ARIZONA, USA, – January 31th, 2013 – The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) is pleased to announce the World Resources Institute (WRI) as a new civil society organization member.

WRI is a global organization that goes beyond research to put ideas into action, working with governments, business, and civil society to build transformative solutions that protect the earth and improve people’s lives. WRI is the newest member to join The Sustainability Consortium’s Civil Society Advisory Council (CSAC). This council, along with the Corporate Advisory Council and Academic Advisory Council, provides guidance to The Consortium leadership and Board of Directors. As a Tier I member, WRI may participate in any of The Consortium’s Working Groups but will primarily contribute to the Retail and Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Sector Working Groups.

For the purpose of engaging with The Sustainability Consortium, a Civil Society Organization (CSO) is any organization whose mission is primarily focused on improving social and/or ecological conditions and is aligned with The Sustainability Consortium’s mission. To be classified as a Civil Society Organization, an organization should not be responsible for the oversight, administration and/or enforcement of government rules, laws, and/or regulations. Civil Society Organizations may include; non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-academic research institutions, think tanks, faith based organizations, labor unions, citizen advocacy groups, non-regulatory government organizations, and non-regulatory multilateral or inter-governmental organizations.

In its work with business, WRI engages its corporate partners to develop approaches that help companies address environmental problems. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is the most well-known example of this. Another recent example is a new assessment guide called the “sSWOT” – a new twist on a familiar corporate strategy tool that emphasizes environmental challenges and collaboration opportunities. It is designed to help businesses translate big environmental challenges — like climate change — into risks and opportunities for companies that will excite executives and drive them to action.

“WRI is in many ways the perfect partner for TSC. Their leadership has a firm grasp on both environmental and business imperatives, and they have done an excellent job in creating solutions that work for the environment and for business. Their GHG protocol is perhaps the best example from our point of view. It speaks to the key role that CSO’s play in TSC, bringing perspectives on issues and solutions that are complements to those of our academic and corporate stakeholders,” Jon Johnson, Academic Director and Chairman of the Board at The Consortium.

“WRI looks forward to supporting TSC in developing scientific tools to drive product sustainability,” said Pankaj Bhatia, WRI, Director of the GHG Protocol. “We share a common goal of building a low carbon economy, and one way to reach that is product sustainability. WRI hopes to lend our expertise and learnings from our partnerships with industry to build practical decision-making tools to measure environmental impacts.”

About The Sustainability Consortium
TSC is an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. TSC develops transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives. The Sustainability Consortium advocates for a credible, scalable, and transparent process and system. The organization boasts over 90 members from all corners of business employing over 57 million people and whose combined revenues total over $1.5 Trillion. The Sustainability Consortium is jointly administered by Arizona State University and University of Arkansas with additional operations at Wageningen University in The Netherlands and has recently launched an office in China. Learn more at www.sustainabilityconsortium.org

The World Resources Institute
A global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. WRI’s transformative ideas protect the earth and promote development because sustainability is essential to meeting human needs and fulfilling human aspirations in the future. www.wri.org

Media Contacts
Elizabeth Kessler, Marketing Coordinator
The Sustainability Consortium
Arizona State University
Elizabeth.Kessler.1@asu.edu | 480.965.3810