Responsible Business -I

For Short Notes:

1. CERES Principles for responsible environmental conduct

The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) is a non-profit
organization based in the US which comprises investors and environmental,
religious and public interest groups.
The CERES Principles is a ten-point code of corporate environmental conduct to be
publicly endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic.
Companies that endorse these Principles promise to go voluntarily beyond the
requirements of the law, and publicly assert their belief that corporations have a
responsibility for the environment.1
The Ceres Principles2
I. PROTECTION OF THE BIOSPHERE
We will reduce and make continual progress toward eliminating the release of any
substance that may cause environmental damage to the air, water, or the earth or
its inhabitants. We will safeguard all habitats affected by our operations and will
protect open spaces and wilderness, while preserving biodiversity.
I.
SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES
We will make sustainable use of renewable natural resources, such as water, soils
and forests. We will conserve non-renewable natural resources through efficient use
and careful planning.
II.
REDUCTION AND DISPOSAL OF WASTES
We will reduce and where possible eliminate waste through source reduction and
recycling. All waste will be handled and disposed of through safe
and responsible methods.
III.
ENERGY CONSERVATION
We will conserve energy and improve the energy efficiency of our internal
operations and of the goods and services we sell. We will make every effort to
use environmentally safe and sustainable energy sources.
IV.
RISK REDUCTION
We will strive to minimize the environmental, health and safety risks to our
employees and the communities in which we operate through safe technologies,
facilities and operating procedures, and by being prepared for emergencies.
V.
SAFE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
We will reduce and where possible eliminate the use, manufacture or sale of
products and services that cause environmental damage or health or safety
hazards. We will inform our customers of the environmental impacts of our products
or services and try to correct unsafe use.
VI.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
1http://www.uscib.org/index.asp?documentID=2593
2http://www.ceres.org/about-us/our-history/ceres-principles

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We will promptly and responsibly correct conditions we have caused that endanger
health, safety or the environment. To the extent feasible, we will redress injuries we
have caused to persons or damage we have caused to the environment and will
restore the environment.
VII.
INFORMING THE PUBLIC
We will inform in a timely manner everyone who may be affected by conditions
caused by our company that might endanger health, safety or the environment. We
will regularly seek advice and counsel through dialogue with persons in
communities near our facilities. We will not take any action against employees for
reporting dangerous incidents or conditions to management or to appropriate
authorities.
VIII.
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT
We will implement these Principles and sustain a process that ensures that the
Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer are fully informed about
pertinent environmental issues and are fully responsible for environmental policy. In
selecting
our
Board
of
Directors,
we
will
consider
demonstrated environmental commitment as a factor.
IX.
AUDITS AND REPORTS
We will conduct an annual self-evaluation of our progress in implementing
these Principles.
We
will
support
the
timely
creation
of
generally
accepted environmental audit
procedures.
We
will
annually
complete
the Ceres Report, which will be made available to the public.
________________________
2. EQUATOR PRINCIPLES3
The Equator Principles (EPs) is a credit risk management framework for
determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risk in Project
Finance transactions. .
The EPs are adopted by financial institutions and are applied where total project
capital costs exceed US$10 million. The EPs are primarily intended to provide a
minimum standard for due diligence to support responsible risk decision-making.
The EPs are based on the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards
on social and environmental sustainability and on the World Bank Group
Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines (EHS Guidelines).
Equator Principles Financial Institutions (EPFIs) commit to not providing loans to
projects where the borrower will not or is unable to comply with their respective
social and environmental policies and procedures.
In addition, while the EPs are not intended to be applied retroactively, EPFIs apply
them to all Project Finance transactions covering expansion or upgrade of an
existing facility where changes in scale or scope may create significant
environmental and/or social impacts, or significantly change the nature or degree of
an existing impact.
The EPs have become the industry standard for environmental and social risk
management and financial institutions, clients/project sponsors, other financial
institutions, and even some industry bodies refer to the EPs as good practice.
3http://www.equator-principles.com/index.php/about-ep/about-ep

