Search

Nothing tells a story better than a picture, and as advertisers have discovered, nothing sells a product more than an edgy photo--even if it is sexist.

Whether it’s a businesswoman in a tight miniskirt and heels, on her back in an alluring pose that seems to have nothing to do with the professional subject matter, or a nude model holding an automotive wrench over her ample frontage, suggestive imagery still sells.

And it sells the wrong message, says Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg. The founder of the women’s advocacy organization Lean In, Sandberg has made it her mission to rebrand the sexist, stereotypical way that she feels women are viewed both in and outside the workplace.

To do so, she’s gone straight to the source that counts for much of that visual publicity: the stock images that editors rely upon to illustrate their publications. Oftentimes the images we see on tabloids and web pages are governed by what’s available at a moment’s notice. Offering another more realistic source of graphics gives editors a better chance of presenting a fair and balanced visual perspective, and ultimately, a fairer playing field for the career woman.

Earlier this month, Getty Images and Lean In announced a new line of stock photos for editors to use. Getty Images, one of the industry’s largest purveyors of commercial, non-royalty images, is a strong supporter of pluralism--so Lean In’s concept fits right in with its own branding. The Lean In gallery will be presented alongside older images and is designed to broaden the choices for editors zeroing in on that 11th-hour press deadline.

Will it make a difference? Will the sexualized image of the saucy office worker in high heals and too-skimpy skirt fade away from the tabloid page? Will the advertising world ever stop using sex to sell products to us, and stereotypical images of women to carry the message?

Probably not, says a University of Georgia 2012 study that looked at ads for everything from banking services to vehicles and concluded that sexualized imagery actually increased in media between 1983 and 2003. Fifteen percent of the ads identified in 1983 used sex to sell products. After 1993 the number jumped to 20 percent, and by 2003, it had ballooned to 27 percent.

But does Lean In have a chance of revamping the way that businesswomen (as well as women in general) are viewed and portrayed in the media?

My guess for that answer is only if women genuinely want that change. Roughly 37 percent of editorial positions in newsrooms are held by women. While that number still reflects a minority percentage, almost half of those workers (16 percent) are editors or copy editors–the front-line troops who are accessing Getty Images and making those crucial editorial decisions.

And there’s one more, often overlooked factor: Sheryl Sandberg’s successful revamp of the female business image will likely depend not only on how accessible positive, inclusive images are to the editor, but how well the market will be willing to bear that changing perspective. Will consumers still click on alcohol or car ads that aren’t sexualized and provocative? Will newsstands still sell out that popular mag if it doesn’t rely on the old stereotypes that built their brand?

Like everything else in the advertising world, it will likely depend on the way the concept is pitched. And Lean In’s partnership with Getty Images seems like a good, welcomed place to start.

Image of Sheryl Sandberg: Financial Times

Image of business woman walking: Herlitz PBS

This is part of a series on "The Future of Fair Trade," written in collaboration with Fair Trade USA. A 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, Fair Trade USA is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. To follow along with the rest of the series, click here.

By Amy Carniol

It's Valentine's Day, and in supermarkets, drug stores and specialty shops across the country, shelves are lined with chocolates of every shape, size and variety. As you browse through endless heart-shaped boxes, consider this: The chocolate industry is in jeopardy, and if things don't change, there could be a worldwide cocoa deficit by the year 2020.

In a chocolate-obsessed society, it's hard to fathom ever running out of the sweet treat. How is it even possible that a staple crop like cocoa can be nearing depletion? The answer is surprisingly simple: It's just not profitable to be a cocoa farmer. According to Oxfam, less than 5 percent of the price of a typical chocolate bar goes back to the cocoa farmers; for many, this translates to an income of only a few dollars a day.

Cocoa farming is an extremely labor-intensive process, and a whopping 90 percent of the worldwide cocoa supply comes from small, family-run farms in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Fragmented and isolated, the 5.6 million cocoa farmers around the world have little to no bargaining power. Most are forced to accept whatever price they're offered for their crops, regardless of whether they earn a profit or take a loss.

With such an inequitable market structure, more and more members of the next generation of potential farmers are opting to move to larger cities with better job opportunities. In the Ivory Coast, for example, the average age of a cocoa farmer is roughly 55. Both the farmers and the trees are aging, and with little ability to invest in the future, the industry faces serious challenges. Add to that an increased worldwide demand for the crop, coupled with low productivity, and the future seems even bleaker.

