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/2009/05/06/community-governance/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/community-governance/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 19:35:37 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=840 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/community-governance/feed/ 0 Community Economic Engagement,community governance,corporate governance,Fair Trade,Fair Trade Towns,Green Living,human rights,jessie smith noyes foundation,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies,Shareholder Engagement,southwest organizing project Longtime shareowner activist Steve Viederman discusses the notion of community governance, where communities reclaim democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.  Exemplifying community governance is the Fair Trad... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/steveviederman-150x150.jpg)Longtime shareowner activist Steve Viederman (http://www.sustainability.com/about/profile.asp?id=84) discusses the notion of community governance, where communities reclaim democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.  Exemplifying community governance is the Fair Trade Towns (http://www.fairtradetownsusa.org/) movement, where communities commit to supporting Fair Trade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade) commodities such as coffee and cocoa.  We speak about Fair Trade Towns and World Fair Trade Day (http://www.worldfairtradeday09.org/) with Amherst Fair Trade Partnership (http://www.myspace.com/amherstfairtrade) Chair Yuri Friman and Bart's Cafe (http://www.bartshomemade.com/greenfield.htm) owner Al Sax, who is coordinating the launch of the fourth Fair Trade Town here in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Valley) where we produce Sea Change Radio.  And finally, this week's ViewPoint comes from Liana Foxvog of SweatFree Communities (http://www.sweatfree.org/) on its latest report, Subsidizing Sweatshops II, which identifies how communities can advocate for their state and local governments to avoid buying products such as firefighter uniforms produced in sweatshop conditions. In November 2008, Steve Viederman met with some of the best community organizers in the country at the the South by Southwest Learning Continuum: Southern Echo (http://southernecho.org/s/) from Jackson, Mississippi; Southwest Workers Union (http://www.swunion.org/) (SWU) from San Antonio, Texas; and SouthWest Organizing Project (http://www.swopblogger.org/) (SWOP) from Albuquerque, New Mexico.    "Community governance" was the buzz -- in other words, communities reclaiming democratic power of self-determination from corporations and other external forces.   As longtime president of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation (http://www.noyes.org/), Viederman helped steer grants to community organizations working to empower citizens and protect their local environment.  For example, the Noyes Foundation helped SWOP engage with Intel (http://www.noyes.org/97pres.html) over environmental issues such as water use and toxics in its New Mexico chip manufacturing facility.  On a recent visit to his grandchildren, Viederman stopped by the studios to chat about community governance. Among other things, he distinguished between communities as stakeholders, the current terminology, and stakeowners, the term Viederman proposes as a more accurate description of communities' rights and responsibilities.   (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/fairtradetown-150x150.jpg)Next, there's a movement afoot for communities to use their collective consumer power to promote Fair Trade, which sets a fair price for commodities like coffee and cocoa and deals directly with worker cooperatives to empower growers globally.  Fair Trade Towns is gaining steam in the US, particularly here in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts where we produce Sea Change Radio.  To find out more, we invited Yuri Friman, Chair of the Amherst Fair Trade Partnership, and Al Sax, who's helping launch Greenfield as the fourth Fair Trade Town in the Valley, into the studio. Bill Baue clean 29:31 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 19:34:25 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=847 http://www.cchange.net/2009/05/06/viewpoint-communities-going-sweat-free/feed/ 0 human rights,Labor Rights,Liana Foxvog,Local Living Economies,Sustainable Business,Sustainable Public Policy,SweatFree Communities,sweatshops Currently, communities are unwittingly supporting sweatshop labor when state and local governments use tax dollars to buy things such as firefighter uniforms.  Liana Foxvog, National Organizer of the advocacy organization SweatFree Communities, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/lianafoxvog.jpg)Currently, communities are unwittingly supporting sweatshop labor when state and local governments use tax dollars to buy things such as firefighter uniforms.  