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November 2007
Here's a roundup of some of the relevant news recently crossing our desks:
Gap plans "sweatshop free" labels
In what would be the biggest commitment to ending child labor ever undertaken by a major retailer, Gap Inc is drawing up plans to label its products "Sweatshop Free." The ambitious pledge, which would place the firm at the forefront of the battle to end sweatshops, comes in response to recent allegations that the firm's Indian suppliers are employing children as young as 10 to make garments. The company has set out a series of proposals, including a move that would see it relabelling its garments to allow the consumer to directly track online exactly where they are made.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2204881,00.html
Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the winners of the 2007 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) in a Washington, D.C., ceremony on November 6. Two companies were chosen out of nine finalists worldwide, based on nominations submitted by American Ambassadors around the world. Center member GE Indonesia was selected for its exemplary role in post-tsunami relief efforts and its emphasis on employee volunteerism and educational programs; Transnational Automotive Group in Cameroon was chosen for its work providing safe, affordable transportation and increasing the quality of life in that West African country. GE Indonesia was honored for a wide variety of community projects in Indonesia, including education at the primary, secondary and community levels, Special Olympics, wheelchair donations, children’s nutrition, conservation, tree planting, anti-drug campaigns, cancer awareness, young leader career days, disaster relief, and others. The Secretary has given the ACE since 1999, recognizing U.S. businesses for advancing good corporate citizenship, innovation, and democratic principles.
CRO's 10 Best by Industry
Monsanto, Marathon Oil, Bank of America, Walt Disney and Entergy headed their sectors as CRO Magazine introduced "CRO's 10 Best Corporate Citizens by Industry 2007" in its September-October issue. The magazine analyzed the citizenship efforts of large-cap, publicly traded companies in the Chemical, Energy, Financial, Media and Utilities industries and assessed these corporations' environmental, social, governance and financial performance, and measured their track records against industry peers. (Additional industries will be evaluated in Part 2 in the magazine's November-December issue.) The magazine evaluated the most influential U.S. public companies, drawn predominantly from the Russell 1000 Index, through the lens of eight categories: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Employee Relations, Corporate Governance, Lobbying, Philanthropy and Financial. The category rankings were then averaged to determine the "CRO's 10 Best" companies for each industry.
View the full list at http://www.thecro.com/node/553.
Everyone can be a philanthropist
As the holidays approach and consumerism increases, a new organization called Giving Tree is trying to divert at least a little of the money being spent toward good causes. The organization, a "for-profit social enterprise in the stored-value card market," has rolled out the GiveCard just in time for the holidays: a prepaid gift card where the recipient donates 10 percent of the card's value to a charity of his or her choice. The company says it is building a suite of socially conscious branded products, as well as a community for microphilanthropy. Giving Tree will also offer non-profit affinity programs and develop customized corporate programs to promote corporate social responsibility.
http://www.givingtreelife.com/home.aspx
General Motors and Cisco investing in China
Two announcements recently crossed our desk concerning major companies investing in China:
• General Motors has announced a far-reaching collaborative strategy to support the Chinese government's pursuit of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transportation that will be based on the principle of "in China, with China, for China." The first two major initiatives of its long-term strategy are establishment of the GM Center for Advanced Science and Research in Shanghai, which will carry out advanced research projects in partnership with the Chinese government, industry partners and academic institutions, and establishment of the China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC), a collaborative effort that will work with various stakeholders in government, academia and related industries to develop a comprehensive and integrated automotive energy strategy for China.
http://www.csrwire.com/News/10036.html
• Center member Cisco could spend as much as $16 billion on a multi-year initiative announced recently. The move signals the beginning of Cisco's next chapter in China, a country in which the company began significantly investing 13 years ago. The strategy includes the company's first green technology center dedicated to sustainable development, energy efficiency, electronic waste reduction and emissions reduction both in and out of China. Cisco also will invest $17.5 million in Alibaba.com, China's largest business-to-business online portal. The partnership will devise business management solutions for small and medium Chinese businesses. Cisco also will create product and research teams to develop networking equipment to address the small to medium-sized business market, as well as emerging countries markets. Cisco plans to expand its Networking Academies program with China's Ministry of Education to add 300 academies in vocational colleges during the next three years. There are now more than 200 Networking Academies in 70 Chinese cities that have trained more than 90,000 students. This newest initiative will more than double that capacity by 2010.
http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjcxNzg
John Edwards demands corporate responsibility
Democrat John Edwards has released a plan he said would increase corporate responsibility, including limits on executive compensation packages and requirements that big businesses operate more openly. The presidential candidate said his plan would also restore retirement security for the middle class through tax reforms and savings help, allowing more people to put aside money and purchase stock from companies. He said those companies would perform better for regular workers under his corporate reform proposals.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/26/politics/main3415154.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_3415154
JPMorgan Good Venture competition
For the second year JPMorgan is sponsoring Good Venture, a socially responsible case competition for students to win funding for a nonprofit of their choice. To compete, students form teams of up to four members and make the case for why their funding proposal aligns with JPMorgan’s track record of social responsibility. The winning team wins a $25,000 donation for their chosen non-profit. In selecting the winners, JPMorgan will be looking for the team that can most aptly demonstrate a scenario where the financial investment will yield discernible social returns.
http://www.jpmorgan.com/goodventure
Microplace launches investment website to address global poverty
MicroPlace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay Inc., recently announced the launch of microplace.com, a new website that provides an easy way for everyday people to invest in the world’s working poor by leveraging the power of microfinance, a proven solution to alleviate global poverty. Through MicroPlace’s secure platform, everyday people can purchase investments – for as little as $100 – from microfinance security issuers. MicroPlace also enables investors to direct the impact of their investment to a specific country and microfinance institution in the developing world. The microfinance institutions use the funds to make small loans to the working poor, who in turn use the loans to start or expand small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty. At launch, MicroPlace will offer investment opportunities from around the world, including Africa, Eurasia, Latin America and Southeast Asia. MicroPlace has selected Calvert Social Investment Foundation as the first issuer to sell investments on MicroPlace. Calvert Foundation will use the funds generated from the sale of securities on MicroPlace to invest in microfinance institutions targeted by investors online. Calvert Foundation will also be responsible for making interest and principal payments to investors.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071024005417&newsLang=en
Toyota achieves zero landfill waste
Center member Toyota's eight European manufacturing facilities have achieved zero waste-to-landfill status, and the division has managed to reduce the amount of energy it uses to produce each car. The company recently released its 2007 Toyota Motor Europe Sustainability Report, where it detailed the progress it has made on its environmental and social responsibility goals. Although it has lowered the carbon emissions of each vehicle it produces, its absolute emissions rose 10 percent in fiscal year 2006 because of higher production and sales levels. The company has already achieved its 2010 goal of reducing the water volume used per vehicle produced, and nearly attained its 2010 target for VOC emissions. It also issued green purchasing guidelines to its business partners. The company bought enough renewable energy to power 10 percent of its head office operations.
http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjcyNjE
Allstate Takes Stand on Environmental Stewardship
Center member Allstate Insurance Company has announced the launch of an new eco-friendly insurance option, Allstate Green, that helps offset auto emissions by funding reforestation and clean energy projects in the United States.
http://www.csrwire.com/News/10128.html
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