Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability

Blog Posts (41)

Are you a Fidelity mutual fund shareholder?

If so, you will have an opportunity very soon to cast votes for genocide-free investing. Investors Against Genocide reports the following:

Legal counsel for Fidelity Investments has confirmed that shareholders of many Fidelity mutual funds will vote at their March 19 meeting on a shareholder proposal which asks the mutual fund giant to ensure that its investments are genocide-free. Thanks to a recent decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denying Fidelity's… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 29, 2008 at 10:06am — No Comments

We Are Together (Official Trailer)

"Filmed over three years, We Are Together tells the remarkable and moving story of a group of children who use music to overcome hardship and loss. It is the story of an orphanage, unlike one you've ever seen before, and of the drive of these remarkable young singers and their teachers to make it to London for a series of concerts." Learn more… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 29, 2008 at 7:01am — No Comments

Socially Responsible Business Plan Competition Awards

More than fifty plans entered the competition originally and included for-profit enterprises ranging from crop stabilization in Africa, a sustainable cosmetics company, environmentally focused hardware stores and television stations, ventures that hired the underserved and recently released from jail, and local and international health projects. More than 10 countries were represented, and students and graduates of more than 50 universities were involved.

More than 100 reading judges… Continue

Added by Jonny H on February 27, 2008 at 6:51pm — No Comments

Destruction of Sumatra forests driving global climate change and species extinction: WWF

Turning just one Sumatran province's forests and peat swamps into pulpwood and palm oil plantations is generating more annual greenhouse gas emissions than the Netherlands and rapidly driving the province's elephants into extinction, a new study by WWF and partners has found.

The study found that in central Sumatra's Riau Province nearly 10.5 million acres of tropical forests and peat swamp have been cleared in… Continue

Added by World Wildlife Fund on February 27, 2008 at 3:27pm — No Comments

Innovation for the Other 90%

With all the great innovation taking place in the developing world, we wanted to take this opportunity to pull together some of our favorites that we have across over the past few years. They range from a rickshaw bank to a bamboo bicycle to a homemade glider. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Richshaw Bank…

Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 27, 2008 at 11:00am — No Comments

Fairtrade Fortnight 2008

Fairtrade Fortnight 2008, an event to celebrate all things fairtrade, officially got underway in London this week and will continue until March 9th. Learn more about the fairtrade movement and the events taking place in your neighborhood over the next few weeks by visiting the Fairtrade Foundation's… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 26, 2008 at 4:43pm — 6 Comments

UNICEF's Tap Project Coming in March

Beginning Sunday, March 16 through Saturday, March 22, restaurants across the US will invite customers to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they would normally get for free. According to the organization, for every dollar raised, a child will have clean drinking water for 40 days. Learn more here!

Added by Development Crossing on February 26, 2008 at 4:30pm — 2 Comments

Better gas mileage for all

With near-historic prices at the pump, a lot of us probably wish our cars could get better gas mileage. What few people realize, however, is that just changing our driving technique can help us squeeze a few extra miles out of every tank.

One hurdle to learning how to drive more efficiently has been that our cars don't give us feedback on how our specific driving methods affect fuel economy. Many newer models are equipped… Continue

Added by Kenneth Westling on February 26, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

5 Ways to Wake Up and Green Your Coffee

Worldwide, it’s the second most consumed beverage after water. Worldwide, it’s the second most traded commodity after oil. These two statistics alone should give you a sense for the enormous impact coffee has on our lives, and thus our environment.

Here are a few ways to "… Continue

Added by Kenneth Westling on February 26, 2008 at 12:51am — 3 Comments

Australia says carbon emissions keep growing

Australia's carbon emissions would continue to grow due to a heavy reliance on coal for electricity, a government report said on Monday, although the country would meet its Kyoto emissions targets by 2012.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said emissions would grow by 108 percent of 1990 levels from 2008 to 2012, meeting commitments under the Kyoto Protocol which sets binding Greenhouse gas targets for developed nations.

Wong said the figures were good for Australia, and… Continue

Added by Kenneth Westling on February 26, 2008 at 12:42am — No Comments

Heathrow expansion sets business against environment

Four environmental campaigners breached security at London's Heathrow airport on Monday, climbing aboard a parked aircraft and unfurling a banner protesting against runway expansion plans.

