N.I.L.O

UN Chief urges companies to adopt sustainability principles in their strategies

Janne Nijman — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:29:50 +0000

On February 14th, 2012, at the KPMG Summit “Business Perspective for Sustainable Growth”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed the global community of businesses and urges them to adapt their strategies in order to include the principles of sustainability. “We need corporate sustainability to be in the DNA of business culture and operations. Going to scale is the priority.” The UN Chief argued the business case for sustainability and has pointed to the many public-private initiatives in this area. Please find his address here. “We are at a critical juncture – economically, socially and environmentally.”

With Rio+20 approaching, Ban Ki-moon called for action and a responsible business attitude:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At Rio+20, business and investors have a true opportunity to show leadership.

Here are five steps we need you to take.

First, join us at the Corporate Sustainability Forum in Rio. Organized by the UN Global Compact, it will showcase innovative public-private partnerships and business contributions. Use Rio to show the world what your companies are doing and the range of partners you have engaged.

Second, heed the call of a new generation of investors by publicly reporting on sustainability performance. Let us work together to forge a global policy framework for disclosing such information – and for explaining why companies do not.

Third, engage in responsible lobbying and advocacy. Do not, in one breath, affirm a belief in free and fair trade and then, with the next, support perverse subsidies and protectionist legislation. Do not proclaim a broad commitment to sustainability while simultaneously blocking meaningful steps on climate change.

Fourth, work with governments to adopt smart regulatory frameworks and incentives that reward environmental and social performance.

Fifth, work with the United Nations in the platforms and initiatives I have outlined for you today. That includes the Global Compact. We need more companies in the United States to make this choice.

The Future of the City and the International Law of the Future

Janne Nijman — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 10:58:25 +0000

In Hiil‘s The Law of the Future and the Future of the Law, Janne Nijman observes that globalisation is accompanied by urbanisation, and that many – if not most – of the challenges of globalisation come to the fore in cities: environmental pollution, crime, inequality, migration, cultural diversity, unemployment; to name a few. She distinguishes between the private city (the collective of private economic interests) and the public city (the city governments who increasingly operate as global actors). In her article, Nijman presents six propositions on how the public city will affect international law. She sees that direct links between cities and global institutions will intensify. This is already very visible in the area of environmental law, with NGO’s facilitating these links. Cities will also be implementers of international law of their own accord, thus bypassing the state. Connected with this, Janne Nijman envisages that the international law of the future will ‘deformalise’; following local judges city governments will apply it simply by way of ‘persuasive authority’. Last but not least, cities themselves will directly become part of the processes of international rule making. Given all this, cities will increasingly become actors in the making of international law and informal rules. They will be significant influencers of international negotiations. Proceeding from these phenomena, Nijman even asks the question whether cities will, in the future, acquire the status of international legal person, alongside that of states. Such a formal development would all the more change the state-centric system of today into the multi-actor system of the future.

Forthcoming as FICHL Publication Series No. 11 (2011):
The Law of the Future and the Future of the Law
Editors: Sam Muller, Stavros Zouridis, Morly Frishman and Laura Kistemaker
Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, Oslo, 2011
ISBN 978-82-93081-27-2

The FP Global City Index 2010 is uit

Janne Nijman — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:26:41 +0000

Ter gelegenheid daarvan gaf Saskia Sassen een interview aan ‘Foreign Policy’ waarin zij stelde:”A global city makes new norms. And two requirements for that happening are complexity and diversity. Quite often, in countries around the world, it’s the most global city, especially New York, where new national and international norms are made.” Zie voor het hele interview FP September.

‘Smart’ Development Aid: focus on Global Networks

Janne Nijman — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:55:53 +0000

In een eerste reactie op het WRR rapport “Minder pretentie, meer ambitie” over ontwikkelingssamenwerking in een geglobaliseerde wereld, blogt Janne Nijman dat OS-beleid minder state-oriented zou moeten zijn. Het verleggen van de focus van staten naar mondiale netwerken – global networks - zou de bijdrage die bedrijven, steden, en andere niet-statelijke actoren aan internationale samenwerking (kunnen) leveren veel meer erkennen.