But chocoholics needn't stockpile their Valentine's candy just yet. We can be part of the solution by looking for products that help farmers earn a better income, improve their lives and protect the environment. Just look for the Fair Trade Certified label. Try brands like Guittard, Ripple, Chocolove, Alter Eco and Sunspire for a start.

Through its certification program, Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of fair trade products in North America, ensures that both the farmers and the land involved in making a product are treated with dignity and respect. Fair Trade farmers are paid a premium for their crops, and investing in the farmers means investing in the future.

“We use the Fair Trade premium to help improve the quality of our cocoa and the amount of production,” says Washington Rodriguez Ortiz, a cocoa farmer with the ACOPAGRO cooperative in Peru.

In exchange for this premium, Fair Trade-compliant farms must adhere to a lengthy list of requirements, from eco-friendly farming to supply chain transparency. Child labor is also strictly prohibited. As a result, Fair Trade farmers can gain access to important amenities like healthcare, education and clean water--all of which are standards in the developed world but luxuries to rural cocoa farmers. Fair Trade farmers also receive better information about market trends and quality demands, and, in general, they have a closer connection to end buyers and consumers.

"Before I was a member of Kuapa Kokoo [cooperative], I was facing many problems," explains Mary Nyamekye, a cocoa farmer in Ghana. "I had no money to feed my family or educate my children. I have been relieved of my problems…I was formerly a member of another cocoa-buying company, but I never had a voice. Now I can speak my views and people listen."

On the flip side, Fair Trade USA also aids brands of all sizes looking to convert their supply chains. For example, with the organization's help, Hershey's has already purchased Fair Trade and aims to achieve 100 percent certified cocoa by the year 2020.

“With the impending cocoa deficit, there is now not only a moral, but also a financial imperative for chocolate companies to help their farmers earn a better wage,” said Elan Emanuel, cocoa supply chain manager at Fair Trade USA. "Commitments from companies like Hershey’s go a long way toward ensuring that cocoa farmers have sufficient resources to feed their families, and ultimately, to continue providing cocoa for the world’s consumers.”

Part of Fair Trade USA’s work includes helping more farmers earn certification, and to help existing farmers increase the benefits they see from Fair Trade. In 2013 alone, the nonprofit trained and enrolled eight new cooperatives representing 2,500 small-scale cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast, as well as 1,500 small farmers in the Dominican Republic.

So maybe it's time to think twice about the cocoa we buy. This Valentine's Day – and everyday – make the right choice before you head to the checkout counter. Fair Trade certification is much more than just logo crowding a candy bar wrapper; it's an investment in the future of the chocolate industry.

The longtime sustainable business advocacy organization Green America (formerly Co-op America) has just come out with a new report card that could help consumers identify banks that they want to do credit card business with, based on their record of investing -- or not investing -- in coal-fired power plants and coal mining.

The coal-free credit cards report is timely, given the three-in-a-row coal related disasters that recently polluted the Elk River and Kanawah Creek in West Virginia, and the Dan River in North Carolina, which have drawn national attention to the risks and impacts of coal mining.

Unfortunately, those three episodes are just the tip of a very dirty iceberg.

The Problem With Coal

Consider the three aforementioned episodes, which involved neglect if not illegal activity, in the context of well-documented global climate change and local public health impacts resulting from the legally permitted practice of burning coal in power plants.

For additional context, consider mountaintop coal mining, a legally permitted practice that has literally blown up hundreds of mountains in Appalachia and buried 2,000 miles of pristine "headwater" streams.

The picture that emerges is one of a lawful but uniquely destructive form of energy harvesting, and here's the kicker: As the U.S. sheds its dependency on coal, the export market for U.S. coal is still growing. That means local communities here in the U.S. are victimized more and more by the risks and impacts of coal mining, while providing the fuel that powers economic growth overseas.

Coal-Free Credit Cards

The coal-free credit card report is a brief two-page pdf, and you can get many more details from Green America at the Take Charge of Your Card link. For those of you on the run, here's a rundown of the juicy bits:

• Green America looked at nearly $21 billion in financing by major banks in coal-fired power plants and coal mining.


• Some of the major banks fared a little better than others. In that group, the highest mark went to Capital One with a C+, followed closely by U.S. Bank with a C-.


