Blogs & Ecology

The 116 banks receiving emergency bailout funds from the government doled out some $1.6 billion in executive compensation in 2007, even as these corporate leaders led their companies and the US financial system over the brink. The same is seen at multinational US automakers, where GM CEO Waggoner's salary was bumped up 64% to $15.7 million even as the company progressed to the verge of bankruptcy.

Greetings from the tropical hinterlands! I’m updating you on all the best green business this week from Honolulu, where I’m visiting my family for the holidays. I’m a bit late with my wrap up, but I, personally, feel that my proximity to the international date line is totally reasonable justification. I might actually be early. I’ll leave you puzzling over that one while we get right to it!

They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. A child, like an idea, must be nurtured by many people working together for a common cause. So too must socially responsible companies join together if we are to achieve our common goal of a socially responsible, environmentally stable world.

In July of this year, Seventh Generation released its 2007 Corporate Consciousness Report, a wrap up of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Named the Number One Best Company on Earth by the Better World Shopping Guide, the Corporate Consciousness Report discloses where they are on the “journey of sustainability” and how their employees and stakeholders are getting them there.

In July of this year, Seventh Generation released its 2007 Corporate Consciousness Report, a wrap up of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Named the Number One Best Company on Earth by the Better World Shopping Guide, the Corporate Consciousness Report discloses where they are on the “journey of sustainability” and how their employees and stakeholders are getting them there.

The United Nations has designated today, Dec. 5, International Volunteer Day, and while financial turmoil and recession news is dampening holiday spirits and people's aspirations, there are corporate leaders out there who recognize that in times like these civic minded actions and giving back to the communities that empower and support them is more critical than ever.

Wal-Mart: Bullying for the Greater Good? GreenBiz has some great analysis on whether conglomerates can be a net positive for the environmental movement. If I give Wal-Mart my lunch money, do I get some watershed restoration in return? Read on to find out!

Apologies for the delay in delivering this weekly wrap up! I am still recovering from my Tryptophan haze.
This was a big week in sustainable business news! Read on for the biggest stories:

UPS announced this month it will deploy a new combination scanner and paperless printing device developed by HP that will print millions of sorting labels directly on packages, helping Brown make further inroads on greening their operations by slashing its consumption of paper while reducing costs at the same time.

Called the HP Handheld sp400 all-in-one (kinda rolls off the tongue) The innovative device offers UPS a win-win situation by increasing efficiency and reducing waste.

It is one thing to start a green by design eco-fashion company, and an entirely different thing to direct a ~$16B clothing retailer that employs 150,000 people to reduce its environmental impact and operate more sustainably. This is exactly the job of Kindley Walsh-Lawlor, Gap Inc’s Senior Director of Social Responsibility and Environmental Affairs. I got the chance to discuss with Kindley how she landed where she is, what Gap Inc’s brands (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic) are doing to “go green”, and the ins and outs of retail corporate social responsibility (CSR). Gap Inc is a social responsibility leader, having spent 12 years working on ethical sourcing and human rights.

by Karen Losee

Next time you visit your local Starbuck's coffee house make sure the water isn't running. Starbuck's recently suffered a major public relations nightmare when it was revealed that the coffee giant's policy of leaving the water running in the dipper sinks added up to over 6 million gallons of freshwater per day going down the drain.

Top 8 Cheap Greens
No round up this week would be complete without some discussion of the ways to go green and save money at the same time. Luckily, a lot of sustainable options are also easy on the wallet. Going green can even save a company money, if you know how to do it! Or so I reminded my boss when the layoff rumors started this week.

It seems that the word “sustainable,” or variants thereof, is never far away these days. It's been on the minds and lips of scientists, environmentalists, environmentally conscious politicians, policy advocates and “green” public relations agencies for many years now.

Will Obama Bring Boom Times to the Sustainability Industry?
The good news, I think, is that those taking a strong position on sustainability and clean technology stood to prosper regardless of who won last Tuesday. The better news, as many of us expected, is that an Obama white house should accelerate things even more, bringing us a "tremendous ramp-up in energy efficiency" and much more...

Will Obama Bring Boom Times to the Sustainability Industry?
The good news, I think, is that those taking a strong position on sustainability and clean technology stood to prosper regardless of who won last Tuesday. The better news, as many of us expected, is that an Obama white house should accelerate things even more, bringing us a "tremendous ramp-up in energy efficiency" and much more...