According to Forrester analyst James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., you’ll encounter “a dozen video platforms per day,” - what he calls an OmniVideo world. You’ll not only watch more video, but more of the video you watch will be viewed on-demand. 

Driving this will be multiple trends:

• Video viewed on-demand will more than double.
• The percent of video that is Internet video will more than triple.
• The percent of video consumed on mobile devices will double.
• The percent of video that is user-generated will jump from 2% to 10%

“When nearly every surface in your environment can display video, marketers will pay a pretty penny to show up at the bottom of a food bowl or in a bathroom mirror, where their product marketing message will be far more relevant than it is on a TV today.” notes McQuivey. “The only broker of this ad space in your home is you: We envision ad networks one day paying you for the right to aggregate your ad experiences.”

McQuivey predicts that, by 2012, you may spend your day:

1. waking up to a video alarm clock;
2. checking satellite weather videos on your mobile phone;
3. watching traffic videos on your GPS unit while driving in to work;
4. watching an ad for a Ford Edge on Gas TV while fueling up at a gas station;
5. streaming MSNBC stock reports from your desktop at work;
6. seeing a short address from your CEO in a meeting-room photo frame;
7. watching a promo for American Gladiators in the back of a video-enabled taxi on the way to the airport;
8. hearing Glenn Beck’s take on the elections while waiting at the airport gate;
9. watching a clip from your daughter’s middle-school debut in Guys and Dolls that your spouse emailed as you board the plane;
10. indulging in American Idol on the satellite TV on your JetBlue flight;
11. checking in at your hotel through a video kiosk; and finally
12. catching Iron Man in HD on the hotel room’s flat-screen TV.

In Forrester’s view, video “is about to explode, driving up total video viewing time from 4 hours per day to 5 hours by 2013.”

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Il risparmio energetico è un vantaggio economico per le imprese, oltre che una pratica di responsabilità socio-ambientale e una leva di reputazione aziendale. Questo il messaggio che emerge chiaro da questo primo workshop AnimAmbiente organizzato da Anima per il sociale nei valori d’impresa, l’associazione no profit dell’Unione degli Industriali e delle imprese di Roma, presso il Tecnopolo Tiburtino, in collaborazione con UIR, Confindustria Lazio, Tecnopolo, Agenzia Regionale per l’Ambiente, Azienda Ambiente e Territorio della Camera di Commercio di Roma.

“I tempi sono maturi perché la sostenibilità e l’efficienza energetica diventino anche in Italia un fattore di competitività, oltre che un elemento della responsabilità d’impresa”, ha dichiarato la Presidente di Anima, Ilaria Catastini che ha aperto i lavori insieme a Brunetto Tini, Presidente del Tecnopolo: "Il nostro obiettivo è quello di garantire alle aziende insediate all'interno dei tecnopoli romani le migliori condizioni di operatività in termini di gestione e risparmio. Con un investimento complessivo di circa 20 milioni di euro, verranno a breve realizzati al Tecnopolo Tiburtino un impianto di cogenerazione centralizzato ed impianti fotovoltaici su aree pubbliche e private".

Carlo Noto La Diega, Consigliere Anima, Presidente di Secit e di Fise, ha moderato l’incontro. “Il risparmio energetico che di solito viene affrontato nel sistema ‘macro’, ha invece un grande ed importante risvolto nel ‘micro’, nelle piccole e medie imprese” ha dichiarato. Secondo Marina Migliorato, Vicepresidente di Anima e Responsabile CSR e Rapporti con le Associazioni di Enel “è necessario coniugare responsabilmente ambiente ed energia: questa è la sfida della Sostenibilità”.

Filippo Tortoriello, Incaricato dal Presidente di Confindustria Lazio per Energia e Ambiente lancia l’idea del “risparmio energetico come ‘fonte virtuale’ di approvvigionamento. L’efficienza energetica associata all’utilizzo di tecnologie per produrre energia da fonti rinnovabili è il binomio vincente” - sostiene. Secondo Unione degli Industriali e delle imprese di Roma "L'aumento del costo dell'energia sta dando sempre di più una connotazione strategica a tutte le attività e le iniziative che puntano al risparmio e all'efficienza energetica. Per questo UIR è impegnata da tempo sulle tematiche di energie e ambiente attraverso il Consorzio Energia Roma che eroga servizi in tale ambito e una specifica consiliatura incaricata che si confronta con i soggetti istituzionali locali di riferimento".