• Wells Fargo came in at D+, Bank of America garnered a D-, and Chase and Citigroup were at the bottom of the heap with a collective F.

As for recommendations, Green America notes that the business models of the credit card companies American Express and Discover are not friendly to coal and coal-related financing. However, Green America did not find much to shout about in the community development profiles of the two companies, which affected their overall ratings.

In the banking category, Green America identifies five that earned an A+ rating for being free of coal financing, with the "plus" bonus points earned for community development activity: One Pacific Coast Bank, Hope Credit Union, Albina, Permaculture, and Southern Bancorp.

Green America also has another related campaign up its sleeve, Break Up With Your Mega-Bank, that helps you find options with credit unions and banks that focus on community development.

A Green Resource For Consumers

We've been focusing a lot of attention recently on the growing library of information resources and insights that green investor organizations are providing to the commerce and investment communities.

Just a couple of recent examples include the Ceres 2014 Investor Summit on Climate Risk and its new fracking and water resource risk assessment, along with the new Carbon Trust report highlighting sustainability success stories, "Opportunities in a resource constrained world: How business is rising to the challenge.”

Green America's new report, along with its related campaigns, can fill in some of the gaps by helping to provide individual consumers similar resources for building a more sustainable household financial profile.

Image: Credit cards by vitamindave

Follow me on Twitter and Google+.

Clean air, pure water and untainted land are rights that should be enjoyed by every American, at least in theory. As the history of industrial and human development shows, the reality isn't clear, or just. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, it's been the areas where the poorest, politically weakest segments of a population have lived and worked, or those most remote and isolated, that have been the most polluted.

Aiming to address the issue, former President Bill Clinton in 1998 issued Executive Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.” Twenty-five years on, President Barack Obama on Feb. 10 issued a proclamation commemorating former President Clinton's executive order and renewed the federal government's commitment to assuring environmental justice for all.

Speaking at a meeting of the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) in Denver on Feb. 11, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy followed through with her own reaffirmation on behalf of the federal agency she leads.

Environmental justice for all

Reaffirming the federal government's commitment to environmental justice is not only much needed, but should be very welcome coming as it does in the wake of a coal industry chemical spill from a Freedom Industries' plant into West Virginia's Elk River, and the third-largest coal ash spill in U.S. history from a shuttered Duke Energy coal-fired power plant into North Carolina's Dan River.

In reaffirming the federal government's commitment to pursue environmental justice, Ms. McCarthy declared February “Environmental Justice Month” for EPA members and staff. The agency initiative will actually extend throughout 2014, with the EPA organizing and hosting activities that highlight and “celebrate the successes of many collaborative efforts across the country.”

In addition, beginning this month all EPA employees and staff will begin new environmental justice training. This month, the agency will publish its 2014 Progress Report on Plan EJ 2014.

In his Feb. 10 proclamation commemorating and reaffirming Executive Order 12898, President Obama pays homage to the citizen activists past and present who have exercised their rights to protest, drawn attention to miscarriages of environmental justice, and helped effect positive change.

“As we mark this day, we recall the activists who took on environmental challenges long before the federal government acknowledged their needs. We remember how Americans -- young and old, on college campuses and in courtrooms, in our neighborhoods and through our places of worship -- called on a nation to pursue clean air, water and land for all people.

“On this anniversary, let us move forward with the same unity, energy and passion to live up to the promise that here in America, no matter who you are or where you come from, you can pursue your dreams in a safe and just environment.”

For more on environmental justice, check out Skeo-3p's extensive coverage of this very timely and important issue.

Image courtesy Flickr/Appalachian.voices

Welcome to our series of interviews with leading female CSR practitioners where we are learning about what inspires these women and how they found their way to careers in sustainability. Read the rest of the series here.

TriplePundit: Briefly describe your role and responsibilities, and how many years you have been in the business.

Aman Singh: I am the Editorial Director at CSRwire. I lead content distribution, social media strategy - for clients and our own - CSR/sustainability reporting services and other editorial functions, including managing CSRwire's commentary section Talkback. I have worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as the country's leading nonprofits and academic institutions on creating and implementing communication strategies focused on stakeholder engagement and behavior change, including Unilever, Verizon, SAP, ARAMARK, Campbell Soup, Sodexo, EarthShare, Points of Light and others.

