SOCIETY

Community Development

Chinese bank wins through

The Industrial Bank, China, has emerged as the Asia regional winner in the emerging markets section of the 2009 FT […]

TriplePundit

July 8, 2009

Community Development

Unilever helps left-behind children

Unilever China and the All-China Women’s Federation are to run a joint programme to care for children left behind by […]

TriplePundit

July 8, 2009

Community Development

Sri Lankan conflict prompts business action

A clothing group and a leading bank are backing the relief effort to help 660,000 internal refugees in the wake […]

TriplePundit

July 8, 2009

Community Development

Tata makes energy a priority

This year’s main social project of the Tata Power private utility is to make a million people in India aware […]

TriplePundit

July 8, 2009

Community Development

China focal point gets big hitter

A high-ranking official has been appointed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to encourage ethical business policies in China. Sean […]

TriplePundit

July 8, 2009

Community Development

Pro-poor model pays off

A ‘pro-poor’ initiative by Coca-Cola in East Africa has generated 12,000 jobs while increasing the company’s competitiveness in the region. […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Sceptical charity softens its stance

Christian Aid, an anti-poverty charity with a track record of scepticism on corporate responsibility, has commissioned CSR research from a […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

End to Uzbek child labour is not all it seems

Child labour is still widely used in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry, contrary to claims that corporate influence is putting an end […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Wragge’s first report: was our verdict too harsh?

A critical review of Wragge & Co’s first CSR report appeared in EP this May. This month Tom Peyton of […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Compact snubs ISO 26000 draft

The United Nations has asked that all mention of the Global Compact be removed from ISO 26000, the forthcoming international […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Seed sector has another tilt at child labour

A global coalition of seed manufacturers has outlined a new strategy for preventing child labour in their sector. CropLife International, […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Merger of SRI institutions needs careful managing

The UN’s takeover of the Enhanced Analytics Initiative raises many issues, says Steve Waygood As you may have read in […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Car firms must face claims as Alien Tort cases proceed

Charges against three global car companies alleging human rights abuses in South Africa have been allowed to proceed. A New […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

CSR reporting often of ‘no use’ says professor

Information in most large companies’ CSR reports is virtually useless, a business management academic has argued. In a stinging attack, […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

‘Forest disclosure’ is next on the agenda

A project has been set up to help investors understand the financial hazards of deforestation. The Forest Footprint Disclosure Project […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

BLIHR leaves legacy of essential steps on rights

Fourteen multinationals have published a set of ‘essential steps’ that businesses must take to improve human rights. The companies, which […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

OECD guidelines ‘must get tougher back-up’

Governments should get tougher with companies that breach the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises, a UK inquiry has been told. […]

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July 7, 2009

Community Development

Chiquita goes for ethical pineapples

Chiquita has announced that all its pineapples will soon become Rainforest Alliance-certified. The fruit multinational, which sources pineapples from Panama […]

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July 7, 2009

Community Development

Fine-tuning, rather than reinvention, is what we need on human rights

A lot of noise is being generated about how developed countries should hold multinational businesses to account for their involvement […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Why an SRI pioneer feels that ‘the time is right’

Mike Scott talks to Walden Asset Management’s Tim Smith, who’s in bullish mood about changing attitudes to to risk and, […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Night at movies prompts action at Pret A Manger

A film has convinced the British sandwich chain Pret A Manger to switch to a more sustainable variety of tuna […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Listed firms to get SRI data

The world’s largest stock exchange group, New York Stock Exchange Euronext, has formed a partnership with an SRI research consultancy […]

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July 7, 2009

Community Development

Centrica uses web chat to create more dialogue

The British energy company Centrica has taken the unusual step of holding a live ‘web chat’ to discuss issues in […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Boycott sets sights on secondary, not primary, targets

A new boycott campaign on the extraction of oil sands is homing in on companies that are only indirectly related […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

How to stop franchisees from talking baloney

After a business partner’s billboard appeared to show Burger King denying climate change, the firm was forced onto the defensive. […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Food firms fortify products

A number of food companies are to collaborate on providing products fortified with vitamins and other nutrients for developing countries. […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

New-look CSR Academy emerges from shadows

Britain’s once-defunct CSR Academy has stuttered back to life to provide a small number of training courses for this summer […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Long-running cause celebre draws to an end at last

One of the controversies often cited as a key catalyst for the growth of corporate responsibility finally drew to a […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Canada offers mediation to extractive sector firms

The Canadian government is recruiting a ‘CSR counsellor’ this month to advise the country’s mining, oil and gas companies. The […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Elements of ethics for professionals

W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley. 200 pages. Palgrave Macmillan. £12.99. The publishers say this book is a must-have […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Platinum performers may act as buddies

Seven elite CSR performers have been put into a new category by Business in the Community in its latest annual […]

TriplePundit

July 7, 2009

Community Development

Big M&S push on CSR becomes ‘cost positive’

Marks & Spencer’s five-year social and environmental programme has paid for itself after two years and is now making money […]

TriplePundit

July 3, 2009

Community Development

IBLF sets up Asia Pacific office

An Asia Pacific office of the International Business Leaders’ Forum has been set up in Hong Kong. The new base […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

Asian Centre for CSR is launched

An Asian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility has been established to encourage ethical practices in the region. The centre is […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

