Sustainability Rounds
Essential hyphen in between international policy-makers and business/civil society on sustainability issues.
Why Sustainability Rounds?
From board meetings, corporate social and environmental responsibility, access to foreign markets, the development of new services and products, the elaboration of sustainability standards, the use of “green” labels, to the negotiations of legal instruments and policies… sustainability is surrounding all of us whether we work in the public or private spheres.
While we are all concerned and impacted by the decisions we make, there is currently a lack of inclusivity, transparency and consistency in the way sustainability is being understood, discussed and addressed. As a result, the way to think and deal with sustainability issues is not yet optimum. Moreover, due to the lack of information and understanding regarding international rules and policies (current and forthcoming), private actors that will be directly affected by them are unable to prepare for and adapt to them.
To try to solve these issues, “Sustainability Rounds” aims at becoming the essential hyphen in between business, civil society and international/regional organizations and governments to facilitate critical discussions, incubate ideas and identify pathways on international law & policies issues related to sustainability.
Topics
Sustainability Rounds works on a variety of international law & policy issues related to sustainability.
Biodiversity
Climate Change
Fisheries & Aquaculture
Sustainable Food Systems
Cultural and World Heritage
Social Sustainability
Environmental Footprint of
the Digital Economy
Frontier Technologies
Animal Welfare
Trade/Sustainability Nexus
- Inter-institutional dialogue
- Dialogue between international organizations/governments and civil society
- How to structure the public-private dialogue
- Representativeness of civil society
- Exchange of information among stakeholders
Our Added Value
Founded by two leading experts in Public International Law, Att. Stephanie Noël (International Trade and WTO Law) and Att. Dr. Virginie Tassin Campanella (Law of the Sea, Environmental Law), Sustainability Rounds adds a stone to existing initiatives. Based on their professional experiences advising and representing businesses, States, NGOs, and interacting and advising international organisations, both founders have acquired through the years a unique understanding of the blockages and pathways to the making and implementation of international rules and policies. By infusing Sustainability Rounds with this unique technical expertise, the founding members are aiming to strengthen knowledge, understanding and implementation of the rule of law as a way to address sustainability issues. Coupled with inputs from businesses and scientific experts, technical expertise will be used to advance the discussions on sustainability issues towards practical outcomes.
By embracing a wide spectrum of fields, Sustainability Rounds will mobilise a diverse international representation of stakeholders from various backgrounds, regions, cultures.
For the sake of representativeness, Sustainability Rounds is open to and will try as much as possible to involve stakeholders with different interests and perspectives, as well as businesses from diverse sectors and regions, and of various sizes.
Although Sustainability Rounds is conveniently based in “international Geneva”, it is firmly oriented towards stakeholders who are not part of the Geneva bubble, or international organisations who are not located in Geneva.
To promote a new understanding of the rule of law, Sustainability Rounds will favour a cross-cutting approach in the way topics are discussed.
Our commitments
1.
Transparency
To promote trust, Sustainability Rounds will apply the highest standards of transparency, including with regards to the funding and work accomplished on this basis.
2.
French & English
To foster diversity, including cultural diversity, Sustainability Rounds will promote the equal use of both diplomatic languages, French and English.
3.
Efficiency
Strongly focused on efficiency, Sustainability Rounds will release key outputs and takeaways from our roundtables.