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By Geri Stengel

In a world in which social needs seem to be ever-increasing, we need to be more creative in the way we solve these problems. One approach is through public-private partnerships, which are transforming the way we problem-solve at local, national and international levels. The United Nations is entering into these partnerships, too.

Elizabeth Gore (no relation to Al Gore) is working to support the UN on these initiatives. She is the first-ever resident entrepreneur at the United Nations Foundation and chair of UN Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council. Entrepreneurs think differently, Gore asserts. They’re not bound by doing things the same old way.

"Entrepreneurs don’t see barriers," she says. "To an entrepreneur, barriers are merely challenges that you climb over, slip under, go around or push through. Many entrepreneurs think globally and understand the importance of having a thriving community around them -- corporate social responsibility is part of their DNA. Working with entrepreneurs on solving world problems is a natural fit."

Every two years, Gore recruits a new group of 10 entrepreneurs to be part of the council and provide their innovative thinking to problems that, as a group, they decide to focus on. The latest council is focused on women and girls, among other issues. Research shows that when women are economically empowered, entire communities benefit. Women spend more of their income on food, shelter, healthcare, education and other family needs.

Entrepreneurship is a significant source of women’s economic opportunity – employment and income generation – for both urban and rural women in low-income countries, according to A Roadmap for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment, a report by UN Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation.

Whether they're running a big global company or a small local one, "entrepreneurs share a common mindset" and have an astonishing ability to persevere in the face of obstacles, Gore says. Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, calls it grit. Of course, entrepreneurs also are passionate, resourceful and creative problem-solvers.

One of the people that fits the entrepreneurial profile to a tee is Ingrid Vanderveldt, entrepreneur-in-residence at Dell and a council member. Vanderveldt has founded and sold a couple of companies. She is on a mission to empower a billion women by 2020 through business, policy and media. Being on the council is a perfect fit for Vanderveldt and the company for which she works.

Dell has made entrepreneurship its cause. Entrepreneurship and technology have the ability to change the world and Dell is committed to making that happen. Between 1985 and 2005, when the PC model was proliferating, "the percent of people worldwide living in poverty was cut in half," said Michael Dell in his keynote at Dell World in December. "We're going to keep doing what Dell does: making technology more accessible and affordable; providing more value and making it easier to use. We're providing the infrastructure for the next billion people to rise out of poverty."

Dell is also deeply committed to supporting women entrepreneurs with Dell Women’s Entrepreneurs Network, Dell Pay It Forward and the world’s first gender-focused, global entrepreneurship index, based on the Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) it commissioned last year. The research identifies barriers that women face in starting and scaling high-growth companies in 17 countries. I will be fleshing out this research by developing lessons-learned and best practices by women who overcame barriers in the U.S.

One UN Foundation initiative that Vanderveldt is particularly passionate about is Girl Up, which helps American girls raise awareness and funds for UN programs that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls.

Successful women entrepreneurs tend to be more socially responsible and philanthropic than their male counterparts. A fellow gal-pal entrepreneur of Vanderveldt’s is Heidi Messer, co-founder, president and COO of LinkShare and and now chairman and co-founder of Collective[i]. She offered to host a fundraiser for Girl Up early this year. Naturally, Gore will be at the event with several other council members. That’s girl power at its best.

When entrepreneurs are faced with an insurmountable obstacle, we recite that childhood mantra: “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” It’s time we apply that mantra to solving social problems.

Image credit: Flickr/Ashitakka

Geri Stengel is founder of Ventureneer, which connects values-driven small business owners with the knowledge they need to make the world a better place and to thrive as businesses.

Fast food chain McDonald’s has committed to a goal of purchasing verified sustainable beef by 2016.

Admitting it’s both ‘complex’ and ‘a big challenge’, the patty giant has been working on the initiative since 2011 when it developed the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) with partners WWF, Cargill and JBS.

The GRSB group has now drafted guiding principles and best practices for sustainable beef. Up until now, there hasn’t been a universal definition of sustainable beef. McDonald’s says that it aspires to support these criteria in 2014, develop targets and begin purchasing verified beef during 2016.

