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VALUE BLOGSeditors deskEye on The Markets
The new movie I.O.U.S.A - May be to the U.S. Economy what An Inconvenient Truth was to the environment. - ReutersI.O.U.S.A–a documentary premiering August 21 that’s based on an upcoming book of the same name–takes a hard look at America’s growing national debt. A “town hall” discussion following the premiere aims at starting a national dialogue on what we can do to start digging ourselves out of the mountain of debt that’s threatening our nation.(View [...] Black eye for socially responsible investingBlack eye for socially responsible investingPax World Management was once a shining example of how socially responsible investing could work. Between 2001 and 2006, it generated returns of more than 14 percent while it stuck to its principles: no stocks of companies with links to weapons, alcohol, bad labor practices and gambling. Now [...] Carbon is just the tip of the iceberg. says Jeffrey Hittner, IBMCarbon is just the tip of the iceberg” Jeffrey Hittner, corporate social responsibility leader for IBM Global Business Services, told VNN’s Laurance Allen as we discussed IBM’s new consulting offerings designed to improve their clients’ competitive position by being greener and more ethical. Clearly the ability of corporations to meet today’s higher expectations has [...] ProxyDemocracyProxyDemocracy provides a set of tools to help investors use their voting power to produce positive changes in the companies they own.Checkout this brilliantly conceived website; it is a nonprofit, nonpartisan project supported by foundations that are themselves interested in being responsible investors…… the founder Andrew Eggers, is also a doctoral student in Harvard University’s [...] Innovations Review released by the Environmental Defense Fund.The Environmental Defense Fund has produced a new report highlighting processes, products, and technologies that are making the biz world more eco-friendly. The green group’s Innovations Review 2008 draws attention to developments good for both business and the environment. The report focuses specifically on innovations on the cusp: not yet widely implemented, but not still [...] Capital For Good (Xigi.net)
Deal Review: CollaborentInspired by the Social Capital Index located here on xigi.net, two analysts are posting their take on the enterprises listed in Deals in Play monthly. These DEAL REVIEWS highlight some of the market opportunities and challenges, and are based on reviews of publicly available information. Our hope is that these reviews - and importantly the [...] Value Networks Discussion Group› SoCal Knowledge Management Forum, Sept 9-11, in Malibu › Wetware › Conference Early Bird Deadline Extended A Value Network is any web of relationships that generates tangible and intangible value through complex dynamic exchanges between two or more individuals, groups, or organizations. VIDEO
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Off The WiresRising Energy Costs May be Good News for 'Clean Tech' Firms -- and Their Investors The amount of venture capital invested in "clean tech" -- the raft of technologies that would create a greener economy -- nearly doubled from 2005 to 2006, reaching about $3 billion, according to a study conducted at the University of California at Berkeley. Figures like these have some analysts warning that clean tech is in the throes of a bubble, which could end just like the Internet and real estate booms did -- badly. Published: August 06, 2008 in Knowledge@Wharton More financial advisors hiring psychologists Wachovia just hired a full-time associate director of family dynamics for one of its wealth management units. Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham, Mass., and Wells Fargo & Co. also use psychologists and therapists. In many cases, the psychologist get directly involved with client issues. This is a great idea—says Jim Kim at FierceFinance.com—because it is a way to help tether clients to the firm, boosting wallet share. It may be hard to quantify the ROI, but it can't hurt. "Lost There, Felt Here" Harrison Ford lets the world see a square of hair ripped from his chest in a Public Service Announcement for Conservation International. CI explains: “That small pain suggested that tropical deforestation happening in other parts of the world effects not only those nearby but people all over the planet. The video is estimated to have reached more than 45 million people worldwide.” What do you think? Watch Harrison Ford Lose An “Acre” in his PSA for CI’s Lost There, Felt Here campaign
Map of Future Forces Affecting SustainabilityThe Institute for the Future has published the Map of Future Forces Affecting Sustainability, prepared for the Global Environmental Management Initiative. According to the “GEMI website, "The Map has been designed to help GEMI member companies develop their own perspective of a future being shaped increasingly by external forces linked to the concept of sustainable development. The Map includes elements that some may view as controversial, but recognizes the objective of this effort is to provoke thoughtful discussions that will help companies shape their business strategies in light of a more sustainability-driven future.” The site also provides a 45-minute video ‘walk through’ of the six columns of The Map Kenya energy goes green to meet electricity boom NAIVASHA, Kenya (AFP) - Facing soaring electricity demands, Kenya is opting to go full steam ahead with geothermal energy to boost its production while preserving its rich environmental heritage. The 37-million-strong nation's electricity supply capacity is dangerously close to its limit at 1,080 megawatts when peak hour demand almost reaches 1,000 megawatts.With a fast-growing economy and demography, demand is climbing by eight percent each year and the country's hydro-electric capacity is peaking and being strained by chronic droughts and the impact of deforestation on rivers. Kenya's geothermal energy plan is being supported with donations and preferential loans from France's AFP, the World Bank and German cooperation. Measuring Impact Framework launched by WBCSD Geneva, 28 July 2008 - Business knows that "what gets measured gets done." In this spirit, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launches the Measuring Impact Framework to help companies measure and assess the impact of their business activities on economic and broader development goals wherever they operate. Business case brief - Why measure? (PDF 4.7 MB) PowerPoint Presentation (3.4 MB) Big Agriculture defends ethanol. CHICAGO (Reuters) July 25th- A new group is adding its voice to the debate on using crops to produce alternative fuels such as ethanol amid rising food prices and shortages in some countries. The Alliance for Abundant Food and Energy in Washington D.C. was created by Archer Daniels Midland Co, DuPont Co, Deere & Co, Monsanto Co and the Renewable Fuels Association http://www.foodandenergy.org/ World food prices rose by 40 percent last year, causing food riots, hoarding and bread lines in many countries. But this group believes that agricultural innovation -- such as genetically modified crops -- is the best way to address global hunger, not reducing biofuel production. ADM is one of the world's largest producers of biofuels, and Monsanto is a leading producer of GMO seeds. So they would say that, wouldn’t they? Accenture Report Finds Data Centers Can Drop Energy Use by HalfOAKLAND, Calif. -- In partnership with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, the Department of Energy and others, the new report shows how adopting energy efficiency policies and hardware management practices can lead to significant cuts in power consumption for any data center. The full Data Center Energy Forecast Report is available for download from GreenerComputing.com. Source: GreenerComputing Staff Published July 17, 2008Environmental risk still neglected – survey -Environmental Finance, 10 July 2008 - Around two out of five senior executives admit to neglecting environmental risks, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Out of 320 senior global executives, 43% said they managed environmental risks in an ‘ad hoc' manner, or not at all. http://www.wbcsd.org/Plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?ObjectId=MzA2ODU The Future of Social Enterprise This working paper from HBS considers the confluence of forces that is shaping the field of social enterprise, changing the way that funders, practitioners, scholars, and organizations measure performance. The authors, HBS professors V. Kasturi Rangan and Herman B. Leonard, and research associate Susan McDonald, trace a growing pool of potential funding sources to solve social problems, much of it stemming from an intergenerational transfer of wealth and new wealth from financial and high-tech entrepreneurs. They further examine how these organizations can best access the untapped resources by demonstrating mission performance, and then propose three potential scenarios for how this sector might evolve. Download the working paper [PDF]. Patenting the “Climate Genes” in plants BASF, Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dupont and biotech partners have filed 532 patent documents (a total of 55 patent families) on so-called “climate ready” genes at patent offices around the world. In the face of climate chaos and a deepening world food crisis, the Gene Giants are gearing up for a PR offensive to re-brand themselves as climate saviours. The focus on so-called climate-ready genes is a golden opportunity to push genetically engineered crops as a silver bullet solution to climate change.But patented techno-fix seeds will not provide the adaptation strategies that small farmers need to cope with climate change. These proprietary technologies will ultimately concentrate corporate power, drive up costs, inhibit independent research, and further undermine the rights of farmers to save and exchange seeds.Nonprofit ‘IPO’ raises $700,000 Ceres and INCR signatory letter outlines three climate change policy recommendations ahead of Senate debate next month. Investors managing hundreds of billions of dollars have warned that US politicians must radically overhaul the country’s climate change policies or risk losing the potential for business to find solutions to global warming. A joint letter issued today by 52 of the world’s largest investors urges the Senate to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 60 to 90% below 1990 levels before 2050. Africa’s farms reap rewards …..as the prices of raw materials soar – from the barley used to make beer or the cocoa used to make chocolate – leading brewers and food manufacturers from Cadbury Schweppes to Diageo are increasingly recognising their businesses will benefit from investment in African agriculture.Mark Lundy, senior research fellow at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which was created by the World Bank in the early 1970s to find ways of producing more food, claims food producers can no longer afford to ignore farmers. “It used to be very much a buyers’ market ... now companies have to position themselves as good partners.” By Jenny Wiggins in the FT: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f6fe902-1bc4-11dd-9e58-0000779fd2ac.html IBM's Answer to the Food Crisis While the world food crisis demands both quick fixes and long-range solutions, time is of the essence. With food costs soaring, more than one billion people could find themselves at risk of starvation or severe malnutrition in the coming years. So a project announced May 15 by University of Washington researchers and IBM's (IBM) World Community Grid to speed development of better rice may be just what's needed. By Steve Hamm in Business Week Corporate-volunteering programs go global Some of the biggest corporate names are sending their employees around the globe on costly service trips in an effort to bolster company reputations, do "real good," and develop employee skill sets, The Boston Globe reported May 4. Companies like Ernst & Young, Pfizer, Timberland, and IBM have picked up on the trend. Battle of legends: Milken vs. Lipton Martin Lipton, the legendary lawyer, says the financial crisis stems from the invention of the junk bond so many years ago. As the New York Times notes, Michael Milken begs to differ. He tells the paper that junk bonds--as well as all the CDOs that invested in them--have precious little in common with subprime mortgages. And he has a point; one could argue that junk bonds in and of themselves are neither good, nor bad. It's what you do with them. Same goes for securitization. In both cases, there can be excesses. In general, Milken has a lot to say about the mess, including a bit about how more regulation will not help. I find it interesting that he has made himself a revered, somewhat nostalgic feature. Even Rudy Giuliani, the man who put him in jail, agrees.For more here's the Times article Billionaire Texas oil man makes big bets on wind Legendary Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm. But he's not doing it out of generosity - he expects to turn a buck. The Southern octogenarian's plans are as big as the Texas prairie, where he lives on a ranch with his horses, and entail fundamentally reworking how Americans use energy. Next month, Pickens' company, Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering 2,700 wind turbines that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity - the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear power plants - enough power for about 1 million homes. Reuters, 17 April 2008 - U.S. maintains highest market-share of the world's prisonersInternational Herald Tribune Published: April 23, 2008 [filed under value destruction] The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations. The future of philanthropy lies in joining the wave of open source peer-production that is enriching public assets, says Mark Surman on Open Democracy. Who are the top funders of Wikipedia? Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla and Richard Branson's Virgin Unite. Who funds the creative commons? Sun, Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Yahoo, Facebook as well as a number of foundations created with newly minted high-tech wealth. The commons is clearly on the philanthrocapitalist menu. More importantly: collaborative, non-market peer-production was born from a world that lives on the fuzzy edge between public and private benefit. Compensation Consultants and Conflicts of Interest Global Volunteering Gets Started in BostonLast weekend in Boston, several hundred people arrived at the Harvard School of Public Health to learn more about doing good around the globe, from the international service opportunities offered by over twenty volunteer-sending organizations to workshops on topics like the basics of global volunteering, linking service and study abroad, volunteering across borders independently, and translating international service experience into a dynamic career. The new philanthropy: power, inequality, democracyThe sceptical scrutiny of "philanthrocapitalism" by Michael Edwards is welcome. But markets and social enterprise could help realize the potential of a new donor economy, says Geoff Mulgan on Open Democracy; one notable quote:“The majority of press coverage continues to be fawning; conferences celebrate; and most of the books that are published in this field are strings of uncritical anecdotes which wouldn't get past the mildest peer review (see for example Pamela Hartigan & John Elkington, The power of unreasonable people [Harvard Business School Press, 2008]).”
