Investment firms achieve recognition at Clinton Global Initiative

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Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is business the solution?

What is the potential of the private sector – particularly through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes of large corporations, with their tremendous power and economic strength – to foster development? The book spells out what corporations are doing on development, what more they could do, and how CSR can be a useful tool for corporations to promote economic development.

Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is business the solution?
Michael Hopkins Earthscan £19.99
ISBN 9781844076109

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Anglo American announces major community and environmental investment in Brazil

Mining and natural resources group Anglo American announced in August a commitment to invest $92 million in local communities and biodiversity projects in Brazil, following the completion of a transaction to acquire a controlling shareholding in the Minas-Rio iron ore project and the Amapá iron ore system. $72 million will benefit communities in the states of Amapá, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro over a 10-year period from 2009. The group will also spend a total of $19.5 million over five years, to plant approximately 1,000 hectares of tree seedlings in the state of Minas Gerais every year over a five-year period from 2009. Wherever possible, says the group, it will work in partnership with community organizations, NGOs and relevant government agencies. Click here to read ...

Study reveals Mexican consumers’ view of CSR

According to a recent study of Mexican consumers’ attitudes to CSR, 73 per cent of those taking part feel that their expectations of what CSR should do are not being taken into account, while 37 per cent say they are willing to change their buying habits to support a company or buy a product that supports a social cause. However, despite this willingness to buy products where some of the proceeds go to support a social cause, 80 per cent of those questioned have little or no idea what becomes of that support. The study was carried out in May this year by Vivian Blair & Asociados and Latin American Marketing Consultants in Mexico City, Monterrey and Gaudalajara.

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Corporate behaviour observatory established in Mexico

Small, medium and large companies in Mexico will be monitored for social responsibility practices by the recently created Centro de Información del Comportamiento Empresarial (Corporate Behaviour Information Centre - CICE).

Red Puentes (Bridges Network) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, supported financially by Oxfam Novib and Icco of Holland, have launched a new website (www.cicemexico.org.mx) to observe positive and negative CSR practices. This initiative is also being carried out in Chile and Peru and is planned for Spain as well. Click here to read ...

Banco Santander Chile’s most responsible company

According to the fourth annual CSR ranking carried out by Chile’s Fundación PROhumana, Banco Santander is the country’s most socially responsible business followed by Shell Chile, Microsoft Chile and Hewlett Packard Chile. The inquiry named the top 20 firms based on an analysis of their CSR policy and programmes and an anonymous survey of 15,000 of the companies’ employees on the social, environmental and economic impact of their CSR activities.

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Interview - Alan Gegenschatz

Alan Gegenschatz is Country General Manager of TNT Argentina. Staff turnover is 4 per cent as opposed to 10 per cent for the company worldwide and annual growth is in double digits. How is this possible when so much of his time seems to be taken up with TNT’s global CSR programmes, country programmes in areas such as hunger, diversity and recycling, and meeting global certification standards, including the Global Compact. Everything he’s doing is 100 per cent aligned with the corporate strategy, he tells Alliance. Click here to read ...

Lighting the way to corporate philanthropy

It’s becoming more popular – and lucrative – for corporations to jump on the ‘fair trade’, ‘organic’ bandwagon, even if they ride on it only for a short while. As profit-driven jargon becomes more ubiquitous, it’s hard to recognize who is adopting new behaviours for the common good and who is riding the coat-tails of market whims. For a non-profit, the ability to distinguish between fact and facade is crucial. Click here to read ...

CSI company launches toolkit for South African business

South African organization CSI Solutions has published a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Toolkit to address the practical needs of businesses already involved in CSI or wanting to begin. The focus is mainly on South Africa, but most of the content has a wider application, says the organization. It contains guidelines for practitioners on the process of developing a CSI strategy, and identifying, planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating CSI initiatives. It also discusses questions such as impact, sustainability, forming partnerships, capacity building and communicating CSI activities. It will be available in printed and electronic format.

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APPC Post features ‘THE global environmental issue’

The July edition of APPC Post features climate change under the heading ‘Tackling THE global environmental issue’. Among initiatives and events featured was the Philippines’ Corporate Social Responsibility Expo in July, which showcased businesses’ green projects in the country, among them fuel company Petron’s commitment to produce ethanol and the Ayala Foundation’s programmes for recycling office and commercial waste and reforestation. APPC Post also reports on HSBC’s new climate change initiative (see p32 of this magazine) and the commitment by Australia’s Myer Foundation of $100,000 to fund the ZooX Fund, which will finance research into how the Great Barrier Reef is responding to the effects of climate change. Click here to read ...