Blog Archives: January 2012
January 31, 2012
Where BSR Will Be in February
By Anisha Malhotra, Communications Intern
Here’s a roundup of where BSR staff will be and the events we will be hosting this month: Read more
January 27, 2012
Letter to the New York Times From BSR
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Earlier this week, BSR asked the New York Times to correct inaccurate and misleading information in the story that ran on January 26, 2012 entitled “In China, the Human Costs That Are Built Into an iPad.” Here we present our letter to the editor that we submitted following publication of the article, as well as the main points we made to the New York Times in a letter sent on January 17, prior to publication. While some changes were made to the story, we believe that several important inaccuracies and misleading information remained in the story that was published on January 26. Read more
January 26, 2012
The Relationship Between Consumers and Business is Changing From the Bottom Up
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
When most people think of Davos, it is highly unlikely that the image that comes to mind is senior business executives and NGO leaders on the floor building models from materials that can be found in an average pharmacy. But that was exactly the scene Wednesday afternoon during the workshop I ran entitled "Consumers as Innovators." Read more
January 25, 2012
Davos 2012: The Bottom-Up Transformation
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Media coverage of Davos often focuses on the “boldface names,” the CEOs, prime ministers, and globally recognized artists who help to make the annual meeting a worldwide phenomenon. And while their presence in Davos is, without doubt, one of the things that makes this event so unique, it actually obscures another aspect of Davos that tells us a great deal about how the world is changing from the bottom up. Read more
January 25, 2012
I’d Love to Change the World, But I Don’t Know What to Do
Steve McCoy-Thompson , Director of Operations
Note: This is the second in our series on sustainability and organizational structure. Read the first blog here. Read more
January 24, 2012
Davos 2012: Easy Decisions, Hard Decisions
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Davos 2012 opens against the backdrop of some pretty ominous numbers. European debt figures are high, and projections for growth in the mature economies are low. Income equality is declining in emerging markets like China and in the home of the 99 percent, the United States. 2011 was yet another year of record-setting warmth, with more summer melting in the Arctic. And this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer reports poor levels of trust, with faith in government tumbling to all-time lows in the West. Read more
January 24, 2012
Conflict Minerals and Local Development Concerns
Marshall Chase , Associate Director, Advisory Services
Note: This is the second of three blogs highlighting the critical issues that risk getting lost in the rush to implement due diligence on conflict minerals. Our first blog discussed the local impacts of supply chain policies, and the next will explore the connection with global responsible sourcing issues. Read more
January 20, 2012
Conflict Minerals: The Impacts of the Regulations
Marshall Chase , Associate Director, Advisory Services
Once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues its final conflict minerals reporting regulations—due soon—we expect many companies to focus on the due diligence required to ensure “conflict-free” products. But a narrow focus on the rules neglects a point BSR has regularly emphasized in our years working on conflict minerals: Companies must take action with a real understanding of how that activity will affect local communities, and how it will fit into global supply chain sustainability trends. Read more
January 17, 2012
Here’s Looking at You, Hollywood
Cody Sisco, Former Manager, Advisory Services
A strange and wonderful thing happened on the way to the Golden Globes this year. Both on the carpet and online, a bit of “green” began to sprout through the red carpet. And with it, high fashion, television and movie production, and celebrities took one small step toward sustainability. Read more
January 16, 2012
China Takes on Labor Disputes With New Regulations
Jason Ho , Manager, Advisory Services & CTI
With ongoing and increasing labor disputes between workers and enterprises in China, the Chinese government has released new regulations on consultation and mediation for labor disputes in business. The hope is that these new regulations will help improve the timeliness and effectiveness of resolving labor disputes as civil courts and arbitration committees have been overwhelmed with labor cases. Read more
January 5, 2012
Is the CSO Trapped by Location?
Steve McCoy-Thompson , Director of Operations
To help companies grapple with the question of location and structure of the corporate responsibility office (and its equivalents), BSR is launching a short series of blogs on organizational design and internal branding issues associated with CSR. In the process, we will address deeper issues of corporate strategy and development, as well as where sustainability best fits with respect to compliance, planning, reporting, and the bottom line. Read more
January 1, 2012
Where BSR Will Be in January
Anisha Malhotra, Communications Intern
As we jump into a new year, here is a roundup of where our global staff will be this month. We hope to see you there! Read more
