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Business looks to eco ‘standards’

Brand South Africa
|
September 17th, 2003

17 September 2003

The director of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Akim Steiner, says the business sector has expressed willingness to contribute towards conservation as part of their social responsibilities towards sustainable development.

Speaking to BuaNews at the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, Steiner said some business sector delegates were working with conservationists to develop “standards” to respond to nature conservation.

“The business community is saying they would like to work on the basis that they work on national laws as they define their ability to work, and increasingly they have seen that unless they can also deal with conservation as a corporate responsibility issue, they will lose public support”, Steiner said.

“Therefore they are trying to engage with environmental organisations and conservation communities to actually develop some standards to respond to public criticism.”

Steiner’s comments came amid a debate at the congress that brought together representatives of the private sector, conservation community and indigenous peoples concerning the role business can play regarding protected areas.

He said some IUCN members, such as Friends of the Earth, were challenging companies that still refused to recognise conservation as part of their corporate responsibilities.

However, energy company Shell has been hailed as a good example in this regard. Earlier this month, the company announced that World Heritage Sites would in future be regarded as “no go” areas for its oil and gas exploration programmes.

The declaration, the first of its kind by a major energy company, is expected to have a ripple effect internationally.

Shell chairperson and CEO Philip Watts presented initiatives that would incorporate biodiversity management into the company’s business processes in Switzerland.

Adrian Loader, Shell’s director for strategic planning for sustainable development and external affairs, said the company was still committed to reducing greenhouse gases and looking to develop environmentally friendly energy sources.

“We believe we have an immediate responsibility to contribute towards our activities to help to solve the problem of reducing green house gases”, Loader said.

He said this century was seen as a period to phase out hydrocarbons, although not completely. “Exactly how and when, I can’t tell you at this point in time, but we have a responsibility to provide cleaner fuels with existing hydrocarbons”, Loader said.

Source: BuaNews