I am a student of journalism and started my career right after graduating from high school at Tehelka, a website based out of New Delhi, India, that at that time was known for its investigatory exposes and cutting-edge reporting. Along the way, I've worked at myriad outlets including ABC News, The Villager, Downtown Express and The Wall Street Journal. So I've been in the "business of writing and editing" for over 15 years. But I turned my focus to CSR and sustainability during the 2008 recession when things were crumbling around us economically and responsibility - both corporate and personal - seemed in short supply. Since then I have written for numerous publications including Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Vault, Greenbiz, and TriplePundit.

3p: How has the sustainability program evolved at your company?

AS: We have several CSR and sustainability programs in place including a community program where my colleagues in Springfield, Mass. - where CSRwire is headquartered - mentor teenagers who often have been convicted of crimes and lack male role models to lead economically viable careers. We mentor social enterprises through the Gasoline Alley Foundation, also started by CSRwire CEO Joe Sibilia.

Our sustainability programs include offsetting our carbon usage, installing motion detector lights in our offices, monitoring our energy use, recycling all paper and plastic, donating deposit bottles and cans to homeless neighbors on the street, composting all food waste, nurturing over 100 living plants inside our buildings, building our own furniture out of recycled materials, providing a forum and space for aspiring local artists, maintaining a library of sustainability books for local businesses, participating in a Community Garden Program, providing space for the local motorcycle club of public safety officials, holding a live demonstration of PCP, renting street lights from the local utility company for the street we are located on (the city can't afford more lights and we have lights facing the buildings and the street), and committing to eating and shopping locally.

In October 2013, we also switched to 100 percent renewable energy using Viridian Energy's Wind Power Program. Additionally, we are signatories to the UNGC and submit a Communication on Progress every year. We are also a benefit corporation and submit our progress report to the B Lab as required. Between the two associations, we are able to gauge and improve upon our sustainability efforts annually.

3p: Tell us about someone (mentor, sponsor, friend, hero) who affected your sustainability journey and how.

AS: I met Campbell Soup's CSR VP Dave Stangis on the day of my first panel engagement years ago. Having always been the one asking questions and reporting on issues, I was nervous to switch roles as I am still most comfortable asking the questions! Dave took one look at me and the copious notes I had made in preparation (blame journalism training!) and said, "Just stand straight, look into the crowd and speak from your heart." His advice has since helped me lead hundreds of discussion panels and even do solo keynotes and presentations at conferences.

While Citigroup’s corporate social responsibility programmes lend a generous hand to LGBT and anti-violence groups, its business operations do too. Laura Klepacki reports from the US

It is sometimes hard to detect where global financial firm Citigroup’s social programs end and its business programmes begin. In particular its outreach to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) community has become firmly intertwined.

Bob Annibale, global director of Citi Community Development and Microfinance, is also senior business sponsor for its Citi Pride Network New York chapter, an employee group that supports LGBT issues. The mission of its Community Capital division is to finance projects that are innovative and respond to a community need. It is a special lending sector that provides loans and financial instruments for underserved and lower income groups and communities that find it difficult to secure dollars from traditional sources.

An underserved community
In his daily work, Annibale has witnessed around the world that the LGBT population is “drastically underserved.” Annibale said he has been leveraging his two positions to help make Citi “a leader in supporting the LGBT community in New York and abroad.”

Employees from Citigroup marched side by side with staff and volunteers from the Anti-Violence Project in New York City’s annual Pride Parade, a tribute and support event for the nation’s LGBT population.

AVP is a non-profit that works to ease violent behaviour against LGBT people. It began in the 1980s when gay men in the Chelsea section of New York were harassed, stigmatized by the HIV/AIDs outbreak. Since then AVP’s definition of violence has expanded beyond the physical to include institutional violence – disrespect and discrimination by employers, businesses and government. In a bold show of unison, the Citi and AVP coalition wore t-shirts in Citi’s bright blue signature colour with both logos.

In their spare time, several Citi workers volunteer at AVP projects. William Yates, a director of Citi’s Community Capital project, once-a-month answers AVP’s 24-hour hotline fielding calls from individuals in distress.

Members of the company’s Citi Pride Network have painted AVP offices and distributed leaflets in targeted areas of the New York City. Citi funds AVP’s economic empowerment work in addition to sponsoring their Courage Awards.
Last year Citi’s Pride Network and Citi’s Diversity Office partnered with organizations working on important legal issues facing the LGBT community, including marital and immigration equality. But there is business being conducted with the LGBT community too.

