COVID-19 Exposes Supply Chain Vulnerabilities that Cause Food Insecurity

The cornavirus pandemic has highlighted supply chain weaknesses that are causing food shortages. As explained in an FAO report, the global pandemic is threatening supply lines leading to concerns about food insecurity. "A protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more," the report said. In a March paper the U.N. Committee on World Food Security (CFS) warned that Covid-19 will cause heightened instability in global food supply. The pandemic also prompted the Food and Land Use Coalition to issue a call to action for world leaders over what they describe as a humanitarian crisis requiring urgent coordinated action.

Certificate in CSR/Sustainability

If you are interested in a meaningful career you may want to think about applying to the Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/Sustainability. In this "work as you learn" program you will gain core competencies for CSR/Sustainability and direct experience in a work based Capstone Project in the field. This program helps you to take your career in CSR and Sustainability to the next level.

Event - Goodness Matters Benevity Conference

The Goodness Matters annual Benevity conference will take place on February 6 - 8, 2018 in Palm Springs, California.  The occassion also marks Benevity's tenth anniversary.  At GM2018 corporate giving professionals will gather in sunny Palm Springs to learn and participate in discussions that will augur the next era of corporate goodness. From insightful talks to client showcases, product previews to fun networking opportunities.

Cause Marketing Complimentary Webinars

Here are two complimentary cause marketing webinars, one for business and the other for non-profits. These two webinars will take place on on November 21, 2013, they will be conduced by For Momentum's Mollye Rhea. They're full of great material including lots of real-life examples and relevant, useful tips. Participants will learn about which programs are generating major business and cause benefits -- and why. They will also discover what kind of civic engagement today's consumers expect from companies and how to leverage cause marketing to move a company or cause forward.

Event - 2013 Cause Marketing Forum

The 2013 Cause Marketing Forum (CMF) will take place on May 29-30, 2013 in Chicago. If you're like most cause marketers, partnerships are critical. You can prioritize these essential relationships by registering to attend the industry's most important conference: the 2013 Cause Marketing Forum - the only conference where you will find an exclusive focus on company/cause partnerships.

3 More Reasons to Attend

1) Your colleagues are attending making this a prime networking opportunity.

Enter the 2013 Annual Ethical Corporation Awards

The entry deadline for the Fourth Annual Ethical Corporation Awards is on March 21st. These awards are global and open to all types of organisations. They recognize CSR best practice and celebrate responsible business excellence in the world of corporate sustainability.

Project Management of Corporate Sustainability; Implementation Perspectives (White paper)

Whilst there is general agreement that CSR is founded on the three broad aspects of Social (People), Economic (Profit) and Environmental (Planet), the often referenced “Triple Bottom Line”, each of those aspects must be contextualized within the frame of reference of the particular organization or domain it is applied to. Consequently, the actual implementation of corporate sustainability with appropriate tools and processes is as varied (and underutilized) as the domains to which it is applied.

The aim of this paper is to examine the fundamental requirements that such tools and processes need to address and establish a set of implementation perspectives common to the majority of domains, setting a foundation for a framework that may be used across multiple domains and within organizations for multiple project types.

Call to Service: Teaching Sustainability at Business Schools

Business schools have a critical role to play in helping students to see why and how they must reign in GHGs and scrutinize business activities with sustainability in mind. Ideally business people should come out of business school with a sense of their emerging societal and environmental responsibilities.

In a February 9, 2012, message, Business School Lausanne (BSL) Dean-Katrin Muff makes the point that we need a radically new vision of business schools that can best be described as a "call to service: To educate citizens to act responsibly for the world."

Here is a review of the major definitions in Dean Katrin Muff's conception of how business schools can communicate the call of service to their students:

COMMIT!Forum 2012 (Event)

On October 2 - 3, 2012, COMMIT!Forum 2012 will take place in New York City. Make commitments that change the world and benefit your brand. There will also be a bebate on the question of whether Sarbanes-Oxley and other corporate disclosure mandates do more harm than good. Participants can also understand how companies make CR Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List.

Top 12 Green Private Equity Firms

Green private equity is a vital funding mechanism that helps entrepreneurs secure sustainable venture capital. Green private equity firms supply venture capital to companies that are focused on sustainability. Private equity is capital that is not quoted on a public exchange. It consists of investors and funds that make investments directly into private companies or conduct buyouts of public companies that result in a delisting of public equity. Capital for private equity is raised from retail and institutional investors, and can be used to fund new technologies, expand working capital within an owned company, make acquisitions, or to strengthen a balance sheet.