Over the years, the chain has made several efforts to improve its responsible purchasing. Currently it purchases varying quantities of whitefish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, coffee certified by the Rainforest Alliance, and packaging certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Picture credit: © Alex Melnick | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

Imagine if you were given one wish to do anything you could about climate change, what would you do? Resetting the atmospheric carbon concentration back to pre-industrial levels would certainly be a big help. But at the rate we are currently generating CO2, adding 2.1 ppm per year and rising, if we didn’t do something else to slow down our emissions, we would be right back where we are today in a surprisingly short amount of time.

What if we could pull CO2 out of the air and convert it into something useful, something that requires the generation of CO2 to produce today? Wouldn’t a reversal like that be helpful?

That is exactly what a company called Newlight Technologies is doing. Its patented technology extracts carbon from the air and converts it into long-chain polymers that can be used as substitutes for oil-based plastics.

Every pound of conventionally produced plastic generates 6 pounds of CO2. Using Newlight’s method not only avoids this carbon production, but it also removes an additional pound of CO2 from the atmosphere. Considering that worldwide production of plastic is currently 77 pounds for every person on the planet, and increasing by 3 percent every year, shifting to this method of production represents an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions by close to 2 billion tons annually. That’s about 4.7 percent of the current global emission level. Of course a much larger portion of emissions are generated from transportation, electricity generation and the heating of buildings and water, but this is still a significant amount.

Newlight’s carbon capture technology is inspired by nature. It extracts carbon molecules from air containing greenhouse gases and rearranges those molecules into long-chain thermoplastic polymers that can match the performance of oil-based plastics. Their products can also outperform oil-based plastics on price. The impact of this approach is comparable to bioplastics, though the net footprint should be lower due to the absence of agricultural inputs such as land, water and chemicals.

The company was founded in 2003 by alumni of Princeton and Northwestern. They have been operating at commercial scale for several years, obtaining their inputs from such dirty sources as wastewater treatment facilities, landfills, digesters and energy facilities.

Their plastic resins are available in a variety of functional grades, providing green replacements for various grades of: polypropylene (homopolymer, glass-filled and impact co-polymer), polyethylene (HD, LD and LLD), ABS, high impact polystyrene, PMMA and TPU.  Newlight’s AirCarbon resins can also be used in extrusion, blown film, cast film, thermoforming, fiber spinning and injection molding applications.

All the resulting end products can be both recyclable and biodegradable, depending on the formulations used and the requirement for durability.

According to the company, "by using greenhouse gases as a carbon input, AirCarbon resins, including AirCarbon-350, can be produced as a carbon-negative thermoplastic material, quantifiably reducing the amount of carbon released into the air in every pound of plastic made."

It’s innovations like this one that the doomsayers have overlooked in there pronouncement of “game over.” However, we need more of them, and we need them fast. Of course, there is the fact to consider that we use too much plastic and often don't dispose of it responsibly. And there are those who feel we'd be entirely better off without it. Though I feel there are places where plastic makes sense in applications where low-cost, lightweight material is needed.

How about a process to extract the CO2 from the air and turn it directly into energy? Green plants can do it, so why can’t we? Researchers in Minnesota are looking at using CO2 as a heat transfer fluid to vastly improve the performance of geothermal power generation. And if the EPA doesn't cave in to pressure from oil companies who would like to see them withdraw support for biofuels, we might just see third generation biofuels that convert carbon into energy more directly.

Image credit: Nemo’s Great Uncle: Flickr Creative Commons

RP Siegel, PE, is an inventor, consultant and author. He writes for numerous publications including Justmeans, ThomasNet, Huffington Post, and Energy Viewpoints. He co-wrote the eco-thriller Vapor Trails, the first in a series covering the human side of various sustainability issues including energy, food, and water in an exciting and entertaining romp that is currently being adapted for the big screen. Now available on Kindle.

Follow RP Siegel on Twitter.

In 2013 corporate social responsibility moved from "do good" actions to a business best practice. The following five 2014 CSR game-changers will accelerate the links between profits, environmental responsibility and social good.

1. Climate change economics

Climate change remains the 800-pound gorilla in the room for CSR. The politics of climate change are unlikely to change in 2014. But the path to profits through deployment of proven best practices that cut costs and reduce emissions will accelerate. The three economic drivers that make climate change a 2014 CSR game-changer are:

• CFO focus. The CFO’s office is now recognizing that climate change does impact profits. 2014 will see the accounting profession move forward by reporting how climate change impacts a company’s risks and financial performance. Today 27 of the S&P 500 corporations assign a cost to their carbon footprint as part of their budgeting process. This increasing CFO focus upon climate change is moving CSR into a reporting requirement that fulfills a corporation’s fiduciary responsibility.