Housing projects
The first-ever New York City low-income housing project created for LGBT youth, the True Colors Residence, was possible in part to financing provided by Citi Community Capital. True Colors Residence was the brain-child of pop star Cyndi Lauper and her business manager. It takes its name from her best selling single, a song she sings in honor of a friend who died of HIV/AIDS.

Located on West 154th Street in Harlem, True Colors is a 30-unit apartment house offering a supportive, permanent home to those between 18 and 24 with qualified incomes. Most of the residents have been forced out by their families. There are on-site life skills workshops and job placement assistance.

Yates said that the principals behind True Colors have proven to be responsible borrowers. The financing amounted to almost $6m, comprised of a construction loan of $2.5m and equity financing of $3.4m.

Like its other business units, “we want to make loans that are safe and sound and are going to be repaid,” said Yates. “What is different is not so much the process, but the way the deals are structured.” Affordable housing projects typically have many layers of subsidy, from both government agencies and non-profits, Yates pointed out. “In most cases these projects benefit from low income tax credits.”

Investing with heart
Citi Community Capital has been increasing its funding for affordable housing and community investment projects in the US, from $2.1m in 2011 to $2.6 m in 2012.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Citi Community has just inked a deal to finance construction of the 79-unit Halstead Seniors Apartment complex in the East Lakeview section of Chicago dedicated for LGBT people 55 and over.

It has also partnered in the development of a housing project in the Bronx, NY, for people with disabilities called the Barrier Free Living Apartments. The two-building project will provide 120 apartments for the disabled and survivors of domestic abuse. Both residences will offer social services and 24/7 security. “At Citi, we recognize that communities benefit when those most in need are able to find stable, permanent housing,” said Yates.

“Citi Community Capital has never been an ordinary investor/lender,” remarked Bill Traylor, president of Richman Housing Resources, the housing management company on the Barrier Free Living project. “Citi knows how to gauge real risk and to identify real business opportunity. Citi is an investor/lender with the right business acumen as well as a heart.” 

More than 62% of corporations worldwide will increase spending on environmental management initiatives in 2014 and 31% will increase spend in the double-digits according to a new report from independent analyst firm Verdantix.

The survey of 250 heads of environment, health and safety in 13 major economies found that just 3% plan to cut spend in 2014 compared to 2013, whilst 36% will hold spending in line with inflation.

“Spending on environmental issues such as air, soil and water pollution, permitting, waste, water and GHG emissions is in robust shape in 2014,” commented Verdantix ceo, David Metcalfe.

“Compared to spend on energy management and sustainability, the EH&S market looks much more attractive. Particular hotspots for global environmental spending in 2014 will be EH&S software provided by suppliers like Enablon, GenSuite and Intelex, environmental reporting, auditing and compliance. Product sustainability has also emerged as a priority theme for 2014.”

You can access the report here

 

 

Picture credit: © Matthew Collingwood | Dreamstime Stock Photos

 

 

Every Wednesday at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST (and every once in a while at other times) TriplePundit will take 30 minutes or so to chat with an interesting leader in the sustainable business movement. These chats are broadcast on our Google+ channel and embedded via YouTube right here on 3p.

On Wednesday, February 12th, TriplePundit's Founder Nick Aster chatted with Jamie Gauthier, Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Greater Philadelphia.

SBN strives to support the creation of a sustainable economy where businesses are investors in the quality of life for all citizens - building profitable enterprises that serve community needs, share wealth and protect the environment. For the Greater Philadelphia region, SBN is an effective resource for locally-owned businesses that are committed to improving their environmental and social impacts as well as their profitability. The SBN is a national leader and serves as a model for other cities across the country, embracing the vision of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), the international coalition of sustainable business networks: "Within a generation, we envision a global system of human-scale, interconnected local economies that functions in harmony with local ecosystems, meets the basic needs of all people, supports just and democratic societies, and fosters joyful community life."

If you missed the conversation, you can watch it now on our YouTube channel, or catch it here:

About Jamie

Prior to joining SBN, she held the position of Program Officer with Philadelphia Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and collaborated extensively with community based organizations on community economic development initiatives designed to bring new life to communities. This work provided Jamie with an in-depth view of how important small, locally-owned businesses are as sources of goods, services, jobs, and vitality for neighborhoods as well as the region more broadly. As such, she was extremely excited to join SBN and to lead the organization forward in its goals of improving the quality of life in communities, serving socially-conscious businesses and shaping our region’s economy into one that is more local, just, and sustainable.

