Blog

At GlobeScan and BSR, we spend our time working with some of the largest businesses in the world. We wanted to understand both the immediate effect on the sustainability efforts of the companies we work with and also to begin to understand what long-term implications they are anticipating as a result of the pandemic.

The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers last week—following on the previous killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, and countless others—is yet another example of the systemic and institutional racism that persists in the United States.

COVID-19 has changed our present, and very likely our future. The parts of the sustainability agenda that deliver top-line value, motivate coworkers, and demonstrate to customers that a company is looking after more than short-term financial gain are the things that matter right now.

The world of sustainability reporting after COVID-19 will be very different than the world that preceded it. What should change?

More than any crisis in recent history, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgency of creating more resilient businesses and economies.

Earlier today, Facebook published an executive summary of a human rights impact assessment that BSR conducted on behalf of Facebook in Cambodia and its response to those recommendations. We welcome this disclosure as part of Facebook’s increasingly strategic approach to human rights due diligence.

A list of external resources on sustainability, ESG, and CSR for companies and stakeholders during the COVID-19 crisis.

Whether it’s a pandemic or climate-related impact, those with the least, and those faced with the most extreme socioeconomic barriers, will suffer the most. The impacts that these populations face have the potential to disrupt business, from operations and supply chains down to the vital communities on which business depends.

BSR has observed several trends emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and compared them with best practices on reporting. We are sharing these insights here to assist company sustainability teams as they strive to keep stakeholders informed—despite, in many cases, the reality of limited time and diminished resources.

The global coronavirus pandemic is bringing the connection between climate and public health into focus. In recognition of Earth Day, Levi Strauss & Co. interviewed experts at the nexus of climate and public health to better understand the links and what needs to be done.

One of the most important topics in corporate sustainability is the dramatic increase in attention by investors on the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. How will the rise of COVID-19 affect ESG investing strategies both in the short term and the long term, and what does it mean for companies?

The COVID-19 pandemic has quickly transformed from a global health crisis into a financial crisis, particularly for low-income female workers in global supply chains. However, companies can effectively deploy preventative measures to support workers and workplaces to protect their health and strengthen their financial resilience.

As we move through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, Merck's Cathryn Gunther offers her thoughts on consequential gifts that might materialize from the crisis, and the role companies can play in making them a reality.

BSR and Polecat analyze the top ESG issues and sectors arising in global discourse about COVID-19 over the last fortnight.