- Home
- Featured (Page 146)
Featured
Citizen’s Bank of Canada, launched in 1997, operates entirely by telephone, automated tellers and the Internet. Its mission is to be a socially responsible bank. “We are a bank that believes we are, in fact, stewards of the funds we hold,” says their recently released Ethical Policy. “We demonstrate our leadership by being responsible and conscientious about where our money comes from and what we do with it.” The company committed to subject itself to annual third-party audits to ensure compliance with the policy. The bank was formed to take the VanCity (Vancouver City Savings Credit Union) model across Canada. VanCity is one of the best known financial institutions in Western Canada and the largest credit union in Canada. Its operating belief is that it isn’t just possible to “do good while doing well”, it makes excellent business sense to do so. Citizens is the only Canadian bank that bases its investment decisions on an Ethical Policy. The policy was developed through consultation with Citizens Bank members, employees, and non-profit organizations working for positive social change. The bank does not invest in or do business with companies that violate human or animal rights, produce nuclear energy or tobacco products, harm […]
Read More
The release of the UN Environment Programme report on the state of the planet, Global Environment Outlook 2000, received massive European coverage as the lead story in all the broadcast news and current affairs media. The book presents a region-by-region analysis of the state of the world’s environment; it highlights key global concerns and makes recommendations for policy action. UN agencies, 850 individuals and more than 30 environmental institutes contributed to the book. In essence, UNEP concludes, “The global system of environmental policy and management is moving in the right direction but much too slowly. Postponing action to solve global environmental problems is no longer an option, and time is running out fast.” GEO-2000’s recommendations emphasize that the environment must be integrated into peoples’ daily lives. “The environment remains largely outside the mainstream of everyday human consciousness and is still considered an add-on to the fabric of life. Integration of environmental thinking into the mainstream of decision-making relating to agriculture, trade, investment, research and development, infrastructure and finance is now the best chance for effective action.” They point a number of environmental accomplishments, including: – protection and recovery of the ozone layer – first international steps on climate change – […]
Read More
In one of the most significant U.S. government land conservation actions in history, President Clinton announced steps to permanently preserve 40 million acres of national forest. He said, “National forests are more than a source of timber. They are places of renewal of the human spirit and our natural environment.” The plan can go forward without congressional action, as it relies only on regulations to be developed by the U.S. Forest Service with public approval. He also directed the Forest Service to determine whether an additional undeveloped 15 million acres should be protected. The proposal, under immediate Republican attack, designates 20 percent of national forests as wilderness, preventing road-building in two-thirds of remaining undeveloped forests. Only Jimmy Carter who preserved 103 million acres in Alaska and Teddy Roosevelt, who created five national parks and 120 million acres in national forests, safeguarded larger tracts of land. Road-building, the precursor to extractive activities, is presently prohibited in a mere 18 percent of the 192 million acre national forest system. “This initiative should have almost no effect on timber supply,” Clinton explained. “Only five percent of our country’s timber comes from national forests and less than five percent of this timber is being […]
Read More
In a ground-breaking agreement among a broad coalition of stakeholders, Great Britain adopted a national forest certification standard, the UK Woodlands Assurance Scheme. The Forestry Commission is implementing the new national standard this year, certifying its entire 800,000 hectares. The scheme is congruent with, and based on, international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards and all timber taken from certified UK forests will be permitted to carry the FSC label. With this move, the volume of UK timber carrying the FSC label is expected to jump from 1 percent to 75 percent of total national timber production – the highest percentage of FSC-certified timber of any country in the world. According to Hannah Scrase, policy director for FSC in Great Britain, “Signing this document is an immense achievement. All the interested parties have worked very hard over the last 18 months to see things from one another’s point of view. Every group has had to make compromises along the way, but this has not resulted in a weak or ineffective standard.” FSC-UK: fsc-uk@fsc-uk.demon.co.uk [sorry this link is no longer available] FROM Understory
Read More
Schumacher College, based in southwest England, runs short residential courses attended by people from all over the world, from all ages and backgrounds. The courses offer an opportunity to learn from leading activists, thinkers and writers, and to network with the international participant group, to share ideas and work for a sustainable future. Thanks to the Educational Foundation of America, U.S. citizens may receive scholarships for these courses: October 10-29. Global Power, Local Promise: Justice and Sustainability in a Global Economy Teachers: Vandana Shiva, Mathis Wackernagel, Wolfgang Sachs November 7-26. A Sense of Wilderness Teachers: David Brower, Val Plumwood, Ian Player January 9-28, 2000. Complexity, Chaos, & Creativity Teachers: Ian Stewart, David Peat, Brian Goodwin Visit the Schumacher College website for more information and an application form.
Read More
Associated with the July 2000 International Society for Ecological Economics conference (in Australia) is a 12-month electronic conference, which you can sign up for now. It is especially aimed at business people involved in strategic planning, business development, product development, R&D and training who wish to participate in creating an ecologically sustainable economy through the redesign of commerce. Greenleaf Publishing (UK) will be publishing a book on the subject of Business, economy and sustainability and material presented during the conference may be included. Learn about the ISEE Online Conference. Find out about the physical conference: [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
It’s the old 80/20 rule businesspeople know well; 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your clients or products. This time the Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund have discovered its relationship to fossil fuel pollution. Their report “Kingpins of Carbon: How Fossil Fuel Producers Contribute to Global Warming” exposes how only 122 companies are responsible for nearly 80 percent of fossil-fuel carbon pollution. http://www.nrdc.org
Read More
A recent two-year study adds to the growing literature that shows a positive relationship between environmental performance and company shareholder value. Results indicate that going beyond compliance and developing environmental products enhance earnings per share and profitability. Deutsche Bank, Electrolux, Gerling, ICI, Monsanto, Unilever, and Volvo participated in the study as part of a consortium researching the topic. The authors of the resulting report note that, on the positive side, companies that emphasize environmental performance are more likely to win contracts and investor approval. On the other hand, institutional investors are increasingly wary of companies that ignore or downplay environmental concerns. Participants agree the importance of sustainability will only increase, and may be the “number one issue 15-20 years from now, if not sooner.” Respondents rated “transparency” as a crucial concept in sustainability efforts. For a copy of “Sustainable Strategies for Value Creation,” contact The Performance Group FROM The Green Business Letter
Read More
Put Environmental Defense Fund research to use; using the Freedom of Information Act, they obtained unpublicized government information about local levels of air pollution. This information is available to you by using their new calculator, the Pollution Locator. Also on the EDF website, you can determine how much your vehicle pollutes.
Read More
How do you “fill-up” your alternative fueled vehicle when you’re away from home? Now, if you’re driving cross-country or to a nearby region, you can use the online U.S. DOE Refueling Station Locator. It helps drivers find stations that offer ethanol and methanol blends, electricity, propane and natural gas. Drivers can search by a specific address, city, state or region. Users can “zoom in or out” to view surrounding areas and streets and print the maps as needed. The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center has produced a handy report that answers the most common questions for fleet managers and others interested in alternative fuels. Using brief cases of Northwest companies and agencies that use such vehicles, it describes the performance, cost, and other factors associated with their use. The fuels covered are: compressed and liquefied natural gas, propane, methanol, ethanol, electricity, fuel cells, hydrogen, and biodiesel. DOE Refueling Station Locator Download the PPRC report, “Alternative Fuels for Fleet Vehicles”
Read More
Loading...