http://www.cchange.net Covering the transformations to social, environment and economic sustainability Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Sea Change Radio covers the transformations to social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Change is accelerating in positive and negative directions: the clock is ticking in the race to see which will tip first—the problems or the solutions. Join Sea Change's Host, Alex Wise, as he provides in-depth analysis to help our audience understand possible remedies and potential pitfalls. Sea Change interviews sustainability experts including Paul Hawken, Stewart Brand, Bill McKibben, Van Jones, Lester Brown, and many others. Sea Change airs on over 30 radio stations around the country. Alex Wise clean Alex Wise awise@cchange.net awise@cchange.net (Alex Wise) 2007-2011 Making Connections for Sustainability Sustainability, Climate Change, Human Rights, Environment, Corporate Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investing, Accountability, Stakeholders, Clean Tech, Renewable Energy, Green Jobs, Wealth Divide http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/cwr-images-archive/SeaChangeRadioTAG_square144_sm.jpg http://www.cchange.net Weekly http://www.cchange.net/2009/08/05/viewpoint-the-looting-of-equatorial-guinea/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/08/05/viewpoint-the-looting-of-equatorial-guinea/#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:44:30 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=1517 http://www.cchange.net/2009/08/05/viewpoint-the-looting-of-equatorial-guinea/feed/ 1 Arvind Ganesan,Equatorial Guinea,human rights,Human Rights Watch In July 2009, Human Rights Watch released a report entitled Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea.  In this commentary, HRW Director of Business and Human Rights Arvind Ganesan links this tiny Sub-Sahara African countries’ oil wealth to... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/arvind_ganesan_web-150x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WellOiled.jpg)In July 2009, Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/) released a report entitled Well Oiled: Oil and Hum... Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 18:35:21 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=881 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/20/mining-for-disclosure/feed/ 0 Arvind Ganesan,Bennett Freeman,calvert,EITI,human rights,Human Rights Watch,oxfam america,Sustainable Public Policy The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or EITI, is the focus of today's show.  First, we hear from Bennett Freeman, who serves on the EITI board.  Then, we hear from Arvind Ganesan of Human Rights Watch, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bennett-freeman-125x150.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/arvind_ganesan_web-150x150.jpg) The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (http://eitransparency.org/), or EITI, is the focus of today's show.  First, we hear from Bennett Freeman (http://www.calvertgroup.com/about-sri-analysts.html), who serves (http://eitransparency.org/node/208) on the EITI board (http://eitransparency.org/about/board).  Then, we hear from Arvind Ganesan (http://www.hrw.org/en/bios/arvind-ganesan) of Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/), who shares some concerns about EITI with Sea Change Radio Co-Host Bill Baue. The "resource curse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse)."  That's the term for "developing" countries whose wealth of natural resources fuels corruption.  Oil and mining companies from developed countries pay taxes and other fees that are intended to help governments lift their citizens out of poverty.  But some of these payments are siphoned into private pockets -- essentially amounting to bribes. That's where the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative comes in.  At the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development (http://www.un.org/events/wssd/) in Johannesburg, South Africa, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled (http://eitransparency.org/eiti/history) EITI as a way to combat corruption.  The initiative calls for companies to “publish what you pay” and for governments to “publish what you earn.”  Any differences between the two point to corruption. On May 15, the EITI board met in Washington, DC, where President Obama's Deputy Assistant Michael Froman reported that  "the Obama Administration strongly supports EITI (http://eitransparency.org/node/765)."  At that meeting, Albania, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Zambia were accepted as EITI Candidates. At the EITI Global Conference in February, Azerbaijan was the first (and still only) country accepted as EITI compliant (http://eitransparency.org/node/727), meaning it has passed a validation assuring it meets transparency standards. Between these two meetings, Sea Change Radio spoke with Bennett Freeman.  He's Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy at Calvert, the socially responsible mutual fund firm.  He also serves on the board of Oxfam America (http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whoweare/welcome_to_oxfam/board), as well as the board of EITI.  