REI’s 2009 Stewardship Report Highlights Environmental Sustainability, Community Connections and Workplace Engagement

Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national co-op providing quality outdoor gear and clothing, released its fourth annual stewardship report, which details the company’s progress to address its operational environmental impact, efforts to introduce people to nature and protect outdoor spaces, and performance in providing an inclusive and rewarding workplace.  

REI’s 2009 annual stewardship report, which is available online at www.rei.com/stewardship, demonstrates how the co-op implements stewardship, which is an element of REI’s mission statement – to “inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship.” The report illustrates thoughtful actions across the company – REI’s headquarters, 112 stores and two distribution centers – to make business decisions through the lens of stewardship and identify opportunities that provide environmental benefits and cost savings.

via Read REI Stewardship Report

Rethink, Reform and Rebuild Education – Microsoft on The Issues

Posted by Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs

At Microsoft, we are committed to help tackle some of society’s biggest challenges. In the past decade, I’ve worked alongside many dedicated colleagues who are passionate about making a difference in public education, as Microsoft employees, community advocates and parents. We all want to help improve educational outcomes for children and provide teachers with the tools and support they need. We are always looking for new and creative ways to support teachers, students and parents in these efforts.   

Microsoft has a long history of involvement in education, with national and community-based programs designed to empower teachers and inspire students, such as Partners in Learning, EduConnect and Imagine Cup, as well as our ongoing support for the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math). 
 
Today, Microsoft is pleased to launch Bing REDU, a forum for public discussion and engagement that’s focused on helping to improve the U.S. education system. It seems like now more than ever, the education conversation is swirling at all levels of American life, from the White House to our dinner tables. While people may disagree about the nature of the challenges, and the potential solutions, there is consensus about one thing: that we all must do more to support our schools, our teachers and our students. But how?

Bing.com/REDU was designed to help facilitate a national conversation on education, drive engagement and inspire action at both community and national levels. The site gives people a place to learn and discuss how this critical issue is evolving. It also provides resources for people to take action – such as how to become a teacher, give money or volunteer at schools, and find tools and curriculum. Think of it as a “home room” on the Web designed to inspire and empower everyone to help. 

We hope BING.com/REDU inspires you to help improve education for our children. Please check it out – and be a booster, a leader, a reformer or a teacher.

via blogs.technet.com

Is Water on Your Sustainability Agenda?

With coal, oil, and natural gas receiving most of the popular press, the often forgotten resource that may present the greatest challenge to many local communities is the availability of fresh water.  Unlike energy constraints, water cannot be economically brought in from neighboring areas in tankers, on trucks, or even in transmission pipelines.  For the most part, communities rely on the access and availability of a local water supply.

While water is not a new issue, rapidly increasing eco awareness may be expanding individual participation in management options.  Our sustainability consulting finds communities are becoming increasingly aware of their water supply and are actively managing demand.  According a recent report, the everyday consumer is becoming more aware of the community risk and economic trade-offs of water management.

Taking it down to an individual level, we encourage our eco living consulting clients to be actively aware of their consumption and water disposal.  We stress the inclusion of water management as a sustainability concept in an overall business sustainability program.  Some simple personal actions might include:

•    Create a personal water management philosophy
•    Identify high consumption activities (showers, watering lawn, washing clothes and dishes, etc.)
•    Identify and practice water conservation actions
•    Install water efficient equipment and fixtures

Want to learn more?  Visit the Taiga Company blog for tools and resources to raise your eco awareness and to implement solutions that meet your specific needs. 

Healthy Homes, Healthy Lives: Making the American Dream Smarter

Healthy Homes, Healthy Lives: Making the American Dream Smarter

Kelly Caffarelli, President, The Home Depot Foundation

For those of you who regularly follow my Tweets and this blog, you know that The Home Depot Foundation is focused on bringing the benefits of healthy, affordable housing to working families. And you know that we’ve actually increased our funding initiatives over the last couple of years while many foundations have had to cut back. Why? Because housing has been at the crux of much of the country’s economic woes, and so we feel there is no better time to be focused on how to build and maintain healthy, affordable homes for families.  Read more.