• Marketing focus. Customers are searching for "in me, on me and around me" solutions. The millennial generation that was born into climate change are adopting lifestyles that both save money and reduce emissions. In 2014, this marketing mega-trend accelerates as the millennial generation expands its buying power toward being the largest U.S. consumer group by 2017. Businesses that sell solely on value will continue to hit a revenue growth wall from consumers that are increasingly demanding products that align value with values.


• Cutting costs through energy efficiency. The world is awash in fossil fuels. But the economic reality of "drill baby drill" has turned out to be higher prices, increased emissions and climate change. Higher energy prices combined with increasing price competitiveness of energy efficiency technologies will make energy efficiency a superior 2014 CSR leverage point that delivers measurable near-term ROI results and reportable environmental benefits.

2. Wage crisis

If climate change is the CSR 800-pound gorilla in the room, then wages will be the 2014 CSR "hot potato." The U.S. faces a wage crisis driven by wage deterioration among the middle class that constrains their ability to finance a middle class lifestyle. The resulting middle class financial weakness is undercutting our economy’s ability to achieve sustained economic growth. Business revenues are now hostage to the inability of the middle class to sustain its buying power.

Income disparity is a fuel accelerant that is turning this economic issue into a social fire. Income disparity is at historic highs last seen during the Great Depression. Since 2007 the federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 per hour. If the minimum wage had been adjusted for inflation since 1968 it would be approximately $10 per hour. If it had been adjusted for worker productivity it would be approximately $18 per hour. Instead, the Economic Policy Institute calculates that all wage increases over the last 15 years have gone to the wealthiest 10 percent. Trickle-down economics that assumed a rising tide for the highest earning class would also float the boats of all has not delivered sustainable economic growth.

The economic solution is obvious: wages must rise. This can be counter-intuitive for C-suite leaders just as raising taxes during the Clinton administration was counter-intuitive but resulted in budget surpluses and economic growth. Successfully raising wages without accelerating unemployment will enable the middle class to grow wealth. Higher wages will grow consumer confidence plus increase buying power enabling consumers to buy more and save more - the two keys to economic growth.

Convincing a C-suite measured by 90-day performance metrics that wage growth is key to revenue growth will be the greatest CSR challenge in 2014. Higher wages, without productivity gains, mean higher costs. This is in absolute conflict with the business profit model used since the Great Recession that grew profits by cutting labor costs. This challenge is made even more difficult as income disparity places a political spotlight on CEOs. While wages are a macro-economic issue, it will be politics (both as a country and within a company) that enables a solution.

3. Technology

If wages are CSR’s hot potato issue, then technology will be the issue that reshapes the role of CSR. In 2014 CSR will continue its maturation as an investment driver for energy efficiency, manufacturing 2.0 and renewable energy technologies that enhance productivity, cut costs, deliver targeted returns on investment and reduce environmental footprints. CSR will also be a technology investment path for enabling a greener, smarter, lower risk and more humane supply chain.

4. Women leadership

In 2014 women in business leadership will continue to be an issue defined by a few pioneering women winning high-profile jobs, while the glass ceiling that confronts women leadership advancement remains a CSR issue. 2013 was a landmark year that documented how a business with more women leaders achieved superior profit results compared to businesses with fewer women leaders.

This "it’s not personal, just business" messaging will continue to grow in 2014 as an influence on strategic human resource planning. The 2014 game-changer will be a broadening of women leadership opportunities from 2013, when a significant percentage of women that won leadership roles demonstrated acumen in finance. 2014 will see growing evidence that women leaders can grow profits based upon their marketing acumen, customer service sensitivities and management practices that reduce social and environmental risks. This 2014 CSR issue will grow in awareness near year-end with the potential that 2016 may see the election of the first female U.S. President.

