SOCIETY

Community Development

Half of Indian firms get ‘zero’ on CSR

A report on the corporate social responsibility activities of the 1000 largest Indian companies has given a zero score to […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

ITT helps Chinese with water

ITT Corporation, the US high-technology engineering and manufacturing company, is putting up $200,000 (£132,000) to improve water access for students […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

HK firms urged to support climate change initiative

A Hong Kong Carbon Reduction Campaign has been started by the Climate Group, an international non-profit organization whose aim is […]

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Kraft intervenes on malnutrition

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

TriplePundit

May 7, 2009

Community Development

Promoting healthy diets

Morou and Claire are worlds apart. One lives in northern Ghana; the other in South Carolina. Together they represent the […]

TriplePundit

May 6, 2009

Community Development

Developing an accord

In the autumn of 2007, suppliers of Exeter City Council in the west of England were pleased to find themselves […]

TriplePundit

May 6, 2009

Community Development

Financing the future

A stunning archipelago of white sandy beaches and sun-drenched countryside, SinAn County is one of South Korea’s best-known holiday destinations. […]

TriplePundit

May 6, 2009

Community Development

Bearing fruit

Diners at the Bluewater retail park in Dartford, UK, could be forgiven for executing a double take as they eat. […]

TriplePundit

May 6, 2009

Community Development

Eurosif calls for mandatory disclosure

One of Europe’s most influential SRI bodies has called on European state and regulatory institutions to insist on mandatory disclosure […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

London police take up CSR

London’s Metropolitan Police, the largest police service in the UK, is to appoint a CSR manager for the first time. […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Blog goes live

Henderson Global Investors has launched a sustainable and responsible investment blog, in which members of its socially responsible investment team […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

EP: from humble past to news-filled present

In this ‘basement’ slot of Ethical Performance ten years ago, the late Alistair Townley set out his aims as EP’s […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Dutch insert CSR into their governance code

The Netherlands government is to bring new requirements on corporate responsibility into the Tabaksblat, the country’s corporate governance code. Parliament […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Corporate giving may fall by one third in recession

UK companies’ donations to good causes are expected to fall by more than a third this year, reports a new […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Russell counts cost of Honduras allegations

Michigan University has become the 12th US higher education institution to stop sourcing sports clothing from the Russell Corporation over […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Wal-Mart addresses skills in Punjab

A retail training unit has been established by an Indian subsidiary of Wal-Mart to improve the work-related skills of people […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

WWF backs FSC logo as critics begin to circle

A leading environmental group has reaffirmed its backing for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) amid a growing debate about whether […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Italian bank comes up with water index

An Italian investment bank is to create an index based on water-related risk exposure. EPCI, a rating and index company […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Britain unveils bribery bill

British companies could be prosecuted under proposed  new legislation for failing to stop employees becoming involved in bribery. The draft […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Korean firms shake off Burma allegations

Two large Korean companies have been cleared of breaching the OECD guidelines for multinationals by becoming involved in a natural […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Seven research firms qualify for new certificate

Scandinavia’s GES Investment Services and the UK-based responsible investment specialist Eiris are among the first SRI research providers to be […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Tobacco firm pledges to tackle field worker sickness

The cigarette company Philip Morris International is taking steps to counter a condition called green tobacco sickness, which affects workers […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

From navel-gazing to real action: it’s been a decade of great strides

It is ten years to the month that Ethical Performance first saw the light of day. That’s not long ago […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Axa gives SRI data to its managers ‘as standard’

One of the world’s biggest investment management consultancies has taken the unusual step of providing its portfolio managers with a […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Under-fire Primark starts to put its house in order

The cut-price clothing retailer Primark has responded to continuing bad publicity about conditions in its supply chain by creating the […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Coalitions need NGO partners to shape up

Non-governmental organizations have been urged to alter the way they operate so they can work better in cross-sector partnerships. A […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Galaxy bars get certified

The world’s largest chocolate company has become the latest confectioner to sign up for a sustainability certification mark. Mars has […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Joe Public gets say in new online rankings

A new online ratings system will assess companies’ ethical performance using a combination of expert analysis and the views of […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

More diligence needed

Corporate responsibility reports by law firms are still uncommon, so a debut from a UK-based legal company has caught the […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Corporate social responsibility: a legal analysis

Michael Kerr, Richard Janda, Chip Pitts. Hardback. 650 pages. LexisNexis. Can$150 Written by a group of North Americans but with […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

It may be uncomfortable, but we must hide nothing

Exposing your company to relentless public scrutiny is sometimes painful – but it’s worth it, says Julia King Corporate responsibility […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Core is back in town – and ready for a new challenge

The Corporate Responsibility Coalition has returned to focus on a new campaign for a UK government commission on business and […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Global Compact agrees further rule-tightening

Signatories to the United Nations Global Compact will soon have to meet more stringent standards just announced by its board. […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Finding solutions to big sustainability challenges

Mike Scott talks to Rob Lake of the giant Dutch pension portfolio manager APG about its inclusive approach to ethical […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Drugs sector ‘must help poor’

Investors have told pharmaceuticals companies they need to focus far more on emerging economies and the poor if they are […]

TriplePundit

April 29, 2009

Community Development

Hong Kong firms failing on CSR

Most of Hong Kong’s leading listed companies fail to adopt sound CSR policies, particularly those associated with supply chain, the […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Asian real estate sector falls short