As with her professional work, Jamie’s volunteer work has been dedicated towards the empowerment of individuals and the betterment of local communities. Jamie holds a Masters degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Temple University. Prior to her career in community and economic development, she worked as an Accountant in the for-profit sector. Jamie is a resident of West Philadelphia, and is mother to two sons, Xavier, 9, and Nathaniel, 5.

By: Michael Kobori, Vice President of Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. 

As a company that’s been helping to pioneer on sustainability for most of our 160-year history, we’re excited to have the opportunity to share some of our learnings through this Sustainable Apparel Series in partnership with Triple Pundit and other brands. Throughout this series we hope to share lessons, provide actionable insights, and examples of progress that help us all to make progress toward a more sustainable planet.

I am often asked how I decide what to focus on within sustainability.

It’s a question everyone seems to have an opinion on. Leading environmental organizations are uniting to focus on what they consider the biggest challenge facing the planet: climate change. Governments can be subject to a revolving door of priorities due to changes in officeholders and public opinion. Companies often choose what they believe their consumers are most interested in.

For us at Levi Strauss & Co., the answer is very clear: We focus on our own biggest impacts and encourage others in the apparel industry to do the same.

Almost 25 years ago, we focused on the manufacturing process — becoming the first company to establish a supplier code of conduct that set health and safety, labor and environmental standards for our suppliers around the world. We followed that by creating the apparel industry’s first global effluent requirements for our factories and contract laundries around the world. Then we published one of the first restricted substances lists in the industry, setting a standard for chemical management.

These were all pioneering efforts, and they have led to industry-leading improvements for workers, the environment and our consumers.

But our real breakthrough in sustainability came in 2007, when we completed an environmental lifecycle assessment of two of our core products: Levi’s® 501® jeans and Dockers® Original Khakis.

The results of that study turned our thinking on its head. The greatest environmental impact isn’t during the manufacturing process, as we had thought and as many of us now know— it’s when the cotton is grown and when consumers launder our garments. All told, 49 percent of water use during the lifecycle of these products is during the cotton-growing process, and 45 percent is during consumer care. And when consumers wash then throw their pants in the dryer? That accounts for 58 percent of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

So, our assessment gave us two new focuses – raw materials and consumer use – both made more challenging by the fact that those parts of the product lifecycle are not under our direct control.

We immediately became involved in the Better Cotton Initiative with other leading brands such as IKEA, Marks & Spencer, H&M, NIKE and adidas as well as cotton growers, cotton suppliers and traders, and NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund and Pesticide Action Network.  The Better Cotton Initiative is, in our view, the most holistic approach to achieving more sustainable cotton for the 300 million people involved in growing the crop globally. Better Cotton reduces water and chemical use in cotton, improves farmer profitability and educates farmers on human rights issues such as child labor. Our goal is to one day have all our products use Better Cotton.

Around the same time we launched the Care for the Planet initiative to engage and educate consumers about how they can make a difference during the parts of the lifecycle that are in their direct control – the laundering, care and reuse stages. Our message was simple: Wash your clothes in cold water and line dry them. And do it less often. If you wash your jeans once every two weeks instead of once a week, you can save approximately 399 liters of water in a year and reduce your climate change impact by about 32 percent.

With our lifecycle data as our guide, we have been able to focus on the highest impact areas and make serious progress towards reducing our impact on the planet. And although we may see our greatest returns by engaging the cotton industry and our consumers, we welcome the chance to partner with others when we see an opportunity to make a difference.

We’re looking forward to digging into the key sustainability issues of our time and exploring a vast array of topics as this series evolves.

Here’s to making a more sustainable world together.

By Susan McPherson and Laura Clise

With the Olympics underway, the world is watching as thousands of athletes from more than 80 countries compete in Sochi, Russia for the pinnacle of international sporting competition. Despite the understandable excitement and anticipation, the games have been somewhat tainted by Russia’s passage last summer of anti-gay legislation.

