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"Corporate social responsibility asked the question: what is the impact of this business on the world? Sustainable business asks the question: what is the impact of the world on this business?"

"Companies are asking how they can be socially responsible in a way that also moves the business forward. It's no longer about having one corporate social responsibility guy who is supposed to be the moral compass for the company, like a chaplain in an Army regiment. It's about making sustainable business the standard operating procedure."

"Sustainable business has faced the ultimate double whammy of the credit crunch and the total damp squib that was Copenhagen. If climate change was the great driver for corporate social responsibility, then that driver seems to have stalled."

initiatives also increase employee loyalty

"If governments provide a strong legal framework that aligns incentives with business, then you have something you could call sustainability. If not, then corporate social responsibility will just be glacé cherries on an unsustainable cake."

Chevron had claimed that Ecuador was violating the terms of a 1997 trade pact with the US.

According to a report by Sweden's Umeå International School of Public Health more than 30bn gallons of toxic wastes and crude oil had been discharged into the land and waterways of Ecuador's Amazon basin - or "Oriente". This compares to the 10.8m gallons spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 in Alaska or 205m gallons spilt in BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster. The report claims there are at least two big oil spills per week in the area. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller Environment Pollution · Oil · Energy Business Oil · Commodities World news Ecuador More news Related 7 Jun 2010 Exxon Mobil argues against knee-jerk reaction to Gulf oil spill 31 Aug 2010 Greenland's prime minister lambasts Greenpeace for raiding Arctic oil rig 7 May 2010 Chevron wins access to film-maker's Amazon pollution footage 1 Dec 2010 A climate journey - The Andes: Ecuador's rainforests

A shift to a genuinely sustainable society will require us to challenge these negative forces, rein in the excesses of corporations and markets, and build an entirely different economy based on wellbeing for the many rather than profits for the few.

Silvia Ribeiro from the campaign group ETC Mexico points out: ‘Collapsing financial markets in Northern countries mean that banks and other investors are now looking desperately for new areas of expansion and speculation. We can see these desires leaving their mark on the Rio+20 process. The “Green Economy” now under discussion would unleash a wave of risky but lucrative new technologies such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology and climate technofixes. This isn’t about finding the best environmental solutions: it’s about creating profitable new investments.’

we cannot afford to live in a world where ecosystems are protected if, and only if, there is more profit to be made by protecting them than by trashing them.

Large polluting industries, business lobby groups and financial institutions are welcomed in as well-meaning ‘stakeholders’ – like mafia bosses invited to a meeting on reducing gang violence.

The businesses with the most wealth and power are those that have flourished in an economy based on the unrestricted use of natural resources and the exploitation of many of the world’s people. Those with the most to lose from a shift to true sustainability are therefore those with the most power to block that change.

the Stockholm Environment Institute calculated that the economic value of the oceans could be reduced by up to $2 trillion per year if climate change is left unchecked

Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of IEN, said: ‘Systems such as “payment for ecological services” and using forests in carbon offset markets do nothing but make Mother Earth into the World Trade Organization of nature.’

According to Lucia Ortiz of Friends of the Earth Brazil: ‘Trades Unions are getting very concerned about the “green economy” agenda, because it represents a deepening of neoliberal policies, and threatens to undermine the social rights already secured by past struggles. They are working in solidarity with environmentalists, indigenous peoples, farmers and women’s rights activists, calling instead for a transition to a sustainable and just society free from the exploitation of workers and of nature.’

By bringing together political leaders, civil society groups and businesses, Rio+20 provides an opportunity to jumpstart a renewed commitment toward a more sustainable planet. This won't come easily-- and it's only possible if we're willing to acknowledge that the world has shifted profoundly since 1992.

companies are starting to see sustainability as a competitive advantage. We need to hear these stories