NEWS SUMMARY - 1/29-2/5

• The recent meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change spurred a surge in climate change news. For example:
• Despite its notoriety among green activists, even “ExxonMobil seeks to take its business to greener pastures” (Financial Times 2/1/07),
  
• Lehman Brothers published a study examining how firms are adapting to the increasing relevance of climate change to their businesses, discussed by its author (“Companies must adapt or die in a changing climate”; Financial Times 1/30/07),
  
• Goldman Sachs announced ambitious environmental measures and its general stance that climate change is both a risk and an opportunity throughout the economy ("Goldman Sachs Expects Big Returns from Going Green"; Ecosytem Marketplace 1/23/07),
• Business schools are increasinly going green as the Financial Times reports that "Global Warming Has Become a Hot Topic"
  

• A a new magazine, The Corporate Citizen, is now being published by one of my employers, the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College. It will have a controlled print circulation of 50,000 - making it the most widely circulated publication in the field. The inaugural issue (available free online) "reflects much of the content from The Center’s annual conference and the practices of many of its 350-member companies."
  

• Without explicitly mentioning the Killer Coke campaign, a Coca-Cola executive discussed the company's constructive partnerships with some external critics, and defended its choice to "vigorously confront" those who are less amenable to dialogue; see his comments in "Things Go Better With Social Justice" (Wall Street Journal, 2/3/07)

• In a move that might not be so significant were it made in isolation, “Asda pledges to cut food packaging” (Financial Times 2/2/07). This follows recent eco-friendly moves by UK rivals Tesco (which plans to introduce carbon labeling on its products) and Marks & Spencer (which pledged to go carbon-neutral within five years), as well as by its parent company, Wal-Mart.

• A recent HarrisInteractive poll on corporate reputation, Microsoft scored high due to its founder's personal charitable work ("How a Boss's Deeds Buff a Firm's Reputation"; Wall Street Journal 1/31/07)

• As biofuels are increasingly examined for their alternative energy promise, many turn out to be somewhat less than miracles. This week the New York Times looks at palm oil and the devastating effect it can have on land in Indonesia as vast tracts of land are cleared by burning and chemical fertilizers are used indiscriminately (see "Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May be an Eco-Nightmare"; 1/31/07).

• The jury is still out for voluntarism, as critics say that UN Global Compact is a “Victim of Voluntarism” (Financial Express 1/30/07) while others are placing hope in new voluntary initiatives such as a new initiative to “Improve Job Prospects for Women” in the UK (Financial Times 1/30/07). Carnival Cruises voluntarily paid $30k more than necessary in an attempt at “Discharging Goodwill” after being fined for illegal pollution, but that's peanuts compared to the $20 billion that activists are asking Shell to put toward human rights issues (“Campaigners Urge Shell to Put Profits Into Clean-Up”; The Guardian 1/31/07).