It’s been a big year for corporate responsibility. A huge oil spill, continued ructions in the financial sector, landmark decisions in the courts, and a new dawn for online companies around human rights issues are among the top CSR stories of 2010.
While this article was written in September in reference to the P&G challenge but it is even more timely now. Seventh Generation co-founder Jeffrey Hollender, was just fired on November 1st. Hollender was considered one of the top green business innovators. Either he is taking the fall for all the recent advertising issues but more likely it is because Seventh Generation is expanding to wider distribution and a broader market. These actions, along with the false advertising allegations, may dilute their brand even more.
Oil has monopolized America’s transportation sector, but this is changing. By the end of 2010, several major automobile manufacturers, including Nissan, General Motors, Volt, Nissan,GM, Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes will release their first generation electric vehicles – vehicles that allow you to run partially and even fully on electricity. The US government has also committed to spending millions of dollars to help prepare our cities and communities for the coming wave of electric vehicles.
Verdantix, recently released a free report, that explains why the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) is needed, defines the role of the CSO, and provides a profile to guide the appointment of the CSO. It also explains why organizations face a climate change and sustainability management deficit, why fixing sustainability governance gains is becoming a major priority by a growing number of firms, how the CSO can spearhead business transformation, who the ideal candidate for the chief sustainability officer role is, and what are the three priority areas of domain expertise.
2010 will see extended range plug in hybrids — as well as all electric vehicles start to hit the road in significant numbers. The plugin hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a primarily an electric vehicle with a small non-electric motor to extend their range; it is more of an electric vehicle and less of a gas powered vehicle than current hybrids. This post examines some of the main players in this emerging electic vehicle sector.
What are the “greenest” brands in the U.S.? Until we can define “green,” there’s no meaningful way to answer that question. Of course, that doesn’t stop people from having, and expressing, opinions.