Liana Foxvog, National Organizer of the advocacy organization SweatFree Communities (http://www.sweatfree.org/), discusses findings of Subsidizing Sweatshops II (http://www.sweatfree.org/subsidizing), the latest research on sweatshops perpetuated by government contracts. Guillermo Cosajay works in a garment factory making apparel for the government. When his vision started going blurry, he didn’t know why. Then he looked at his glasses and saw they were covered with oil. But the glasses weren’t keeping the oil out of his eyes. Cosajay told researchers from SweatFree Communities, “The thread uses lots of oil. So when you are working, there is a part of the machine that shoots oil into your eyes.” Guillermo brought this issue to several supervisors, but to no avail. A new report by Sweat Free Communities, Subsidizing Sweatshops II, shines a light on workers' rights violations in seven factories like the one Cosajay works in. It also looks at how our tax dollars can foster workers' rights --and economic recovery-- rather than fuel the race to the bottom. A previous exposé last summer profiled four of the same factories. Since the first report (http://www.sweatfree.org/subsidizing1), the stock market crashed. That's brought increased attention to jobs and insecurity. But, long before news of the crisis hit the airwaves, most of the world’s population had been experiencing a quieter, less-publicized economic crisis. The workers we interviewed face a daily crisis. Families can't make ends meet on their wages. They go to work sick because they can't afford to lose a day’s pay.  People are fired and blacklisted when they try to organize. Workers are laid off--often without warning or adequate severance pay--when factories move for cheaper labor. The collapse on Wall Street only made things go from already bad to worse. Companies tell workers that they should be happy to have a job-- and never mind about the poor conditions. Guillermo Portalatin, a worker at Eagle Industries, who makes Army and law enforcement apparel, said: “The workers have a lot of fear because of the economic situation. The company takes advantage of that. They told us recently not to listen to radios, and when somebody asked for a raise, the supervisor said we were lucky to be working.” Portalatin and Cosajay don’t work in a third world sweatshop. They work in Massachusetts. Ongoing SweatFree Communities’ research shows that a family of four with two adults working at the factory make only 60-65% of a living wage. The company’s family health insurance plan costs 80% of their monthly earnings, so workers don’t buy into it. Workers say that time-keeping and surveillance create an uncomfortable work environment. They told us of incidents of favoritism, sexual harassment, ethnic discrimination, and monitoring of union supporters. In addition to shooting oil, health and safety concerns include heat exhaustion and fainting, accidents involving forklifts hitting sewing machine operators, and cuts from sharp material. Equally concerning is management’s unresponsiveness to workers' requests for safety equipment and improvements in the working environment. Workers at Eagle and many other factories are organizing for a seat at the negotiating table with management. Tax-payers can act in solidarity with workers by asking state and local officials to adopt sweatshop-free procurement laws and join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium (http://buysweatfree.org/). Those actions will help ensure that our tax dollars no longer subsidize sweatshop conditions--and instead provide incentives for companies to improve conditions and respect workers' rights. For the Sea Change ViewPoint, I’m Liana Foxvog of SweatFree Communities. Bill Baue clean 3:47 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:22:23 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=824 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/30/the-green-jobs-debate/feed/ 1 bob pollin,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,david johnson,Green Jobs,Green Living,greenbiz,Labor Rights,marc gunther,Renewable Energy,Sustainable Innovation,Sustainable Public Policy Green jobs are all the talk nowadays, which has predictably led to healthy debate.  On today's Sea Change Radio, Co-Host Francesca Rheannon talks with GreenBiz Senior Writer Marc Gunther about his controversial article, "The Phony Green Jobs Debate. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/marcgunther1.jpg)(http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bobpollin.jpg)Green jobs are all the talk nowadays, which has predictably led to healthy debate.  On today's Sea Change Radio, Co-Host Francesca Rheannon talks with GreenBiz Senior Writer Marc Gunther about his controversial article, "The Phony Green Jobs Debate."  Bob Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, author of a report criticized by Gunther, responds.  To end the show, Rhennon speaks with David Johnson about Transition Towns. When Sea Change Radio -- under our old name Corporate Watchdog Radio -- talked with economist Bob Pollin about the report he co-authored, Green Recovery – A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy, he said that a $100 billion green economic recovery program would create two million jobs nationwide in such industries as building retrofitting, mass transit and freight rail, smart grid, wind power, solar power and advanced biofuels.  