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In the Media

Ecosis co-founds Positive - The regenerative business movement
25 Feb 2021

UNLOCKING A REGENERATIVE FUTURE

Ecosis joins the 100 pioneering changemaker businesses as founding member of the Postitive movement. It confirms Ecosis’ dedication about making positive change toward a sustainable future and empowering clients to overcome the obstacles and build on opportunities associated with sustainable growth.  

100 of the most innovative change-makers in the world and a number of scholars from a number of leading global universities have come together to lay out their vision of change for the regenerative economy.

Regenerative enterprises are driven by a transformative evolutionary objective that serves the well-being of both individuals and the world, without harm and with a net positive effect. Their systemic strategy makes them more resilient than any other company.

Regenerative economy and habitats are more robust when they operate within global limits, meaning that companies not only function over the long run, but also prosper – passing the time test. Resilience is part of the DNA of the Regenerative Market. It empowers the organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to some sort of disruption. Regenerative businesses quickly respond to changes in consumer tastes or aggressive competitors, or difficulties with vendors, increasing environmental issues and even pandemics.

 Read more on:

https://www.makeapositiveimpact.co/

https://4a35f47e-682d-48b3-b05b-f7c79c04f33c.usrfiles.com/ugd/4a35f4_e0176d099a4344229404ce44e858226a.pdf

Deloitte:
Understanding the sector impact of COVID-19 
Engineering & Construction
 
1April 2020
 

As the effects of COVID-19 are felt around the world, public construction has been one of the few activities that has been maintained to some extent. Activity will likely continue in the very short-term because the lockdown in several countries hasn’t been total and companies are willing to continue executing their contracts in order to avoid liquidation damages. However, work is expected to halt soon as supply chains are disrupted by a shortage of subcontractors and materials, and public agencies and administrations begin to terminate contracts to control expenses. In the residential and non-residential subsectors, the situation is different. Entities in these subsectors (for example, individuals, retail companies, and small businesses) are facing significant short-term stress and, with little choice but to conserve cash, many of these have already stopped projects.

Potential long-term impact on construction companies

Longer-term construction companies across the board will have to contend with decreased demand as governments face rising deficits and residential and commercial projects are dampened by unemployment and low GDP growth. Although some companies may be able to execute on the backlog of projects, the pipeline is expected to be weak for the foreseeable future. This suggests:

  • Construction companies with high levels of debt and low cash reserves may face a liquidity crisis.

  •  As smaller businesses, sub-contractors may fail rapidly.

  •  Contract management will come into sharp focus, as customers seek to terminate or

  • renegotiate contracts.

  • Internationalization will become less viable as companies reconsider the regions in which they want to operate, and countries put more restrictions on foreign companies.

Key questions executives and boards should be asking

  • How can we maintain the safety of own people first?

  • Do we need to restructure our company to remain financially solvent?

  • Do we need to rethink our supply chain and the use of subcontractors in light of emerging risks?

  • How can we use technology to gain operational leverage?

Practical next steps

Construction leaders will be defined by what they do along the three dimensions of managing a crisis: Respond, Recover, and Thrive. Some key next steps include:

 

  • Prepare for increased liquidation and renegotiation of contracts.

  • Work on restructuring to weather the storm.

  • Adjust your strategy to the new normal of much smaller markets in some countries.

  • Consider if the crisis can be used as a catalyst to rethink how work is done and to accelerate adoption of digital capabilities.

For additional steps that companies should consider taking, visit www.deloitte.com/covid19- resilient-leadership

The GIIN launches IRIS+ impact investment measurement system

16 May 2019

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) has launched IRIS+, a new system for impact investors to measure, manage and optimize their impact.

 

Credible, comparable impact data are needed to inform impact investment decisions and drive greater impact results. IRIS+ solves for this by increasing data clarity and comparability, and it provides streamlined, practical, how-to guidance that impact investors need, all in one easy-to-navigate system.