“Dal nostro punto di vista” - dichiara infine Corrado Carrubba, Commissario straordinario di ARPA Lazio – “un’impresa attenta all’ambiente e alle sfide dell’innovazione è un soggetto maggiormente affidabile e responsabile con il quale confrontarsi in un’ottica moderna del controllo ambientale”.

Il workshop ha visto una ricca presenza di presentazioni, progetti, casi concreti e buone prassi presentate da: Alessando Di Giosa di ARPA Lazio, Angelo Gava, Responsabile Unità Efficienza Energetica EnelSì, Fabrizio Tomada, Direttore rapporti istituzionali e comunicazione di GSE, Maurizio Maione, Consigliere e responsabile energia di Hill&Knowlton Gaia, Silvio Gentile, Amministratore Delegato di Green Utility, Ottavia Zanzi, Amministratore Delegato di Fiera di Roma, Stefano Pighini, Amministratore Delegato di Shap Spa, Alfredo Picano, Presidente di Labor Srl.

Tutto il materiale è consultabile sul sito di Anima: www.animaroma.it e sul sito di Confindustria nazionale: http://www.confindustriaixi.it/it/anima_170708.html#

L’iniziativa è stata realizzata con il sostegno di Enel e Future Brand ed è collegata al progetto IMPRESE X INNOVAZIONE di CONFINDUSTRIA.

Ufficio stampa: Anima, Floriana Annunziata, tel. 0684499319 -  email segreteria@animaroma.it

1. Monumental waste of resources: Cars having one person in them. It is a monumental waste of petrol because one will end up burning approximately the same amount of petrol as would have happened if the car had more passengers in it. It is also a monumental waste of space as one car occupies the space in which upto three bikes can move on the road. And since this sort of a behavior clogs up roads, the waste in terms of time, other people's petrol and wear and tear is exponential.

2. Big cars: People with gas guzzling cars are a bigger waste. They occupy more space and also burn more petrol. Worst is when there is one smart alec smoking a cigarette and cussing the traffic. Give me a break.

With this in mind, I am putting down my daily itinerary so that people can take a trip as and when they want to, provided I am intimated in advance and they are ok with a guy like me.

Name: Abhilash

Phone number: 9741776304

Route: Koramangla 3rd block-sarjapur road-outer ring road-marathalli junction-varthur road-whitefield & vice-versa

Timings: Morning Start between 9:20-9:40/ Evenings Start between 7:30-9:30

Conditions: If it is a trip in the morning intimate me the previous evening. If it is a trip in the evening, intimate me in the preceding afternoon. There are no charges. I would consider the savings in petrol/ diesel at your end to be good enough.

Let me see how this works.

However, there are teachers who do not want their tests to be posted for every student to see.

"I would not be happy if a student who had taken a class of mine had taken an exam and posted it online," Sarah Hall, graduate professor of psychology at Penn State University, said. "I know that some teachers reuse past exams and it would be hard to have to write a new test for every class."

However, Mary Bojan, professor of chemistry at PSU, said she wouldn't mind if students posted her tests online.

"For my classes I always write new exams every time, and I wouldn't object because I have some old exams up online that I've posted myself," Bojan said.

Currently, there are no tests online for Penn State University, because the site was developed on the West Coast, Oral said.

"Primarily the main audience is San Diego, but that's because I've only advertised around there," Oral said.

He said he is looking into expanding the site more to include universities and colleges across the country.

"Also, although I am still focused on the United States, in the future I would like to go global," Oral said. "I think it would be really effective worldwide."

While studying for an exam in the HUB-Robeson Center, Christal Cozier (senior-nutrition) said she would consider using the site.

