CERES and Sun Co.: a bold partnership.

• Author: Bavaria, Joan L.
• Position: Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies; Sun Company Inc. - Includes related article - Leadership in Environmental Initiatives

The forming of this relationship heralds a new level of social and environmental awareness at the very top of Corporate America.

In February 1993, the I board of directors of Sun Co. voted to endorse the CERES Principles (formerly the Valdez Principles) of environmental management, the first board of a Fortune 500 company to do so. Weeks later, Sun's chairman and CEO, Robert Campbell, stood before a crowd of reporters and other interested parties in a New York hotel explaining what the Sun board had done. In fact, the vote by the Sun board heralds a new level of social and environmental awareness at the very top of Corporate America, different in that this is a visible commitment not only to 10 principles of environmental management but also to a relationship with a large advocacy coalition.

When the CERES Principles were conceived in 1989, the coalition of investment professionals and trustees and environmentalists believed that the health of the environment is so important that it should be a primary consideration in every important business decision of a company. In addition, the coalition introduced the idea that companies could question prospective directors for their likely positions on environmental issues before they are voted onto the board. A company endorsing the CERES Principles thus pledges, through the ninth CERES Principle, that the company's board of directors will take direct responsibility for the environmental impact of the company. It says:

Management Commitment. We will implement these Principles and sustain a process that ensures that the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer are fully informed about pertinent environmental issues and are fully responsible for environmental policy. In selecting our Board of Directors, we will consider demonstrated environmental commitment as a factor.

In the four years since the release of the Principles, many large companies have installed high-level environmental managers reporting either directly to the board or to the CEO. It is common now for boards to consider that the social responsibility of their company is their purview. But it is not yet common for companies to publicly declare an aggressive, comprehensive environmental policy that aligns them with CERES or any other advocacy group.

When you talk to Sun's CEO, you gain insight into what makes this company one on the cutting edge of thought. From the beginning, Bob Campbell seemed to the members of the CERES to be an outstanding manager. Little things observed in the course of meetings caused us to feel comfortable and relaxed. I noticed, for instance, that when 12 of us met in Philadelphia over lunch, when the cookie platter needed refilling, Bob Campbell moved from his spot at head of the table, filled the tray, and passed the cookies. Discussion was on the table, and all the cards were shown. The meeting had an aura of candor. There didn't seem to be a need to prove anything.

Bob Campbell, HES Vice President Bob Banks...