Gold’s Dark Side | 3BL Media

Investors are hoarding it to hedge against the dollar’s weakness. Consumers are buying it up in ever increasing volumes. Gold seemingly adds up to big opportunities wherever you look, with US gold jewelry sales representing a growing $17 billion market and China gold jewelry sales reaching nearly 260 billion yuan in 2009. But the fact is that this precious metal has a dark side, too. As gold’s prestige and value increases, so do the implications of the trade itself.

“Most consumers don’t know where the gold in their products comes from, or how it is mined,” says NoDirtyGold.org, a group that encourages retailers to cease carrying gold that comes from illegal sources.  “Gold mining is a dirty industry: it can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments.”

Dirty gold is no marginal issue. According to a recent 60 Minutes report, dirty gold mining is rather pervasive, and is also responsible for “the deadliest war since WWII.” Five million people have reportedly died in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a war primarily funded by gold mined in the country by warlords, and then smuggled out to be sold in retail stores around the world. Could that bracelet you just bought at Wal-Mart have come from illegal gold originated in Congo? According to 60 Minute’s findings, it is a vague possibility.

As part of an in-depth investigative research process, 60 Minutes talked to some of the Nation’s premier gold retailers in order to determine which companies could trace their gold back to a particular mine. One retailer, Tiffany & Co., said it could trace nearly all of its gold back to a particular mine in Utah. On the other hand, Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest purveyor of gold, was far less certain about the origin of its products. The company said it plans to trace the source of 10 percent of its gold products by 2010. But given the scope of the tragedy in Congo, critics say Wal-Mart’s plan leaves much to be desired.

“Wal-Mart has moved so dramatically and impressively on its sustainability initiatives, that it’s surprising, and disappointing, to see them moving so tentatively on dirty gold,” says Gil Friend, author of The Truth About Green Business and CEO of sustainability consulting firm Natural Logic. “Their goal is too low, and their pace is too slow.”

As Friend and 60 Minutes point out, if Wal-Mart were to demand traceability all the way back to the mine on all the gold that it sells, it could have tremendous commercial implications for the industry – not to mention help put an end to a tragic war. In appreciation of this fact, Wal-Mart just signed on to support NoDirtyGold’s “Golden Rules” of gold mining, along with retailers Kmart, JCPenny, Blue Nile, Van Cleef & Arpels and many others.

Grassroots campaign support is at least an optimistic sign. It represents a first step toward ethical gold sourcing and sends a message to the market that will hopefully help to kick off a process of purging illegal gold from the global supply chain. But as gold industry insiders point out, in order to successfully shift to a socially just and truly sustainable industry “gold standard,” there is still quite a distance to travel and also, systemic issues to explore. For instance, to what extent are communities around the world affected by gold mining? And what about the industry’s overall ecological footprint?

“Customers need to understand that the environmental impact of gold mining in our own country is quite devastating, even though the US is a developed country with strong environmental policies,” says Meghan Connolly Haupt, founder of San Franciso-based sustainable fine jewelry company C5. “The largest mine on earth is actually in Utah and measures 2.5 miles wide and one mile deep. It is visible from outer space. This is an important piece of information for consumers because it helps shatter the perception that the issues associated with mining are exclusive to developing countries.”

Haupt explains that no matter where it occurs, gold mining is associated with the destruction of habitats and volumes of waste. One gold ring results in more than 30 tons of mine waste, she says. And that’s a quantity that continues to go almost completely unchecked. Where are the industry standards and safeguards?
 
“The industry as a whole has operated in almost the same way for many decades with little regard for the environmental and social impact,” says Haupt. “Lack of customer demand is often quoted as the reason the industry has been slow to change. But mining is a global industry and there are no universally accepted standards or industry certifications at this time. Those companies with the resources to devote to promoting change are often those that are the most stifled by existing operations.”

