Articles Tagged ‘ Sustainable Public Policy ’

ViewPoint: EFCA – A Human Rights Imperative

February 25th, 2009

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arvindganesan

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 freely choose whether to form a union.  It recommends that the US Congress pass the Employee Free Choice Act to help remedy these shortcomings and bring US law closer to international standards. Arvind Ganesan, Director of Business and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch, brings us this week’s ViewPoint. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

Making the Case for a Green Stimulus

February 18th, 2009

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alexbowengreenstimulusAlex Bowen, a Principal Research Fellow at The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment of the London School of Economics, discusses An Outline of the Case for a ‘Green’ Stimulus, a report he co-authored with Lord Nicholas Stern, the man behind the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.   And in the ViewPoint, Donald Bartlett of the investigative journalism team Bartlett and Steele advances the idea of a Federal Reserve for health care. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

Envisioning a Green Economy

February 11th, 2009

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joelmakower

This week, green business guru Joel Makower encourages us to envision success in creating a clean, sustainable economy that averts climate catastrophe and improves our environment, communities, and lives.  And shareholder activist John Harrington urges banks bailed out with Troubled Asset Relief Program funding to make sure they stabilize US economic security.

Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

News Analysis: Lisa Woll Proposes Federal Office of CSR Innovation

January 28th, 2009

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lisawollThe Social Investment Forum (SIF) submitted a letter to President Obama listing a series of policy proposals, from proxy access allowing shareholders to nominate board candidates to “say on pay” giving investors a vote on executive compensation.  SIF also urges the Obama Administration to establish an Office for Innovation in Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR.  This idea dates back to the early 2000s, propounded first by Susan Aaronson at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, and supported by a Government Accountability Office report finding major lack of coordination on federal CSR initiatives.  SIF CEO Lisa Woll explains the rationale behind the recommendations, and how they will promote advancement toward sustainability.

News Analysis: Joe Romm on Obama’s Climate Resolve

January 28th, 2009

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Joe Romm

Joe Romm

In his first week in office, President Obama seemed to hit the ground running on climate change policy and support for a greener economy. But some say that while his efforts are a good first step, they’ll have to be followed up with much stronger measures to really do the job. We caught up with Joe Romm of the blog Climate Progress for some perspective on Obama’s first week. In addition to giving an overview, Romm also talked about an important–and frightening–new study from the NOAA that underscores the urgency of Obama’s moves.

Joe Romm worked on environmental policy under the Clinton Administration and is the author of HELL AND HIGH WATER: Global Warming, the Solution and the Politics. His blog Climate Progess is a project of the Center for American Progress.

Clean Energy Connections

January 21st, 2009

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philgiudicekevindoyleAt the Clean Energy Connections Conference in November 2008, Sea Change Radio Co-Host Francesca Rheannon spoke with Massachusetts Commissioner of Energy Resources Phil Guidice about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and state-level clean energy initiatives. She also interviewed Kevin Doyle, co-chair of the workforce development group of the New England Clean Energy Council, about the importance for low income people to have a voice at the table in developing the clean energy economy. For the News Analysis, Rheannon and Co-Host Bill Baue speak with Elizabeth Kolbert about her New Yorker profile of Green for All Founding President Van Jones entitled “Greening the Ghetto.” And Francesca brings us a modest proposal for funding energy efficiency in this week’s ViewPoint. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

News Analysis: Elizabeth Kolbert on Greening the Ghetto

January 21st, 2009

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elizabethkolbert“Greening the Ghetto” is the title of Elizabeth Kolbert’s profile of Van Jones in a recent New Yorker. The piece traces Van Jones’ development from a civil rights activist to a green collar jobs guru. Kolbert quotes Jones saying “Sometimes a breakdown can lead to a breakthrough.” She tells the story of how this resonates on a personal level for him. And, he’s also referring to this moment in history when an economic breakdown could lead to an environmental and economic breakthrough.

ViewPoint: Francesca Rheannon — A Modest Proposal

January 21st, 2009

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francescarheannonSea Change Co-Host Francesca Rheannon has a modest proposal for building demand for energy efficiency: a Home Energy Savings Equal Opportunity Program. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

Blog: Top Corporate Social Responsibility News of 2008

January 19th, 2009

bb1Each January for the past several years, Bill has surveyed the top Corporate Social Responsibility news stories of the past year for CSRwire.com, where he is a contributing writer. Here’s this year’s edition:

A “green” recovery from economic and environmental meltdowns; the advent of Shareholder Activism 2.0 with binding resolutions at TARP banks; CSR adopts Web 2.0 strategies for sustainability reporting; is Wal-Mart really green?; and much more…

The economic meltdown of 2008 mirrors the simultaneous environmental meltdown fueled by the climate calamity – both share common roots, and many in the Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR) community believe they share a common salvation. Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

News Analysis — Tim Smith on Shareowner Activism

January 14th, 2009

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timsmith1

Tim Smith, an early innovators of shareowner activism in the 1970s, analyzes this year’s proxy season. Smith was head of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. ICCR practically invented the process of filing shareholder resolutions at companies they invest in raising concern around the environmental, society, and governance — now known as ESG. For years, he attended companies’ general meetings during proxy season when investors vote on shareholder resolutions.

Click to continue reading and listen to the show…

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