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/2009/10/28/sea-change-commentary-on-bsr-conference-featured-in-csrminute/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/10/28/sea-change-commentary-on-bsr-conference-featured-in-csrminute/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:53:33 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=2061 http://www.cchange.net/2009/10/28/sea-change-commentary-on-bsr-conference-featured-in-csrminute/feed/ 2 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/04/the-mindful-path-to-sustainability/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/04/the-mindful-path-to-sustainability/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:24:37 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=616 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/04/the-mindful-path-to-sustainability/feed/ 2 Alternative Economic Models,Aron Cramer,business for social responsibility,Clean Tech,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,corporate governance,environmental action,Green Living,Labor Rights,Renewable Energy,stephanie kaza Stephanie Kaza links buddhism and sustainability in her new book, .  Sea Change Co-Host Francesca Rheannon covers coal protests at the Mount Tom Power Plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she interviewed local activists Glen Ayers and Tina Clarke. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/stephaniekaza-150x150.gif)Stephanie Kaza (http://www.uvm.edu/~skaza/) links buddhism and sustainability in her new book, (http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-583-6.cfm).  Sea Change Co-Host Francesca Rheannon covers coal protests (http://petervickery.blogspot.com/2009/03/mount-tom-demo.html) at the Mount Tom Power Plant (http://www.firstlightpower.com/generation/mttom.asp) in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where she interviewed local activists Glen Ayers and Tina Clarke.  And finally, this week's ViewPoint comes from Business for Social Responsibility (http://www.bsr.org/) CEO Aron Cramer (http://www.bsr.org/about/staff-bio.cfm?DocumentID=2), who proposes three corporate reforms. Witnessing the unfolding disaster of our ecological crisis can be a lonely burden to carry. And our loneliness also keeps us from being able to do anything about it. Now environmental educator and meditator Stephanie Kaza has stepped in to lead us on the “green practice path.”  In her book, MINDFULLY GREEN: A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth Thinking, she offers a simple, Buddhist-inspired philosophy for taking up environmental action in ways that overcome our separation from ourselves, each and our world. Kaza is a Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources (http://www.uvm.edu/~envnr/) at the University of Vermont (http://www.uvm.edu/).  Her previous books (http://www.uvm.edu/~skaza/?Page=publications/default.html) include (http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-57062-475-9.cfm),  (http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-172-2.cfm), and   (http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-57062-251-9.cfm). Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/03/viewpoint-corporate-reform-the-bigger-picture/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/03/viewpoint-corporate-reform-the-bigger-picture/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:01:06 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=611 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/03/viewpoint-corporate-reform-the-bigger-picture/feed/ 2 Alternative Economic Models,Aron Cramer,business for social responsibility,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,corporate governance,corporate structure,Labor Rights,Sustainable Business,Sustainable Public Policy Corporation 20/20, an organization promoting alternative corporate structures, just announced the Second Summit on the Future of the Corporation, slated for this June in Boston.  Discussion amongst those who attended the first Summit in November 2007 w... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/aroncramer-150x150.png)Corporation 20/20 (http://www.corporation2020.org/), an organization promoting alternative corporate structures, just announced the Second Summit on the Future of the Corporation (http://www.summit2020.org/), slated for this June in Boston.  Discussion amongst those who attended the first Summit in November 2007 was abuzz about the future of boards of directors. In the broader press, fingers are pointing, primarily at the banking industry as the culprit and at outrageous executive pay.  As accurate as these points may be, the troubles run deeper and wider, according to  Aron Cramer (http://www.bsr.org/about/staff-bio.cfm?DocumentID=2).  He's CEO of Business for Social Responsibility (http://www.bsr.org/index.cfm) (BSR), a  global nonprofit network of businesses focused on sustainability, and he's on the convening committee for the Future of the Corporation Summit.  In this week's Sea Change ViewPoint, Cramer calls for more structural reforms. It seems everyone needs symbols of our generation's economic meltdown. It’s easy--and tempting--to focus on how GM's Rick Wagoner traveled from Detroit to Washington, or how much of an allowance Bank of America's John Thain got for remodeling his office. But these stories are more useful as fodder for late-night comedy than for serious policymaking. 

These days, many people are treating executive pay as the litmus test of how serious we are in re-ordering the priorities of business. But the brou-haha over compensation is missing the bigger picture: the need to revamp the models that structure how  companies run. It’s called “corporate governance” -- and the way it’s done now lies at the root of many of today’s problems. It's time for Washington to focus on lasting reforms that may prevent a crisis next time. Reforming corporate governance could send some scurrying for the door. They remember the unhappy experience with Sarbanes-Oxley -- once considered the answer to the wave of accounting scandals exemplified by Enron. It required companies to jump through hoops without really improving the situation. But this crisis may give us a second chance to get it right -- to respond to a collapse of trust in business by making more effective changes in the way companies are governed. Three reforms will help business avoid the next crisis.  First, it’s time to reconsider corporate purpose. There’s been a lot of thinking in recent years about whether our current definition of fiduciary duty serves business or society. Right now, the idea is that corporations should consider only the interests of shareholders in making decisions.  In the US, some companies are employing hybrid business forms such as the "B Corporation (http://www.bcorporation.net/),”  and elsewhere, companies like Novo Nordisk are governed by foundations with a broader purpose.  These models redefine what a business is for by including the interests not only of shareholders but of employees, communities, and the environment in its charter.

 Second, more attention should be given to how well directors really know their companies' activities, products and services. While it seems ludicrous to ask whether directors have the core knowledge needed to perform their duties, recent months' events suggest otherwise. The increase of exotic financial instruments raises the question of whether directors have the basic knowledge to exercise effective oversight. When I was in China last summer, an advisor to several Asian boards told me that he observed many directors who simply didn't understand their company's activities. He said this was a ticking time bomb. The bomb now appears to have gone off. 
Third, it's time to  consider the inclusion of Directors who can help companies consider the interests of stakeholders, like workers and communities as well as the environment in guiding corporate decisions. Bill Baue clean