SOCIETY

Community Development

Professional services barely meeting corporate needs

The market for professional services in corporate responsibility is still growing at a rapid rate, and demand is outpacing provision […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

EITI begins to take flak over ‘free rider’ concerns

Pressure is growing on the secretariat of one of corporate responsibility’s flagship global programmes to take action against ‘free rider’ […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

GRI needs strategies not stories

Companies using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines are failing to explain how their sustainability strategies are likely to affect […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Handbook on responsible investment across asset classes

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. 96 pages. Free download at www.bcccc.net A number of overviews of responsible investment have […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Royal Mail offers health training to staff

The UK’s largest postal company is to give its 180,000 employees access to health assessments and lifestyle coaching. In an […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

City of 13 million legislates on mandatory reporting

One of the world’s most populous cities has passed legislation requiring companies based there to publish annual sustainability reports. The […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Danish fund follows trend on cluster bomb divestment

The pensions arm of a leading Danish bank is removing its investments in companies that make cluster bombs. Danica Pension, […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Societal benefits of sport are ‘too often overlooked’

Too many businesses are failing to include sporting activities in their social responsibility programmes, according to the International Business Leaders’ […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Investors prompt Standard Life to shun airline stocks

Standard Life’s ethical funds have divested from airline stocks in a direct response to the views of retail investors. The […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Buyers need incentives to take an ethical view

Retail companies have been urged to train buyers on labour standards – and to link their pay to supply chain […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

NGOs must target Joe Public to make change happen

Challenging companies is fine, but the brave next step is to take on consumers, says Blake Lee-Harwood If the last […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Avon signs deal to stop violence against women

The cosmetics company Avon has created a partnership with the United Nations to address the issue of violence against women. […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Saudi Arabia decides to praise virtues of CSR

The government of Saudi Arabia has begun a project to promote corporate responsibility. The three-year Saudi Arabian Responsible Competitiveness Initiative […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Yahoo looks for US help on China dissidents

The internet provider Yahoo has asked the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice for assistance in freeing two Chinese journalists […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Ethics training catches on in a big way

The proportion of British companies training staff in business ethics has increased dramatically over the past three years. A new […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

UMW donates land in Malaysia

A two-acre plot in Serendah, Malaysia, has been donated by an investment holding company for the building of a Tamil […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

ChemChina ups recycling efforts

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina), the nation’s largest chemicals manufacturer, is running a pilot programme at its plants in Tianjing […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

What can we expect from Howard’s way?

EP talks to the new chief executive of Business in the Community about expansion, putting pressure on members – and […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Utilities firms squeeze suppliers to cut emissions

Six utilities companies are to submit their British suppliers to a scheme that monitors their progress on cutting carbon emissions. […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Counting companies in is preferable to shutting them out

Ethical investment is going back to the past. The earliest ethical funds, such as the Friends Provident family of Stewardship […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Big names come clean on political donations

Five major US companies have agreed to disclose all donations to political parties after a concerted campaign by shareholders.   […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Investors agree to press firms on energy saving

A climate change action plan to boost investment in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies has been released by 49 […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

18 sign up to content rules

Media companies have agreed guidelines on how to categorize the suitability of internet, television and mobile phone content for children. […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Smart card aims to curb tobacco use

A smart card that contains personal details such as date of birth and will have to be used for buying […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Investors move into ethical fixed income products

Bonds that reflect social and environmental concerns are becoming more popular among institutional investors in Europe and several fixed income […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

HBOS and Lloyds TSB lead the pack on business travel

HBOS and Lloyds TSB are the FTSE 100 banks that most effectively limit the carbon footprint of their business travel. […]

TriplePundit

March 31, 2008

Community Development

Consultants and women lose out on salaries

Corporate responsibility practitioners in the UK are likely to earn more money working for a company than for a consultancy, […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Small firms look to trade bodies

Small firms are most likely to seek advice on corporate responsibility from trade associations, a poll suggests. Of 100 director-level […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

CSR factors largely ignored in salary sums

Fewer than ten per cent of the UK’s biggest companies use non-financial measures to determine senior executives’ performance pay, new […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Microfinance loans will ‘grow in appeal’

Microfinance projects are becoming more attractive to mainstream investors. Deutsche Bank says the volume of such loans has risen ‘sharply’ […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

HP suppliers still failing to adopt proactive mindset

Most of Hewlett Packard’s central European suppliers still have a ‘reactive’ approach to social and environmental responsibility despite the company’s […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Employees exert most influence on responsible practice

Pressure from employees is the most significant influence on corporate responsibility in companies, a survey reports. A poll of 150 […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Hedge funds react to critics by agreeing to standards

Fourteen large hedge funds have signed up to a set of standards requiring greater transparency and disclosure. The funds, including […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Banks facing pressure over landmine lending

Amnesty International has urged five leading French banks to tighten their policies on investment in companies that make and trade […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

GSK sets up malaria alliance

GlaxoSmithKline and the non-profit group Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) are to collaborate on the production of new malaria drugs. […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Stakeholder views gaining ground against specialists

