Cover of the "EuroCharity Yearbook 2011/12 - Leadership for Sustainability"

The "EuroCharity Yearbook 2011/12 - Leadership for Sustainability" and EuroCharity's newly-opened office in Brussels were officially presented at a special event held in the European Parliament on October 29. The international presentation was attended by Members of European Parliament, corporate leaders and other stakeholders who had the opportunity to exchange views related to sustainability and leadership.

Held at the Paul-Henri Spaak Building, EuroCharity's event was hosted by Mr. Spyros Danellis, member of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D Group).

In his welcoming address, Mr. Danellis said: "It would not be an exaggeration to say that sustainability is considered to be one of the principal key words in today's world crisis management. As it is clearly pointed out by EuroCharity partners in the Yearbook, 'Sustainability leadership is a force for change'; therefore, change is what we need. I could not emphasise enough -- when referring to the issue of priorities -- that the first and foremost to all of us is to guarantee that ecological preservation and human being welfare are not threatened or exposed to the slightest risk. We remain inflexible on that, politicians, stakeholders and whoever 'should' care about the environment -- in which changes happen rapidly following the climate change.

The MEP, who hails from the isle of Crete and served, among others, as Mayor of Hersonissos (2003-2009), continued by saying: "Therefore, we all have to ask ourselves this crucial question: 'Do we really protect the natural environment effectively inside the EU? Do we create opportunities, solutions and proposals via eco-technologies? Or to rephrase it: Do we provide enough knowledge and do we remain open to new business models, in order to encourage sustainable growth?' Nowadays, in a globalised community, where competition is endless, information is never enough. Things change rapidly everyday, so it is our duty to act quickly and rationally to the benefit of the society by all means. Leadership for sustainability is certainly a step among others; and that is why I would like to congratulate EuroCharity for its efforts to picture corporations and organisations that lead the way towards a sustainable present and future.

"The EU must and needs to preserve its prime position in the world-wide chessboard. Numbers -- as presented by the Eurobarometer -- show that our concerns are taken into consideration, our industry potential is improving. Nevertheless, our goals remain unreached and environmental improvement is still to hit the road."

Mr. Michael Spanos, Managing Partner, EuroCharity, briefly presented EuroCharity's role and highlighted some of the research and content of the 164-page "EuroCharity Yearbook 2011/12 - Leadership for Sustainability", which was published on the eve of Rio+20.

A diversified mix of EuroCharity Yearbook guest authors were given the opportunity to present their own contributions and input related to the 5th EuroCharity Yearbook, including:

• Ms. Iris Maria Alexis Van der Veken, Chair, United Nations Global Compact Network, Belgium, whose presentation was entitled: "The UN Global Compact - An excellent tool to facilitate corporate social responsibility leadership";
• Mr. Lars Seynaeve, Managing Director, Cluster Head for Public Affairs in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Switzerland with Citibank;
• Mr. Stefano Gardi, Director for Sustainable Development, Italcementi Group.

In addition, an interactive panel discussion on sustainable leadership followed, which was moderated by another EuroCharity Yearbook guest author, Dr. Alessia D'Amato, Ex-Fellow in the Employment Relations and Organisational Behaviour Group, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This panel discussion was made up of:

• Mr. Yury E. Blagov, Director, PwC Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University, Russia;
• Ms. Damaris Matthijsen, Founder, Economy Transformers, The Netherlands;
• Mr. Kris Amiralis, President, Future Leaders;
• Ms. Yulia Savitskaya, Programme Manager for Global Training, Great Place to Work® Institute, U.S.A.

The event came to a close with the official launch of EuroCharity's new office in Brussels, presented by Mrs. Vanya Veras, Secretary-General, Municipal Waste Europe (MWE), and Mr. Spanos.

Commenting on the opening of the Brussels office and the EuroCharity Yearbook presentation at the European Parliament, Mr. Peter Michel Heilmann, President, EuroCharity, said: "The opening of our new Brussels office in the heart of the European Union is an important milestone for EuroCharity. Kindly hosted by Mr. Danellis, EuroCharity's special presentation at the European Parliament represented for us a unique opportunity to showcase EuroCharity's work, activities, achievements and latest EuroCharity Yearbook. It was the second time that we presented our global, multi-stakeholder publication to a distinguished audience, following our successful inaugural launch at the historic National Library of Greece in central Athens on July 5, 2012."

Mr. Heilmann added: "We are honoured to have been invited to host this timely event in the first building of the European Parliament in Brussels, which was named after Mr. Paul-Henri Spaak -- one of the founding fathers of the EU, three times Prime Minister of Belgium and a visionary European statesman -- in honour of his work for Europe.

"To present our fifth successful album in such an important setting -- and with a number of top experts and visionary leaders from Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Russia and other countries attending -- gives us new hope for the future and the next generations. Responsible and sustainable leadership is required today to help resolve the world's most pressing problems, to provide new hope for humanity, to resolve our differences in a peaceful manner, and to lead the way to a more humane, healthy, respectful, responsible and dignified future.

"We would like to thank Mr. Danellis MEP and the European Parliament for hosting our event in the Belgian capital, and very much look forward to collaborating with the European Commission, the European Parliament, Mr. Danellis and other MEPs towards the implementation and effective communication of common goals."

Notes to the Editor:

• Photos and PDF speeches/presentations of the EuroCharity presentation in Brussels can be found at http://www.eurocharity.eu/.

• A total of 27 acclaimed guest authors as well as 14 CEOs from 16 countries on three continents have written their viewpoints, ideas and proposals in the "EuroCharity Yearbook 2011/12 - Leadership for Sustainability". Among them are Mr. Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship; His All-Holiness, BARTHOLOMEW, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch; Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact; Dr. Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director, Transparency International; and Mr. Mark Drewell, CEO, Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI). The full line-up of guest authors and contributors can be viewed at http://www.eurocharity.gr/en/story/8573.

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