Netherlands

"Over 1000 participants today. Representation of all continents. Membership of more than 1500 companies. 1750 GRI reports expected to be written this year. Endorsements from the G8 and the UN. And 80 per cent of Business Week’s top 15 global brands, all using GRI guidelines.
 
Hmm. It seems predictions that sustainability reporting would only ever be a niche activity have proven… unsustainable! Ernst, you must be doing something right!
 

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Amsterdam) - While delivering the keynote address at the Global Reporting Initiative in Amsterdam, Wednesday, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah announced the formation of the Arab Sustainability Leadership Group (ASLG), the first of its kind from the region to commit to sustainability and reporting. Queen Rania also appealed to the audience of over one thousand global business leaders to make Arab youth part of their social equity agenda.

(Royal Hashemite Court, Communication & Information Division - The Hague) His Majesty King Abdullah reiterated that there cannot be lasting peace until injustice against Palestinians is corrected.

"This is the basis for the landmark Arab Peace Initiative. Articulated at the 2002 meeting of all Arab states, it offered a comprehensive settlement… guaranteeing Israel's security to live in peace with its neighbors… and providing, at long last, a sovereign, viable and independent Palestine," the King told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Tuesday.

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department – Amsterdam) After forming and launching the Arab Sustainability Leadership Group (ASLG), Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah convened the network’s first meeting, Wednesday, while in Amsterdam.

“We have to use this window of opportunity to do the right thing,” said the Queen. The group will encourage businesses to balance profit with environmental protection, and equal opportunity.

(Royal Hashemite Court, Communication & Information Division - Amsterdam) Muslims living in Europe should take an active role in society, King Abdullah said Tuesday.
 
“One does not need to sacrifice a Muslim identity to be a good citizen,” King Abdullah said at Amsterdam City Hall while on a state visit to the Netherlands.
 
“Islam calls on people to be active participants in public life, to uphold the welfare of the community, to strive for good, not for ourselves alone, but for all — Muslim and non-Muslim alike,” he said.
 

(Royal Hashemite Court, Communication & Information Division - The Hague) His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday urged the international community to press Israel and the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table and forge a lasting Middle East peace. 
 
"It's time to move the peace forward," King Abdullah said in remarks to the Dutch parliament.