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Increasing amounts of pressure and responsibility are now falling on corporations to take on the challenge of climate change through their philanthropies and through sustainable production.  The threat of climate change has heightened the importance of CSR.  CSR for corporations has now become more than fulfilling a social responsibility, it is a necessity if we are to avert climate catastrophe.

Even though the issue of climate change is complex and there are few short-term results, corporations can greatly contribute to a solution.  Corporations should first look internally and reevaluate resource extraction, recycling, the sustainability of their products and their supply chains.  For example, BP, Amoco and Shell Oil have set measurable corporate targets and specific timetables for emissions reduction and energy efficiency improvements.

Externally, corporations should consider focusing on a specific geographic region or vehicle of change, policy reform, for example.  Corporations should also identify strategic leverage points, such as lobbying and R&D and combine efforts.  Environmental grantmaking and sustainable practices are pivotal to the climate protection movement.

-Aneesa Arshad

Learn more about how Microsoft and Toolwire are re-inventing technology training with Microsoft Official Distance Learning (MODL).

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Tidigare i år, under min praktik på medieanalysföretaget Cision, analyserade jag vad som skrivits om de svenska börsbolagen om CSR-frågor under 2007. Då konstaterade jag följande:

H&M får mest och balanserad publicitet. Det är inte helt oväntat att H&M är det bolag som får störst publicitet. Det är också det bolag som får den mest balanserade medievinklingen av alla bolag. En del av förklaringen kan vara att H&M inte förekommer i lika många listor som generellt skapar positiv publicitet. H&M är också det bolag som befinner sig närmast konsumenterna.

När detta läggs ut fungerar inte länkningen till youtube. Därför lägger jag även in direktadresserna.

Our responsibility part 1

 http://youtube.com/watch?v=K7wu9ycGcHE

Our responsibility part 2

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cD8dna20gOA

I am such a nice guy today. I just called out Celcom Careline to notify them of my online banking transaction details for July bill and, I has a nice session with this super-nice gentleman named Syah. I called twice before but I decided to hang up as I am sure, both of them are new, very intimidated and shaky in their voices. I knew this because I've been with SingTel Singapore as a CSR, before, and they are very, very particular with their services. Plus, talking to a Singaporean also means you ought to have a high-grade silicone skin, no offense.

So by far, I know both of them are new and I really wanted talk about this as Customer Services are really huge business nowadays. I think Celcom has done a good job, no kidding, but aside from the feedback aspect of having an adequately leveraged customer service department, think about it. You don't want to have a value in terms of turning angry or frustrated customers into your biggest fans? Or do you?

I am frustrated with those two CSR. I am not against my fellow gays/homos, you should know better, this blog is so gayish to begin with. But to be a CSR, you can not have a gay quality, meaning kena serius, tak boleh berangan bagus, jangan berlagak, jangan kekwat dan sedia menerima kritikan! It is an attitude of service that permeates an entire team. It is saying “We are here for you”. It is refusing to be interrupted during a customer call (which the first sissy did). The impact of bad customer support is largely diluted these days because it happens so often. We’re used to it. I am totally used to it!

With the outsourcing of call centers, downsizing, and taking ‘real people’ out of the world of customer service with new technology, the customer service industry has had to navigate a lot of bumps in the road and major change. We’ll talk about some of the ways customer service professionals are trying to give good service to their customers and how people in different areas of expertise deliver customer service. Again, just my 2 cents.

Ted Baker ]]> http://screensailor.wordpress.com/?p=210 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:12:41 +0000 screensailor http://screensailor.wordpress.com/?p=210 Many of you probably know that the ubiquitous coffee shop Starbucks is closing 600 stores throughout the United States. While there are several reasons aside from Starbucks’ official statement that ‘close proximity of our stores has caused Starbucks to compete with itself’ for the closures, I read an interesting article at Business Week Online theorizing that Starbucks grew too rapidly for its own good, destroying their brand value. Their quick expansion took away from the ‘experience’ of each visit, degrading Starbucks’ neighborhood feel to a mere chain store. Coupled with an ever expanding menu, customers were herded through as quickly as possible, forcing Starbucks to subsist solely on the quality of their coffee with the predictable result: many Starbucks customers looked for, and found, more appealing options.