Police later arrested the four from Greenpeace who walked through security at one of the world's most policed airports.

"Climate emergency. No 3rd runway" read the banner they hung on the tailfin of a passenger plane that had just landed after a domestic flight from the northern city of… Continue

Added by Kenneth Westling on February 26, 2008 at 12:37am — No Comments

Brazil police force to combat Amazon deforestation

Brazil's federal police said it launched an operation on Monday aimed at fighting deforestation in the Amazon, a week after townspeople clashed with local police over illegal sawmills.

About 300 federal police agents and troopers from the paramilitary national security force arrived in northern Para state in helicopters and a caravan of vehicles. The operation dubbed Arch of Fire should have a total of 1,000 agents on the ground when it is in full force, the agency… Continue

Added by Kenneth Westling on February 26, 2008 at 12:30am — No Comments

Fair trade branded 'unfair'

Critical article published in today's Guardian (UK). See below or click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/25/fairtrade.report/print

Fair trade branded 'unfair'

Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent

A report by the Adam Smith Institute says fair trade offers a better deal to some producers at the expense of the great majority of farmers

The burgeoning fair trade movement which allows consumers to buy ethically sourced products such as… Continue

Added by Keith McGuinness on February 25, 2008 at 9:33am — 2 Comments

(RED) Campaign is Alive and Well

Bono, co-founder of the RED Campaign, proposed the idea of a (RED) Auction to Damien Hirst during a vacation in France a few years ago, and what resulted was the (RED) Auction at Sotheby's this month, which raised $42 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. With an audience that included the likes of Queen Noor, Martha Stewart, Russell Simmons, and Zhang Ziyi, the… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 24, 2008 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Adupo.com

Along with fellow DC member, Keith McGuiness, I'd like to publicise our fair trade initiative www.adupo.com:

Added by Alison Lowndes on February 24, 2008 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

"Talk About a Crock..."

This post's title, "Talk About a Crock...," is the title of a recent blog post by Bob Lutz, GM's product development chief. His post discusses the backlash he has received from the online community about comments he made last month about global warming, which he apparently called a "total crock of shit." On his blog, Mr. Lutz says, "My beliefs are mine and I have a right to them, just as you have a right to yours. But among my strongest beliefs is that my job is to do what makes the most… Continue

Added by Roger Tompkins on February 24, 2008 at 8:30am — 3 Comments

"Bob, you've had your cake. Now beat it."

Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, celebrated his 84th birthday this week, still adamant that he will remain in power after next month's elections, saying, "There will never be regime change here ... Never." How a man can spend the equivalent of about $250,000 on a birthday party while the rest of his country deals with unemployment rates of over 80%, an inflation rate of over 100,000%, and acute shortages… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 24, 2008 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

Broken Promises

Eight years ago, global nations and institutions came together in an agreement to work together to end extreme poverty by 2015. Specific targets were set to (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, (2) Achieve universal primary education, (3) Promote gender equality and empower women, (4) Reduce child mortality, (5) Improve materal health, (6) Combat HIV/AIDS, maleria and other diseases, (7) Ensure environmental sustainability, and (8) Develop a global partnership for… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 24, 2008 at 3:36am — No Comments

100 Best Corporate Citizens

The Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) Magazine recently released its 100 Best Corporate Citizens list for 2008. The top ten were:

1. Intel Corporation

2. Eaton Corporation

3. Nike Inc.

4. Deere & Co.

5. Genentech Inc.

6. Corning Inc.

7. Humana Inc.

8. Bank of America Corp.

9. ITT Corp.

10. PG&E Corp.

For our recent interview with Dave Stangis, CSR Director for number one… Continue

Added by Development Crossing on February 22, 2008 at 8:00am — No Comments

Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global event created to symbolize that each one of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change - no matter who we are or where we live. Building off the program that was piloted in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, the event will be replicated in over 12 cities worldwide in 2008.

Earth Hour is intended to bring together a diverse group of community, municipal, corporate and nongovernmental… Continue

Added by World Wildlife Fund on February 21, 2008 at 9:41am — 6 Comments