The controversy has been sustained by objections from athletes, activists, governments and citizens from around the world -- resulting in criticism of the Putin regime, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and corporate sponsors. As the world and public opinion continue to move toward equality, the implications present an evolving challenge for corporate sponsors to determine their responsibility and the appropriate course of action regarding the alignment of internal commitments to diversity with their role as Olympic sponsor.

As Sochi Olympic sponsors, Coca-Cola and McDonalds have experienced criticism over the past several months, as backlash against the anti-LGBT laws in Russia and frustration with the IOC have brought activists and consumers to their physical and cyber doorsteps. With citizen demonstrations, calls for product boycotts and hashtag hijacking, sponsors are put in the position to defend rather than celebrate their association with the Olympic Games.

Organized campaigns such as Principle 6 (launched by Athlete Ally, All Out and American Apparel) have given athletes, government representatives and citizens a platform for advocacy regarding LGBT equality ahead of and during the Olympics. Named after the anti-discrimination principle of the Olympic charter, the campaign allows supporters to express support for equality without running afoul of either Russian law or Rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which prohibits political speech at the games. The campaign includes nearly 100 Olympians and professional athletes, plus hundreds of thousands of citizens around the world who are speaking out in support of equality and non-discrimination in Russia.

While Principle 6 does not explicitly target corporate sponsors, it underscores the shifting tide of public opinion regarding LGBT equality. In light of this shift and the experience to date of existing Olympic sponsors, current sponsors of major international sporting events and brands in general would be well served to take note. Particularly, when aligned with a platform like the Olympics, brands need to determine how to take internal commitments to LGBT equality and diversity into consideration when operating and engaging on the international stage.

As discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation becomes no longer accepted, companies should recognize the continued shift in consumer values as an opportunity to affirm equality and non-discrimination across geographic boundaries. This is especially salient for sporting events. At its essence, sport is the domain where athletic competition should neutralize any bias or discrimination. The growth and reach of organizations like Athlete Ally reflect that support for LGBT equality in sports continues to grow. From advocates like Gold Medalists Megan Rapinoe, Caryn Davies and Seth Wescott, to Sochi-competitor Belle Brockoff, to former NFL players Wade Davis, Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe, LGBT athletes and allies are speaking out for equality and inclusion.

Last week, the CEOs of the Sochi Olympics sponsors received a letter from 40 LGBT and human rights advocacy organizations requesting that they raise their voices in opposition to Russia’s anti-LGBT laws and/or promote equality through available marketing channels. While none have taken a direct stand to date, telecommunications giant, AT&T has become the first U.S. company with Olympic ties to speak out, writing via its Consumer Blog:

"We support LGBT equality globally and we condemn violence, discrimination and harassment targeted against LGBT individuals everywhere. Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society."

So far, only two sponsors—Chobani and DeVry University—have followed AT&T’s lead. Most recently, top NFL prospect, Michael Sam came out to the world as an openly gay man, putting him on the path to potentially becoming the first openly gay player in the league. While athletes, a few franchises and the NFL have articulated their support, through his courage and authenticity, Michael is undoubtedly entering uncharted territory. At the same time, assuming he is drafted, he presents an interesting opportunity for potential sponsors.

As the fight for LGBT equality continues, along with efforts to end homophobia and transphobia, the companies and brands that support sporting events, teams and athletes will need to decide where they stand. And as social media grows increasingly pervasive, the pressure placed on these companies to respond to the conversation will only continue to mount. While today, general statements regarding a corporate commitment to diversity may placate some critics, companies need to prepare for growing expectations that corporations join athletes, government leaders, and civil society organizations in unequivocally condemning discrimination against the LGBT community. Rather than a PR crisis, corporate sponsors should see this controversy as an opportunity to affirm their espoused values and take a bold stance on human rights.

Image credit:  [Rikki] Julius Reque, Flickr

Laura Clise is the Director of External Communications & Corporate Citizenship at AREVA and an Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow. She is a proud alumna of Carleton College and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and serves on the Steering Committee for the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Business Environmental Leadership Council and on the Net Impact Corporate Advisory Council.

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, passionate cause marketer, angel investor and corporate responsibility expert. Recently, she launched McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focusing on the intersection between brands and social good, providing storytelling, partnership creation and visibility to corporations, NGOs and social enterprises. She founded and hosts the bi-weekly #CSRChat on Twitter and serves on the boards of PVBLIC Foundation, Bpeace and Girl Rising.