -0400

This piece, co-authored by WRI’s Kirsty Jenkinson and Coca-Cola’s Joe Rozza, originally appeared on The Guardian…

The Forest Company of the Future

Janet Ranganathan — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:46:20 -0400

This story originally appeared in the Guardian.

Over the past 150 years, industrialization has taken its…

In Next Practice Collaborative, Top Companies Transition to Low-Carbon Future

Samantha Putt del Pino — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:32:23 -0400

The world 20 years ago looked very different from today. There was no widespread use of the internet. VHS movies rather than streaming video were the norm, and few could (nor did) imagine oil costing $100 a barrel. Innovations over this…

Risk, Investment, and Opportunity in a Changing Climate

Sally Prowitt — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:43:53 -0400

To stay competitive, companies will need to find ways to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Record breaking wildfires raging in Arizona, massive flooding disrupting lives from Iowa to Vermont — extreme weather events…