Transcript THE GLOBAL COMPACT

THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT
MODULE 3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Session 1: Principle 7
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UNGC Principle 7
“Businesses should support a precautionary
approach to environmental challenges”
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
A Brief History of the Concept
– Background in European environmental legislation
• Swedish Environment Protection Act (1969): introduced the concept of
“environmentally hazardous activities” for which “the mere risk (if not
remote) is to be deemed enough to warrant protective measures or a ban
on the activity”
• The German Vorsorgeprinzip (“forecaring”) Principle: implemented in
the German clean air policies of the 1970s that called for prior care,
foresight, and forward planning to prevent harmful effects of pollution
– Increasing adoption in international agreements
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The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2003)
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Precautionary “approach” or “principle”?
– A contentious issue causing strong division in the negotiation of multilateral
environmental conventions
– The difference involves a legal and ethical debate, with the different
interpretations having different implications for corporate environmental
activity
– The debate revolves around:
• Whether to apply precaution in an absolutist manner (“principle”) or in a more
flexible manner (“approach”)
• Shifting the burden of proof completely to the project proponent (“principle”)
or sharing this with stakeholders in identifying the acceptable risk (“approach”)
The following slides focus primarily on implementing the precautionary
“approach” as this is specifically referred to in the Global Compact
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Understanding Principle 7: The Rio Declaration
“In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall
be widely applied by States according to their capabilities.
Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing costeffective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”
1992 Rio Declaration (Principle 15)
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Understanding Principle 7: The Wingspread Statement
“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment,
precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect
relationships are not fully established scientifically.
In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear
the burden of proof…
The process of applying the Precautionary Principle must be open, informed
and democratic and must include potentially affected parties.
It must also involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including
no action.”
1998 Wingspread Statement
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Key Elements of the Precautionary Approach
– Take anticipatory action to prevent harm in the face of scientific
uncertainty
– Explore alternatives, including the alternative of “no action”
– Consider the full cost of environmental / health impacts over time
– Ensure greater public participation in decision-making
– The responsibility for providing evidence regarding harm (or the
lack thereof) is shifted to the proponents of an activity
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
A Business Approach – “Prevention is better than cure”
Sound Business Sense
– Although preventing environmental damage entails both opportunities and
implementation costs, remediating environmental harm can cost much more
(e.g. treatment costs, company image)
Innovative Investments
– Production methods that are not sustainable (e.g. that deplete resources &
degrade the environment) have a lower, long-term return
– Improving environmental performance means less financial risk, an
important consideration for insurers
– R&D related to the creation of more environmentally-friendly products can
have significant long-term benefits
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Managing Uncertainty
Companies need to have a thorough understanding of:
– Current environmental impacts
– Baseline environmental conditions
It requires a life-cycle approach to business activities to:
– Manage uncertainty
– Ensure transparency
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Tools to Assess Uncertainty
– Environmental Risk Assessment
– Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
– Environmental Impact Assessment
– Strategic Environmental Assessment
Note: these tools are examined in more detail in Module 4
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Examples of precautionary activities
– Build in safety margins when setting standards in areas where
significant uncertainty still exists
– Ban or restrict an activity whose impact on the environment is
uncertain
– Promote Best Available Technologies
– Implement Cleaner Production and Industrial Ecology approaches
– Communicate with stakeholders about risks
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
The precautionary approach and the decision-making process
To inform decision-making (eg on a project that could have potentially significant
environmental impacts) a business that is committed to implementing the
precautionary approach, should:
1) Assess whether a comprehensive precautionary approach is required, by
identifying the potential negative effects and evaluating the risks
2) Undertake an assessment of all reasonable alternative options – the burden
of proving acceptable harm shifts onto the organisation whose activities
raised suspicion of harm in the first place
3) Adopt a transparent, inclusive and open decision-making process
4) Implement an ongoing process of research and monitoring, periodically reexamining the decision on the basis of new information
5) Implement the “proportionality principle” - ensuring that the costs of
action to prevent hazards are not disproportionate to the likely benefits
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Assessing when to invoke the precautionary approach:
“Whether or not to invoke the Precautionary Principle is a decision exercised
where scientific information is insufficient, inconclusive, or uncertain and
where there are indications that the possible effects on the environment, or
human, animal or plant health may be potentially dangerous and inconsistent
with the chosen level of protection.”
European Commission (2000)
Critical questions:
• When is the available scientific information no longer “insufficient,
inconclusive or uncertain”?
• What actions should the industry proponent take to provide assurance
of this? Can you prove a negative?
• How (and who?) to judge the “acceptable” level of risk to society?
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Considerations relating to the stakeholder engagement process
– Significant potential for mutual benefits
– Stakeholders should be viewed as potential assets and opportunities,
rather than as liabilities and risks
– Understand that public perceptions may be driven by feelings not facts,
and instinctive feelings matter
– Continue to solicit input from stakeholders - and be adaptable
– Unsatisfied stakeholders must not be dismissed - rather show that their
demands may conflict with other legitimate stakeholder needs
– Maintain effective communication with the media, recognising their
interests in promoting a controversial story
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Integrating Precautionary Approach into business activities
(1)
– Ensure top management understanding of the implications of the
principle and a visible commitment to this
– Develop and implement a code of conduct with a commitment to
health/environment
– Develop and implement specific company guidelines
– Create a managerial committee or steering group to oversee
application of precaution, particularly on sensitive issues
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
Integrating Precautionary Approach into business activities
(2)
– Establish two-way communication with stakeholders
– Support independent scientific research on the issue involved,
working with relevant national and international institutions
– Join industry-wide collaborative efforts to share knowledge and deal
with issues relating to production processes/products around which
high levels of uncertainty, potential harm and sensitivity exist
– In the context of a contentious project decision that needs to be
taken, implement the decision-making step outlined in Slide 8
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Principle 7
The Precautionary Approach
The Precautionary Approach – A final thought
The precautionary approach can have profound implications for
"business as usual" (i.e. growth and innovation at any cost)
• For example, requiring companies to systematically assess alternatives
would (by itself) affect current innovation activities
• An effective assessment of alternatives requires an evaluation of what it is
the activity is trying to achieve and to identify the least-damaging way of
accomplishing this
• It also requires the company to consider whether we might we be better off
without the particular innovation
It is important to understand the potential extent of the implications of full
implementation of the precautionary approach
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