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– Det finns ingen motsättning mellan välgörenhet och arbete som utgår från kärnverksamheten.

Hon poängterade vikten av handla först och kommunicera sedan och att vid välgörenhet bör insatserna ha en tydlig koppling till företagets verksamhet.

Efter seminariet fick jag några minuter med Maria Grafström innan vi skildes åt och jag passade på att ställa några frågor.

CSR, Corporate social responsibility, bygger på ansvarstagande inom tre områden; hälsa, miljö och socialt. Med det som utgångspunkt kan ett företag som inte har kollektivavtal säga att de arbetar med CSR?

– Oj, intressant fråga. Jag har inte funderat så mycket på det. Men spontant blir svaret nej. Rimligen måste företaget ha kollektivavtal.

Anser du att fackföreningen sett vilka möjligheter som det rådande intresset för CSR för med sig?

– Nej, facken borde kunna göra mer och det är fler aktörer som borde kunnat använda situationen bättre.

Förståsigpåarna säger att en lågkonjunktur är i anstående. Då blir plånboksfrågor av naturlig orsak viktigare. Med tanke på det tror du då att intresset för CSR överlever nästa lågkonjunktur?

– Också en intressant fråga. Svårt att säga. Det är väl rimligt att tro att det sker en avmattning men samtidigt kommer klimatfrågan förbli aktuell oavsett var vi befinner oss i konjunkturcykeln.

I have just read a really interesting article  by Chris Macrae (2003, Journal of Brand Management) co-written by a bunch of other brand specialists world-wide.

An important fact to consider in branding is not necessarily the one of a graphic image in the minds of stakeholders but the image subliminally created by succession of stories and passed on underlining the trajectory of the brand throughout its existence and transmitted through time.

In this Editorial title called "Can brand leadership recover local trust and global responsibility " Chris presents his beliefs saying that "we have all forgotten many of the most humanly valuable connections of brand leadership, from the core purpose  of story telling to the ways communities exchange valuable relationships and self-identities".

Global brands such as Coca-cola have at times, according to Chris, used great stories to help build national cultures and transnational transfers of human ideals.

However, one-way story telling is not sufficient, global brands have to be ready, in the age we live in more than ever, to incarnate the values of the communities it proposes to cater for, thus engaging in continual dialogue. Another salient crucial element is community empowering through organisational  transparency, people can see changes they hope for, can participate and make new connections, invite new people in. Is this a branding model that can be channelled and communicated by using social media?

Chris mentioned that leaders at the World Economic Forum of 2003 were ruing how far global corporations (including Governments) had lost this human touch.

Calling people to challenge global brands that budgets billions annually in what he calls by 'advertising imagery as a sham on humanity'.

Talking about imagery, Chris invites to imagine, for one moment,  - "If a Martian came down to earth and spotted that the world's most powerful organisations communicate their impact through superficial  30 seconds image sound bites called television spots - spending up to up to US$1 billion a year on such image narcissism - I believe that Martian would conclude that this was a diseased planet whose civilisations were not going to pass what the systems theorist Buckminster Fuller foresaw 20 years as mankind's coming final examination, posed by the new technology's connectivity, which puts all of our relationships and behaviours in each other's laps.

But with the explosion of social media, how much has changed from 2003 to 2008? Are global brand now honestly interested in weaving transnational communities by allowing them to shape, participate and engage in the global dialogue. I am sure much has changed yet there is still much to change in order level up conversations, empowering local people to tell their stories as we all engage in a two-way branding process.

We believe if we're going to solve the climate crisis, everyone has to be part of the solution, which is why they are installing renewable energy at schools, hospitals, and other public buildings in places that would otherwise never be able to afford it.

Black Rock Solar allows the schools and medical clinics keep all the money they save to support their communities as they see fit.

Why Black Rock Solar vs. buying carbon offsets? Carbon offsets may become an important contribution to the fight against global climate change. However, the carbon offset marketplace is still developing -slowed down by a lack of transparent standards.

