NEWS SUMMARY - 12/3-12/11

• Harvard Business Review has come out with a lengthy article on Strategy & Society, written by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer.
• Consumer buying habits are key around the holidays, and Golin/Harris has released its fourth national survey, "Doing Well by Doing Good 2006." In the Economist, ethical food shopping is explored in "Voting With Your Trolley."
• A look behind the scenes at Wal-Mart shows how a savvy political advisory group has managed to improve the image of “Candidate Wal-Mart" considerably.
• As the major reporting season approaches, the Prince of Wales announced his new “kitemark,” which will signal high-quality environmental reporting. This is particularly useful as the number of social responsibility reports skyrockets – the Christian Science Monitor puts the number at about 2,000, up from several hundred a couple of years ago.
• The obesity issue is gaining ground, as New York City health officials unanimously vote in favor of the proposed ban on trans fats from the city’s restaurants and food stands, and Boston officials consider doing the same thing. Overseas, McDonald’s tries to head off criticism in China by designing a nutrition curriculum for elementary schools (Financial Times, 11/25/06), while Burger King fails to head off such problems in Spain, where it’s XXL burger advertising drew the ire of regulators.