Read more on:

https://iris.thegiin.org/

https://www.institutionalassetmanager.co.uk/2019/05/14/275717/giin-launches-iris-impact-investment-measurement-system

What is the New Urban Agenda

10 November 2016

The New Urban Agenda is the outcome document agreed upon at the Habitat III cities conference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016. It will guide the efforts around urbanization of a wide range of actors — nation states, city and regional leaders, international development funders, United Nations programmes and civil society — for the next 20 years. Inevitably, this agenda will also lay the groundwork for policies and approaches that will extend, and impact, far into the future. See the final version of the New Urban Agenda here

UK GBC: London 2012 Sustainability Lessons Learned

01 Jul 2013

 

UK-GBC was chosen to support the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) Learning Legacy programme on the topic of sustainability. The Learning Legacy project is the first time intellectual capital of this scale and has been captured by any previous Olympic Games or UK construction project. UK GBC’s London 2012 Sustainability Lessons Learned series consisted of two streams of events running in tandem - Breakfast Sessions on venues and Masterclasses on sustainability issues. A guide to achieving theGOLD standard in sustainability was produced from experts delivering the London 2012 construction project. The guide allows to: - Get exclusive access to this unique intellectual property, including key resources, practical advice, videos and presentation. - Transfer and embed the lessons learned into your own work today. These are a few of the running themes that came up time and again over the 15+ Lessons Learned events held in the series. They are critical to sustainability and are transferable to all construction projects: - Leadership by Client - Culture of Teamwork - Early Engagement - Communicate Proactively - Don’t be afraid to innovate More details about each of these topics, as well as further practical advice and guidance can be found in UKGBC Lessons Learned Guide. The Guide can be downloaded from the UK GBC website: http://www.ukgbc.org/content/london-2012-sustainability-lessons-learned-0

The Business Case for Green Building

07 Mar 2013

 

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) released a new comprehensive report  this week, highlights that there are a large number of compelling benefits from green buildings received by different stakeholders throughout the life cycle of a building. 

The report examines whether or not it’s possible to attach a financial value to the cost and benefits of green buildings. Today, green buildings can be delivered at a price comparable to conventional buildings and investments can be recouped through operational cost savings and, with the right design features, create a more productive workplace.  

Learn more about the key findings in Ecosis Resouces.  

Ecosis

30 Nov 2012

 

An article about the GBCM was recently published in the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of the magazine "Southeast Asia Building". 

Ecosis' founder and GBCM’s chairman Tony Lee Luen Len has joined the International Advisory Panel (IAP) for the creation of a socio-economic framework/category that can be adapted for use in green building rating tools across the world.

C40, World Green Building Council and the U.S. Green Building Council form New Global Partnership

20 Nov 2012

 

On November 16, 2012 the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a global network of the world’s mega-cities dedicated to action on climate change, announced an expanded partnership, focused on creating a suite of innovative green building solutions that can be readily implemented in C40 Cities around the world.

C40 Chair and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg emphasized the importance of this collaboration by highlighting that today’s cities have enormous potential in combating climate change my making buildings more energy efficient. In cities, buildings represent the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions and can account for as much as 80 percent of these harmful heat-trapping gases. 

The partnership will make accessible to C40 Cities the full range of USGBC and WorldGBC’s green building expertise in project best practices, policy development and implementation, education and training, and powerful data-driven tools and resources.
By linking city experts with the largest network of green building professionals in the
world, cities will be able to quickly develop comprehensive and customized plans for ramping up green building.


Read the full press release: https://new.usgbc.org/articles/c40-world-green-building-council-and-us-green-building-council-form-new-global-partnership- 

Learn more about C40: http://www.c40cities.org/home

The Business Case for Green Buildings

16 Nov 2012

 

The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is producing an international report on the business case for green building early next year. 

This report aims bringing together a range of industry views and the most robust research and current thinking on the topic. 
The report will provide evidence to support the uptake of green buildings and sustainable design globally in a clearly written, visually compelling format aimed at industry leaders. 