But environmental economics reporter Marc Gunther, formerly of FORTUNE magazine, thinks these claims may be downplaying the costs of transitioning to the green economy, especially the toll it may take on employment in conventional energy sectors. Gunther thinks the environmental movement needs to level with the public -- and he's gotten some flack from environmentalists for the recent Phony Green Jobs Debate article. After Marc Gunther posted the article, Pollin wrote him to dispute Gunther's claim that we can't forecast the costs to the economy of shifting employment to green jobs. Gunther published Pollin's comments and replied to them . After hearing this ad from the Blue-Green Alliance on green jobs, we talk with both Marc Gunther and Bob Pollin about the costs and benefits to jobs of the transition to a green economy. QUESTION TO LISTENERS: What most motivates you to make changes in your carbon footprint: fear of the long term consequences of climate change or economic benefits right now? Tweet us with your answer @cchange. Or leave a longer answer in our comment section. Transition Towns: As some ponder the role of government investment in creating green jobs, others aren't waiting for government to provide the stimulus for the transition to a low-carbon society. They are joining a grassroots movement called Transition Towns . Featured in the April 16 issue of the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Transition Towns was started in the UK four years ago by ecological designer Rob Hopkins. The Transition Towns (TT) movement isn't about creating a more sustainable industrial, globalized society. Rather, it's about building resilient communities in the face of the shock of declining oil supplies, climate disruption, and the unraveling of industrial society as a result. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/davidjohnson.jpg) TT's goal is to put new systems in place to make local communities as self-sufficient as possible. It's process is to marshall the collective wisdom of those communities in an on-going, democratic, self-organizing evolution. And it focuses on practical efforts that can be accomplished now, but also help set up the conditions for a more profound transformation in the future. One example is the mass planting of nut trees in the small British town of Totnes--which now is the so-called nut tree capital of the world.  Recently, TT trainers came to Amherst, MA to put on an awareness raising workshop for people interested in making their own community a Transition Town. Sea Change Radio spoke with TT trainer David Johnson. He got involved in the TT movement in his native Britain, but has moved to Portland OR to help build the movement there.   Bill Baue clean 28:36 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/01/a-new-morality-for-capitalism/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/01/a-new-morality-for-capitalism/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:40:21 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=748 http://www.cchange.net/2009/04/01/a-new-morality-for-capitalism/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,Community Economic Engagement,hazel henderson,human rights,Labor Rights,Sustainable Public Policy,William Greider William Greider talks about a new moral order for capitalism, drawing from his new book .  And in the Sea Change ViewPoint, Hazel Henderson of Ethical Markets Media predicts the rise of "new financiers" whose prime currency is information, not money. - (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/williamgreider-150x150.jpg) William Greider (http://williamgreider.com/about) talks about a new moral order for capitalism, drawing from his new book .  And in the Sea Change ViewPoint, Hazel Henderson (http://www.hazelhenderson.com/) of Ethical Markets Media (http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/) predicts the rise of "new financiers" whose prime currency is information, not money. Journalist Bill Greider has been writing about capitalism and democracy for decades. And about how these two value systems are in collision. National Affairs Correspondent (http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/william_greider) for The Nation (http://www.thenation.com/) and author of numerous books (http://williamgreider.com/books), Grieder wrote about globalization in (http://www.amazon.com/One-World-Ready-Not-Capitalism/dp/0684835541%3FSubscriptionId%3D0CD9RCQYM0TBVH55NB82%26tag%3Dviaposit-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0684835541), the military-industrial complex in (http://www.amazon.com/Fortress-America-American-Military-Consequences/dp/1891620452%3FSubscriptionId%3D0CD9RCQYM0TBVH55NB82%26tag%3Dviaposit-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1891620452), and creating a moral economy in  (http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Capitalism-Opening-Paths-Economy/dp/0684862204%3FSubscriptionId%3D0CD9RCQYM0TBVH55NB82%26tag%3Dviaposit-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0684862204).  