Monthly Archives: December 2010

Turning Points

The Takeaway: After 110 posts, we salute our supporters, celebrate our accomplishments, make some changes, and prepare for an even better 2011. On Wednesday, we published my 100th post, written since the first one – on free and fair corporate … Continue reading

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Climate Change-Makers

The TakeAway: While Federal climate change policy action sputters, state and local initiatives continue to offer opportunities for progress and engagement. Climate change has triggered long-standing power struggles in the US between federal and state rights reminiscent of Civil Rights … Continue reading

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Gaming for Good

The TakeAway: Game-based technologies can serve as powerful tools for advancing sustainability and civic engagement—while enabling us to become game creators, too. If you’re like many Americans, you spent part of your Christmas holiday playing with your Wii, Xbox360, PlayStation … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Reporting, Media & Entertainment, Serious Games, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability Ratings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Welcome Yule!

We’re taking tomorrow (Friday) off to enjoy the holidays with loved ones, but will be back on Monday.  In the meantime, we extend heartfelt Yuletide greetings to all of you, who have made this experiment so deeply satisfying. As the … Continue reading

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Controversial Compromise on Net Neutrality

The TakeAway: The FCC’s decision on “net neutrality” creates a double set of rules applying to fixed broadband and mobile broadband—with the public interest standard in question. The near decade-long struggle over “net neutrality” revolves around money, power, and access … Continue reading

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Extractives: Dirty Industries, Clean Standards

The TakeAway: New SEC proposals require ethical health, safety, and human rights due diligence by companies engaged in the extractive industries. Extractive industries are by definition a dirty business, but recent legislation and regulatory moves aim to clean them up … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Public Policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Corporate Philanthropy and CSR: Private Initiative for the Public Good

Part Two of Two The TakeAway: Attitudes toward corporate philanthropy reflect continued ambivalence about consolidated wealth and how best to foster accountability and sustainable prosperity. Public suspicion – even scorn – of excess wealth and power is a sturdy American … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Corporate Philanthropy: Greenwash or Sustainable Solution?

Part One of Two The TakeAway: Corporate philanthropy, often criticized as mere PR or greenwash, has evolved strategically in ways that advance sustainable value creation. December, the “Big Ask” month for nonprofits, inundates individual and organizational inboxes alike – including … Continue reading

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Cancún Talks Bridge Trust Deficit

The TakeAway: COP16 climate talks accomplished more than expected, while restoring trust in the international process that can lead to stronger future measures. Despite media reports citing lowered expectations – and fear that Copenhagen’s dysfunctions would spill over to this … Continue reading

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A Window on Corporate Anti-Sweatshop Efforts

Guest Commentary by Conrad MacKerron, Senior Program Director of As You Sow Foundation The TakeAway: Gap, Levi’s and Walmart top first-of-its-kind supply chain scorecard from As You Sow, while Abercrombie & Fitch, Saks, and Sears fail to provide info. Eight … Continue reading

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Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory

The TakeAway: Harvard’s Initiative for Responsible Investment works to build a “master narrative” for responsible investing, along with educational tools for improving trustee performance. Massive changes in financial regulations and ramped up activism – aided in part by interactive technology – make … Continue reading

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Radical Transparency: The Challenge to Sustainability and Democracy

The TakeAway: Reams of information released by WikiLeaks and the Federal Reserve challenge us to rethink our duties to promote sustainable accountability and representative democracy. Debates on the recent WikiLeaks / Federal Reserve data dumps concentrate on the supply side … Continue reading

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IT Leads ET, But Needs Public Policy and $$$

The TakeAway: Information technology leader Google advances energy technology development, but clean energy progress relies on smart policy and capital flows, too. “Google it.”  Over the past decade, the term has gone viral, as the name of the information technology  … Continue reading

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Divesting from Genocide: A Fiduciary Duty?

The TakeAway: Congressional hearing on ways to improve the Sudan Accountability & Investment Act proposes using the UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” human rights framework to define fiduciary duty. The moral case for flexing investment muscle (from shareowner engagement to outright … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, Investor Governance, Public Policy, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment