3 Jan 07 - Business leaders should engage more with the societies in which they do business, as an example of personal leadership. This was the conclusion from an IBLF Crossing Borders visit by international executives to economic and social projects in India during the Christmas and New Year break. The three IBLF Board members participating in the visit - Richard Edelman (CEO of Edelman PR and chairman of IBLF North America), Malcolm Williamson (chairman of National Australia Bank Europe and chair of Youth Business International) and Khalid Al-Nahdi (Head of CEO's office, Dallah Al Baraka Group, Saudi Arabia) - agreed that while India presents immense opportunities for business it also demands sensitive engagement with local stakeholders to tackle some intractable challenges in urban markets and rural villages. The group saw first hand local project leaders and social entrepreneurs piloting programmes to address poverty issues such as rural education, water access, solar energy, heritage conservation, sustainable tourism and inner city regeneration in New Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, outlying rural areas in Rajasthan and downtown Mumbai. The executives were accompanied by their families and led by IBLF CEO Robert Davies. In Delhi, Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Group and the chair of IBLF Asia hosted the group.

"Every year, every CEO should have a transforming experience that takes you out of your normal path and shakes your presumptions about society", said Richard Edelman. "It's important for top leaders to insist that all their staff get engaged in these issues and have an understanding of them and that means they have to set an example by getting engaged first", concluded Malcolm Williamson. The group learned something of the complex local politics in business, environmental improvement and sustainable development in India. They witnessed the massive challenges of population growth, overcrowding and a dilapidated public infrastructure. They observed widespread frustration with the incapacity of government to provide a framework for the private and community sectors to play their part. The highlights of the visit were trips to the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan - winner of the 2006 Alcan Prize for Sustainability - to witness solar-lit night schools, and the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, to see programmes in downtown heritage conservation. IBLF's Crossing Borders programme was set up in 2005 to bring business leaders face-to-face with local communities to learn how business impacts on, and is impacted by, the local communities in which they operate. The aim of the initiative is to highlight how business practices contribute to local development solutions and how business can grow more sustainably through profitable and successful partnerships with communities.

1 Feb 07 - Alcan and IBLF are pleased to announce the US$1 million Alcan Prize for Sustainability 2007 is now open for entries. Information on eligibility criteria and how to enter the Alcan Prize for Sustainability is available at www.alcanprizeforsustainability.com. The closing date for receipt of entries is midnight 31 March, 2007 (GMT). "Since the Alcan Prize for Sustainability was introduced four years ago, it has become a significant mechanism for businesses and the NGO community to work together to address social, economic, and environmental issues and how they relate to sustainability," said Dick Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alcan Inc. "I strongly encourage all sustainability-focused NGOs to submit their entries for the Alcan Prize for Sustainability. Beyond the US$1 million, this Prize represents an extraordinary opportunity to highlight the benefits of successful sustainable development practices," he added. The Alcan Prize is open to all not-for-profit, non-governmental, and civil society organizations based anywhere in the world that are working to advance the goals of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The Alcan Prize for Sustainability was created to recognize the not-for-profit sector for its contributions to global sustainability both in the community and more widely by influencing policy.

In addition to the US$1 million Prize, Alcan Grants worth US$15,000 will be awarded to nine NGOs to invest in certifiable capacity training such as the one-year, part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Cross Sector Partnership accredited by the University of Cambridge. To ensure the objectivity of the Alcan Prize for Sustainability, Alcan partners with IBLF, which manages the application and selection process. The IBLF promotes international leadership in responsible business to benefit business and society. To ensure a rigorous and transparent approach, Alcan does not have a voice in the Assessment or Adjudication Panel established by the IBLF. The 2006 Alcan Prize winner was the Barefoot College of India, an organization devoted to improving the lives of India's poorest people by emphasizing practical knowledge and skills over paper qualifications through a learning-by-doing process of education.

9 Feb 07 - IBLF and Insight Investment have created a model to enable food companies to develop a comprehensive response to addressing consumer health. A Recipe for Success: How companies can profit from consumer health, sets out a series of recommendations to companies on all aspects of managing their business, from strategy and governance to reformulating products and consumer and employee health and activity programmes. According to the World Health Organisation, 1 billion adults are overweight and at least 300 million of these are clinically obese. Some one in 10 children worldwide are also obese. A Recipe for Success shows how business can address, and have been addressing this problem through their core business practices. The report is the result of a comprehensive consultation with a range of stakeholders during 2006, including: 15 businesses or business organisations, five government or international agencies, 11 investors, brokers, rating agencies or consultants, 10 NGOs and five scientists or academics. The framework will enable food companies to develop a response to consumer health issues, by framing the issue and understanding the risks and opportunities, formulating objectives and strategy, establishing appropriate governance mechanisms and implementing the strategy.

The report shows how companies have already responded to consumer health issues in a range of ways, from Nestle acquiring the Uncle Tobys brand in Australia to enhance their wellness portfolio, to Unilever developing a product to encourage customers to increase their fruit and vegetable intake, and Tesco highlighting healthy living information and activities on its website. In total, IBLF and Insight Investment studied 25 companies - the world's top 10 food manufacturers, top 10 food retailers and top five foodservice companies. A Recipe for Success provides a response, in part, to two important publications that addressed the challenge of consumer health and obesity. The first was the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, published by the World Health Organisation in 2004. The second was a report by London City University's Centre Food Policy in April 2006, which reviewed the publicly disclosed information relating to diet, physical activity and health of the world's largest 25 food companies.