His new book is COME HOME, AMERICA: The Rise and Fall (and Redeeming Promise) of Our Country. Sea Change Radio Co-Host Francesca Rheannon started by asking Greider what lessons he drew from AIG bonus scandal and their relevance to his book. Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:03:49 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=729 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/25/seeding-the-solidarity-economy/feed/ 0 Alternative Economic Models,center for popular economics,chilo villarreal,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,emily kawano,Fair Trade,forum on solidarity economy,Green Jobs,Green Living,human rights,Labor Rights The Center for Popular Economics (CPE) recently hosted the first Forum on the Solidarity Economy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst -- home of Sea Change Radio.  CPE Executive Director Emily Kawano explains the theory and practice behind the s... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/solidarityeconomy.gif)The Center for Popular Economics (http://www.populareconomics.org/) (CPE) recently hosted the first Forum on the Solidarity Economy (http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/node/99) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst -- home of Sea Change Radio.  CPE Executive Director Emily Kawano (http://www.populareconomics.org/bios/kawano_e.htm) explains the theory and practice behind the solidarity economy, and discusses strategies and next steps for the US Solidarity Economy Network (http://www.populareconomics.org/ussen/) in cultivating a socially and environmentally sustainable economy.  And Chilo Villarreal (http://www.ruralco.org/aboutus/board.html) of the Coalición Rural (http://www.ruralco.org/index.html) in Mexico illustrates solidarity economy concepts through story.   Finally, the News Analysis examines the business of water. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/emilykawano.jpg)As our existing economy collapses under the weight of its own unsustainable growth, what economic forms will replace this failed system?  Policymakers bend over backwards to prop up a the broken status quo, while idealists around the world envision more equitable and ecological alternatives.  The solidarity economy -- that's one such vision.  Last week, these visionaries traveled from around the world to the Forum on the Solidarity Economy here at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, hosted by the Center for Popular Economics.  This week, after the dust had settled, Center for Popular Economics Executive Director Emily Kawano visited us in the WMUA studios.  Sea Change Host Bill Baue opened the conversation by asking Emily, what is a solidarity economy, and what role can it play in helping fix the current economic breakdown? Kawano identifies three priorities for advancing the solidarity economy by focusing on leverage points where the current economic system is failing or has gaps: housing, finance, and cooperatives. (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/chilovillarreal.tiff)The colorful wrap draped across her back immediately caught the eye of Sea Change Host Bill Baue at the Forum on the Solidarity Economy.  When he saw her later in an empty classroom, he jumped at the chance for an interview.  She introduced herself as Altagracia Villarreal -- but everybody knows her as Chilo.  Since 1995, she's served on the board of the Coalicion Rural, a collaboration between 17 organization in Mexico.  Its partner in the US, the Rural Coalition, is made up of 70 to 80 organizations throughout the country.  He opened by asking Chilo how she defines solidarity economy, and later asked Chilo to describe a specific example that illustrates the solidarity economy in action, and she answered in both Spanish and English.  You'll hear her Spanish underneath her English response. Bill Baue clean 29:30 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:01:47 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=657 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/building-green/feed/ 2 Alex Wilson,Climate Change,Community Economic Engagement,Erin Gorman,Fair Trade,Green Building,Green Jobs,Green Living,human rights,Karl Frisch,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies BuildingGreen.com founder Alex Wilson discusses the history, current state, and future of the green building movement. Erin Gorman, CEO of Divine Chocolate USA, welcomes the move by Cadbury to source Fairtrade cocoa from the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in ... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/alexwilson-150x150.jpg) BuildingGreen.com (http://www.buildinggreen.com/) founder Alex Wilson (http://www.buildinggreen.com/about/staff.cfm) discusses the history, current state, and future of the green building movement. Erin Gorman, CEO of Divine Chocolate USA (http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/), welcomes the move by Cadbury to source Fairtrade cocoa (http://www.csrwire.com/News/14719.html) from the Kuapa Kokoo (http://www.kuapakokoogh.com/) cooperative in Ghana that owns Divine, and Bama Athreya of the International Labor Rights Forum (http://www.laborrights.org/) also applauds (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/1971) Cadbury's move.  And Karl Frisch (http://www.karlfrisch.com/) of Media Matters (http://mediamatters.org/) brings us the ViewPoint on how the mainstream media is dropping the ball on covering climate change. Alex Wilson founded BuildingGreen in 1985, when the green building movement was in its infancy.  As executive editor of Environmental Building News (http://www.buildinggreen.com/articles/), the bible of green building, Wilson has provided the information that has formed the building blocks of the movement.  In November 2008, Wilson received the Leadership Award for Education (http://www.buildinggreen.com/press/leadership_award.cfm) from the US Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org/), whose board he served on from 2000 until 2005, the crucial period when the organization created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) (http://www.usgbc.org/leed/) certification. Wilson launches the conversation with a primer on green building and its history, starting with an explanation of LEED.  He then compares indigenous structural design, such as the Anasazi, who oriented their dwellings toward the sun to capture solar energy, compared to design that developed in the age of cheap fossil fuel, which abandoned age-old principles of efficiency.  Wilson points out, however, that the Anasazi  civilization collapsed due to reliance on unsustainable water use -- a fate our current culture may share with them. Wilson highlights solutions, such as green roofs (http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/1/30/Integrate-Food-Production-and-Green-Building/) and urban agriculture which integrates into the built environment (http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/1/29/Growing-Food-Locally-Integrating-Agriculture-Into-the-Built-Environment/), citing the example of City Farm (http://www.resourcecenterchicago.org/70thfarm.html) in Chicago.  He then proposes the idea of passive survivability (http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2008/10/14/On-the-Path-to-Passive-Survivability), the notion of designing our buildings to survive the kinds of challenges that will become more prevalent as the climate changes, such as power outages and water shortages.  The beauty of this idea is that it's exactly the kind of design we need to achieve sustainability. Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:59:49 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=653 http://www.cchange.net/2009/03/11/newsanalysis-fairtrade-cocoa-goes-big-league/feed/ 0 child labor,Community Economic Engagement,equal exchange,Erin Gorman,Fair Trade,Ghana,human rights,Labor Rights,Local Living Economies,Social Entrepreneurs,Sustainable Business,West Africa Cadbury, the popular British chocolate maker, just agreed to source Fairtrade cocoa for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the top-selling chocolate bar in the UK. The move effectively triples sales of Fairtrade cocoa for farmers in Ghana, (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/cadburydairymilk-150x150.jpg) Cadbury (http://www.cadbury.com/Pages/Home.aspx), the popular British chocolate maker, just agreed to source Fairtrade cocoa for Cadbury Dairy Milk (http://www.csrwire.com/News/14719.html), the top-selling chocolate bar in the UK. The move effectively triples sales of Fairtrade cocoa for farmers in Ghana, where Cadbury sources from Kuapa Kokoo (http://www.kuapakokoogh.com/).  It was one of the first cooperatives there to be Fairtrade (http://www.fairtrade.net/) certified in the '90s.  In the late '90s, Kuapa Kokoo also started its own brand, Divine Chocolate, to keep more of the value that typically gets skimmed by middle-men and big chocolate companies.  Erin Gorman, CEO of the Divine Chocolate USA (http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/), welcomes the move, which validates its model of Fairtrade sourcing.   Bama Athreya, executive director of the activist NGO International Labor Rights Forum (http://www.laborrights.org/) (ILRF), also supports the development (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/1971).  (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bamaathreya-150x150.jpg)Athreya and other activists have been campaigning for over eight years to convince major chocolate companies such as Nestle, Mars, and Hershey's to purchase Fairtrade cocoa.  The Commitment to Ethical Cocoa Sourcing (http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-labor/cocoa-campaign/resources/861), a set of guidelines signed by activists and progressive chocolate companies such as Equal Exchange (http://www.equalexchange.coop/), argues that Fairtrade helps stop the worst forms of child labor and trafficked labor.   Both are widespread problems on cocoa farms in West Africa. Chocolate companies balked at the Fairtrade solution.   Erin Gorman of Divine points out how Fairtrade addresses not just the symptom of child labor, but also the root causes that underpin child labor.  