5. Obesity epidemic drives CSR’s growing role in marketing

Human health will continue its growth as the top CSR issue for consumers in 2014 driven by a global epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Obesity’s threat to human health, more than any other issue, is causing consumers to question what they buy and whom they buy from. 2014 will see CSR play a crucial role in shaping product designs and marketing messages that seek to win a trust-link with customers.

Businesses like rooftop solar companies and local farmers that can offer "guilt-free" products will win customers and grow product revenues. The Age of Commoditization where all goods and services lose their meaning except for their price competitiveness will continue to face a revenue growth wall from consumers demanding products that support human health.

Image credit: Economic Policy Institute; Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bill Roth is an economist and the Founder of Earth 2017. He coaches business owners and leaders on proven best practices in pricing, marketing and operations that make money and create a positive difference. His book, The Secret Green Sauce, profiles business case studies of pioneering best practices that are proven to win customers and grow product revenues. Follow him on Twitter: @earth2017

By Kerry Sinclair

Jacques-Phillippe Piverger likes to say that his company, MPOWERD, is "eradicating energy poverty through solar justice." He is doing this despite the fact that the old guard in business tends to believe that "it’s not possible to do good, and do well." MPOWERD is challenging that standard with grace. This startup, just 15 months old, already has a product jumping off the shelves - shedding light on the energy market.

Sleek-looking Luci, the solar lantern, is turning heads in firms across sub-Saharan Africa and capturing the interest of international distributors. The design of this portable powerhouse differentiates her from other lanterns on the market, just as MPOWERD’s integrated distribution model sets it apart as a social enterprise. Combine design and networked distribution with a low price point ($14.95), determined to get lower, and you have an MPOWERD business.

Conversations with co-founders, Piverger and his partner John Salzinger, make clear that they see the business as a driver for social and economic change, as well as a profitable entity. According to Salzinger, firms in Africa that pay up front for the product bolster manufacturing and help to give Luci a price advantage at home. This, in turn, creates retail visibility within the U.S. market.

When asked which market was the bread and butter for MPOWERD, the reply is "well, both…they work together right now." The integrated model helps MPOWERD keep its own lights on, while battling energy poverty in many locales. Piverger is adamant that his company and this product operate from a triple bottom line: social, environmental and economic factors. These same goals drive this energetic man to promote the company broadly. And it’s working. Luci is currently on back-order for 100,000 units to retailers worldwide, in addition to the 100,000 units already sold. The retail network boomed from zero to 60 within six months. No big deal? It’s sure refuting its critics.

Luci is a little thing. She’s made of clear plastic and weighs only 4 ounces, but she packs a nice punch. Ten thousand tiny LEDs provide 15 square feet of light that lasts for six to 10 hours on a full eight-hour charge. Just like the adage that recommends not messing with little people, Luci has managed to enable a drop in violent crimes against women, alleviate health problems related to kerosene and reduce the number of kerosene-related fires, while helping increase productivity and education for the 1.7 billion people who live off the energy grid worldwide. All because it gives a little more light.

Luci came to the rescue in New York and New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy and helps keep the energy bill down during normal times. Indeed, Luci doesn’t see borders; she just goes where she’s needed.

Of course, this rising enterprise didn’t drop onto the earth as a fully formed productive force. Piverger and Salzinger needed help from their "solar system" of stakeholders. Like any B-corp, MPOWERD needs folks to have faith. It has worked with one foundation and has given a few faithful individuals the opportunity to invest in the company. Just as the sun fuels the earth, MPOWERD’s stakeholders enabled this fledging enterprise to shine. In a recent article for the Huffington Post, Piverger explains that his company will continue to grow based on its ability to affect change in the world, developing and developed.

By wielding our market power along with cutting-edge technologies, we in the social innovation field are using business to create significant global change…In places where energy services are inaccessible—whether due to deficient infrastructure, high costs, or emergency conditions—Luci is a dependable source of light.

MPOWERD’s partners agree. Alliances with A New Course and the Amazon Conservation Association promote aid to communities in Tanzania and Peru, respectively. Moving beyond financial donations, these partnerships deliver entrepreneurship for women in Tanzania and conservation for marginalized communities in Peru. Developing a business in the U.S. can look like magic. Creating opportunities for people in places with less access to renewable resources requires the foresight to know that giving is getting. MPOWERD’s campaign encourages customers to donate Luci to their partners at a discounted price.

