Author name: Emily DeMasi

Emily McKinin DeMasi is a 2011 MBA/ MA Public Policy candidate and Peace Corps Fellow at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Her thesis work concerns Corporate Social Responsibility in the United States. She also works as a Research Fellow at Bridgeway Capital, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in downtown Pittsburgh. Emily has worked as an Associate in a Private Equity Placement Firm in NY and as a Water and Sanitation Volunteer in Ivory Coast, West Africa. She hopes to combine her business background with her passion for development and inspire others in the fields of Sustainability and CSR.

Bank of America Partners with CDFIs to Finance Energy Efficiency Improvements

Energy / By

Bank of America announced on May 25 a new $55 million program to encourage energy efficiency improvements to older buildings.  Is this a move to deflect criticism from Rainforest Action Network?  Does it Matter? According to Bank of America, the new competitive program will provide low-cost loans and grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) […]

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US Companies Represent in 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking

Special Report / By

Showing that it can pay to be ethical, Ethisphere Magazine graphed its  “WME Index,” or all publicly traded 2011 World’s Most Ethical Company honorees, against the S&P 500 since the initial World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition from 2007.  Even in a recession, ethical companies outperformed the S&P 500; however considerably greater returns (in excess of 30%)

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Let’s go Bucs! Let’s go green? Major League Baseball and CSR.

Corporate Social Responsibility / By

That’s right folks, it’s baseball time again.  There’s nothing like a ball park hot dog and a cold drink while watching your favorite baseball team to let you know Spring has finally arrived.  But what happens to all that stadium food once the game is over?  I was pleased to read Pirate’s spokesman, Matt Norby,

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Top Schools with Green MBA Programs Practice What They Teach

MBAs / By

The Sustainable Endowments Institute released its fifth College Sustainability Report Card that examines the sustainability practices of colleges and universities with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada, Socialfunds.com reported today.  With the recent proliferation of green and sustainable MBAs in the United States, I often wonder if universities practice what they

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The 10 Best US Corporate Citizens

Special Report / By

Corporate Responsibility Magazine recently released its 12th annual “100 Best Corporate Citizens List,” according to CSRwire.com’s press release.  The list takes into account performance in seven key areas: environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial and governance.  See which US companies are leading the pack in corporate citizenship:

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Fueling the Next Generation of Green Engineers in Pittsburgh and Beyond

Inspiring Ideas / By

INNOVATE: FUELING CHANGE is a ten minute video which focuses on opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers for high-school and college students.  With the spotlight on women and diversity, Fueling Change hopes to inspire underrepresented groups to enter these innovative fields.  Fueling Change introduces the viewer to a group of highschool students

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Green Investments Surpass $2 Trillion Globally

Investing / By

According to a new report by  The Green Transition Scoreboard, private investments in green markets now total more than $2 trillion.  This update is significant because many studies indicate that investing $1 trillion annually until 2020 will accelerate the Green Transition worldwide.  The updated 2010 finding of $2,005,048,785,088 puts global investors and countries on track to reach

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Peace Corps and Sustainability: Today and The Next 50 Years

Non-Profit / By

As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), I am honored and anxious to celebrate the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s signing of the executive order that created the Peace Corps.  March 1, 2011 will mark over 10 years since I served as a water & sanitation volunteer in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa and will be a celebration

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Top 10 Companies that Focus on “People” in their Triple Bottom Line

Corporate Social Responsibility / By

Last month Fortune Magazine released its annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” which is based largely on employee surveys regarding their work environment.  It made me think of how often CSR focuses on the “planet” aspect of the triple bottom line and perhaps not the “people” component.  However the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer found that

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Mission Markets: The World’s First Impact Investing “stock market”

Investing / By

Mission Markets is the world’s first fully functional, FINRA-regulated electronic impact investment platform.  Its mission is to provide the essential infrastructure to scale the social and environmental markets by facilitating transparency, efficiency, and impact measurement.  It is one step closer to achieving scale with its first two investments on its Impact Investment Platform.

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Greenbiz.com releases State of Green Business 2011: 10 Big Trends

Special Report / By

‘State of Green Business Report’ finds businesses are thinking bigger and longer term about sustainability, according to the CSRwire press release.  In its 4th annual report, Greenbiz.com measures the progress of U.S. business and the economy from an environmental perspective, and highlights key trends in corporate culture in regard to the environment to show some promising

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Say on Executive Pay Passes the Securities and Exchange Commission By a 3-2 vote

Policies / By

Socialfunds.com reported today that in accordance with the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued rules on shareowner approval of executive compensation and golden parachute arrangements.  The press release states that the rules adopted by the SEC require public companies that are subject to the federal proxy rules to provide shareowners

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Stewardship Action Council formed to promote Sustainable & Responsible Business Practices

Partnerships / By

According to the CSRwire press release, The Stewardship Action Council (SAC) announced its formation yesterday with aims to  promote and improve sustainable and socially responsible business practices, provide a space where cross-functional collaboration can take place, and develop a performance-based sustainability index.

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Spreading Sustainability through Music: Stonyfield partners with SHFT to promote Green Tours

Inspiring Ideas / By

My two favorite things!  Music and sustainability!  Why didn’t I think of this?  Of course leave it to Stonyfield CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg to partner with actor and activist Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatze to bring sustainability to pop-culture in a super-cool way.  On Stonyfield‘s website there is now a link at the bottom

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BNY Mellon Donates $1 Million to Develop CSR Programs at University of Pittsburgh

Corporate Social Responsibility / By

Back in August I wrote an article wondering if we were Greenwashing our MBAs.  Elaine Cohen, whose work inspired the article, wrote an astute response to my post stating, “The real change will come when businesses demand that MBA grads have sustainability knowledge as part of their basic education – it has to be a

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Top 10 Most Environmentally and Socially Controversial Companies of 2010

Special Report / By

RepRisk (a Swiss-based environmental and social data provider which compiles negative news on companies’ environmental and social performance) released its third annual ranking of the most controversial multinational corporations, SocialFunds.com reported today.  See who were the top 10  most environmentally and socially controversial companies of 2010.

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Tainted Water Still a Concern in Pennsylvania Gas Drilling in 2011

Water / By

I have written before about the Marcellus Shale Debate and water issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing.  But a recent report from David B. Caruso of the Associated Press drawing attention to the weak regulation in Pennsylvania surrounding wastewater disposal produced by natural gas drilling really opened my eyes to some of the dangers facing Pennsylvania’s waterways.  Caruso

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George Clooney’s New Satellite Sentinel Project in Sudan to Uphold Human Rights

Opinion / By

A new human rights project, initiated by George Clooney, will combine satellite imagery analysis and field reports with Google’s Map Maker technology to deter the resumption of war between North and South Sudan according to CSRwire’s press release.   The Satellite Sentinel Project will use satellite imagery analysis and crowd-sourced mapping to monitor the tense border

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