Discussing the people, ideas, and companies that redefine capitalism and inspire positive change
Recently, the New York Times Magazine has been a hotbed for articles covering business in or affecting developing countries. Last week I wrote about a potentially more unconventional way of looking at the counterfeit goods trade from the perspective of major apparel companies. More recently, an incredibly impressive article was written by Andrew Rice, on [...]
Teenage drinking = bad peer pressure. A first-grader learning to do a cartwheel for the first time because of the encouragement of her classmates on the playground = good peer pressure. Marketers calling themselves “green” or “sustainable” because everyone else is doing it = bad peer pressure. Marketers switching from traditional to compostable packaging because [...]
SocialFunds.com reports today that the EPA will revisit the issue of hydraulic fracturing announcing that the EPA will conduct a new scientific study of the effects of the practice. This is an acknowledgement on the EPA’s part of increased public concerns about the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water supplies. Investors show concern also by filing shareholder resolutions [...]
It’s unlikely that anyone’s ever cited the UN as a first mover or an organization that leads the way in international policy, but one cannot deny it’s clout. Just last week UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) presented the Investment and Enterprise Responsibility Review at the World Investment Forum in Xiamen, China. The [...]
When we talk about issues of sustainability, those discussions reach the superficial depths at best unless we design for sustainability at the outset. Otherwise, we’re always playing catch up. True sustainability means being proactive, not just reactive. That’s why conferences like the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Sustainable Product Design Summit are so important. Held on [...]
