Sustainable Luxury, Beauty & Sport

Over two-thirds of people believe the current economic crisis is also a crisis of ethics and values
• Report based on opinion poll of over 130,000 respondents from 10 G20 economies on Facebook
• Global religious leaders identify the key values for a more just and sustainable post-crisis economy

Geneva, Switzerland, 18 January 2010 – Over two-thirds of people believe the current economic crisis is also a crisis of ethics and values. But only 50% think universal values exist. These are among the findings of the World Economic Forum’s Faith and the Global Agenda: Values for the Post-Crisis Economy, an annual report on issues related to the role of faith in global affairs.

The report contains a unique new public opinion poll on values conducted through Facebook. The poll reached over 130,000 respondents in France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.

The poll results point to a trust deficit regarding values in the business world. Only one-quarter of respondents believe that large, multinational businesses apply a values-driven approach to their sectors, while over 40% believe that small and medium-sized businesses apply such an approach.

Almost two-thirds of respondents believe that people do not apply the same values in their professional lives as they do in their private lives. When asked whether businesses should be primarily responsible to their shareholders, their employees, their clients and customers, or all three equally, almost half of the respondents chose the option of “all three equally”.

When asked to identify the values most important for the global political and economic system, almost 40% chose honesty, integrity and transparency; 24% chose others’ rights, dignity and views; 20% chose the impact of actions on the well-being of others and 17% chose preserving the environment.

The CBC reports Vancouver 2010 is looking to spectators travelling to the Olympic Winter Games to help with carbon offsets for the estimated 268,000 tons of emissions the Games will be responsible for.

Spectators travelling to Vancouver to attend the Winter Games will be responsible for almost half of the carbon footprint, 130,000 tons, and organizers say they would encourage Games tourists to buy carbon offsets to balance the environmental impact of their travel.

VANOC corporate sustainability officer Ann Duffy said, « because of the nature of individuals taking responsibility for where they want to travel, we’re trying to make it easy », reports the CBC. Duffy said the hope is that « people include this in some of their decisions to travel and enjoy the Games ».

Tourists are directed to a VANOC-sanctioned website called offsetters.ca, as one place where they could calculate and pay for their carbon offsets. The website acts as a brokerage, connecting individuals and corporations to offset projects to which they can contribute, reports the CBC.

Vancouver 2010 organizers said they would only take responsibility for offsetting the estimated 118,000 tons of direct emissions from the Games that have been generated by venue construction and athletes’ travel. Duffy said, « one has to draw the line somewhere. We’re doing some heavy lifting in terms of covering the footprint for our direct operations ».According to the CBC, VANOC anticipates that sponsors and governments will pick up the offset costs for the estimated 20,000 tons of carbon emissions not paid for by organizers and Games’ tourists.

It is clear that BaselWorld, SIHH, GTE or other Luxury Events have nothing to compare with the Olympic Game in terms of carbon footprint. But…., they should take the lead in planning, organising and staging sustainable and responsible luxury and use it as a platform to raise the awareness among the entire Luxury Community. Why not ? How to start … More News.

As for Nestlé, the world’ largest package good company, water management has become a strategic issue for Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining groups, whose operations tend to be located in areas that are either arid or plagued by torrential rains. Water issues are entering each step of the company’s business, from exploration and mining to smelting and refining.

In this interview, CEO Tom Albanese discusses the economics of water, the role of climate change, and how Rio Tinto is adapting its operations and seeking to make water management a source of advantage. Bill Javetski, an editor with the McKinsey Publishing group, conducted the interview with Tom Albanese in Durham, North Carolina.

Watch Tom Albanese Video Interview. Here !

Japanese embrace sustainable practices in their daily life !

Japan for Sustainability, a NFP Japanese think tank, highlighted the results of a bi-annual survey :  52.9 % of respondents would choose to transition to a zero-waste society, even if it lowered their standard of living. The survey was conducted in June 2009, and involved interviews with 3,000 adults nationwide, measuring public awareness and interest related to two subject areas: zero-waste society and coexistence between humans and nature. There were 1,919 valid responses (64.0% response rate).

When asked about their daily efforts in reducing trash (allowing multiple answers), 62.0 percent of respondents said that they try not to use plastic shopping bags and/or ask for simpler packaging at stores. With an increase of 30.1 percentage points, this figure was almost twice that when compared with a previous survey conducted in 2005. Other responses indicated increased efforts: « choose refillable products more often (63.3%, +8.3 points) » and « refrain from purchasing unnecessary items (43.6%, +6.7 points). »

On the other hand, it became apparent that the term « biodiversity » is not yet well recognized. Despite the goal to increase awareness of the concept of biodiversity to 50 percent by the end of 2011, as outlined in Japanese government’s Third National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan in 2007, 61.5 percent of respondents stated that they had never heard of the term.

Slowly but surely, awareness is growing within all communities. The Copenhagen Summit has been an atrocious failure perceived globally. So-called Third World countries are not blind and impaired anymore. Reject of plastic bags, the growing popularity of the Slow Movement and the development of new sustainable products have reach a serious consciousness of what is going on.

 How will adapt Luxury brands, for which the Japanese market represents up to 40 % of their sales ?