Blog Archives: September 2009
September 25, 2009
Performance Indicators in the Reset World
Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen , Vice President, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
GDP is out and sustainability is in—at least according to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who in addition to capping bankers’ bonuses also wants to cap their hallowed success indicator: GDP growth. While so far the G20 in Pittsburgh has only picked up the ball on the former, the latter warrants consideration. Read more
September 24, 2009
Climate Leaders: A Break from the Industry Pack
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Some of this week’s most interesting developments related to business and climate didn’t come from the UN Climate Summit in New York or from Pittsburgh (site of the G20 Summit), but instead from San Francisco and Beaverton, Oregon. Read more
September 24, 2009
Dispatch from Hong Kong: Will We Ever See Big-Picture Climate Accounting?
Ryan Schuchard , Manager, Climate and Energy
This week in Hong Kong, ASrIA held a press conference that covered two arenas of business climate action that, disappointingly, have yet to mix. Read more
September 23, 2009
IT Companies Collaborate to Address China’s Digital Divide
Adam Lane , Manager, Advisory Services
Last week, seven information and technology (IT) companies (five international and two Chinese) met in Beijing as part of a regular BSR working group for IT companies in China established earlier this year. This third meeting focused on how the companies could collaborate to address the digital divide, while still maintaining their competitive edge. Read more
September 22, 2009
Strategic Philanthropy Sweeps through China
Adam Lane , Manager, Advisory Services
Pei Bin, Former Director, China Partnership Development
The topic of philanthropy in China is rivaling the environment and climate change—and even the financial crisis—for top headlines in China, and two BSR-hosted events on strategic philanthropy were telling of this new trend. Read more
September 16, 2009
Europeans Trust Business Less—and More
Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen , Vice President, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Trust—and trust in business, in particular—can be a fickle friend. One year after the fall of Lehman Brothers, and its subsequent global economic impact, we see public confidence in business "to do what's right" playing out very differently in different regions. Read more
September 10, 2009
Redefining the Business Case for Worker Rights
Scott Chang, Former Manager, BSR
When I worked in San Francisco, I helped several companies develop codes of conduct for worker rights to ensure social compliance in their supply chains. When I lived in Guangzhou, I worked extensively to convince factory managers to implement these codes. In both places, I was always asked: "What is the business case for doing this work?" Or, in bolder terms, "How much more money can I make if I design or comply with a code of conduct?" Read more
September 3, 2009
Health Care as an Investment, not a Cost
Farid Baddache , Director, Europe
With the fervor around the U.S. health care debate rivaling that of the carbon tax debate in France, it's worth taking a look at lessons learned on this side of the Atlantic. Read more