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Currently 78 adopting financial institutions (76 EPFIs and 2 Associates) in 32
countries have officially adopted the EPs, covering over 70 percent of international
Project Finance debt in emerging markets.
The EPs have greatly increased the attention and focus on social/community
standards and responsibility, including robust standards for indigenous peoples,
labour standards, and consultation with locally affected communities within the
Project Finance market. They have also promoted convergence around common
environmental and social standards. Multilateral development banks, including
the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development , and export credit agencies
through the OECD Common Approaches are increasingly drawing on the same
standards as the EPs.
The EPs have also helped spur the development of other responsible environmental
and social management practices in the financial sector and banking industry (for
example, Carbon Principles in the US, Climate Principles worldwide) and have
provided a platform for engagement with a broad range of interested stakeholders,
including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), clients and industry bodies.
________________________________
3. Global Reporting Initiative 4
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a non-profit organization that works towards
a sustainable global economy by providing sustainability reporting guidance. GRI
reporting is a comprehensive Sustainability Reporting Framework that is widely
used around the world.
GRIs inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach was established early, when it was still
a department of CERES. In 1998 a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee was
established to develop GRIs guidance. A pivotal mandate of the Steering
Committee was to do more than the environment. On this advice, the frameworks
scope was broadened to include social, economic, and governance issues. GRIs
guidance became a Sustainability Reporting Framework, with Reporting Guidelines
at
its
heart.
The first version of the Guidelines was launched in 2000. The following year, on the
advice of the Steering Committee, CERES separated GRI as an independent
institution.
The second generation of Guidelines, known as G2, was unveiled in 2002 at the
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. GRI was referenced in
the World Summits Plan of Implementation. The United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP) embraced GRI and invited UN member states to host it. The
Netherlands
was
chosen
as
host
country.
The uptake of GRIs guidance was boosted by the 2006 launch of the current
generation of Guidelines, G3.In March 2011, GRI published the G3.1 Guidelines
4https://www.globalreporting.org/information/about-gri/what-is-GRI/Pages/default.aspx

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an update and completion of G3, with expanded guidance on reporting gender,
community and human rights-related performance.
The Framework enables all organizations to measure and report their economic,
environmental, social and governance performance the four key areas of
sustainability.
The Global Reporting Framework includes the Reporting Guidelines, Sector
Guidelines and other resources - enables greater organizational transparency about
economic, environmental, social and governance performance. This transparency
and accountability builds stakeholders trust in organizations, and can lead to many
other benefits.
4. ISO 14000 Series Environmental Management Systems5
ISO 14000 is a series of international standards on environmental management. It
provides a framework for the development of an environmental management
system and the supporting audit programme.
The main thrust for its development came as a result of the Rio Summit on the
Environment held in 1992.
The History of ISO 14000
As a number of national standards emerged (BS 7750 being the first), the
International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) created a group to investigate
how such standards might benefit business and industry. As a result this group
recommended that an ISO committee be created to create an international
standard.
ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is the corner stone standard of the ISO 14000 series. It specifies a
framework of control for an Environmental Management System against which an
organization can be certified by a third party.
Other ISO14000 Series Standards
Other standards in the series are actually guidelines, many to help you achieve
registration to ISO 14001. These include the following:

5 http://www.iso14000-iso14001-environmental-management.com/iso14000.htm

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ISO 14004 provides guidance on the development and implementation of
environmental management systems
ISO 14010 provides general principles of environmental auditing (now superseded
by ISO 19011)
ISO 14011 provides specific guidance on audit an environmental management
system (now superseded by ISO 19011)
ISO 14012 provides guidance on qualification criteria for environmental auditors
and lead auditors (now superseded by ISO 19011)
ISO 14013/5 provides audit program review and assessment material.
ISO 14020+ labeling issues
ISO 14030+ provides guidance on performance targets and monitoring within an
Environmental Management System
ISO 14040+ covers life cycle issues
Of all these, ISO14001 is not only the most well known, but is the only ISO 14000
standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external
certification authority.