Assets under management at SAM doubled in 2007Zurich-based SAM -Sustainable Asset Management- can look back on an exceptional year in 2007. The milestones included a doubling of assets under management, successful growth initiatives in Asia, and successful expansion into the US and Canada. In the past financial year, SAM’s assets under management (AuM) increased by CHF 4.7bn or 125% to CHF 8.5bn. Including the assets managed indirectly (e.g. through mandates and licences), SAM’s total AuM now amount to CHF 15.1bn. [Full disclosure: SAM powers the daily stock indexes featured on this site; for which we are most grateful.] Read media release For Art, For Charity, For Fun CowParade is the world's largest public art event in which life-sized cows are designed by artists and put on display throughout select cities around the world. Check out their new website: http://www.cowparade.com/ USA 2008: The Great Depression Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive – a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisisWe knew things were bad on Wall Street, but on Main Street it may be worse. Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families. By David Usborne in New York for the UK’s Independent newspaper Tuesday, 1 April 2008 Full story: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/usa-2008-the-great-depression-803095.html British online fundraiser generates over $500M At a time when most British nonprofits face falling donations, online fundraiser justgiving.com has channeled more than 250 million British pounds, over $500 million, into the sector since its 2001 launch, The Guardian reported March 25. The website has spread the appeal of charitable giving to younger generations with viral marketing techniques and sophisticated technology. Dow Jones launches Dharma Indexes Dow Jones Indexes in conjunction with Dharma InvestmentsTM has created a family of faith-based equity market indexes that screen companies for compliance with Dharmic religious traditions.The first of its kind, the Dow Jones Dharma IndexesSM are designed to integrate the value system of these religious traditions — especially Hinduism and Buddhism — into the component selection process. Thus, the Indexes restrict companies whose operations are viewed as unacceptable according to the principles of Dharma. See: http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/?event=showDharmaOverView Toyota Joins Audubon in Latest Corporate-NGO Partnership The Chronicle on Philanthropy blog reports on formation of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, an international effort to help Muslim donors and organizations make the public more aware of their work and to increase organizational capacity. After years of nonprofit work, including assisting victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, Mr. Cheema said he saw the need to bring together the world's Islamic donors....part of its work, the congress plans to create a Web site, SecureGiving, to rank charities in Muslim countries based on an as-yet-undecided criteria of governance and management standards. Mr. Cheema said the effort will help donors make sure their money is not supporting terrorists posing as Islamic charities, a concern that has grown since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Pumas, Planets and Pens: How Cues in the Environment Influence Consumer Choice Activists pressure Fidelity to drop Chinese stocks Author:
B Corporations: Verified Sustainability
Companies that pride themselves on being sustainable have a new badge they can present to show their commitment to the environment, society, and corporate governance. B Labs, a non-profit based in Berwyn, PA, has created a third-party certification for "B Corporations." More than just supplying a sustainable product or service, B Corporations "create a public benefit" as an integral core of their business plan. Full story by Anne Moore Odell of SocialFunds.com http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2482.html
Wal-Mart Pushing Chinese Suppliers To Go Green Wal-Mart Stores Inc will meet with its thousands of Chinese suppliers this fall as part of a big push to reduce waste and emissions at factories that make its products, Chief Executive Lee Scott said on Thursday. "We started a very aggressive program in China that is not only going to deal with environmental sustainability, but is also going to deal more aggressively with the issues of sourcing in China," Scott said... The company's top priorities in China will be to address the appropriate disposal of waste as well as to make reductions in both waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Read full item here
Global Leadership NetworkThe United Nations Global Compact in association with the International Finance Corporation and the Global Leadership Network launched the GLN OpenAccess tool, an interactive self-assessment tool assisting companies to improve their understanding of how the management of social, environmental and governance issues impact their business and stakeholders. The tool is free of charge and available to all companies willing to use it.Top entrepreneurship papers named Over the past two years, 4,300 papers on entrepreneurship have been added to an online database, which has logged over 500,000 downloads. http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/ Can Online Investing End Poverty? Live Webcast at 4pm EDT on March 19. WHAT: A Panel Presentation featuring eBay company MicroPlace is presented by The Global Assets Project of the New America Foundation, along with Calvert Foundation and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), with the support of the International Gateway at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, cordially invite you and your colleagues for a special event discussing one of the newest innovations in asset building and poverty reduction. WHY: "Invest Wisely. End Poverty." This is the goal of eBay's new online microfinance investment marketplace, MicroPlace. While online microlending has been growing more popular with peer-to-peer offerings such as the nonprofit Kiva.org, MicroPlace is charting a whole new course in the microfinance industry, offering socially-minded Americans a new way to offer microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. As the only broker-dealer in the microfinance arena, MicroPlace is the first and only online service offering a way for investors to invest in the working poor, and earn both a social and financial return on the investment. WHEN: The event will be webcast live; to view and participate remotely, click here at 4pm EDT on March 19.
Firms buying "illegal" ore are financing rebel arms purchases in DR Congo Many of the mines are either under the direct control of illegal armed groups or are illegally taxed by them. The two provinces produce the bulk of the country's cassiterite, the primary tin ore used by the electronics and computer industries. The report cited General Laurent Nkunda's Tutsi insurgency and the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as two groups using mineral revenues to buy arms used in violence that has resulted in 450,000 civilians fleeing their homes. According to the Financial Times, leading brands, including Hitachi, Microsoft, Pioneer and Samsung are reportedly investigating whether tin originating from Bisie could have entered their supply chain. For further analysis of this event, see Maplecroft's Global Risks Forecast at http://www.global-risks.com/.
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Tim Wirth on Creating The UN Foundation with Ted Turner