In recent years several studies on the business case of green buildings have been published with varying degrees of accuracy and comprehensiveness. 
To address the needs for a reliable and relevant report the WorldGBC has set out to identify the most robust research and the most incisive and credible analysis and synthesize them into a single report.

 

Half Day Workshop

11 Oct 2012

 

During the World Green Building Week 2012, GBCM organised a half day workshop on the theme 'Green Buildings for Great Communities'.

 

 

To download the presentation "Sustainable Communities and Green Cities" of Mr Tony Lee, please go to Ecosis Presentations

 

 


 

World Green Building Week 2012

05 Sep 2012

 

From September 17-21 2012, communities from across the globe will unite for World Green Building Week.

This year, World Green Building Week will bring together people from green building councils in 91 countries and 25,000 member companies through events and programs around the globe.

This year’s theme is ‘Green Buildings for Great Communities’, highlighting the role of green buildings in creating greener and healthier neighborhoods, communities and cities.

A great community is healthy, sustainable and resilient. The building industry is taking the lessons learned from delivering greener, healthier buildings and scaling those to districts, neighborhoods and entire communities.

While important, the buildings within our cities and communities are just one part of the sustainability story. How we green our neighborhoods, our districts and our cities is our next great challenge.

On this occasion, the Green Building Council of Mauritius (GBCM) will organize a various events including a half-day workshop.

 

Green Apple Day of Service 2012

05 Sep 2012

 

The Center of Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will host the first Green Apple Day of Service on September 29, 2012.


For one day, advocates from across the country and around the world will come together in support of healthy, sustainable schools by taking real action in their communities.


Green Apple is an initiative of the Center for Green schools at USBGC to put all children in schools where they have clean and healthy air to breath, where energy and resources are conserved, and where they can be inspired to dream of a brighter future.


There are many ways schools can participate in the Center for Green School’s Green Apple Day of Service. Projects like Water or Energy Audits, Clean Up or Collecting Rainwater are only a few ideas towards sustainable and healthy schools in Mauritius.


The Center for Green Schools making sure every student has the opportunity to attend a green school within this generation. The Center provides the resources and support to elevate dialogue, accelerate policy and institute innovation toward green schools and campuses. High-performing schools result in high-performing students, and the Center works directly with staff, teachers, faculty, students, administrators, elected officials and communities to drive the transformation of all schools into sustainable places to live and learn, work and play.

 


For more information about the Center for Green Schools and USGBC visit:


http://www.centerforgreenschools.org/home.aspx


http://www.usgbc.org/

 


For more information about Green Apple Day of Service visit:


http://www.mygreenapple.org/greenservice.aspx

 

Road to Rio + 20 conference

15 Feb 2012

 

Objective of the Road to Rio + 20 Conference

The objective of the Conference is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges.

 

Themes of the Conference

The Conference will focus on two themes: (a) a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and (b) the institutional framework for sustainable development.

 

Preparatory Process

Resolutions 64/236 and 65/152 have decided to hold three preparatory meetings, one in May 2010 the second one in March 2011 and the third one immediately prior to the Conference itself. Additionally, it has also been decided that three intersessional meetings will take place: one in January 2010, the second one in the second half of 2010 and thethird one not later than eight weeks prior to the Conference. The purpose of these preparatory meetings is to discuss substantive and procedural issues in preparation for the Conference.

An inclusive preparatory process has started to take place involving various stakeholders at different levels. This process is geared towards achieving an outcome that will make notable contributions in advancing the goal of sustainable development. 

 

Bureau

Member States elected at the First Preparatory Committee meeting in May 2010 a 10-member Bureau (2 representatives from each region) and Brazil as ex-officio member to steer the preparatory process and decide on the roadmap and organization of work of the preparatory process. 