"It's hard to understand how donating $20 to a carbon offset firm using their 'proprietary calculator,' can make it OK to drive/fly from A to B, and still define it as "carbon neutral."

Black Rock Solar has a different approach: they build solar power -lots of it, and they do it for less than anyone else, which allows them to build even more! When Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel donates cash to Black Rock Solar we know exactly where our money is going -and we can walk up to the panel we helped fund and install

.

"In concrete terms, Black Rock Solar has an unbeatable return on investment, turning every $1 donated into $15 of clean green solar value."

Here's how: It costs BRS around $6 to build a watt of solar power, and they can get $5 of that in rebates from the public utility in Nevada. Then they match that with $3 in donated labor value, and it turns into $6 in free green energy over the life of the system.

"Every Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel $1 leverages $5 in rebates, and $3 in donated labor, to create $6 in free energy; 1+5+3+6= $15! Try finding that kind of ROI on Wall Street these days!"

Who are the people Black Rock Solar and Exquisite Safaris help? Like ES, BRS works almost exclusively in rural areas that tend to be economically disadvantaged -and certainly off the map when it comes to high dollar renewable energy projects -but that's exactly why we need to be there.

For decades, the only people that have had renewable energy have been either large institutions with deep pockets, or the wealthy. But as Al Gore stated July 17, 2008 we need every single part of our society engaged in the fight against climate change. By changing the face of renewable energy, we'll make it accessible to hundreds of communities that would otherwise never consider it. After all, if Gerlach, Nevada can go green, anyone can!

Is it working?
To answer that, just check with any of the communities BRS has helped so far. To date, the solar power they have built will generate over $1,000,000 in savings for those communities over the next 25 years -money that sustains communities in ways those communities decide they need it most.

It's that kind of impact that made People Magazine choose Black Rock Solar as one of three "Environmental Heroes" for 2008 -and they are just getting started.

Donate to Black Rock Solar!

Learn More:
Exquisite Safaris partners with Black Rock Solar
Native American Elementary School gets Free Solar Installation
Journey to 100% Zero-Carbon Electricity in 10 Years
Collaboration creates Prosperity: Philanthropic Travel
An American Dream: Burning Man
Global Cooling?
The Wisdom of Stone Soup
Exquisite Safaris clients say...
Travel Connoisseur Magazine on Exquisite Safaris

Philanthropic Travelers:
The The One's Who Do: Visionary Philanthropic Travelers
Visionary Philanthropic Traveler Chellie Kew
Jane Kaye- Bailey: Philanthropic Traveler
Richard Branson: Philanthropic Traveler

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"If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time but if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Indigenous Saying

Philanthropic Travel is the Ultimate Luxury

The Exquisite Safaris philanthropic travel experience integrates indigenous local culture into every personalized luxury trip we recommend. These personal introductions create authentic cross cultural friendships that generate trust, respect, and generous donations funding philanthropic travel projects worldwide.

Ormai molto è stato fatto in tema di salute e protezione dei lavoratori. L'Italia, dal punto di vista giuridico, è all'avanguardia da diversi decenni. Tuttavia ogni qualvolta si presentano o commentano i dati sugli infortuni sul lavoro e le malattie professionali il coro è univoco: c'è ancora molto da fare!

E' vero! Finchè ci sarà un solo morto o un infortunato per cause di lavoro l'opera non sarà compiuta, ma è anche vero che non possono essere accettabili riduzioni annue degli infortuni sul lavoro dell'1 o 1,5% e che si registri ancora una media di più di 3 morti al giorno. Evidentemente considerata la produzione legislativa degli ultimi tempi, le forze messe in campo, sia di contrasto alla cattive prassi che di affiancamento ai datori di lavoro in tema di consulenza organizzativa e formazione, la strada intrapresa non è adeguata; si devono scoprire e creare nuovi percorsi che ci portino sempre più vicino all'obiettivo di una definitiva sconfitta di questa piaga sociale.

Dal 2003, anno di entrata in vigore della legge 195, si è dato un grande impulso alla formazione considerata, a ragione, una leva imprescindibile per la lotta al fenomeno. In cinque anni, tuttavia, le cifre sulla riduzione degli infortuni e delle malattie professionali ha subito un trend di leggera flessione che non può considerarsi soddisfacente in relazione all'impegno profuso dalle forze politiche, sociali ed economiche in ambito prevenzionale e di sicurezza dei posti di lavoro.

Come si spiega tutto ciò?              Le politiche prevenzionali sui posti di lavoro, eccetto disgraziate eccezioni, sono realtà tangibili. I lavoratori stessi sono sottoposti regolarmente a processi di formazione ed informazione, specialmente dopo l'approvazione della legge 195/03 che ha regolamentato la didattica e i contenuti dei corsi di formazione per gli RSPP e gli ASPP cardini del sistema di prevenzione e protezione aziendale. Ci si chiede dove si annida il problema.

Probabilmente il problema si nasconde proprio nel modo di fare formazione che risente di un sistema tutto italiano di affrontare alcuni problemi dal punto di vista formale nell'immediato, senza preoccuparsi delle conseguenze nel lungo periodo.

La grande richiesta di corsi conseguente all'emanazione della legge 195/03 ha determinato la proliferazione di innumerevoli "scuole", "enti", "accademie" legittimate ad erogare corsi in tema di salute e sicurezza dei lavoratori con "verifica finale dell'apprendimento".

Ritengo che proprio su questo passaggio si inceppi il meccanismo: come e da chi vengono definite le modalità di verifica e, ancora, chi verifica la professionalità e accuratezza di coloro che effettuano le verifiche? Al di là dei contenuti dei corsi, è necessario verificare la qualità delle metodologie didattiche e dei docenti delle scuole che erogano i corsi della 195/03.

Sono queste le domande che spesso ci poniamo in merito alla qualità della formazione scolastica e universitaria in Italia sulla cui efficacia da tempo abbiamo seri dubbi. Penso che sia altrettanto legittimo interrogarsi sulla qualità ed efficacia di corsi che hanno l'obiettivo di salvaguardare la salute e sicurezza dei lavoratori.

Sarà quindi necessario attivare meccanismi di controllo sull'erogazione della formazione ex legge 195/03 proprio per la necessità di garantire una etica e una professionalità negli operatori tale che si impegnino fattivamente affinchè i corsi si svolgano, superando gli aspetti meramente formali, secondo un approccio sistemico e culturale che sottolineino, oltre ai fattori organizzativi e legislativi, anche fattori psicologici ponendo in risalto le forti connessioni tra la sicurezza e il benessere e l'integrità del proprio corpo.

Secondo tale impostazione sarà utile sostituire una formazione meccanicistica quale semplice adempimento burocratico, imperniata sul trasferimento di conoscenze secondo modalità passive, con una formazione che coinvolga i lavoratori trasferendo loro sensazioni che, superando il semplice istinto di autoconservazione e di affrancamento dal dolore, vedano la sicurezza sul lavoro come un fatto sociale che garantisca se stesso e gli altri.

Far divenire il bisogno di sicurezza, per se e per il gruppo all'interno del quale si opera, una esigenza professionale al pari di qualsiasi altra competenza da vantare. Utilizzare metodiche di formazione esperenziale tali da far toccare con mano il collegamento tra i comportamenti collegati alla questione sicurezza e le dimensioni psicologiche che sottendono.

Porre al centro dell'azione formativa la dimensione "gruppale" della sicurezza del lavoro proprio in quanto il lavoro è un processo di gruppo che presuppone legami reciproci tra i membri da cui dipende la esistenza ed integrità fisica dei singoli. E' proprio questa condizione di reciprocità tra il singolo ed il gruppo che deve essere sottolineata nei processi formativi in modo che ciascuno si senta responsabile, oltre che della propria, anche della sicurezza del gruppo e della collettività.

Naturalmente la riflessione sulla sicurezza in ambito formativo non potrà che partire dalla dimensione individuale che sia finalizzata a dotare il singolo lavoratore di strumenti idonei a scandagliare il proprio livello di sicurezza interna di natura psicologica in termini di integrità ed autostima, di percezione di se e del pericolo (modalità di avvertire il pericolo, avere percezione delle soglie di pericolo e del limite delle abilità personali, avere chiaro la mappa dei rischi,...), di attenzione ai segnali del proprio corpo.