EcoFocus Report Identifies Opportunities for Companies to Target $1.45 Trillion Market for EcoAware Moms

(3BLMedi/theCSRfeed) St. Petersburg, FL – September 8, 2010 – EcoFocus Worldwide today announced sales of its new Consumer Trend Watch Report: “Are You Ready for EcoAware Mom?”  The report which is based on the EcoFocus 2010 US Trend Survey of 4,000+ Americans ages18-65 years, presents a powerful new archetype for 21^st century Moms. According to the new Report, the EcoAware Moms market includes more than 51 million women, 69% of Moms, and has more than $1.45 trillion in buying power.  

“EcoAware Moms are a receptive target market for sustainability.They are rethinking their decisions and often making new choices, creating unprecedented opportunities for businesses offering sustainable solutions for everyday living,” observes Linda Gilbert, CEO of EcoFocus.
 
“Mainstream consumers are starting to wonder why toothpaste is in a tube inside a box, and why packaging for plant-based cleaning products often doesn’t align to the purity of the contents. They are unsure of whether local or organic is the better choice, or if recycled paperboard can be recycled again. They are looking for help from retailers, manufacturers, and service providers to find and make better choices to meet their personal eco- friendly lifestyle goals and aspirations.”
 
According to the EcoFocus report, EcoAware Moms are a reflection of a parenting
paradigm shift. Today’s parents are coming to regard eco-friendly choices as opportunities to improve their own quality of life, to set good examples and teach important behaviors to their children, and to leave a legacy for future generations.
 
“EcoAware Moms are focused on the daily aspects of their households and lifestyles – reducing waste, avoiding chemicals and toxins, saving resources, and making responsible choices. For an EcoAware Mom, this is where she and her family can make a difference,” explains Ms. Gilbert.
 
The report also shows that EcoAware Moms are far more likely to believe they have a great deal of control over how healthy their home is, for them and their family, compared to other Moms. Eighty-eight percent agree or strongly agree with the statement compared to 62 percent of other Moms.
 
EcoAware Moms see the little changes they make adding up to big improvements for the environment. And most are changing the way they do some things to make choices that are better for the environment.
 
The Top 5 Things EcoAware Moms are Using More Often:
·   Chemical-free cleaning products – 47%
·   Organic foods and beverages – 45%
·   Plant-based cleaning products – 40%
·   Water filter – 38%
·   Resealable plastic bags – 38%
 
The Top 5 Things EcoAware Moms are Using Less Often or Don’t Use:
·   Plastic wrap – 50%
·   Disposable cups or plates – 49%
·   Bottled water – 40%
·   Single serve beverages in plastic bottles – 46%
·   Chemical pest controls – 45%
 
“EcoAware Moms are ready for changes and they are looking for brands to provide them with solutions that are convenient, affordable, and practical for their lifestyles.
 
“This is low hanging fruit that is ripe for harvest by marketers. These consumer driven opportunities are often surprisingly simple, immediately actionable, and profitable for companies to execute, says Linda Gilbert.
 
For more information or to purchase a copy of the report “Are You Ready for EcoAware Mom?”, please contact Sean Lucey at 727-743-2352, sean@ecofocusworldwide.com. To schedule an interview with Ms. Gilbert or EcoFocus Consumer Research and Insights Leader, Lisa Harrison regarding the research findings, please contact Fran Lowe at 510-735-9871 (PST) or Sheryl Zapcic at 717-875-4545 (EST).
 
About EcoFocus Worldwide
EcoFocus Worldwide conducts consumer trend research and provides marketing consulting specializing in consumer perspectives on green and sustainable goods and services as well as insights into the health and wellness marketplace. Clients include businesses with products and services that touch consumers in their homes and daily lives: foods and beverages; personal care and cosmetics; household cleaning and home improvements; gardening and pest control; school and home office supplies; transportation; restaurants; packaging and recycling, and other consumer and B2B goods and services. http://www.ecofocusworldwide.com.
 