Perhaps that’s why large retailers lag behind pure-play, sustainable jewelers like C5 in terms of sustainable performance. In C5’s case, the supply chain is miniscule by comparison, so clearly there is a built-in advantage. Innovative, sensible and sensitive methodologies are a lot easier to implement and achieve.

Haupt crafts jewelry made with either recycled or fair-trade metal, using processes with minimal social and environmental impact. As her company reminds consumers, every piece of jewelry purchased from C5 versus a mainstream jeweler is one less that contributes to pollution, destruction of habitats, forced labor, displacement of communities and other negative impacts.

“I started C5 company to help create a systemic change in the jewelry sector,” says Haupt. “By leading the sustainable jewelry movement, we are helping to raise the standard of business, which translates into positive economic development in some of the world’s most impoverished countries.”

C5 is just now launching its first two collections of finished jewelry, and according to Haupt the company will be expanding those lines in 2010. Though as a start-up C5’s financial future is somewhat uncertain, its value proposition is abundantly clear. Talk about your statement pieces.

 

Follow Christine on Twitter

Can Ethanol Crank Up Your Cocktail Glass? | 3BL Media

According to a Daily Science report, an Iowa State University assistant professor wants to use fuel ethanol—and solid phase microextraction technology—to rev up your cocktail hour. 

Well, let’s just say I’m skeptical. Not about the process, or about the idea of finding other uses for a sustainable fuel like ethanol. It’s the taste that worries me.

Once at a party, someone offered me a shot of Jägermeister. I though it tasted like gasoline, but I saw plenty of people enjoying it. And by enjoying it, I mean doing shots. I don’t think Jägermeister is really a sippin’ kind of drink. Anyway, I imagine ethanol-vodka would taste about as good as Jägermeister, too. 

But ethanol is made from corn, and I like corn, especially when it’s wrapped around a dog, so I decided to investigate a little further.

And it’s true. Jacek Koziel, an Iowa State assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is currently leading a research project attempting to turn fuel ethanol into food-grade ethanol alcohol. 

By refining two complementary technologies, Kozeil and his team have found a way to efficiently purify and remove bad-tasting compounds from fuel ethanol. 

This would be an economic plus for Iowa, since the state has fuel ethanol to spare. In fact, Iowa has 25 plants capable of producing 1.5 billion gallons of the fuel per year, according to the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. That makes Iowa the leading producer of ethanol in the United States.

Koziel and partner Hans van Leeuwen, vice president of MellO3z, are working to expand the ethanol purifying technology. The microextraction filtering process would allow for the manufacture of not only distilled spirits like vodka, but also other household items like cough syrup and mouthwash. The duo has received a $79,900 grant from the state’s Grow Iowa Values Fund, to help with research costs.

Creating ethanol fuel and distilling drinkable alcohol are similar processes. The only exception is that alcohol used for fuel is made with less care and attention to purity than that made for human consumption. There are multiple distillations required to make consumer–grade alcohol, and this can raise cost by as much as 50 cents per gallon.

“If this is viable,” Koziel said, “we are looking at adding a lot of value to relatively cheap fuel-grade ethanol.”

But don’t start thinking about topping off your cocktail shaker at the gas pump just yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done before you can splash some ethanol into your vodka-tonic. 

And while it’s true that actually consuming corn is a novel idea lately, I hope for our sakes that Koziel and crew are hard at work on the most important part of the ethanol-liquor connection… the taste.

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

GREENOP3943

Executive Giving at Goldman Sachs | 3BL Media

According to the New York Times, “As it prepares to pay out big bonuses to employees, Goldman Sachs is considering expanding a program that would require executives and top managers to give a certain percentage of their earnings to charity.”

 The New York Times article says that for their work in 2008, 953 Goldman employees were paid more than $1 million each. The average annual income of Goldman Sachs employees is reported to be $595,000 (U.S.) and the company has good reason to believe that such high salaries simply aren’t acceptable to the public today.