 

Secretariat

The UN Secretary General in May 2010 nominated the Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs as the Secretary-General of the Conference. To support the Bureau and the Conference Secretary-General in steering the preparatory process, a secretariat has been established within the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Conference Secretary-General in his functions is supported by two Executive Coordinators and a team of special advisors. The Secretariat’s work is organized under five clusters.

 

System Coordination

To secure coordinated support from the United Nations system to the preparatory process, capacities of several existing coordination mechanism are being tapped. These include: (i) the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA), (ii) the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), and (iii) the Environmental Management Group (EMG). "Troika meetings" in which Chairs of above referred mechanisms participate are held on as and when required basis. Some UN entities have also seconded staff to the UNCSD Secretariat. 

 

Documentation

In order to support the preparatory process and facilitate discussions at the preparatory meetings, Member States have requested preparation of Secretary-General’s reports on objective and themes of the Conference (clickable to the reports) as well as a synthesis report on best practices and lessons learned on the objective and themes of the Conference. Apart from these documents a number of other documents and studies are being produced by various stakeholders in preparation for UNCSD. 

 

 (source : http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/about.html)

 

National Capital Declaration

08 Feb 2012

 

The Natural Capital Declaration

A declaration by the financial sector demonstrating our commitment at the Rio+ 20 Earth Summit to work towards integrating Natural Capital considerations into our financial products and services for the 21st century.

 

The Roadmap to a Green Economy

Twenty years ago the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro focused on the importance of the natural environment and the services it provides (collectively, Earth’s “Natural Capital”) in sustaining human existence. As we approach the twentieth anniversary of this great event, the international community looks to the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 (also called “Rio +20”) to make headway on key issues including – the green economy and an institutional framework for sustainable development. 

Today, we the undersigned financial institutions wish to acknowledge and re-affirm the importance of Natural Capital in maintaining a sustainable global economy. This declaration calls upon the private and public sectors to work together to create the conditions necessary to maintain and enhance Natural Capital as a critical economic, ecological and social asset. We present this declaration to the world community at Rio +20, as a private sectorFINANCEresponse to the conference theme of working towards a green economy’. This declaration has been developed based on an extensive consultation process with the financial community over the course of 2010 and 2011, including meetings in London, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Munich, Washington D.C. and São Paulo.

 

The Importance of Natural Capital

Natural Capital* comprises Earth’s natural assets (soil, air, water, flora and fauna), and the ecosystem services resulting from them, which make human life possible. Ecosystem goods and services from Natural Capital are worth trillions of US dollars per year and constitute food, fiber, water, health, energy, climate security and other essential services for everyone. Neither these services, nor the stock of Natural Capital that provides them, are adequately valued compared to social and financial capital. Despite being fundamental to our wellbeing, their daily use remains almost undetected within our economic system. Using Natural Capital this way is not sustainable. The private sector, governments, all of us, must increasingly understand and account for our use of Natural Capital and recognize the true cost of economic growth and sustaining human wellbeing today and into the future.

 

Leadership from the Financial Sector

Financial institutions are an integral part of the economy and society. As the engine of global economic growth, the financial sector can provide some of the tools required to support a transition to sustainable development and eradicating poverty by providing loans, equity, insurance and other financial products and services needed by companies, governments, organizations and individuals. Since virtually every economic activity can have an impact on natural capital either directly or indirectly, through a supply chain, financial institutions have considerable indirect ecological footprints through their customers and directly through their purchasing decisions. These impacts can lead to material financial risks, but also to relevant business opportunities.

At present many financial institutions do not sufficiently understand, account for and therefore value, the risks and opportunities related to Natural Capital in their financial products and services (loans,INVESTMENTS and insurance products) and in their supply chains. Building this knowledge, as well as appropriate valuation and risk management tools, to take Natural Capital into account within financial decision-making, are important early steps to be undertaken by the financial sector.

As members of the financial sector, we consider ourselves key stakeholders in future discussions about valuing and protecting Natural Capital and we recognize that we have a key role to play in the reforms needed to create a financial system that reports on and ultimately accounts for the use, maintenance, and restoration of Natural Capital in the global economy. However, we must do this in consultation with government and supported by appropriate legislation and regulation.