MPOWERD may look quirky to the status-quo, but positive acknowledgement by international organizations and media, including CNBC, Brazil’s Globo and the UN, requires that critics of the “do good, and do well” paradigm sit down and listen up. MPOWERD’s co-founders are demonstrating a different approach from the business world of 50 years ago. Blending sense and intuition, this new style of making money aids the argument that sustainability is not a trend, but a new standard in doing business.

Image credit: MPOWERD

Kerry Sinclair is an MBA candidate at Bard College, MBA in Sustainability. She is happy to be writing about the good fight.

The City of London Corporation is urging businesses to ‘gift their skills’ as 2014 company-giving-gestures and are being asked to focus on particular charities.

Homelessness charities and those which support older people make up just nine per cent of all company volunteering support. Indeed, the research from the City of London Corporation found gaps in volunteering within several charity sectors with most London businesses opting to support charities which focus on youth, education and raising children’s aspirations, seeing young people as the ‘future asset’ and worth investing in.

Noa Burger, corporate responsibility project manager at the City of London Corporation said: “Collaboration across sectors is a powerful way to address society’s challenges, and charities can hugely benefit from the expertise of corporate volunteers.

"Areas which really need help– homelessness, the elderly and adult unemployment – particularly during the winter months, are still being somewhat overlooked and it’s important they are not forgotten. We hope more businesses across the city will take a look at not just what skills they can offer, but at where these skills are most lacking in 2014.”

 

Picture credit: © Gunter Hofer | Dreamstime Stock Photos
 

Tempers have risen in the SF Bay Area over the past few months due to sky-rocketing rental costs (the average cost for a 1 bedroom in the city was $2800 this past July). The cost increases are attributed to an influx of well-paid tech workers, many of whom actually work outside the city, down at Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple or one of the numerous other tech companies that litter the Silicon Valley peninsula. Increased demand for housing among well-paid tech workers plus stagnant supply means rising costs, and boy have they risen.

The tensions have a natural focal point in so-called Google busses - private busses that cart tech workers down to their jobs every morning and back again in the evening. These busses conduct their pickups on public streets and at public bus stops and the sheer volume of them slows down traffic flow and regular public transportation for the rest of the city. Most recently, protesters blocked a bus from departing and smashed a window in frustration.

Now, it's not fair to blame these sweeping economic forces on the individual workers - who wouldn't take a great job in a great city with great pay if they had the skills? Terrorizing individual workers who bus to work (the busses are a great decision from an environmental standpoint) is a decidedly bad response to the rising economic pressures, but the protesters do have a point. The rising rent costs and crowded public streets are benefiting corporate entities outside the city by providing their workers with a great place to live. These companies are headquartered outside the city limits, minimizing their tax burden in the area they are impacting. That means they aren't held liable for the constraints on public services caused by the systemic influx of their workers.

However, those corporate entities who claim to be good corporate citizens have a responsibility to respond proactively. Here's why this is a classic corporate sustainability issue.

The Materiality Principal and Local Impacts

The Global Reporting Initiative, the standard for sustainability reporting, considers local impacts to be a key issue that reporting organizations must address in their sustainability reporting. In fact, this requirement is stated right up front, as one of the key contexts in which to consider a company's sustainability performance:

Ford just launched a concept car called the C-MAX Solar Energi that is designed to recharge its batteries within 8 hours through the solar cells installed in the car’s roof. The car’s batteries, solar cells and Fresnel lens system are sized to allow the typical commuter to drive to and from work on free solar energy. If Ford is successful in commercializing this technology then the pump price pain of car ownership will be broken. It will also be a global technology breakthrough for reducing urban smog and greenhouse gas emissions tied to climate change.

Three Design Elements

The C-Max Solar Energi is the integration of solar cells, solar-concentrating Fresnel lens and smart software that allows the car to track the sun to optimize solar energy flowing to the car’s batteries. The foundational element in the car’s design is the installation of SunPower solar cells integrated into the vehicle’s roof. These solar cells deliver a higher solar capacity per square foot, can curve to the car's roof contours and add only a few pounds of additional weight.