Tutto ciò presuppone un nuovo approccio formativo che lavori sui vissuti delle persone agendo ed inter-agendo con le esperienze personali.

L'obiettivo, come detto in premessa, è di andare oltre la mera formazione culturale e nozionistica ma agire sulla formazione personale dei singoli lavoratori sia a livello esperienziale che psicologico. La meta deve essere la creazione di un sistema di prevenzione responsabile e consapevole ove l'attore primario sia il lavoratore.

Not that I expect you to be suffering from withdrawal symptoms or anything, but if you're in desperate need of an interesting CR fix in the meantime, you could do a lot worse than visit www.ted.com.

It's an absolutely amazing site, built on an amazing concept. Once a year, some of the world's leading thinkers and doers are gathered in the same place and given 18 minutes to give the talk of their lives - all captured on video and available to download directly into your iTunes library.

There's a whole thread on sustainability, featuring the likes of Al Gore, Amory Lovins and Janine Benyus, and it really brings home the message that economic progress and the preservation of the planet needn't be mutually exclusive.

My personal favourite? A thought-provoking and at times very amusing talk by Bill McDonough, co-author of Cradle to Cradle - the book that, along with Jonathon Porritt's Capitalism as if the World Matters, first got me interested in thinking more deeply about CR.

Check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend option congue nihil imperdiet doming id quod mazim placerat facer possim assum.

Here is the first story.

The railways is providing broadband Internet connection in the state through the Railtel Corporation of India. The biggest incentive for those taking the net service of Indian Railways is that they can download education material free, reports IANS.

And in the second story,

Nagaland University and Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management of Kerala (IIITM-K) have been linked through India's longest terrestrial connection over the Indian Railways optical fibre cable (OFC) network for enhancing technology education in the state.

It almost seems fitting that railroad companies are the ones involved in building out communication networks in various parts of the country. For much of the early to mid 20th century, railroads were a symbol of industrial progress as they connected previously unconnected parts of the terrain. Likewise, today, these efforts are trying to build and develop a virtual network that will only shrink India further.

[Source for both: iGovernment]

An article in BusinessWeek online this week posits that, despite PR to the contrary, corporate philanthropy is down from 25% ago, with companies donating just 0.7% of their pre-tax revenue to charitable organizations.

They suggest that:

Badly needed is a meaningful voluntary commitment by the business community to “ante up” a minimum budget for corporate philanthropy. A reasonable requirement for any company that wants to call itself a “good corporate citizen” ought to be to spend at least 1% of its previous year’s pretax profit for philanthropic purposes.

Where the article gets dicey for me is when they begin to assert that philanthropy is a more important fundamental requirement of corporate social responsibility than “fair treatment of employees, making or selling safe products, paying taxes, and complying with environmental standards.”

I think this is a wrong-headed assertion. Bifurcating corporate philanthropy from supply-chain practices and the environment creates the potential (if not the likelihood) of moving one step forward and two steps back when it comes to solving social problems. Indeed, its the sort of greenwashing that many in the nonprofit world worry about. You shouldn’t be able to create millions of dollars in environmental harm to be paid off by future generations and then give a fraction of that back to the problems of today, for example, and still be considered a responsible corporate citizen.

Sharon Schneider points out at The Philanthropic Family that this sounds a whole lot like the Medieval church’s practice of selling ‘indulgences’, or credits that allowed you to sin in exchange for donations.

That said, the general thrust of the article is the right one, I think. The authors recognize that the public relations budgets of many corporations are much larger than their corporate philanthropy budgets. In fact, in many corporate hierarchies, CSR initiatives fall within the Marketing/PR offices. And I do think that establishing some sort of give back baseline - 1% or something else - would be a great part of the picture. I’m just not sure its the fundamental baseline.

What do others think?

events_admin said somethin about him announcing he was dead.

I found it, back in March he died...then deleted the post as he decided he wasn't dead after all.