An editorial in today’s Globe and Mail titled “Charity begins from pay“, states “It is unfortunate that Goldman Sachs feels it must set a mandatory standard for its highest earners. But if that is what it takes to have people fulfill their responsibilities to society, it is a message that should be heard around the world.”

I agree that it’s unfortunate that this needs to be mandated. I also think that employees who voluntarily agree to either reducing their salaries or contributing to charity should be recognized in some meaningful way.

The overarching question is: will this initiative change the public’s perception of Goldman Sachs? I think earning the public’s support will take much more than charitable donations from top earners. While it’s a good start, this is a company in urgent need of a compelling social purpose.

This company (along with its competitors) has helped to create the culture of “stock market capitalism” that fed ultimately resulted in a global financial crisis of unprecedented proportions.

The bigger opportunity, perhaps responsibility, is for Goldman Sachs to rewrite the rule book to establish the social and financial value of who it is and what it does.

Today, ROI signifies return on integrity as much as return on investment,

“Body Count From Goldman Actions Crosses Into Criminal Territory” (naked capitalism, 12/23/09)

Fed Used Lawyer that Advised Goldman on AIG (Non) Disclosures (naked capitalism, 1/8/10)

Read more on Goldman Sachs Group at Wikinvest

 

Finland’s Famous Cathedral Goes Green Underground | 3BL Media

Overlooking the beautiful Helsinki hillside there sits Uspenski Cathedral, one of Finland’s most popular tourist attractions. Besides being an amazing example of the Eastern Orthodox Church, this cathedral is also on its way to becoming one of the greenest thermal energy producers in the world.

Underneath the cathedral, in a massive underground cave, a series of computer servers are capturing and channeling heat through a series of water-heated pipes. It’s called “cloud computing,” and the process, in a nutshell, basically uses waste to heat up water. Once the water is heated, it is distributed underground to heat homes in Helsinki.

The power generated by the underground computer system is equivalent to the power generated by a large wind turbine (which is enough to heat up 500 homes). It will not only be a great renewable energy source, but it will also cut hundreds of thousands of dollars off of the city’s energy bill.

There are still some bugs to fix with the cloud computing system, but overall it’s a great idea. The cathedral will securely protect the underground system, and if anybody tries to break in, they’ll have a holy mess on their hands!

Source: Reuters.com

Greenopolis.com is dedicated to our users. We focus our attention on changing the world through recycling, waste-to-energy and conservation. We reward our users for their sustainable behaviors on our website, through our Greenopolis Tracking Stations and with curbside recycling programs.

GREENOP3949

INFACT Global Partners Launches New Managed CSR Service for Small and Medium Size Companies Sourcing from China | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) January 12, 2010 – As US and European brands and retailers strengthen their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in China, their small and medium size enterprise (“SME’s”) supply chain partners are realizing that they are understaffed and ill prepared to manage the CSR issues commonly found among factories in China.  SME’s often do not have local staff in China with experience working with factories to proactively drive CSR improvement and meet the expectations of their brand and retail customers.  Further, opening offices and hiring experienced CSR staff in China can be expensive and difficult to manage. 

To address this problem, INFACT Global Partners has developed a new service, the Managed CSR Support Program.  This new service provides SMEs with local, dedicated staff embedded into the INFACT factory improvement teams in their Shanghai and/or Guangzhou offices.  The dedicated staff (or team) work between 50% and 100% of the time on behalf of each client.  

As a general rule, MANAGED CSR SUPPORT staff  perform the following functions on behalf of their clients: 

•  Supplier on-boarding

•  Reviewing audit reports and corrective action plans;

•  Meeting with factory owners and management to develop more detailed / effective improvement plans;

•  Performing management systems evaluations of a factory to assess their capacity to comply with a customer’s requirements;

•  Assisting factories with the development of new policies or procedures to help address key requirements / issues;

•  Conducting trainings on key requirements / issues;

•  Assisting with the communication to customers on a factory’s performance or efforts to improve;

•  Coordinating with internal QA/QC team members to make sure all observations are channeled to the appropriate team members;

•  Providing technical assistance or advice on China law, customer standards or other requirements.

