Yet another blue chip US management services firm has decided to acquire its way into the sustainability services marketplace. Deloitte announced today in a press release that it had obtained the rights and services of two boutique, yet respected sustainability consulting firms, DOMANI Sustainability Consulting, LLC and ClearCarbon Consulting, Inc. Some interesting highlights from the […]
Deloitte Strikes Green and Hopes for Gold Read More 👉
Believe it or not, this is not some twisted April Fool’s Day joke, but as highlighted in today’s New York Time article “India Microcredit Faces Collapse From Defaults”, is something that is actually taking place in India and could potentially be akin to the sub-prime crisis in the United States. This is clearly terrible news
The Microcredit Industry May Need a Bailout Read More 👉
Bloomberg News is reporting that a coalition of international investors led by Deutsche Banke AG and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CALPERS) are calling for global policy action at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, November 29-December 10. The statement, which is being curated by Ceres, warns that continued weak US
Can $15 Trillion in Assets Galvanize UN Climate Talks in Cancun? Read More 👉
PITTSBURGH – PA: Starbucks Corporation was presented the “Green to Gold Award” by Duquesne University’s Beard Institute today at the Fourth Annual Beard Symposium on Sustainability. The Symposium, entitled, “Sustainability: The Changing Ground Rules,” addressed best-practices from sustainable organizations that have gone beyond compliance, how an integrated sustainability strategy boosts profitability and competitive advantage; and
Starbucks Corporation, Recipient of the “Green to Gold Award” Read More 👉
For three decades BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron have been slowly cleaning up a giant oil spill trapped beneath the ground in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint, New York. CNN Senior Correspondent, Allan Chernoff, reported that BP, Exxon Mobil and Chevron did not directly spill most of the oil; they inherited their respective properties in Greenpoint from predecessor
There’s an Oil Spill in Greenpoint, Brooklyn? Read More 👉
Back in May Google Inc. invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms. This was the company’s first investment in a utility-scale wind-energy project. Google’s green business operations manager, Rick Needham, said then that Google is “aiming to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy—in a way that makes good business sense, too.” Yesterday it
Google Makes Big Investment in Wind-Energy Read More 👉
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a pioneering corporate sustainability reporting standard that has emerged as the most important de facto CSR reporting framework, will open its first US office in New York City the organization announced in a press release. The Amsterdam-based organization will use its new North American shop to launch “Focal Point USA,”
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Opens US Office with an Assist from the Big Four Read More 👉
Are you dying to be in Ann Arbor, Michigan next week to meet some of the world’s most estimable sustainable business leaders, but are faced with an unconvinced boss, or worse, a managerial accounting final? Well, fear not. The Inspired Economist will be at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan October
Live From Ann Arbor: IE to Cover the 2010 Net Impact Conference Read More 👉
In a terse open letter to top executives at Woolworths, Coles, and Metcash, the Consumer’s Alliance for Global Prosperity (CAGP), is publicizing its report “The Empires of Collusion,” which apparently proves that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a tool used by the “greens” and “the NGOs” to “conspire to force their standard on consumers
Does Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification Impoverish? Read More 👉
While climate change is one of the most important problems facing the world today, many of the proposed solutions have yet to be heard. However, MIT Sloan School of Management Professor Thomas Malone maintains that it is possible to give all interested parties a voice — and harness the ideas and knowledge of thousands to
MIT Sloan Launches Climate CoLab Contest to Combat Climate Change Read More 👉
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday announced revisions to its “Green Guides,” opening a public discussion period on the new recommendations. The revised guidelines are designed to tighten up the environmental claims consumer product firms are currently including on their products. More specifically, the FTC has proposed new clarity when marketers make claims surrounding renewable/green
The Arrival of the Federal Green Marketing Police Read More 👉