The second design element is a carport-like structure holding a Fresnel lens - a series of lenses that concentrate the sun's rays - sending that solar energy onto the car’s solar cells when the vehicle is parked under the canopy. The third design step integrates the operation of the Fresnel lens canopy with the car through smart software that maintains solar energy focused upon the car’s solar cells as the sun travels through the sky. Working together these integrated design elements will, on-average, recharge the car’s batteries during an eight-hour day.

Exclusive interview

David McCreadie is Ford’s Manager of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and Smart Grid. During my exclusive interview with McCreadie he surfaced the engineering promise and challenges facing the commercialization of the C-Max Solar Energi.

The key design challenge in the C-Max Solar Energi was to continuously focus the Fresnel lens upon the car’s rooftop solar panels during charging. The current design achieves this through software that autonomously moves the car in synch with the sun’s arc across the sky. McCreadie estimated that the vehicle would have to shift its location by close to six feet during an eight-hour day. This raises obvious safety issues. It raises obvious questions regarding how much space is required to house a moving car under a Fresnel lens canopy. But it is also a remarkable testament to Ford’s smart technologies to even test such an idea with a concept car. Like most technology concepts the field-testing seeks to surface more practical solutions than autonomously moving a car six feet during the day to track the sun.

Cost will also be a design challenge. At this concept-stage Ford is not even addressing the “how much” question. But the commercialization of roof rooftop solar systems might provide pricing insights. Today's rooftop solar systems can be leased for zero down with guaranteed savings for the homeowner compared to electric bills. A similar enabling lease package for the C-Max Solar Energi and its Fresnel lens infrastructure could make this technology commercially viable.

Sea-changing potential

The C-Max Solar Energi offers the promise of a sea-changing solution to fossil fuel costs, energy independence and climate changing greenhouse gas emissions. California will certainly be an early adopter market. In 2014 California is launching building code revisions targeting a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) environmental footprint. Offering onsite solar recharging as an alterative to fossil fuels aligns with California’s goal of having all new residential construction be ZNE by 2020 and all new commercial construction by 2030.

In addition, California has launched a “Charging Ahead” goal that envisions a million electric cars on California’s road. Ford estimates that the C-Max Solar Energi can reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions for a typical owner by four metric tons. A million Californians using electric cars that recharge their batteries from solar energy would be a huge advancement toward the State’s goals for reducing emissions and fuel costs. It would also address electric grid reliability questions tied to the potential of a million electric car commuters connecting to the grid to recharge at the same time and/or during critical peak time periods.

The C-Max Solar Energi could also be a meaningful solution for countries like China and India that are struggling with the environmental consequences tied to their record setting growth in car sales. Today China annually suffers a million premature deaths due to excessive air pollution. Mass application of solar powered cars would be a huge solution to issues of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and balance of trade impacts created from importing oil. The C-Max Solar Energi also offers a transportation and productivity solution for locations that have limited fossil fuel or grid infrastructure.

Game changing cleantech commercialization

The C-Max Solar Energi is an example of how the commericalization of cleantech is on the cusp of being a game changer for the U.S. economy and human health. Rooftop solar is now price competitive with grid supplied electricity sourced from fossil fuels. Biofuels are gaining market penetration in premium fuels like jet fuel. Smart technologies linking big data and 3-D printing has launched manufacturing 2.0 that holds the promise of on-shoring jobs, reducing emissions and delivering competitively priced products offering superior quality. And concept cars like the C-Max Solar Energi are pioneering breakthroughs that could cut America’s cord to pump price pain.

Bill Roth is an economist and the Founder of Earth 2017. He coaches business owners and leaders on proven best practices in pricing, marketing and operations that make money and create a positive difference. His book, The Secret Green Sauce, profiles business case studies of pioneering best practices that are proven to win customers and grow product revenues. Follow him on Twitter: @earth2017

What makes you read a sustainability report and come away thinking: "This company is really honest?" How many times has that happened to you in recent years? (assuming you have read a few sustainability reports). The Openness and Honesty Category in the annual CRRA online reporting awards is always an interesting one for me, as, let's face it, if we are not convinced of the honesty of the reporting company, then pretty much everything else is a waste of time. Am I right or am I right?

CorporateRegister.com, the CRRA host, says this about the Openness and Honesty Category: "It’s sometimes difficult to tell the whole truth. It’s easy to highlight the good news and ignore the bad. Whether performance is poor or excellent is less relevant for this award. This award is for the report which ‘comes clean’, tells both the good and the bad news, and which convinces us that this is a balanced picture."