The co-location with the INFACT team allows for designated back-up, gives your dedicted staff easy access to subject matter experts and provides an environment for continuous learning.  For those currently with staff in China, this program can provide considerable savings.  For those without a local presence, the additional spend would be significantly less than establishing an office…and the return on investment is much easier to justify.  

For more information about this new service, you can download a service description.

Please contact Mark Jones at mjones@infactory-solutions.com with questions or visit the INFACT web-site at www.infactory-solutions.com.

About INFACT Global Partners

INFACT Global Partners is a China-based corporate social responsibility and manufacturing solutions consultancy.  Working directly with factories in China, INFACT helps advance corporate social programs through the development of pragmatic operational and productivity solutions.  Collaborating with retailer, brands and organizations, INFACT helps implement cost effective strategies to increase CSR performance.  

INFACT3940

Ten Reasons to be Working for Good | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) January 12, 2010 – Many of us aspire and dedicate ourselves to Working for Good – making the world a better place through our work. The essence of Working for Good is a calling, a sense of passion and purpose that stirs us to action from deep inside. It is based on the belief that what we do matters, that we can make a difference—for ourselves, others, and the world. 

In my pursuit and practice of Working for Good over the past three decades, I’ve found that how we work is as, if not more, important than what we do. We can work in a green business, a social service organization, or some other endeavor focused on making the world a better place, but if we treat others and ourselves with disregard or disrespect in the process, we end up creating something far short of our intention. The process is the product. When we align the way we work with our values and our intention to make the world a better place, we create something truly profound.
 
Here are some of the benefits of aligning our values with our intentions and actions through our work and reasons for cultivating the skills of Working for Good.
 
1.  Generates meaning and purpose: Work constitutes the lion share of our waking, active time. When we work to realize something noble and larger than ourselves (like the greater good) in alignment with our values in ways that develop ourselves and others, life is rich with meaning and purpose. Getting out of bed in the morning is a joy!
 
2.  Fosters a sense of wholeness: When our values, intentions, and actions are aligned and integrated, we feel whole, rather than fragmented. Wholeness fosters ease, peace of mind, and overall health and well-being.
 
3.  Generates optimism, hope, creativity, innovation, and confident action: Having a sense of purpose and meaning, and feeling whole and congruent, fosters a positive outlook. Optimism and hope are catalysts for creativity, innovation, and confidence to experiment and energy to implement.
 
4.  Engage, inspire, and energize others: When we work this way, we become a beacon and a model for others. When our companies are aligned in this way, they activate their stakeholders (customers, employees, vendors, investors, communities, etc) to share vision and sense of purpose, and to feel connected and aligned with you and your company, essentially co-creating your business.
 
5.  Fosters collaboration: The sense of shared purpose, the trust built from alignment between values and action, and the energy of optimism and creativity create the conditions for true collaboration and co-creation.
 
6.  Creates resilience: When the going gets tough the relationships built upon these foundations create resilience to adapt to external and internal challenges, and the courage to take risks together.
 
7.  Creates healthy companies with healthy people: The result of all of this is a healthy “community” organized around your company, populated by healthy people who are committed to each other and to the common endeavor – fulfilling shared purpose (including advancing the mission of your business).
 
8.  Makes your business a force for social and environmental change: With service to the greater good as part of the core purpose of your company, and an energized ecosystem of stakeholders, including other companies Working for Good, your business becomes a powerful force for positive change.
 
9.  Meets marketplace demand: Since people (as customers, employees, community members, and even investors) increasingly expect companies to serve society and to actively engage in addressing pressing social and environmental issues, Working for Good is a powerful positioning strategy – as long as it is authentically embodied.
 
10. Fun and fulfilling: Building and working in a purpose driven company, with an energized ecosystem of stakeholders, making a positive difference, while generating wealth is great fun and tremendously rewarding. And you can be proud to tell your kids what you do for a living and perhaps make a real difference for their future.
 
