CorporateResponsibility.Net

Companies who are socially and environmentally responsible can claim a major competitive advantage but they need to communicate their activities to Irish consumers, according to a new survey by Business in the Community Ireland.

The 2009 Survey of Consumer Attitudes in Ireland towards Corporate Responsibility was commissioned by Business in the Community Ireland in conjunction with Ipsos MORI and it is the third such survey in the past decade, with previous versions taking place in 2003 and 2006.

When forming a decision to buy a product or service, 8 out of 10 people in Ireland say that an organisation’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility is important. Yet almost eighty percent (80%) of consumers could not name one company which treat staff well, give good customer service and are mindful of its impact on the environment.

In addition, whilst ninety-two percent (92%) of consumers are taking individual actions to limit their own environment impacts, three out of four people (75%) could not name a company doing the same. Read more (BITCI)

Source: CSR Europe

The European Commission last week called on the IT industry to step up efforts to cut emissions, announcing plans for a wide-ranging green IT strategy designed to ensure economy-wide emission reductions of 15 per cent by 2020.

Announcing the new strategy, which is to be formally adopted in the second half of this year, commissioner for information society and media Viviane Reding said that while the IT sector had already made significant commitments to reduce its environmental impact, it still had “enormous untapped potential for saving energy right across the economy”.

“I would recommend to the IT sector to show the way for the rest of the economy by reducing its own carbon footprint by 20 per cent by 2015,” she said. “I see from the response of European IT companies to the Commission’s ongoing work that Europe is already well ahead in using IT for greening the economy.” Read more

Source: Business Green

Board members of the Global Resporting Initiative (GRI) have issued The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting calling on governments to introduce policies requiring companies to address publicly environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

The declaration states that the root causes of the current economic crisis would have been moderated by a global transparency and accountability system based on the exercise of due diligence and the public reporting of ESG performance. It calls on governments to take leadership in rebuilding a revitalized and resilient economic system through:

1. Introducing policy requiring companies to report on ESG factors or publicly explain why they have not done so.
2. Requiring ESG reporting by their public bodies – in particular: state owned companies, government pension funds and public investment agencies.
3. Integrating sustainability reporting within the emerging global financial regulatory framework being developed by leaders of the G20.

Read more

Source: CSR Europe

Four out of five people say they are still buying sustainable products and services today—which sometimes cost more—even in the midst of a U.S. recession, according to a new survey.

Half of the 1,000 people surveyed say they are buying just as many sustainable products now as before the economic downturn, while 19% say they are buying more sustainable products. 14% say they are buying fewer environmentally sustainable products. Read more

Source: Sustainable Business

Corporate Knights, the Canadian CSR magazine, has published its 2009 list of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world.

The Global 100 is a list of publicly-traded, MSCI World-listed companies that are best equipped to manage the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities, based on research and analysis by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. The Innovest methodology compares companies to their sector peers on a best-in-class basis.

CSR Europe members on the list include Accor, BASF, Coca-Cola Company, Groupe Danone, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, L’Oréal, Novo Nordisk, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, SAP, State Street, Toyota Motor and Unilever. See the full list

Source: CSR Europe

The European Commission will publish an action plan in March to boost the role of ICT in helping to green the EU economy, but extra effort from the technology industry may be necessary, EurActiv reports.

According to estimates by consulting firm McKinsey, widespread use of intelligent devices and applications could reduce global CO2 emissions by as much as 15% by 2020. The reduction would help the Union to achieve ambitious environmental targets agreed in December 2007.

Under the EU executive’s plans, cities, buildings and cars could all be equipped with new devices that are able to measure and reduce CO2 emissions. The growing shift to teleworking and online business will also have a positive impact on climate change. Read more (EurActiv)

Source: CSR Europe

Unemployment is up and spending is down in most homes and businesses across the country. In an economy where companies have to justify every dollar spent, a lot of people may assume that investment in green initiatives would be plummeting. But that’s not the case.

In some ways the lagging economy has done more for green projects than any amount of environmental encouragement could, because it’s forced business owners to acknowledge that going green is good for the bottom line.

Chris Mines, an analyst for Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., predicts that spending on green IT initiatives will actually increase in 2009. This includes investments in projects to improve the efficiency of data centers, optimise technology, and reduce technology-related energy use across businesses. Read more

Source: Business Green

As the country anticipates Barack Obama’s inauguration this week, wondering if he can turn the economy around, marketers touting environmental messages wonder what the new presidency will mean for green marketing.

While the green movement appears to have an ally in Obama, who is pushing for funding of alternative energies and sustain­able industries, green marketing is showing signs of waning interest from consumers after reaching a high point last year.

“The first half of 2008 was prob­ably the peak of green marketing,” said Russ Meyer, chief strategy offi­cer at agency Landor Associates, pointing to examples such as the launch of Clorox Green Works, a line of eco-friendly cleaning prod­ucts, and the significant media sup­port behind green products. Read more

Source: DMNews

n the tech industry, green is the new black.

In recent months, electronics companies have released a slew of new, more environmentally friendly products or touted their commitments to improving the environment.

The industry clearly has gotten the message that consumers are increasingly conscious of the ecological impact of the products they purchase. Individual companies and the industry as a whole are taking steps to make their products more energy-efficient and to cut back on the use of toxic materials, environmental groups say.

But the industry can’t be described as eco-friendly just yet, they say. Read more

Source: MercuryNews.com

Consultancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will today accelerate its push into the emerging sustainability services sector with the acquisition of international advisory firm Sustainable Finance Limited (SFL).

PwC will shell out an undisclosed sum for the 10-strong SFL, which was founded in 2003 and boasts operations in the UK, US and the Netherlands.

The company specialises in environmental and social risk management services to the financial sector, providing firms with advice on their sustainability and climate change risks. SFL also helped develop the Equator Principles in 2003, the international industry standard for managing environmental and social risks in project finance, and more recently worked on the Carbon Principles governing investment in US energy projects. Read more

Source: Business Green