3BL Media Corporate Social Responsible News and Commentary

Corporate Social Responsible News: Ford's Top Women Green Execs; PCI-Media Impact's Fundraising Drive; Cheesecake Factory + Feeding America's "Drive Out Hunger" Tour

olicymakers often believe that venture capital is a prerequisite for regional growth and innovation. And entrepreneurs tend to think that VCs know it all. They spend huge amounts of time and energy preparing business plans for innovative startups, then pitch them to VCs who often don't seem to be interested. Yes, VCs are experts in knowing how to commercialize proven technologies and make lots of money from them. But VCs aren't the gurus of innovation. In fact, new research shows that venture capital may actually slow it down.

As part of our ongoing series of executive interviews related to corporate social responsibility (CSR), Development Crossing recently had the opportunity to ask Nancy Mahon, Executive Director of the M*A*C AIDS Fund a few questions about the foundation and its initiatives around the world.

PCI Media Impact, a non-profit organization specializing in the use of Entertainment Education to promote social change, premiers their Ecuadorian serial drama, "Toque Magico (Magic Touch)", every Wednesday on both YouTube and Facebook.   Magic Touch was first broadcast in 2008 to promote youth awareness of gender equality and assist in the cultural elimination of inequity and prevention of violence against women.

Kristen Nagy, an 18-year-old from Sparta, N.J., sends and receives 500 text messages a day. But she never uses Twitter, even though it publishes similar snippets of conversations and observations. "I just think it's weird and I don't feel like everyone needs to know what I'm doing every second of my life," she said.

10 'Must Have' sites on CSR. 10 of the best blogs on CSR. 31 websites with excellent resources, links, media, tools, news and much more. 20 people to follow on twitter who will ensure you know everything there is to know about CSR and Sustainability.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today announced it will award a $50,000 grant to recognize Aaryn Pratt and her work with Marin Advocates for Children (MAC) as part of Gap Inc.'s annual Founders' Award. This award honors the philanthropic legacy of Gap Inc. founders Doris and Don Fisher and is given to employees who best demonstrate personal community involvement and propose innovative solutions that deliver a positive social impact.

For most investors, choosing an investment strategy is based mainly on which investments will give you the best return. This makes smart sense; after all, your goal is to make money. However, many of today's investors have become increasingly more conscious and concerned with how their investment money is being utilized, and some investors are choosing a broader scope of investment. In addition to building wealth, more investors are turning to socially responsible investing to ensure that their investments are financially, morally, and ethically sound

PCI-Media Impact is participating in GlobalGiving's Open Challenge, an online fundraising drive, to save one of their most successful social change communications campaigns, which was recently cancelled as a result of the June 28 military coup in Honduras.

This idea of China being ahead of the game in anything environment protection related probably strikes readers as ironic, given reports of extensive industrial pollution, such as air pollution on a scale that is changing weather patterns, large scale lead poisoning, and cadmium in the soil. As Forbes commented recently, "China: Where Poisoning People Is Almost Free."

Environmental, Social and Governance issues have been an area of focus for Australian and New Zealand institutional investors for many years now. Investment approaches seeking to affect positive change have come a long way from relatively simple and logical beginnings relying upon Socially Responsible Investing screens. Increasingly sophisticated research into company behaviours has created a multitude of different screening possibilities, although some regional investors now question whether this in fact dilutes the potential impact, writes Joseph Fekete, joint managing director and principal of advisory and research firm, Clearway Capital Solutions.

Regular readers will know that, over the last month, I've posted 3 blog entries critiquing the term "corporate social responsibility" (CSR). I've asked, rhetorically, whether the "C," the "S," and the "R" make sense. I've argued that, no, in each case the word those letters stand for fail to capture the range of issues devotees of "CSR" typically think are important. Basically, the conclusion is that "Corporate Social Responsibility" isn't (just) about corporations, isn't just about social questions, and isn't just about responsibilities.

Corporate Social Responsible News: Hilton Hotels, Institute for Sustainable Development, Seventh Generation, JustMeans, Greenopia, New Belgium, Jewelry, Green Building, CSR, Commentary

Bon Appétit Management Company, a caterer based in Palo Alto, Calif., takes that commitment (into finding farmers who are committed to raising better food) even further. The company sources as much of its produce as possible from within 150 miles of its kitchens and gets its meat from farmers who eschew antibiotics. Bon Appétit also tries to influence its customers' habits by nudging them toward greener choices.

Green buildings, recycling, renewable energy, growth management and public transit have cemented the Rose City's reputation as the most sustainable city in America. Portland is the only large U.S. city that has reduced both overall and per-capita greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels. Wal-Mart is spending $500 million a year to increase the fuel economy of its truck fleet, and reduce energy use, solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite using it in our company's marketing material (hey, we know a thing or two about search and marketing), I don't like the term "social media." I dislike it for the same reason I never liked the term "Web 2.0." As I wrote in a 2005 blog post, "When a term starts to mean everything, it means nothing." (And admit it, doesn't "social media" sound like something that reports on parties in the Hamptons and Palm Beach?)

Joe VanBelleghem isn't afraid to put his money where his mouth is. After reading the influential book "Natural Capitalism" by Paul Hawken and others, the Canadian real-estate developer committed to building projects that embraced the triple bottom line approach advocated for in the book: People, planet and profits.

3BL Media's multimedia content can now be found on one of the world's largest and most popular music and video content sites, making millions of avid iTunes users only a click away from 3BL Media podcasts and videos.

Magic Touch was first broadcast in 2008 to promote youth awareness of gender equality and assist in the cultural elimination of inequity and prevention of violence against women.

A bubble is defined as "the phenomenon of rising share prices amid a mood of general euphoria, leading to a 'bursting' and a reversal of the prices and the mood." According to the Conservative publication The New Republic, the Green bubble has already burst. In an article subtitled "why environmentalism keeps imploding" they appear to blame educated liberals, Fortune 500 companies, and even arch conservative Newt Gingrich for having the audacity to demand action on global warming.