About Jeff Klein: As CEO of Cause Alliance Marketing, Jeff Klein designs and facilitates collaborative cause-related marketing programs. His current clients include the Conscious Capitalism Alliance, of which he was a founding member, and O.N.E. Drinks, for whom he is producing a campaign to educate moms and others about the health benefits of coconut water. In the context of the Working for Good Collaborative, Jeff is in the process of launching the Working for Good Alliance, with a related web-based platform and integrated education and engagement campaign.
 
Jeff was one of the visionaries and driving forces behind Private Music, the career of Yanni, Spinning, and Seeds of Change, and has consulted for the Esalen Institute, the National Geographic Society, GlobalGiving, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, among others. He wrote his new book, Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living, to support conscious entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, leaders, and change agents at work.

WEBSITE: www.workingforgood.com 
 

CONTACT: Jeff Klein EMAIL: jeff@workingforgood.com 415.497.0996
PRESS CONTACT: Julie van Amerongen EMAIL: julievanam@gmail.com 541.228.4099
 
Amazon link
Barnes & Noble Link
 
Facebook 
LinkedIn
Twitter

Boston College survey finds businesses staying the course on community involvement | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Chestnut Hill, Mass. (January 12, 2010) – A Boston College survey of more than 300 North American companies in a variety of industries reveals that despite the economic crisis, businesses have forged ahead with community involvement efforts as part of a continued commitment to corporate citizenship.

Released today, “Staying the Course — The 2009 Community Involvement Index” is a biennial survey conducted by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship that asks about companies’ community involvement programs, practices and management. Community involvement is the cornerstone of most companies’ commitment to corporate citizenship and the findings of this survey offer encouraging evidence that the foundation remains sound.
 
In the face of economic pressures of historic proportions, most companies held their ground in support of community involvement programs. While a significant percentage of companies cut their community involvement budgets, 62.1 percent maintained or increased budget levels. And though 37.8 percent of respondents’ companies cut their community involvement budget, only 20.9 percent decreased staffing.
 
The data collected through the many years of conducting the Community Involvement Index survey show companies have made significant progress – from internal investments in staff, strategy and communications to external investments in the needs of communities around the globe. What was once a very local concern of business now encompasses issues of global proportions.  As community involvement becomes more complex, the survey data reveal that strategic intent has emerged as a well-established guiding principle for most programs. The findings also show that businesses continue to struggle with the challenge of demonstrating measurable social impact from their initiatives in the communities where they operate.
 
“The findings of this survey offer a snapshot of the community involvement field,” explained Chris Pinney, director of research and policy at the Boston College Center. “It gives a glimpse of how companies are approaching this evolving function in today’s challenging business environment.”
 
Among the issues of concern to companies, education is once again ranked as most critical, followed by environmental issues, economic development, health care and job training. This survey also reflects the increased concern of business, as well as the general public, with environmental issues. In the 2005 Community Involvement Index environmental issues ranked only seventh among issues of concern to companies.
 
Direct philanthropy remains a big part of community involvement. The range of average annual donations by corporations reported by respondents goes from less than $500,000 per year (27.8 percent of companies) to more than $25 million per year (14.2 percent) of companies. The largest group (32.5 percent) donated between $1 million and $10 million per year on average. Looking at the percentage of pretax profits donated per year provides a clearer picture of the generosity of corporations. The most common rate of donation reported by respondents is less than 0.5 percent of pre-tax profits, cited by 34.3 percent of those surveyed, with a little more than 1 in 4 companies, 27.8 percent, donating more than 1 percent of pre-tax profits.
 
Employee volunteering is also at the core of community involvement programs for companies though participation levels in those programs are not as extensive as might be expected. Just 30.3 percent of survey respondents reported that their companies have more than 30 percent employee participation and 45.3 have 15 percent or less participating in volunteering programs.
 
