I recently did an interview with Corporate Eye, and they've now published the result - a six part audio interview - on their site. I've already had lots of kind feedback about it - thanks to all.
Posted on: 13 Jan 2012 - Read full post
In the UK, political parties of all hues are rattling their sabres and talking tough on legislating to make businesses behave more responsibly. The latest salvo has just been fired by Labour, calling for 'responsible and better capitalism'.
Posted on: 9 Jan 2012 - Read full post
(1 comment)
flickr/whltravel
Coca-Cola has been forced to defend itself against claims that its presence in Swaziland is "propping up" a notorious dictator and has been urged to pull out of the country immediately.
Posted on: 4 Jan 2012 - Read full post
(4 comments)
H&M
H&M have just attracted criticism for the use of virtual models to demonstrate their clothes. It's just the most recent of a series of such stories, and it shows how society is grappling with the implications of technology and trying to work out what is - or is not - acceptable.
Posted on: 2 Jan 2012 - Read full post
Enron's board
We have the recent report highlighting the failures at Royal Bank of Scotland which talked about how the board gave too little challenge, particularly to the disastrous ABN Amro takeover.
Posted on: 13 Dec 2011 - Read full post
It's a heck of a question - because we don't even know if GOOD leadership could deliver sustainability. But it's a relevant question because good leadership seems as far away as ever.
Posted on: 6 Dec 2011 - Read full post
ASH Australia
Philip Morris International is suing the Australian government over tobacco laws that force the sale of cigarettes in plain packaging, rather than bright branded packets. There is no doubt that the suggestion that a government can interrupt a company's ability to brand its products is a pretty radical, intrusive principle.
Posted on: 21 Nov 2011 - Read full post
(2 comments)
In the UK, Parliamentarians are discussing fuel duty today. A large number of Conservative MPs are arguing that it should not be increased as scheduled. Further increases will impact on the economy, goes the argument. And in support of this case, they cite the fact that over the last year the amount of fuel consumed in the UK has gone down as people make fewer car journeys.
Posted on: 15 Nov 2011 - Read full post
Well, there's a thing. Four years ago, Wal-Mart found itself blocked when it tried to get a banking charter that would have enabled it to compete with the big banks. The company's reputation was too shark-like. Everyone feared that it would wade in, and use its muscle to make life hell for all those lovely people who gave banking services.
Posted on: 8 Nov 2011 - Read full post
(3 comments)
BP has been embarrassed by the revelation that when it undertook major deals in Russia it fully understood that it was dealing with 'crooks and thugs'.
Posted on: 7 Nov 2011 - Read full post
(1 comment)
Over ten years ago, I first put a page on my website giving my definition of corporate social responsibility. At that time, there weren't too many such definitions out there. It's still there, and the definition hasn't changed.
Posted on: 31 Oct 2011 - Read full post
(2 comments)
I am always surprised by how many people seem intuitively to believe that the move towards more sustainable products will be brought about by consumers demanding them. When such people try to sell the business case to companies, it usually consists of graphs showing what percentage of customers say they would prefer to buy sustainably.
Posted on: 20 Oct 2011 - Read full post
(1 comment)
It wasn't that long ago that the launch of the Nano - the cheapest car in the world - had environmentalists in a froth of rage. The car would recklessly encourage millions upon millions of Indians to clog the roads with their new cars. Suddenly, India's contributions to global carbon emissions would balloon almost overnight. Interestingly, that's a long way from what actually happened.
Posted on: 10 Oct 2011 - Read full post
(3 comments)
According to the Energy Saving Trust, "obsession with gadgets" in the typical household is undermining our hopes of achieving a cut in domestic electricity emissions by 34 percent by 2020. Extra large fridges and enormous plasma screen TVs are amongst the key culprits.
Posted on: 3 Oct 2011 - Read full post
(2 comments)
Hugo Boss does not have a happy past. Hugo Ferdinand Boss joined the Nazi party in 1931, and orders for uniforms for the party - presumably including the now-infamous swastika - saved it from going bankrupt. During the war, the factory used forced labourers and French prisoners of war for a while.
Posted on: 29 Sep 2011 - Read full post
(3 comments)
Facebook has officially formed a political action committee to enable the company to donate money to political candidates. This is considered to be normal, and some say that it's an obvious step. One Gartner analyst was quoted by the Financial Times as saying "It's reflective of a change in Silicon Valley, which now sees Washington as a place that they have to be engaged in."
Posted on: 28 Sep 2011 - Read full post
iStockPhoto.com
The last day or so has seen a little mini-rash of marketing-gotcha stories. It's worth noting these sometimes, because there is a popular belief that marketers are all-powerful, able to manipulate customers into doing what they want all of the time.
Posted on: 7 Sep 2011 - Read full post
I was never a huge fan of the rush by a number of companies to adopt the target of 'carbon neutrality'. It seemed to me that genuinely aiming for zero impact was a hugely ambitious, potentially impossible, target. And here it was being lightly promised as though it could be achieved on the cheap.
Posted on: 6 Sep 2011 - Read full post
(2 comments)
Apple
In the last couple of days, Apple has been reminded that one of the prices for its 'industry giant' status (as opposed to the 'plucky outsider' status it had for so long) is that every campaign group going will take regular pot shots at it.
Posted on: 1 Sep 2011 - Read full post
(6 comments)
GRI
The Global Reporting Initiative recently produced its latest sustainability report. For me, it highlights the dilemma for a small catalyst organisation that might reasonably be expected to practice what you preach.
Posted on: 22 Aug 2011 - Read full post
(7 comments)