Check out the Divine Chocolate website for videos of Kuapa Kokoo (Gorman of Divine points out how Fairtrade addresses not just the symptom of child labor, but also the root causes that underpin child labor.) members. Bill Baue clean 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 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/2009/01/14/john-ruggie-on-business-and-human-rights/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/14/john-ruggie-on-business-and-human-rights/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:29:13 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=349 http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/14/john-ruggie-on-business-and-human-rights/feed/ 0 human rights,John Ruggie,Labor Rights,United Nations The mandate of John Ruggie as the United Nations Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, first extended by the UN Human Rights Council in 2005, was recently extended another three years.  We hear excerpts today from Ruggie's keynote addres... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/johnruggie-120x150.jpg) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruggie) The mandate of John Ruggie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruggie) as the United Nations Special Representative on Business and Human Rights (http://www.business-humanrights.org/Gettingstarted/UNSpecialRepresentative), first extended by the UN Human Rights Council (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/) in 2005, was recently extended another three years.  We hear excerpts today from Ruggie's keynote (http://www.reports-and-materials.org/Ruggie-address-to-Responsible-Invest-Forum-12-Jan-2009.pdf) address earlier this week at the Responsible Investing Forum (http://www.iievents.com/event_details.asp?eventID=708518&expired=true), which will post the complete talk on its website in the near future. Bill Baue clean http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/07/viewpoint-transition-brings-opportunity-corporate-campaigners/ http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/07/viewpoint-transition-brings-opportunity-corporate-campaigners/#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:43:45 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/?p=298 http://www.cchange.net/2009/01/07/viewpoint-transition-brings-opportunity-corporate-campaigners/feed/ 0 business ethics,Charlie Cray,corporate accountability,corporate governance,Labor Rights,Obama,Shareholder Engagement,Sustainable Public Policy Charlie Cray of the Center for Corporate Policy gives his take on the opportunities -- and dangers -- of the transition to the Obama Administration. Corporate campaigners can call on the new team to shift power away from the corporate stranglehold and... Charlie Cray of the Center for Corporate Policy gives his take on the opportunities -- and dangers -- of the transition to the Obama Administration. Corporate campaigners can call on the new team to shift power away from the corporate stranglehold and back into the hands of the people and their government. However, this is no time for complacency, according to Cray.  Corporate lobbyists remain deeply embedded in DC, pushing for business-as-usual when it comes to corporate regulation and accountability. This ViewPoint is produced in partnership with BEN, the Business Ethics Network, a consortium of corporate accountability activists. The Center for Corporate Policy (http://www.corporatepolicy.org/) Business Ethics Network (http://www.businessethicsnetwork.org/article.php?list=type&type=176) Bill Baue clean 4:06 http://www.cchange.net/2006/01/30/independent-monitoring-of-corporations-verite/ http://www.cchange.net/2006/01/30/independent-monitoring-of-corporations-verite/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:29:00 +0000 Bill Baue http://www.cchange.net/2006/01/30/independent-monitoring-of-corporations-verite/ http://www.cchange.net/2006/01/30/independent-monitoring-of-corporations-verite/feed/ 0 Dan Viederman,human rights,Labor Rights,social responsibility Dan Viederman, executive director of Verite', a nonprofit that monitors factories globally for compliance with human and labor rights codes. - Discussion touches on Verité's work with the Gap on its groundbreaking Social Responsibility Report that dis... (http://www.cchange.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/dan_viederman.jpg)Dan Viederman, executive director of Verite', a nonprofit that monitors factories globally for compliance with human and labor rights codes. Discussion touches on Verité's work with the Gap on its groundbreaking Social Responsibility Report (http://www.gapinc.com/public/SocialResponsibility/sr_report.shtml) that disclosed for the first time labor rights violations; Verité's new report on exploitation of foreign contract laborers in Asia and the Middle East; the challenges of maintaining independence from corporate clients. Links: Verite (http://www.verite.org/) Verite Report Identifies Exploitation of Foreign Contract Laborers in Asia and the Middle East ( http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/1892.html ) Gap-Verite Collaboration Exemplifies Award-Winning Practice on Social Responsibility ( http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/1581.html ) CalPERS Divests from Four Emerging Countries (http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article790.html) Bill Baue clean 29:06