The 10 Greatest Social Entrepreneurs of All Time

While it is admirable to build a successful business of any kind, some entrepreneurs do more than just make a profit with the fruits of their labor. Some actually help others, bringing resources, opportunities, training, and other assets to those who need them most. These social entrepreneurs use their know-how and business savvy to make the world a better place, combining a traditional business model with a pressing social mission in ways that have been helping to make big changes in places around the world for decades. Here, we highlight just a few of the standout social entrepreneurs who're showing that successful businesses don't have to just watch the bottom line and can truly be socially and environmentally conscious.

Canada's Clean 50 from Delta Management Group

The Clean50 list was compiled by Delta Management Group. In order to ensure that The Clean50 embraced all sectors, a total of 16 categories were constructed and then at least two people were recognized in each category, based primarily on their impact within the last two years.  Delta Management Group is a twenty year old boutique search firm with a growing practice in clean tech, corporate social responsibility and sustainability professionals. Formed in 1992, Delta has a long track record of building exceptional teams, and working closely with management and stakeholders on a long-term basis as a trusted advisor and true business partner.

Canada's Green Provincial Report Card

As reported in the Miratel blog here is the third bi-annual Green Provincial Report Card published by Corporate Knights. Corporate Knights “is a media, research and financial products company focused on quantifying and animating clean capitalism drivers for decision makers.” The criteria they used for the 2012 Green Provincial Report Card was: air and climate, water, nature, transportation, waste, energy and buildings, and innovation. In addition to these seven categories, they reviewed some 35 indicators to help analyze the environmental performance of each province and territory.

Best CSR Business Rankings from Miratel Blog

Miratel blog has published an impressive number of posts on corporate social responsibility (CSR) including a series of lists that rank the best companies in Canada and the world. Here is a brief summary of some of the rankings published in the Miratel blog in 2012.

Top Canadian Corporate Citizens (2012)

Here is the eleventh annual Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada in 2012 as reviewed by the Miratel blog. The list was compiled and published by Corporate Knights. Corporate Knights “is a media, research and financial products company focused on quantifying and animating clean capitalism drivers for decision makers.” Corporate Knights is a source of objective, data-driven ‘clean capitalism’ ratings for over 2000 companies globally.”

There is growing recognition among the country’s biggest companies that business-as-usual isn’t a sustainable option over the long term” Tyler Hamilton, Editor-In-Chief Corporate Knights.

Responsible Business Summit USA (Event)

Over 150 corporate executives will gather in New York on June 28 – 29 to discuss how to revamp and re-focus CSR and sustainability. This will include corporate vice-presidents from companies such as; Timberland, GAP, Life Technologies Corp, AT&T, HP, Mars Inc, ABB NAM, Fedex. They will address how to embed CSR into core business functions and gain competitive edge from sustainability at the Responsible Business Summit USA . All sessions will highlight how CSR is used to generate business value, enhance reputation and meet corporate citizenship demands.

Sustainable Supply Chain Data Book

Environmental Leader has released a new Sustainable Supply Chain Data Book, supplying busy executives and research teams with a collection of charts presenting environmental, sustainability and energy-related logistics and supply chain data. Data topics include packaging & recycling, strategy, emissions & policy, vehicles and fuel and consumers. The sponsor for this research is UPS. Click here to download the free white paper.

CSR Standards Reduce Risk

As reported in an Environmental Leader article, Adopting CSR Standards ‘Helps Companies Reduce Risk of Failure. ’ According to Avril Cole, an attorney with Norton Rose Canada, adopting CSR standards could help companies with operations in emerging economies reduce their risk of failure, Corporate Underwriter reports.

Tim Mohin's Top 10 CSR Trends for 2012

As reviewed in an article by Tim Mohin, director of corporate responsibility for Advanced Micro Devices and author of the forthcoming book Changing Business From the Inside Out: The Treehugger’s Guide to Working in Corporations, here are the top 10 CSR trends to watch for in the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Video: Sustainable Supply Chain Course IOM 599

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the sustainability challenges and opportunities facing supply chains today. The course looks at some of the factors that are contributing to the adoption of sustainability strategies, such as legislations that are penalizing negative environmental and social impacts, and society's expectations of business in terms of health, human rights, and the environment.