Special Report “Cities of the world unite”

Janne Nijman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:07:37 +0000

In het december nummer van The Broker is een Special Report opgenomen over de nieuwe rol van steden in global governance, “Cities of the world unite“. Janne Nijman schreef het artikel The rising influence of urban actors en nodigde Sofie Bouteligier uit te schrijven over de leidende rol van steden bij aanpak mondiale milieuproblemen, “Cities break new ground.” Het december nummer van The Broker staat online en is ook als pdf beschikbaar.

Mondiale waterrevolutie begint lokaal in Bundanoon

Janne Nijman — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:37:28 +0000

Bundanoon zal in twee maanden tijd Australia’s First Bottled Water Free Town zijn. De inwoners van het kleine stadje hebben met een overweldigende meerderheid ingestemd met een plan van lokale bedrijven om verkoop van plastic flessen water te stoppen, omdat deze flessen te belastend zijn voor het milieu. Bundanoon krijgt weer waterpompen, waar iedere inwoner gratis gezuiverd water mag halen.

lees verder op de Bundanoon website of op RTL en BBC

Japanse bedrijven leidend in reactie op Klimaatverandering

Janne Nijman — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:18:02 +0000

EIRIS – Ethical Investment Research – meldde 28 mei 2009 dat Japanse bedrijven het beste presteren in het aanpassen van het bedrijf in reactie op klimaatverandering.

“Japanese companies are top in overall performance: 85% of Japanese ‘high climate change risk’ companies have either ‘good’ or ‘intermediate’ climate change response. But only 77% of their global peers and 24% of other Asian companies display an equivalent response. This strong performance is driven by Japanese regulations and initiatives which have had a positive impact on companies’ performance against global peers and other Asian companies.”

Innovation for Good Local and Regional Governance

Janne Nijman — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:44:45 +0000

Op 2 en 3 april 2009 zal er in Enschede de conferentie Innovation for Good Local and Regional Governance – A European Challenge plaatsvinden. Een van de sprekers in de workshop Local and regional governments in the age of Europeanisation and globalisation: legal and policy options in a multi-level polity is Janne Nijman. Meer informatie over de conferentie staat op http://www.europeanchallenge.eu/

Rol voor Steden bij vorming mondiaal klimaatbeleid

Janne Nijman — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:34:34 +0000

Tijdens de VN Conferentie over Klimaatverandering in Poznan werd van verschillende kanten de rol van steden bij bestrijding van klimaatverandering benadrukt. Staten blijven achter bij het formuleren van een duurzaam mondiaal klimaatbeleid voor de komende decennia, volgend jaar moet er in Copenhagen een ambitieus klimaatverdrag worden vastgesteld. Op 12 december 2008 in Poznan, riep Yvo de Boer, Secretaris Generaal van het United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), steden(-netwerken) en lokale bestuurders op zich hiervoor (gezamelijk) in te zetten:

“the agreements of Copenhagen will be nowhere if there is no worldwide campaign to implement reduction of greenhouse emissions and invest in environmental sound solutions. The large part of the fight against climate change will need to take part in the cities with the citizens that you represent. Your experience, input and advice are essential.”

Eurocities Verklaring inzake Klimaatverandering

Janne Nijman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:53:55 +0000

Op 27 oktober 2008 hebben de lidsteden van Eurocities, het netwerk van grote steden in Europa, de Verklaring inzake de strijd tegen Klimaatverandering ondertekend. Ook de Nederlandse G4 – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag en Utrecht – zijn lid van Eurocities. De tekst van de Verklaring is voor de zomer reeds vastgesteld (zie link). Met deze Verklaring bevestigen de ruim 40 Europese steden hoezeer zij zich zullen inzetten voor de strijd tegen klimaatverandering.

“The EUROCITIES Declaration on Climate Change reiterates that the local level has an essential role to play in the fight against climate change and therefore cities are crucial partners, in coordination with the EU institutions and the Member States.”

Eurocities Declaration on Climate Change