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So what's the business case for corporate social responsibility?
A preoccupation with “the business case” only demonstrates the immaturity of the CSR movement, argues Mallen Baker in Ethical Corporation. In truth, there is no business case for CSR, any more than there is a business case for innovation, marketing or outsourcing. Each of these processes describe a range of possible activities – and any one of those activities may be beneficial or detrimental to the business. It all depends on the judgement in selection of which actions to take, and the skill and energy applied to achieving results… Read more
14 May 2008
Commission pushing for 'New Social Agenda'
The Commission yesterday revealed plans to update the current social agenda and better integrate it into the EU's overall policy framework, EurActiv reports. The main focus lies in addressing cross-border health care, improving workers' rights and promoting better education systems. The new package is set to contain several pieces of legislation, including a long-awaited proposal on patients' cross-border healthcare rights as well as proposals on anti-discrimination, educational issues and workers' rights, Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Špidla announced at a conference in Brussels on 6-7 May… Read more
14 May 2008
More companies in emerging markets create corporate governance websites
Companies in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) increasingly disclose environmental, social and governance information in English on their websites, according to the tenth semi-annual Survey of Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) released by the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program. In CEE countries, there is growing online disclosure of ESG information especially in the social policy arena, but more information on corporate environmental policies needs to be released, the study says… Read more
14 May 2008
McCain calls for mandatory limit on GHG emissions in the US
Senator John McCain sought to distance himself from President Bush on Monday as he called for a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States to combat climate change, the New York Times reports. He also pledged to work with the European Union to diplomatically engage China and India if they refuse to participate in an international agreement to slow global warming. Read more. (Source: The New York Times)
14 May 2008
Fewer Americans say there is 'solid evidence' of global warming, survey says
The proportion of Americans who say that the earth is getting warmer has decreased modestly since January 2007, mostly because of a decline among Republicans, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Overall, 71% of Americans say there is solid evidence of higher global temperatures, compared with 77% at the beginning of last year. Among Republicans, just 49% say there is evidence that the earth's average temperature has been rising. Currently, roughly half of Americans (47%) say the earth is warming because of human activity. Read more. (Source: Pew Research Center)
14 May 2008
UN Secretary-General urges US business leaders to help fight global poverty
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged members of the US business community to help the United Nations in its efforts to combat global poverty, arguing that this is good for the world and the bottom line. He argued for an approach that promotes self-sufficiency. “Unless the world’s poor become better able to fend for themselves, they – and we – are lost,” he said in a speech in Atlanta on 9 May. The Secretary-General said companies are introducing new technologies that are sparking local entrepreneurship and, in the process, creating growth and promoting new markets… Read more
13 May 2008
HP Company Foundation commits $250,000 to World Food Programme for relief efforts in Myanmar (Burma)
The Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation has announced it has committed $250,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for aid in the disaster relief efforts in Myanmar (Burma). The HP Company Foundation contribution comes on the heels of an urgent request by the WFP (www.wfp.org), one of only two relief agencies operating in the country, to assist them in their efforts to bring in food, equipment and supplies to those affected by Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar. Read more. (Source: HP)
13 May 2008
Italy and Spain: Diverging paths on gender equality
Spain - the land that coined the word "macho" - is now at the vanguard of the fight for gender equality, BBC reports. After winning a second term in March, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has more female ministers in his new cabinet than male, including a 31-year-old woman, the youngest minister in Spanish history. Italy's new Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi joked that his Spanish counterpart's cabinet line-up looked "too pink" for his liking. Only four out of Berlusconi's 21 ministers are women, and most of them have so far won distinction more for their looks rather than for their political prowess, reports BBC correspondent David Willey… Read more
13 May 2008
Airline websites still ripping off consumers, Brussels says
The European Commission has said that EU consumers are still getting ripped off when they buy airplane tickets online and threatened the industry with "further measures" if the situation does not change within one year, EUobserver reports. The main problems identified were misleading prices – found on 58 percent of the checked websites, and unfair contract terms such as missing or wrong language versions, or pre-checked boxes for optional services – found on 49 percent of the sites. Read more. (Source: EUobserver)
13 May 2008
Social-responsibility marketing goes the route of branded entertainment
In its music video for "All I Need" and upcoming concert tour, Radiohead campaigns against human trafficking as part of a multimedia initiative created by Viacom's MTV Europe Foundation, AdWeek reports. The MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking) initiative also plans to produce other live events and an animated film on human trafficking.MTV's efforts illustrate the growing use of branded-entertainment as a way to distribute corporate responsibility campaigns, which are geared to creating deeper relationships with consumers concerned about environmental and social issues… Read more
13 May 2008
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