Blog Archives: March 2010
March 22, 2010
Google and China: When Should Business Leave on Human Rights Grounds?
By Aron Cramer, President and CEO, and Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, ICT Practice, BSR
With Google’s decision today to shut down its Chinese-based search engine, google.cn, the company has won considerable praise from organizations concerned about its human rights record. This approval stands in stark contrast to the condemnation the company received when first entering the country in 2006. The Financial Times cartoonist Ingram Pinn captured these contrasting perspectives perfectly, depicting Google as the speech-suppressing “Great Firewall of China” in 2006, then casting the company as the lone protestor stopping the tanks in their tracks in 2010. Read more
March 19, 2010
Green Shoots of Sustainability in the Desert
By Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Guy Morgan, Manager, Advisory Services; Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services
There are green shoots of corporate social responsibility in the desert. During the last twelve months, BSR has been working on a number of projects throughout the Persian Gulf region. And while there is still much to be done in regards to the protection and respect of the human rights of thousands of migrant laborers—not to mention energy usage and GHG emissions—we are seeing CSR taking root throughout the region. Read more
March 10, 2010
HERproject: Making Women’s Health Care a Global Reality
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Ever since Al Gore was focused on NAFTA, not climate change, debate has raged over whether globalization has helped or hurt workers, communities, and national economies. One question in particular has been front and center: what about the treatment of workers in the thousands of factories that make products for western consumers? But too often, the particular needs of women driving the global economy have been overlooked. Read more
March 6, 2010
International Women’s Day: Supporting Women’s Empowerment Across the Globe
Cody Sisco, Former Manager, Advisory Services
As we take a moment to reflect today on International Women’s Day, it is important to recognize the progress we’ve made on ensuring respect for human rights for women around the world. We must also take this opportunity to consider the challenges that still need to be overcome in order to ensure women’s full participation in the global economy. Read more
March 4, 2010
Rewarding the Right Performance
Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen , Vice President, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
A French weekly magazine recently reported on its front page, “They are doing it again.” And by “it” they were referring to yet another banker’s feast of exorbitant bonuses as reward for the sector’s “terrific year.” Read more
