CENTER FOR BUSINESS
AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT

In consonance with its name of Triodos or ‘three way’, Triodos Bank has built its business model on the three pillars of people, planet and profits. The belief of the bank is simple and its mission is lucid - it finances companies, institutions and projects that add cultural value and benefit people and environment with the support of depositors and investors who wish to encourage social responsibility and a sustainable society.

Women's World Banking's vision is to expand low-income women's economic participation by giving them greater access to financial information and markets. In doing so they are enabling women to not only keep their families fed but also engage in the community and develop a political voice that could bring about great change worldwide.

E7 is an international environmental NPO comprised of the world's leading electric utilities. Major global environmental and social issues that affect the electric utility industry are considered to be the top priorities of the E7.Each E7 member considers the management of environmental issues among its highest corporate priorities, and all support the concept of Sustainable Development. The E7 electricity companies operate on the national territories of the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States). Membership in the E7 is by invitation. The E7 may also invite other organizations from around the world to become Partners and contribute to the implementation of the E7’s goals. The number of E7 members from any single country is limited to a maximum of two (2) and these. must be the largest, or among the two largest, electricity producing companies, in the country that is under consideration. The E7 has a unique operational knowledge of the electricity sector. In other words, the E7’s diversity of experience and expertise complement each other granting it an all-encompassing scope of the global electricity industry. Sharing this wealth of experience with countries facing new pressures on their electrical industry is the most valuable way the E7 can contribute to sustainable development throughout the world.

Bank ABN AMRO has made sustainability a cornerstone of its business. The bank strives to include a concern for social and environmental issues in the decision-making of every strategic business unit. These activities have gained such prominence that a special unit, the Sustainable Development Group was organized to coordinate sustainability work across the organization. The innovativeness of this sustainability mindset has led to numerous activities that are creating a shift in the impact of ABN AMRO on environment and society.

Over the past 15 years, Groupe DANONE has moved into a number of emerging markets, including China, Indonesia, India, North Africa, and South Africa. In all of these countries, the sale of high quality food products is held back by the low purchasing power of consumers. Today Asia, Latin America and the Africa/Middle East region account for no less than 24% of group sales. To make its products accessible to low-income consumers, the company launched DANONE's Affordability Initiative. Through this Initiative it has developed products with significantly enhanced nutritional value that meets local needs at an affordable price, without compromising high standards for quality and food safety.

“Sustainable agriculture” is a competitive and productive type of agriculture striving to include, in addition to food quality and safety standards, a balance between respect for the environment, economic and social repercussions on the local environment, and profitability. Groupe Danone is one of the first food-manufacturing groups to have committed to sustainable agriculture, an essential requirement for meeting consumer expectations, considered as a complementary approach to organic agriculture. This commitment, however, does not mean that the Group is neglecting organic agriculture, as shown by the purchase of Stonyfield Farm in the United States.

Electrolux is a company committed to sustainability through its products and its operations. Continually working to reduce energy consumption from its products and factories, the organization has recognized the growing customer base of environmentally friendly products and the urgency of saving the planet and society. They have used this knowledge for excellent product design and seamless implementation.

Swiss Re is internationally recognized for taking a public stand on global warming. This year it has been named to the list of top 20 most sustainable business stocks by SustainableBusiness.com. Swiss Re's latest initiative to raise public awareness about sustainability came in the form of an inspiring TV documentary entitled 'The Great Warming'. Supported by Swiss Re and narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, the documentary was a three-part series which explored not only the underlying science of climate change but the solutions that will lead to a truly sustainable future. 'The Great Warming' aired on TVB Pearl in March 2005. Swiss Re fosters broad awareness of climate risks. It supports effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provides new (re)insurance and financing solutions in this field. The company shares its know-how through its publications and engages in discussions on emerging issues with various stakeholders at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon.

The development of the new Toyota Prius from its 1997 predecessor was conducted almost from scratch and resulted in improved environmental and driving performance. The Prius, whose name is derived from the Latin for "prior to", is positioned to play a significant role in determining the current and future direction of the automobile. The Prius answers the question of what form vehicles could take in the 21st century if they take the environment into consideration.

British Petroleum, like many other fuel and energy producting companies, is always on the hunt for fuel that is in abundant supply and is non-polluting. The company believes that such a fuel may be hydrogen, a chemical element that carries energy and can be stored in either liquid or gaseous form. With an increasing world consciousness toward the impact of human activities on the environment and, specifically, the impact of emissions from urban air pollution to global warming, BP is looking for a cleaner energy supply.

Cummins is a global power leader and family of four inter-related, yet diversified businesses that create or enhance value as a result of doing business with each other or having those relationships. It averages more than $6 billion in annual sales and is a technology leader in the diesel engine market, providing cutting-edge solutions to the increasingly difficult challenge of producing cleaner-running engines. Currently, Cummins clean diesel engines are powering transit buses in Southern China.

British Petroleum, (BP) is one of the world's largest energy companies, it's origins dating back to May 1901. Despite BP's reputation as an oil and gas giant, it has taken highly innovative steps to move away from fossil fuels and toward the development of alternative energy sources. BP states that, as a global energy business, its aim is clear: to reduce its environmental footprint by producing cleaner products and encouraging customers to use them safely and efficiently

Millions of personal computers sit idly on desks and in homes worldwide, but what if they could be linked into a power grid to help address the world's most difficult health and societal problems? IBM asked this question and answered it in 2004 by creating the World Community Grid, a global humanitarian effort to harness unused computing power of individual and business computers and direct that power toward research designed to help unlock genetic codes that underlie diseases like AIDS and Alzheimer's or improve forecasting of natural disasters. Anyone can volunteer to donate the idle and unused time on a computer by dowloading the World Community Grid's free software and registering to participate.

The Co-operative Bank, whose roots go back to 1872, is a full-service retail player in the United Kingdom commercial banking industry. It offers a full range of banking services, including on-line banking, and is an innovator in the field of sustainability reporting. Using sophisticated financial value analysis methods, the bank reports not only shareholder and stakeholder value created but also an analysis of the direct contributions that ethical and ecological positioning has made to the company's profitability.

Whole Foods is the largest organic and natural foods grocer in the United States. Clearing $188 million in profits over the past two years, it has beaten Wal-Mart in overall and comparable store sales growth, while profoundly impacting how Americans eat. The company also prides itself on treating employees in a fair and equitable manner and preventing upper management salaries from skyrocketing out of control. Financial data is released to employees, to help them understand how the company is doing and keep the working environment transparent. Executive pay is limited to 14 times the average frontline worker, while frontline employees qualify for stock options, profit sharing, health insurance for full time employees, and paid time off for volunteer work.

A number of major financial institutions have come together to adopt a framework for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social issues in project financing. These global voluntary regulatory guidelines, the “Equator Principles” (EPs), are revolutionizing the way large projects are financed. Banks that adopt the EPs apply them globally to project financing in all industry sectors including mining, oil and gas, and forestry, and they make loans only to those projects whose sponsors aim to be socially responsible and environmentally sound.