The Problem with Palm Oil – Be Part of the Conversation

Did you know that more than 50% of the products on your local grocery store shelf contain palm oil? With the demand for palm oil on the rise, vast tracks of rainforests are being clear cut, significantly adding to the growing global warming threat. In addition to depriving some of the world’s most endangered species of key habitats, tropical deforestation is also pushing the indigenous people of the rainforest from their rightful lands. The situation is dire but with your help, we can change all of this.

You can be part of the conversation.

Join Seventh Generation, Rainforest Action Network and Whole Foods Market to learn more about what they’re doing and what you can do to end the destruction of vital ecosystems.

The panel:

Michael Besancon
Senior Global Vice President of Purchasing, Distribution and Marketing of Whole Foods Market

Jeffrey Hollender
Co-founder, Executive Chairman, and Chief Inspired Protagonist of Seventh Generation

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Director of Rainforest Action Network

Simran Sethi- Moderator
EMMY award-winning environmental journalist

With special guest, Matilda Pilacapio, land owner in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea and a Papuan human rights activist

Attendees will receive a special gift from Seventh Generation. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to Sara Kutchukian at Seventh Generation: snk@seventhgeneration.com or 800.456.1191 ext. 609

If you can’t attend, please register here to be part of the live webcast.

Click here for directions, transportation and parking information at John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse.

Walmart Receives Permit To Build At Wilderness Battlefield

The National Coalition for History

On August 25, the Orange County, Virginia Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant a special permit to Walmart to build a 138,000 sq. ft.“Supercenter” store ¼ mile from the Wilderness Civil War Battlefield. For nearly a year historians and preservationists had opposed granting Walmart permission to build within the historic boundaries of the battlefield.

Despite the vote, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition sent a letter to Walmart CEO Michael Duke urging the company to reconsider and build at an alternate location in Orange County. The Wilderness Battlefield Coalition is a group of national, statewide and local preservation, conservation and civic organizations devoted to preserving the Battlefield. The National Coalition for History is a member of the Wilderness Coalition and was instrumental in organizing opposition to Walmart’s plan among the historical community.

Opponents have argued the Walmart store will draw traffic and more sprawl to the area surrounding the battlefield. The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–6, 1864, was among the most significant engagements of the American Civil War and marked the first time legendary generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant faced off against one another in battle. Nearly 29,000 American soldiers were killed, wounded or captured in the horrendous, two-day struggle.

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via historycoalition.org

“Smart” Banks?

“Bank” used to be one of those oh-so-solid words that made you feel grounded. As in “bank on it” or “you can take it to the bank.” You could count on it.

But since the fall of 2008, the start of the Economic Collapse of the New Millennium, “bank” has taken on new, negative meanings.

“Bank” now stands for loan shark lending, IBG deals (“I’ll Be Gone” after the commission is booked), overleveraged assets, consumer gouging, and Just Plain Stupid business practices.

The wonderful term “zombie banks” has entered the language, describing institutions that are open for business—they look “alive”— but are paralyzed by their failed financial policies.

SustainLink is trying to change our view of all banks as working for the Dark Side by introducing a new phrase: “eco-intelligent banks.” By “eco-intelligent,” SustainLink means those select financial institutions with a commitment to sustainable practices.

A research and score-carding firm, SustainLInk has launched a profiling service that reports on banks and credit unions that are doing good business in a good way. SustainLink reviews banks to evaluate them for their triple bottom line strategies. Only those that qualify as “eco-intelligent” are profiled on SustainLinks’ site.

The first group of these “smart banks” has been chosen. You can see the proud winners at www.sustainlink.net.

And since we’re talking about money, here’s where some financial advantage comes in. SustainLink also connects sustainable improvement to incentives for borrowers, including a lower cost of capital. That means business borrowers may qualify for lower interest rates if they improve in certain areas. Anyone up for some sustainable cheap money?

Estimates are that deposits into “eco-intelligent” banks will increase by 38% during the next year. It makes sense that the smart money will go into smart banks, such as those identified by SustainLink. You can count on it.

Study finds women missing out on agricultural boards

ABC Rural

A new study suggests country women are the silent slaves in rural life.

A report by the Rural Research and Development Corporation has found while women do about half the work on farms and in rural communities, they are not represented on agricultural boards.

The President of Australian Women in Agriculture, Patricia Hamilton, says women are held back by their responsibilities.

“First of all women have a lot of personal constraints, they have their own life cycle and life cycle of the family and the farm,” she says.

“In the past, they’ve been told they can’t go onto boards because they haven’t got the skills and knowledge.”

But the Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says the study doesn’t take into account the changes he’s made in the last 18 months.

He says he’s told the research and development boards that applicants shouldn’t need previous board experience.

“In the 18 months we’ve gone from around 20 per cent mark of female represenation, on the RDCs, Research and Development Corporations, to around 40 per cent women, by insisting on merit based selection.”

via abc.net.au

Why authentic marketing is hard (and how to make it easier)

authentic, adj. = of undisputed origin, genuine; reliable or trustworthy

You hear the advice everywhere these days: Be authentic! Practice authentic marketing!

To be authentic is to be grounded in reality, to be real, to be yourself. If you’re authentic, you really are who you say you are and who others perceive you to be. If you market your business authentically, you represent yourself truthfully, genuinely. This is particularly important in sustainable marketing.

That calls for authenticity circulate through marketing conversations tells me there’s a need; a gap exists between who you are and how you market yourself or your business. Why is that? Why does anyone have to be reminded to “be yourself”? Why is authenticity in marketing so hard to accomplish? What can you do be authentic and practice authentic marketing?

The authenticity gap explained

Click here to continue reading…

via 3blmedia.com

CSR Minute: September 16 2009 – Bank of America’s CSR Plan; Laser Plus’s “Green Plus”; Insight Forum’s Symposium

Corporate Social Responsible News: Bank of America’s CSR Plan; Laser Plus’s “Green Plus” Award; Insight Forum’s Symposium