Asian real estate companies are performing poorly on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, according to a new study. The […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Leaders to go abroad for corporate peace of mind

Two hundred of IBM’s ‘future leaders’ from nearly 40 countries will participate in projects in emerging markets this year as […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Award for watershed in Afghanistan

A project to prevent flooding and to increase land productivity in the Kahmard district of Bamiyan province in central Afghanistan […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

New company emerges to fight malnourishment in Bangladesh

Improved health and business opportunities among the poor of Bangladesh are the aims of a new joint social business venture […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Chinese reporting continues exponential growth

Growing numbers of businesses operating in China are realizing the importance of CSR reporting, concludes a survey by SynTao, a […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Bottom of the pyramid work is on the agenda at Cambridge

India’s leading role in the world’s economy will be the main subject of study at the Centre for India and […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

World’s first higher-education SRI school announced in Australia

The Australian government is providing A$2.5million ($1.75m, £1.2m) over three years to establish the world’s first academic centre for responsible […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

Asia Pacific gets two new indices

Two new financial indices for the Far East have been created by SAM, the sustainability investing specialist, and the Dow […]

TriplePundit

April 7, 2009

Community Development

China banks get guidance

A further sign that corporate responsibility is taking hold in China has emerged with the publication of CSR guidelines for […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Food sector CSR feels the pinch

The global recession has pushed corporate responsibility down the priority list of the food industry. A survey of 600 decision-makers […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Newmont’s unprecedented review is placed in the public domain

A gold mining company has taken the unusual step of publishing an independent review of how it is managing relationships […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Coca-Cola pumps millions into water

The Coca-Cola Company has committed $30million (£21m) to provide access to safe drinking water for communities throughout Africa. The funding, […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Levi Strauss puts stress on buying habit changes

Levi Strauss is reporting early signs of success for a new approach to ethical supply chain monitoring that entails adjusting […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Steel sector changes gear

The European steel industry is to step up its efforts to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its operations. The […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

MPs to look at business impact on human rights

A UK parliamentary committee has opened an inquiry into business and human rights. The 12-member joint committee on human rights […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Business offered advice on art of ethical snooping

Guidance has been published on how companies can responsibly gather ‘competitive intelligence’ on rivals. The best practice advice, compiled by […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

RiskMetrics buys Innovest

RiskMetrics Group, the US-based provider of corporate governance services to global financial markets, has acquired Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. RiskMetrics […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

GRI calls for tougher regimes on reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has issued a strongly worded statement arguing that a lack of corporate transparency has contributed […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

First Direct beats the field to attain carbon standard

UK-based First Direct has become the first bank to receive the Carbon Trust Standard, a global carbon award requiring year-on-year […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Fabric mills get new audit

A global auditing company is offering a new ethical qualification for fabric factories. Intertek’s Mill Qualification Programme enables fabric mills, […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

China’s embrace of CSR could usher in the Wal-Mart effect

In itself, the fact that the China Banking Association has issued guidelines on corporate responsibility is significant (see page two), […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Can short selling ever be ethical?

Mike Scott asks investors, both in the mainstream and SRI fields, whether the practice of selling short on stocks is […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Can you be sure you won’t go the way of the banks?

The ethical recklessness of the financial sector has lessons for all people in business, says Danielle Cohen The recent revelations […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Third world companies match western peers

Some third world businesses now match their counterparts in developed countries on environmental matters such as climate change, but still […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

ISA supports vaccination

An unusual ethical investment vehicle to support vaccination programmes worldwide has been set up by HSBC. The bank’s new ethical […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Just good business

Kellie A. McElhaney. Paperback. 272 pages. Berrett-Koehler £14.44/ $29.95 This do-it-yourself offering on corporate responsibility and branding works well as […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Financiers slated over dictator accounts

Banks are facilitating corruption internationally by doing business with dictators and should work harder to reject relationships with individuals posing […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Are opinion statements really the way forward?

The use of independent experts to provide commentaries in sustainability reports is becoming increasingly popular. EP looks at the arguments […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Climate change request receives muted response

Only a quarter of companies that supply goods to multinationals have responded to a request for climate change data on […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Vanguard comes up with criteria on human rights

Vanguard, one of the largest mutual funds in the US, has developed criteria to determine whether the companies in which […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Signs emerge of tougher times for stateside CSR

The head of corporate responsibility at US packaging company Meadwestvaco has been made redundant, apparently as a result of recession-related […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

The Elk: world’s leading CSR thinker

John Elkington has emerged in a new poll as the world’s number one corporate responsibility ‘thought leader’. Elkington, founder of […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Nuclear firms may soon feature in FTSE4Good

FTSE4Good is paving the way for nuclear power companies to qualify for its socially responsible investment indices. Businesses in the […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Cadbury moves into Fairtrade

Cadbury is to become the biggest confectionery brand with the Fairtrade certification mark. The company and the Fairtrade Foundation aim […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Sponsors begin to favour grass roots over the elite

Companies are increasingly putting chunks of their sponsorship budgets into projects that are community-based, reports a specialist consultancy. Montreal-based Sponsorium […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009

Community Development

Major airlines push for emissions targets

The aviation industry’s carbon dioxide emissions must top the agenda at this year’s meeting of governments on climate change, a […]

TriplePundit

April 6, 2009