A system using stakeholders rather than SRI specialists to rate companies on social and environmental performance has been created by […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Chevron is first ‘corporate champion’

The oil corporation Chevron is to give $30million (£15.4m) over three years to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, tuberculosis […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Activist fund manager dies

Alastair Ross Goobey, a prominent British fund manager who consistently campaigned for greater corporate accountability, has died aged 62. Ross […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Ireland gets first accredited training scheme

The Irish Republic’s first accredited education programme on CSR for junior and middle ranking managers has been set up by […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Appeal for release of ethical auditor

The Clean Clothes Campaign, along with other rights organizations worldwide, has urged the Bangladesh government to free Mehedi Hasan, a […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Child labour plan unveiled in Delhi

An 18-point action plan to fight the use of child labour has been announced at an international conference in Delhi. […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Lawyers can do it, so why not other business professionals?

Legal firms are showing the way on pro bono work – and more of us should follow, says Aaron Hurst […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Trio team up on disasters

Three logistics companies are to work alongside the United Nations on emergency responses to large-scale natural disasters. Agility Logistics, TNT […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Grameen Bank gets Credit Agricole help

The Bangladesh-based Grameen Bank is to be partnered by Crédit Agricole in supporting microlenders around the world. Crédit Agricole, France’s […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Suppliers pressed on wages

‘Living wage’ levels for 400 employees have been written into contracts issued to private sector companies by the Greater London […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Business in the Community’s new CEO needs to be a change agent

The 25th anniversary of Business in the Community is a cause for celebration. It is also an appropriate milestone to […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Salary survey paints picture of a profession

EP looks at facts and figures on salary levels that are drawn from the first detailed study of the remuneration […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Wikipedia spat rumbles on

Disagreements over the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’ on the internet reference site Wikipedia remain unresolved more than a year after […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Legal battle over labour rights ends

Defamation actions brought against labour rights campaigners by two clothing manufacturers in Bangalore, India, have been called off. An agreement […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Chinese labour law ‘bedding down’

China’s new labour law is beginning to take hold, despite some business opposition, Auret van Heerden, president and chief executive […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Telstra tackles internet bullying

A programme has been set up to reduce the bullying and harassment of children who use mobile phones and the […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Aid for China on global warming

Japan is supporting China’s environmental conservation efforts through six loans worth more than $436million (£222m). The finance, in the form […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Charity links to business

Save the Children has created a managerial role to forge closer links with big business. The director of philanthropy and […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Aastra lays out standards for major suppliers

Canadian telecoms business Aastra has created an ethical policy for its suppliers that sets out guidelines on areas such as […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Food and drink firms make water their new priority

Leading food and drink makers have signed a collective agreement to cut their water use in the UK, providing further […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Vigeo teams up with Asian partner

Vigeo, the leading European CSR ratings agency, is extending its coverage into the Asia Pacific area by forming a partnership […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Newton advances the science of investment

A thematic approach to socially responsible investment paid off for Newton Investment Management last year when financial stocks suffered in […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Climate change reporting has become the norm

Nearly all FT 500 sustainability reporters now publish information on their climate change impacts, suggests a new study. The survey […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Dow project improves water re-use

Waste water re-use rates will reach 50 per cent in Beijing when the 2008 Olympic Games begin, thanks to reclamation […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Bitc prepares for new era as Cleverdon steps aside

Julia Cleverdon, one of the UK’s most prominent figures in corporate social responsibility, stepped down this month from her post […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Asian firms are more carbon intensive

Asian listed companies are more carbon-intensive than their peers elsewhere in the world – with the result that investors in […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

The power of unreasonable people

John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan. Hardback. 272 pages. Harvard Business School Press. £14 / $27.50 Could social entrepreneurs be the […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

PGGM will divest from PetroChina

Dutch pension fund PGGM is to exclude PetroChina from its €88billion ($127bn, £65bn) investments because of concerns over the Chinese […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Communication assumes a much greater priority

CSR practitioners expect to spend more time in the future on communication rather than programme development and monitoring. Latest research […]

TriplePundit

February 29, 2008

Community Development

Promoting moderations

An Irishman walks into a bar. It may sound like the start of a joke, but it’s actually the beginning […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Cutting to the chase

At the Vimax Beauty hairdressing salon in Curitiba in southern Brazil, Vicktor, like any self-respecting salon owner, spends his day […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Stamping out disease

When Mimoungou Haruna’s leg first started swelling, he was concerned. By the time it had swollen to well over twice […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Raising the bar

If asked to name one of the world’s leading dairy farming nations, few westerners would think of Pakistan. Yet dairy […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Framing the future

At the most extreme, critics of national lotteries see them as just another form of gambling that erodes ethical values […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Fuelling change

More than three billion people, or almost half the world’s population, cook in their homes using traditional fires and stoves […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Taking centre stage

A baker’s dozen may be unlucky for some, but not, it seems, for the 13 Land Securities-owned shopping centres working […]

TriplePundit

February 5, 2008

Community Development

Cocoa board will monitor child labour

An independent body has been formed to curb child labour in the West African cocoa sector. The Cocoa Verification Board, […]

TriplePundit

February 4, 2008