A stick held alone breaks easily. A bundle of sticks? Much harder to break. So it is with partnerships. Initiatives with multiple committed partners are stronger and more powerful than those embarked upon alone. That’s why it’s encouraging to read about all of the positive things that are coming out of the array of partnerships
SFI Conference: Partnerships DO Make a Difference Read More 👉
When I first started regularly listening to podcasts in 2005 and 2006, the two that everyone I listened to talked about were this WEEK in TECH by Leo Laporte and the Daily Source Code from Adam Curry. There may have been others, but in my world, these were the two by which all others were judged. TWiT,
Technology Podcasting Pioneer Ads Green Tech Show Read More 👉
Dr. Aneel Karnani Dr. Aneel Karnani, whose August WSJ op/ed (“The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility”) argued that CSR has no relevance in today’s global business world, was provided with an ample opportunity yesterday to clarify his thesis along with a panel of CSR experts and business journalists. “CSR and the Role of Business Today”
Does Corporate Social Responsibility Simply Reframe Friedman, Smith? Read More 👉
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
Plumpy’nut and the Role of the Private Sector in International Development Read More 👉
Recreational Equipment, Inc (REI) released its fourth annual stewardship report or CSR report earlier this week. The report is divided into three sections: Environment, Community and People. The Environment section highlights progress against REI’s five environmental target areas, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable paper usage, reducing waste and optimizing recycling, green building and
REI Releases 2009 Stewardship Report Read More 👉
It’s been a significant day of news in the sustainable business world with the announcement of the latest updates to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (hello, Morgan Stanley; better luck next year, Shell). But it’s an important day for CSR in aspirational terms for another blue chip corporation, The National Football League (NFL). That’s right:
Tonight in New Orleans — Here’s to a Sustainable Pigskin Season Read More 👉
The annual review of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) has been completed. See which U.S. firms made the cut. The components of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) represent the top 10% of the leading sustainability companies out of the biggest 2500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index.
Eight U.S.-based Companies Added to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Read More 👉
It seems as if CSR skeptic-in-chief Dr. Aneel Karnani of Michigan’s Ross School of Business has summoned, or at least ignited, the fires of socially progressive PR firm Fenton Communications. Fenton’s New York City office has announced a webinar that will create a dialogue surrounding Karnani’s now infamous WSJ op/ed where he threw stones at
The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility — Reprise Read More 👉
The Los Angeles Times reported that Flint Hills Resources, a subsidiary of Kansas-based Koch Industries, donated one million dollars to the campaign for California Proposition 23. Proposition 23 would suspend California’s global-warming law, known as AB 32, until the state’s unemployment rate dropped below 5.5%, a level achieved only three times in the last three
Koch Industries Exploits Unemployment Rate to Support Big Oil Agenda Read More 👉
Walmart will hand over its sustainability reigns to Andrea Thomas. She has been named the new senior vice president of Sustainability for the retail giant. Thomas will replace Matt Kistler who is transitioning into a new role as senior vice president of Marketing on the Walmart U.S. team. Leslie Dach, Walmart’s executive vice president of
Walmart Appoints New Senior Vice President of Sustainability Read More 👉
One thing you will notice walking the streets of any eastern Chinese city these days is the burgeoning consumer middle class. What might not be initially as evident is whether the Nike, Louis Vuitton or Polo they are sporting is real or counterfeit. According to a recent New York Times Magazine article, “Inside the Knockoff
Are Companies Benefiting From the Counterfeit Goods Trade? Read More 👉
Range Resources submitted its first voluntary disclosures form of Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on August 12, but is this enough to ensure responsible development of this natural gas source and protect PA’s water supply? The Marcellus Shale is a Middle Devonian-age black, low density, carbonaceous (organic rich)
Are Voluntary Disclosures Enough for Marcellus Shale? Read More 👉
The national conversation on local food systems continues to evolve in complexity, intrigue and now, rigor. On the front page of today’s Chicago Tribune is a story about a University of Chicago geophysics professor who is examining the merits — in carbon intensity terms — of local versus conventional farming. Professor Pamela Martin along with
Debunking Locavore Nation: U of C Professor Searches for the Truth — With Data! Read More 👉
