Mardi, 7 of septembre of 2010
Can you afford not to be concerned !
La Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie supports The Atelier of Sustainable Excellence, an exclusive workshop which aims to provide a learning & sharing platform – for CSR/Sustainability professionals from luxury, prestige and beauty companies, academia and NGO.
The event will take place in Lausanne/Switzerland on September 28, 2010
More news about La Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie
Lausanne, Switzerland
The debate surrounding sustainable luxury is not new, but very prevailing as luxury consumers’ expectations and behaviors evolve rapidly. The traditional definition of luxury as ‘anything unneeded’ is neither helpful nor relevant in today’s markets. Luxury has become both a commendable and widely obtainable need and necessity.
When it comes to corporate responsibility, luxury companies don’t become model citizens overnight. But merely complying with public demands for responsible practices won’t protect them very long or even contribute to solve social or environmental problems.
But, how to be good and do well ?
What do the terms such as ethical consumerism or discerning luxury consumption really tell us about future luxury spending habits? How to go beyond mere compliance to gain a competitive advantage? How best in class luxury companies succeed in their endeavor of changing their stakeholders’ behaviors? How to make a real difference to society in reinventing a new business model? How to future-proof its company and ensure sustained value for all stakeholders ?
The Atelier of Sustainable Excellence™ aims to provide a learning & sharing platform for engaged CSR/Sustainability professionals from the luxury/prestige sectors, academia and non-governemental/not for profit organisations to :
Provisional program and confirmed speakers.
Program may subject to change. Number of participants will be limited. Registration and inquiries
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 !
This is a major event and everybody knows that, 2010 Winter Olympic Games are coming, and they will be hosted in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. Always in USA’s shadow, Canada’s mining industry is the third leader in the extraction of gold. Well, what’s the link between Canadian’s mining industry and the Vancouver Olympic Games?
This link is simple: the medals. As the host country, Canada will design and produce the 615 Olympic and the 399 Paralympics gold, silver and bronze medals. It represents 2.05 kg of 99.99% pure gold, approximately 1,950kg of pure silver and 903 kg of copper. The medals will be among the heaviest ones in Olympic and Paralympics history, with an average weight of 550g each.
The task of producing them was given to the Royal Canadian Mint and to Teck Resources Limited (which is headquarted in Vancouver). The first will be in charge of the design and conception (each medal will be a one-of-a-kind masterpiece) and the latter will have to furnish the materials. The Teck company is Canada’s largest diversified mining, mineral processing and metallurgical company.
Going along with the sustainability turns taken by the Olympics Games, this company advocates sustainable and responsible practices in its businesses. She owes or has interests 13 mines in Canada, in the USA, in Chile and in Peru, which are managed through a Code of Ethics and a Code of Sustainable Conducts. The Company has engaged in responsible practices toward main stakeholders (employees, communities and shareholders) and holds considerations for the populations of the countries she works in, investing in the local communities, hiring and training local workers.
A new process has been used to build the Olympic and Paralympics medals: the E-waste process. Teck is a primary recycler for the Encorp Return-ItTM Electronics program in British Columbia. By recycling end-of-life-electronic (EOLE) equipment, the company extracts a certain percentage of metals that were used in the production of the medals.
Medals are a kind of luxury goods. Luxury brands should learn and consider the actual expectations of consumers and the benefits their companies will gain in terms of innovation, competition and productivity. Mining is the base of the luxury industry and one of the most attacked industry regarding damages toward the environment and the local communities. Mindsets are changing within the luxury industry. It is time for corporate practices to start moving forward too.