Court ruling may prevent Malaysian logging

A court decision may make it possible for tribal people on the island of Borneo to stop companies from flattening […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

Australia gets Compact network

An Australian network of the United Nations Global Compact has been established. The network was set up at the tenth […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

Kerala IT firms sign Aids pact

Information technology businesses in India’s Kerala state are joining the fight against Aids and HIV. Companies on the Technopark industrial […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

GSK backs disability programmes

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the global pharmaceuticals group, is putting 39million Sri Lankan rupees ($340,000, £210,000) into a project to empower disabled […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

Indian firm backs energy use cuts

The Indian company Reliance Energy has become one of eight utilities businesses to agree to provide smart meters enabling customers […]

TriplePundit

June 2, 2009

Community Development

UK to draw up new code on control of security firms

The UK government is to come up with a code of conduct on business use of private military and security […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Firms’ sustainability information moves a step closer to home

Corporate responsibility data is now only a couple of mouse clicks away from most large companies’ home pages. New research […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

FTSE4Good prepares health & safety criteria

One of the world’s main socially responsible investment indices is to introduce criteria on health and safety that companies will […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Dutch staff unimpressed

A Dutch survey of corporate employees suggests they are unconvinced by their companies’ CSR performance. The research, by the Netherlands-based […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Seafood will get ethical label

A certification programme for responsible seafood farming is to be offered to businesses across the world.   The Aquaculture Stewardship […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Carbon system gets thumbs up

US Environmental Protection Agency proposals to create a national system for business reporting of greenhouse gas emissions have been welcomed by […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

CSR grows fast in Australia

The number of people employed in corporate responsibility in Australia is expected to increase significantly in the next year, reports […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Firms getting better at dealing with ESG risks

Companies worldwide have improved their performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk management over the past three years, according […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Fruit company replies in latest Alien Tort case

Chiquita is facing lawsuits in the US over payments made in the 1990s to Colombian paramilitaries. Now it has produced […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Caution on data ‘hot air’

The current emphasis on reporting and product labelling in the management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may be diverting companies’ […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Kraft aims to reduce malnutrition rates

Kraft Foods and the Save the Children charity have formed a partnership to relieve malnutrition among Indonesian and Filipino families. […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Private equity gets SRI help

British private equity firms have set up an advisory board to help them develop responsible investment strategies. The 11-person board, […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Arab countries reveal plenty of CSR potential

The Arab world stands ahead of Eastern Europe and Central Asia when it comes to corporate responsibility, according to the […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

New commission would punish errant companies

Proposals for the creation of a powerful UK commission on business and human rights have been announced by an alliance […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Stakeholder politics

Robert Boutilier. Greenleaf. 248 pages. Hardback. £24.95 At last, a book that gets to the heart of stakeholder issues: the […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Forum to oversee ethical behaviour of wealth funds

A permanent global forum has been set up to monitor a new voluntary code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Government puts pressure on big business to pay up

Listed businesses in the UK are to be urged by the government to endorse a new code on the responsible […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Orange usurps BT in rankings

BT has lost its position of pre-eminence on CSR in the telecoms sector, according to a new analysis.   UK-based […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

CSR profession set to get its own code of practice

Work has begun on the first ever code of practice for corporate responsibility practitioners. The Corporate Responsibility Group (CRG), a […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Rio Tinto wins plaudits for transparency

Mining multinational Rio Tinto has become the subject of rare praise by a transparency organization for its voluntary disclosure of […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Pension funds still out of touch on SRI issues

A watchdog has warned that UK pension funds’ risk management and accountability performance shows dangerous gaps, and has raised questions […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

North America report quality is on the rise

North American CSR reports are improving in quality and disclosure, although they still sometimes omit ‘key topics of interest to […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Executive pay: a battle for hearts as well as minds

Mike Scott talks to Tom Powdrill of investor advisor PIRC, which wants an overhaul not just of the rules on […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Three important lessons from the MPs’ expenses scandal

At first glance, the furore in Britain over the expenses claims of members of parliament has little to do with […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

The vices and vanities of sustainability reporting

Firms are exploiting a lack of reporting standards to distort their achievements, says Bill D’Allesandro Sustainability reporting is becoming a […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

CSR managers warned: don’t preach to the board

CSR practitioners have been warned against becoming too evangelical when talking to board members about corporate responsibility. Arnaud Cohen Stuart, […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Car giant sets target of zero road deaths by 2020

Volvo has set itself the unusual goal of ensuring that nobody is seriously injured or killed in accidents involving any […]

TriplePundit

June 1, 2009

Community Development

Asian real estate fails to impress

Asian real estate companies have poor environmental, social and governance practices, a new study has found. The shortcomings include use […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Hong Kong timber companies ‘need regulation’

Most listed forestry companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange that claim to be environment-friendly are so only by default, […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Garment firms need to improve

Some leading companies in Hong Kong’s garment industry have shown progress in reporting on their supply chain labour standards, but […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Singapore hosts social stock exchange

Asia’s first social stock exchange is to open in Singapore. The Social Stock Exchange Asia (SSXA) will provide a trading […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Property managers prepared to pay green premium

Property management executives in Asia Pacific are more willing than their global counterparts to invest in sustainability, according to a […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

HP boosts Indian take-backs

HP, the world’s largest technology company, is extending its recycling programme in India to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses. […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009