He has deep experience on business and human rights.  Freeman served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/) in the State Department under Bill Clinton.  After that, he wrote one of the first-ever Human Rights Impact Assessments (http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/indonesia/STAGING/home_assets/downloads/h/Tangguh_HRIA.pdf), for the oil company BP. Freeman discusses the significance of the recent disclosure by mining company Rio Tinto of its payments to countries where it operates (http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/en/resources/rio-tinto-takes-step-towards-transparency-publishing-payments-governments).  Publish What You Pay (http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/), a UK-based NGO that spurred the whole extractives transparency movement, applauded Rio Tinto while also pushing for deeper disclosure. Freeman also discusses the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act (http://financialservices.house.gov/press110/press051908.shtml) (EITDA), proposed last year by Barney Frank (D-MA) in the House (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h6066:) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the Senate (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN03389:).  Freeman says that the bill will be re-introduced this spring, and has greater chance of passage in the current political climate.  This legislation highlights the tension in the world of corporate responsibility between voluntary initiatives, such as EITI, and mandatory standards, such as the EITDA. Bill Baue clean 28:31 http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/25/viewpoint-efca-human-rights-imperative/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/25/viewpoint-efca-human-rights-imperative/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:51:11 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=588 http://www.cchange.net/2009/02/25/viewpoint-efca-human-rights-imperative/feed/ 0 Arvind Ganesan,corporate governance,EFCA,Employee Free Choice Act,human rights,Human Rights Watch,Labor Rights,Sustainable Public Policy In January 2009, Human Rights Watch issued a briefing paper entitled Employee Free Choice Act: A Human Rights Imperative.  The paper details some of the glaring deficiencies in current US labor law that significantly impair the right of workers to free... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/arvindganesan-150x150.jpg) In January 2009, Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/) issued a briefing paper entitled Employee Free Choice Act: A Human Rights Imperative (http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/01/27/united-states-employee-free-choice-act).  The paper details some of the glaring deficiencies in current US labor law that significantly impair the right of workers to freely choose whether to form a union.  It recommends that the US Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_Free_Choice_Act) to help remedy these shortcomings and bring US law closer to international standards. Arvind Ganesan (http://www.hrw.org/en/bios/arvind-ganesan), Director of Business and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch, brings us this week's ViewPoint.  When President Obama was campaigning, he promised to support the Employee Free Choice Act. The EFCA, as it is known, would strengthen workers' rights protections in the US and bring them more in line with international standards that the US claims to support. Former President George W. Bush promised to veto it if it ever hit his desk, but now with a Democratically-controlled Congress and White House, there's renewed momentum to pass the bill. And--predictably-- outspoken opposition. EFCA would stiffen currently weak penalties against employers who violate labor laws. It would not undermine the principle of a secret ballot, as some anti-EFCA groups charge. Instead, it would give workers the choice of an election or card-check, preserving their right to a secret ballot if they, not their employers, choose. Current US labor law is a lamb where workers need a lion to champion their rights. It lets employers do all sorts of things to keep workers from unionizing. They can stage one-sided, aggressive anti-union campaigns. They can deny union organizers a chance to respond or even state their views. They can force a union election on workers in order to use the pre-election period to campaign against the union. Even if employers break the law, the penalties are so trivial that companies often treat them as a cost of doing business. Say an employer threatens to close the workplace or suggests employees might lose their benefits if they unionize. The penalty is to post a notice in a lunchroom or some other prominent place promising not to do it again. If they use security cameras to spy on workers who are organizing, the cameras just have to be readjusted.  