The complete 2009 Community Involvement Index report is available only to members on the Center’s web site. Nonmembers may go to the web site to download a PDF of the survey’s Key Findings.
 
The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship is a membership-based research organization associated with the Carroll School of Management. It is committed to helping business leverage its social, economic and human assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable world. As a leading resource on corporate citizenship, the Center works with global corporations to help them define, plan and operationalize their corporate citizenship. Through the power of research, management and leadership programs, and the insights of its 350 corporate members, the Center creates knowledge, value and demand for corporate citizenship. www.BCCorporateCitizenship.org
 
For more information contact:
Tim Wilson, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
Email: wilsontk@bc.edu Phone: 617-552-1173
 
BCCCC3925

CSR Minute: Verizon Challenges Boston College’s Carroll; FD’s Philanthropy Study

Corporate Social Responsibility News: Verizon Challenges Boston College’s Carroll of Management; FD’s Chicago Philanthropy Study

Equator Estate Coffees & Teas – 1st food company to launch storefront on Facebook | 3BL Media

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) – San Rafael, CA - January 12, 2010 – Today, Equator Coffees & Teas launched an innovative storefront on Facebook, which allows fans to shop for their artisan coffees without leaving the Facebook site (www.facebook.com/EquatorCoffees).

“Social media is rapidly becoming a critically important vehicle for talking with our customers. Now, with our new iFanStore, we’ve opened up an entirely new sales channel for our seasonal, specialty blends,” said Helen Russell, CEO and Co-Founder of Equator (http://www.EquatorCoffees.com).

The iFanStore technology is provided by San Francisco-based startup Milyoni (pronounced “Million Eye”), which develops e-commerce solutions for companies who have sophisticated social marketing and merchandising needs. iFanStores leverage the viral potential of social media, allowing sharing of purchases to a customer’s friends and fans.

“Milyoni leverages the instant, viral and contextual elements of social networks, which will translate not only into sales, but even richer interaction with customers,” said John Corpus, CEO of Milyoni, Inc. (http://www.Milyoni.com).  

In 2009, Facebook’s 300+ million active users were on more than 65 million hours, according to the Nielson Company. However, until now, e-commerce solutions pulled fans out of Facebook to complete transactions. The ifanstore allows fans to stay within Facebook during the entire transaction and then to share their activity with friends across a wide range of social networks including Twitter.

About Equator Coffees: San Rafael, CA-based Equator Coffees & Teas (www.EquatorCoffees.com) is a coffee roaster, tea purveyor and coffee farm owner offering distinctive micro-lot coffees and rare teas to fine restaurants, hotels and retailers. Obsessive attention to green coffee sourcing, uncompromising roasting expertise and a 15-year commitment to sustainability create a remarkable experience in every cup. A women-owned green business, Equator works tirelessly to empower every link of the supply chain, from growers and their communities around the globe, to the natural environment, through to coffee-lovers who savor taste and integrity in their Organic, Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees. Ahead of the curve on climate change, Equator is proud to be one of the first companies in the nation to utilize the Loring Roaster, which reduces carbon emissions by 80% without compromising artisan quality.

Equator has won numerous awards including the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Business (2009), National Association of Women Business Owners – Trail Blazer Award, San Francisco’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Woman Owned Businesses (7 years in a row), the Specialty Coffee Association’s annual Roasters Choice Award (2009), and Roast Magazine’s Roaster of the Year (2010). Customers include the French Laundry, Bouchon Restaurants and Bakeries, Citizen Cake, Tavern in Los Angeles, Bay Bread and La Boulange.

About Milyoni: Founded in February 2009, Milyoni, Inc. (http://www.Milyoni.com) is pioneering the category of ‘conversational commerce’ – which is contextual, viral and instant. Transforming social networking strategies with ifanstore and ireply2buy cloud technologies, the Milyoni platform can be implemented anywhere customers gather online – Facebook, MySpace or any other online community or blog. iReply2Buy, to launch later this year, will enable impulse purchasing via Twitter.