Blog Archives: June 2010
June 29, 2010
Keeping Up With the New Generation of Workers in China
By Jeremy Prepscius, Managing Director, Asia, and Helen Zhang, Administrative Assistant
An interesting article (article is in Chinese) recently published by the All-China Federation of Trade Union (ACFTU) explores the differences between the new generation of migrant workers in China—defined as rural, migrant workers who are 16 years old or older—and their parents’ generation, in terms of their backgrounds, their work-life expectations, and their awareness of labor rights. Read more
June 29, 2010
Conflict Minerals and Supply Chain Scrutiny
Marshall Chase , Associate Director, Advisory Services
Two recent events on opposite sides of the United States will have significant implications for industries ranging from high-tech electronics and aircraft engines to commodities like cans and cutting tools, whose supply chains source minerals like gold and ores containing tantalum, tin, and tungsten. In Washington, D.C., the financial reform legislation passed by a House-Senate conference committee early June 25 included a provision requiring companies to publicly report on their use of so-called “conflict minerals” from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. And in California’s Silicon Valley, the trustees of Stanford University have voted to support shareholder resolutions on the same subject. Read more
June 24, 2010
Rethink Products, Rethink Consumption
Virginia Terry, Former Director, Advisory Services
For decades, creative minds have gathered in the Calvin Klein showroom on New York’s 39th Street to contemplate stylish jeans and trendy underwear. Last week BSR members from consumer products and food companies gathered in the same space for a day dedicated to exploring the new frontier of sustainability: sustainable consumption. Read more
June 23, 2010
Making Supply Chain Guidance Comprehensive—and Comprehensible
Cody Sisco, Former Manager, Advisory Services
Ensuring minimum standards for responsible business conduct within any company is a large undertaking. The challenge of extending those standards to suppliers and sub-tiers of supply chains is complex and evolving, which is one of the reasons this work can be so interesting, frustrating, and rewarding. Read more
June 21, 2010
Your Mission, Should You Accept It: Spend $5
Linda Hwang, Former Manager, Research
At first blush, the setting for BSR’s sustainable consumption workshop last week might seem ironic: The room—Calvin Klein’s New York showroom on 39th Street—featured a disorderly array of clothing racks; boxes of men’s jackets, trousers, and casual shirts; and women’s jeans, handbags, and shoes arranged on a long table. But these props served a more important purpose: With a group of 20 representatives from food, agriculture, apparel, retail, and personal care and beauty companies, we wanted to explore our current system of consumption and the business opportunities to radically change that system. Read more
June 15, 2010
Retailers, Shopping Bags, and Getting Ahead of the “Green Police”
Marshall Chase , Associate Director, Advisory Services
June 15, 2010
BSR’s New Working Group on Supplier Energy Conservation
Ryan Schuchard , Manager, Climate and Energy
The UN Global Compact’s guidance on supply chain sustainability, to be unveiled at the Leaders Summit later this month, is the first of a string of standards that will affect companies aiming to lead on energy conservation with suppliers. Read more
June 10, 2010
Now is the Time for Women and Girls
Racheal Meiers (née Yeager) , Director, HERproject
Everyone is talking about women and girls this week in Washington, D.C.—from Ban Ki-Moon, the White House’s Valerie Jarrett, the State Department’s Melanne Verveer to Arianna Huffington, the former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, and Melinda Gates. Companies are talking too: Coca Cola, Newmont Mining, Exxon Mobile, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Gap, Inc., and Vestergaard Frandsen, among others. Read more
June 9, 2010
Making Your CSR Reporting Accessible and Sophisticated: Lessons from PVH
By Adrienne Cademenos
I’ve been working with Philips Van Heusen (PVH), the apparel company that owns brands like Calvin Klein, Izod, and Tommy Hilfiger, to help launch their second Corporate Social Responsibility Report online this month. PVH is on the crest of a new wave of apparel companies who report on their impacts. No longer an arena reserved for the largest companies like Gap and Nike, smaller companies like Abercrombie, Nordstrom, and Levi Strauss have started adding or significantly enhancing information on sustainability to their websites in recent years. Given heighted transparency expectations from consumers, socially responsible investors (SRIs), and retail customers, we expect to see more apparel companies—of all sizes—reporting. Read more
June 8, 2010
Occupational Health and Safety Challenges in China’s Manufacturing Sector
By Keanu Zhang
Since joining BSR last year, I’ve worked on numerous occupational health and safety programs in China. From my travels all around this extremely large country, I’ve learned that in many factories, occupational diseases that are contacted from chemicals or dust are not widely recognized by workers and employers as significant hazards. However, a recent report on open-chest lung testing of migrant workers has brought significant attention to this issue in China. Read more
June 7, 2010
Growth Potential and Sustainability Challenges in Africa
Racheal Meiers (née Yeager) , Director, HERproject
While on a recent trip to Egypt and Kenya to research employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for women in export-processing zones, Betsy Fargo and I found that both countries are on the verge of expansion in a number of critical industries, creating growth opportunities as well as potential sustainability challenges. Read more
June 3, 2010
Clean Cargo Is Ready to Set Sail: Notes from the Spring Meeting
By Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services and Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services
Transparency was order of the day for more than 30 representatives from member companies at the recent Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) meeting. Carriers (those who move the cargo) and shippers (those who need their cargo moved) came together in Copenhagen for a packed agenda that tackled issues on both sides of the loading dock. Read more
June 1, 2010
Rethinking Reporting in an Era of Systems Redesign
Guy Morgan , Director, Advisory Services
Last week I joined more than 1000 representatives from companies, civil society groups, and government agencies in Amsterdam for the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) biannual conference, “Rethink. Rebuild. Report.” Read more