 

Why Government Action is Essential Now

Because Natural Capital is a part of the ‘global commons’ and is treated largely as a free ‘good’, governments must act to create a framework regulating and incentivizing the private sector – including the financial sector – to operate responsibly regarding its sustainable use. We therefore call upon governments to develop clear, credible, and long-term policy frameworks that support and incentivize organizations – including financial institutions – to value and report on their use of Natural Capital and thereby working towards internalizing environmental costs. This can be done by:

1.      Requiring companies to disclose the nature of their dependence and impact on Natural Capital through transparent qualitative and quantitative reporting;

2.      Using enforceable fiscal measures to discourage business from eroding Natural Capital, while at the same time offering incentives to companies that integrate, value and account for Natural Capital in their business model;

3.      Endorsing and implementing international agreements, including but not limited to, those agreed through the Convention on Biological Diversity;

4.      Setting an example through requiring public spending and procurement to report and eventually account for its use of Natural Capital;  We welcome the World Bank’s Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) initiative and encourage governments to participate.


Our Commitment at the Rio +20 Earth Summit

Anticipating that such a framework will emerge, and noting that no methodology yet exists to adequately report or account for Natural Capital in the global financial system, we the endorsing Financial Institutions wish to demonstrate leadership by undertaking to collaborate globally through working groups and engagement with our customers, investee companies, suppliers, civil society, and other stakeholders as appropriate to:

1.      Build an understanding of the impacts and dependencies of Natural Capital relevant to our operations, risk profiles, customer portfolios, supply chains and business opportunities;

2.      Support the development of methodologies that can integrate Natural Capital considerations into the decision making process of all financial products and services - including in loans, investments and insurance policies. We recognize that given the diversity of the financial sector, embedding Natural Capital considerations will differ across asset classes and types of financial institutions. We therefore aim to build on work undertaken through other initiatives, such as the UN-backed Principles for ResponsibleINVESTMENT, the Equator Principles, the United Nations Environment ProgrammeFINANCE Initiative (UNEP FI) Principles for Sustainable Insurance, and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), so that we can develop methodologies to:

- Apply a holistic approach to evaluating bonds and equities through the integration of Natural Capital considerations in environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk analysis in short, medium and long-term growth forecasts of investee companies;

- Systematically consider and value Natural Capital in the credit policies of specific sectors, including commodities, that may have a major impact on Natural Capital either directly or through the supply chain;

- Systematically consider and value Natural Capital in core insurance business strategies and operations including risk management, risk underwriting, product and service development, claims management, sales and marketing, and investment management;

3.      Collaborate, when appropriate, with the International Integrated Reporting Committee and other stakeholders to build a global consensus around the development of Integrated Reporting, which includes Natural Capital as part of the wider definition of resources and relationships key to an organization's success.

4.      Work towards building a global consensus for the integration of Natural Capital into private sector accounting and decision-making; supporting, when appropriate, the related work of the TEEB for Business Coalition, and other stakeholders.

By endorsement of this declaration, we wish to demonstrate our commitment to the eventual integration of Natural Capital considerations into private sector reporting, accounting and decision-making, with standardization of measurement and disclosure of Natural Capital use by the private sector.

*Natural Capital: In general terms, ‘capital’ is defined as the stock of materials or information that exists within a system at any given time. Much as an investor
 will use financial capital to generate profits, a stock of forest or fish will provide a future flow of timber or food. There is a difference between living Natural Capital and dead Natural Capital. The former is sustained by solar energy, and includes all ecosystems. It can be harvested for goods and yields additional ecosystem services when properly maintained. Dead Natural Capital includes minerals and fossil fuels that do not provide any services other than their use. For the purpose of this declaration, Natural Capital is referred to as the stock and flow of the earth’s ecosystem services.


(Source: http://www.unepfi.org/ncd/declaration.php)

 

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