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Independent, agenda-setting research, analysis and commentary

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  • Global Economic Recovery and Sustainability

    Findings from The Sustainability Survey

    07 Mar 2011 – Audio/Video

    In collaboration with GlobeScan we surveyed sustainability professionals and interviewed members of the SustainAbility Council to explore the following question: what does a global economic recovery mean for the corporate sustainability agenda?

    Read and discuss

  • The Biodiversity Challenge Revisited

    A Review of the Latest Research and Implications for Business

    27 Oct 2010 – Webinar

    Some businesses are gradually awakening to growing risks and new opportunities as the protection of species and genetic diversity prove more and more critical to global supply chains. Yet too many still assume that government alone has the answers.

    Read and discuss

  • Five Principles for Sustainable Brands

    Relevant, Responsive, Reliable, Resilient and Transformative

    07 Jun 2010 – Article

    SustainAbility's five principles for ensuring that sustainability is good for brands – and that brands are good for sustainability.

    Read and discuss

  • Open Good, Closed Bad

    16 Apr 2010 – Article

    John Elkington and Alex Hammer on how social media technology is leveling the playing field in stakeholder engagement.

    Read and discuss

  • Market Movers

    Lessons from a Frontier of Innovation

    16 Jan 2008 – Report

    Market Movers explores whether emerging economy firms are managing to embed sustainability in their business strategies in ways that stand comparison with companies elsewhere in the world.

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  • Rise of the Germinator (Director)

    13 Apr 2007 – Article

    Media coverage of sustainability is sparking a new set of opportunities for environmentally conscious businesses. The message is "go green, get rich".

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  • If the Issue Fits (Grist)

    Biz magazines spotlight the sustainability revolution

    27 Mar 2007 – Article

    If the business press is any indication, sustainability issues have risen up the corporate ladder and are now seen as a central challenge for companies in the coming decades.

    Read and discuss

  • Changing Climate Will Drive Innovation (Época Negócios)

    25 Mar 2007 – Article

    This is the year when the Davos crowd began to wake up to the real scale not only of the market risks linked to climate change but also of the commercial opportunities.

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  • Marketers Turn Up the Heat (Director)

    11 Oct 2006 – Article

    It's taken a while for marketers to come out in support for a green agenda, but now the true costs are known, a groundswell of opinion is forming.

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  • Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained (Grist)

    Will cleantech turn mercenaries into missionaries?

    11 Apr 2006 – Article

    While government funds may be slow to swing around to so-called "cleantech," venture capitalists are suddenly sniffing the air.

    Read and discuss

  • Issue Brief: Progressive Alliances

    Scaling up corporate responsibility to address global challenges

    27 Jan 2006 – Article

    How corporate responsibility can be scaled up to make a more substantive contribution to addressing global challenges.

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  • The Value Palette

    05 Aug 2005 – Article

    John Elkington tries a thought experiment to highlight different forms of value creation, whether by multinational corporations or social entrepreneurs.

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  • Issue Brief: Liability

    From risk management to value creation

    16 May 2005 – Article

    This Issue Brief sets out SustainAbility’s view on the differences between active and passive corporate responsibility management and leadership behaviours, and considers some of the emerging drivers to reward and motivate businesses to change gear.

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  • Globalisation's Reality Check (openDemocracy)

    06 Sep 2004 – Article

    The world’s targets for sustainable development can only be met by concerted action from governments, business and civil society. But if proposals for a “global covenant” have meaning, it is time for companies to get real, says John Elkington.

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  • Issue Brief: Materiality

    Does it matter?

    15 Mar 2004 – Article

    Some issues are so important that they demand real recognition and effort by the company – but many other issues do not rise to this level. This threshold is referred to as materiality.

    Read and discuss