Worse still, if an employer illegally fires, demotes, or suspends a worker for trying to unionize – the penalty is to reinstate her to her previous post and pay back wages, minus any she earned in the interim. Pretty cheap for an employer, since a few thousand dollars in wages is a nominal cost to thwart a union. And the years of legal wrangling it takes to resolve these cases, means workers often move on to new jobs because they can’t afford to wait for reinstatement. Then there are the enforcement delays. Workers wait about nine months for an administrative law judge to issue a decision in their case. It takes an average of over three years between that filing and a decision on any appeal to the full National Labor Relations Board in Washington, DC. These obstacles are often too big for a worker or a nascent union to overcome. Even if they do, they may not be able to reach a collective agreement because the law doesn't really punish employers who engage in bad-faith negotiating. All that's required is to start the negotiations over, leading to a Groundhog Day-like cycle that doesn't resolve a thing. An employer can basically wage a war of attrition, and win. EFCA would strengthen workers rights, not undermine them as so many of its opponents charge. And in a time of grave economic uncertainty for millions, protecting the rights of individual breadwinners is a change we need. For the Sea Change ViewPoint, Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2008/12/10/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-turns-60/ http://www.cchange.net/2008/12/10/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-turns-60/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:15:00 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/2008/12/10/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-turns-60/ http://www.cchange.net/2008/12/10/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-turns-60/feed/ 0 Annabel Short,Arvind Ganesan,Harvard,human rights,Human Rights Watch,John Ruggie,jon weissman,Sustainable Public Policy,United Nations,universal declaration of human rights On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, calling on member country governments to promote the UDHR. Now, on the Declaration’s 60th anniversary, responsibility for promoting human rights protections ha... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/UDHR60_page_logo.gif)On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, calling on member country governments to promote the UDHR. Now, on the Declaration’s 60th anniversary, responsibility for promoting human rights protections has expanded to include the business community. The UN codified this link in 2005 when it issued a mandate for a Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, and this year it extended the appointment of Harvard Professor John Ruggie to the post for another three years. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/Annabel-Short.jpg)The year 2005 also saw the launch of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre as a web platform covering both positive and negative news on corporate conduct around human rights. Today, we speak with Annabel Short, Head of Programme at the Resource Centre, about its innovative work promoting improvements in companies' policies and practices on human rights. Annabel Short of the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (http://www.business-humanrights.org/Aboutus/Biosofstaff#8923) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/Policies) UDHR 60th Anniversary (http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/) In October, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre launched the world's first online portal profiling human rights lawsuits against companies. We caught up with the Resource Centre's Head of Research Greg Regaignon (http://www.business-humanrights.org/Aboutus/Biosofstaff#5183) from its California offices to describe the Corporate Legal Accountability Portal. Listen to the complete interview with Greg Regaignon (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/GregRegaignon.mp3) Corporate Legal Accountability Portal (http://www.business-humanrights.org/microsites/Portal/Home) CWR News Analysis -- Labor Rights are Human Rights --Wall Street Journal: "When Will That Bailout Money Trickle Down Exactly?" --Jobs with Justice: People's Bailout Week (http://www.jwj.org/bailout/index.html) --Coalition of Immokalee Workers Press Release: "Subway Signs Agreement with CIW to Improve Tomato Harvester Wages, Working Conditions in Florida" (http://www.ciw-online.org/CIW_Subway_joint_press_release.html) --International Labor Rights Forum Press Release: "Working for Scrooge -- 5 Worst Companies for the Right to Associate" (http://www.laborrights.org/end-violence-against-trade-unions/resources/1871) --Listen to the complete interview with Jon Weissman of Jobs with Justice (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/podcasts/JonWeissman.mp3) CWR ViewPoint -- Mandatory Human Rights Regulations for Companies (http://vcr.csrwire.com/node/12462) (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/arvind_ganesan_web-150x150.jpg)We’re excited about our new commentary partnership with Human Rights Watch. We inaugurate this collaboration today with the opinion of HRW’s director of the Business and Human Rights Program Arvind Ganesan (http://www.hrw.org/en/bios/arvind-ganesan). Bill Baue clean 29:00