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via 3blmedia.com

Cone Recognized as Leader in Sustainability Communications

Cone is pleased to be recognized as a leader among sustainability communications providers in “Green Quadrant: Sustainability Communications Agencies,”conducted by independent research firm Verdantix. This is the second commendation for Cone’s Corporate Responsibility (CR) discipline this year, as it was earlier named a top five corporate responsibility agency by CR Magazine. Cone formally launched its CR discipline in 2006.

The Green Quadrant report evaluated 18 PR and marketing agencies that offer CR and sustainability communications, and notes Cone is one of only two that “have market-leading approaches that provide their clients with breakthrough sustainability communications strategies.” The report goes on to explain that although most firms focus on a company’s existing initiatives and past accomplishments, Cone goes further and creates brand platforms that specifically engage consumers to partner with companies to solve social and environmental issues.

Expanding the ‘Green’ Business Mindset

Have you noticed that many of the most sustainability-focused companies in the world do not necessarily offer ‘green’  products or services?  Yet these organizations are still realizing tremendous value in applied sustainability concepts or overarching business sustainability programs.  ‘Green’ is not the sustainable mindset of these businesses.

In our daily interactions with businesses, it is very common for corporate leaders to comment regarding how ‘green’ they believe a company to be or inquire about how they compare to others.  The typical response we provide in this on-going conversation rarely focuses on end-products.   Taiga Company  makes a clear distinction between a ‘green’ product or service offering and a sustainable company.

For many, the definition of ‘greenness’ is largely dependent on an outward projection of the business rather than its internal workings.  While offering ‘green’ products and services is one path, we tend to include the entirety of business in the conversation by asking:

•    Who are your business sustainability stakeholders and are you engaging in your business sustainability direction?

•    What sustainable action are you taking to ensure your long-term future: process changes, measurements, innovative thinking?

•    How are you partnering in business to create shared value to drive deeper, faster, more impactful solutions?

Offering a green product or service provides a variety of advantages that doesn’t necessarily create a sustainable or green company.  Today’s sustainability leaders are taking business sustainability to the next level.  These progressive thinking organizations are moving beyond the ‘green’ to define the business changes that will ensure their future.

While the goal is to create a step change in sustainable performance, our small business resources work directly with clients to create a business case for sustainability.  Our sustainability consulting works with clients who view sustainable action to be the defining characteristic of a ‘green’ company.

More Business, Less Charity

There’s a new trend emerging among a small number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations, used in reference to global nonprofits). Here’s what it looks like in comparison to the traditional nonprofit approach:

• Traditional: NGO raises charitable dollars. Hires expert staff to send abroad. Expert staff sets up offices and the necessary facilities (clinic, school, etc.). Expert staff proceeds to provide services. NGO counts and reports on the number of people it helps abroad. NGO continues raising money to fund the staff it has established in its international offices. Or, in some cases, the expert staff moves on to another community, and there is no infrastructure at the local level to ensure ongoing services and implementation, nor any external system for monitoring and reporting.

• New School: NGO raises charitable dollars. Hires expert staff–most often local–to work on programs. NGO leverages its dollars to raise funds from the local community and local government, thereby forming a three-way partnership to achieve the goal–whether that’s to establish a new health clinic, school, or access to clean water, etc. NGO provides expertise to help local government and community to achieve the goal, train people from community or region to provide the ongoing service, establish a viable revenue model for a sustainable business model, and perhaps establish a local business enterprise to provide long-term services. NGO counts and reports on the number of people it helps abroad. More importantly, NGO monitors the project to ensure longer term success–making sure services are being provided over time, not just after the project is finished. NGO moves on to other communities, thereby increasing its impact. NGO seeks to have their models spread virally by being replicated by others, beyond just the areas where it works.

A good example of “New School” is Water for People.

For continuation, see http://bit.ly/d8vFV7

Korngold Consulting LLC assists corporations in building fully integrated, high-impact CSR strategies, including leadership development through nonprofit board service.  Korngold Consulting trains and places business executives on nonprofit boards, and consults to nonprofit boards and leaders to strengthen governance for financial and strategic success.