Indeed, bad news was cited as one of the most significant credibility-builders in reporting, according to research the CorporateRegister.com published in 2013. But there is bad news and there is bad news. Sometimes, bad news is so wrapped up in sugar that you don't even realize it's bad news. Sometimes, bad news is so insignificant that it's not even news, let alone bad. Sometimes bad news is also old news, and not worth wasting time on. Sometimes, bad news is simply a number in a chart which shows a target was not achieved, with no explanation or acknowledgment. Bad news is rarely that people screwed up, people made mistakes, people got it wrong, people failed. Bad news is rarely personalized (unless you are Tony Hayward), though it's usually quite personal. Maybe reports should include a section entitled: Who screwed up this year, why, and what we did about it. That would shoot any report right to the top of the Sustainability Reporting Honesty Leaderboard Rating of All Time.

But it's not just bad news that builds credibility. A report containing only bad news would never get past legal counsel. It's the combination of both good and bad news and the consistency with which the company's overall performance impacts are reported that creates a credible report and the feeling that we are reading an honest account of performance. The result is that you believe the company has made an effort to tell it like it is, even though you always know, deep down, that the company has pre-deselected a range of things that it will not disclose.

I took a look at the ten reports shortlisted for the Openness and Honesty Category to see if I could identify a good news - bad news combination. Previous winners in the Openness and Honesty category include: Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2009 (CRRA '11), Marks and Spencer How We Do Business Report 2011 (CRRA '12) and Pacific Hydro Pty Annual Review & Sustainability Report 2012 (CRRA '13).

This time, the shortlisted lineup includes prior winner Pacific Hydro and nine other hopefuls. You can find all these reports and read them at CRRA '14 Best Openness and Honesty Category.

• British American Tobacco plc (BAT) Sustainability Summary 2012.


• Co-operative Group Limited Sustainability Report 2012.


• Fromageries Bel SA Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2012.


• Hydro Québec Sustainability Report 2012


• La Trobe University 2012 Sustainability Report.


• Microsoft Corporation Citizenship Report 2013


• Pacific Hydro Pty Limited Annual Review and Sustainability Report 2013


• Royal BAM Group nv Sustainability report 2012


• Smithfield Foods Inc 2012 Integrated Report.


• STMicroelectronics NV Sustainability Report 2012

  A version of this piece was originally published on the CSR Reporting Blog.

Elaine Cohen is a CSR Consultant and Sustainability Reporter, founder/manager of Beyond Business Ltd and author of the CSR Reporting Blog

The Associated Press is out with a major report on recent pollution complaints related to gas and oil fracking in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Texas. The figures on Pennsylvania fracking are particularly interesting in light of last week's decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The court held that the state's new uniform zoning plan for fracking violated a part of the state constitution because it nullified any attempts by local authorities to establish more stringent requirements.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has appealed the ruling, but its case could be seriously undermined by a renewed focus on evidence that fracking imposes risks and hazards on local communities.

Fracking and local control

Fracking involves pumping a chemical brine deep into shale formations to loosen deposits of oil and natural gas. It has been used for decades without much notice in thinly populated areas, mainly in the western U.S.

That changed partly with the discovery of the gas-rich Marcellus shale formation in the eastern U.S., which brought fracking into contact with far more populated communities.

Local control over fracking is a critical issue because of the potential for harmful impacts on individual residents and on existing economic activity, most notably agriculture and tourism.

While a statewide standard that establishes minimum zoning regulations is not problematic, the Pennsylvania law would have effectively imposed a maximum standard that did not adapt to local conditions.

The Supreme Court took that into account in its ruling. The relevant part of the state constitution is Article 1, Section 27, the Environmental Rights Amendment:

Natural Resources and the Public Estate

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.

The Associated Press fracking report

The AP article is titled "Some states confirm water pollution from drilling." Writer Kevin Begos details the findings of AP's request for information from four states, with these results from Pennsylvania:

The AP found that Pennsylvania received 398 complaints in 2013 alleging that oil or natural gas drilling polluted or otherwise affected private water wells, compared with 499 in 2012. The Pennsylvania complaints can include allegations of short-term diminished water flow, as well as pollution from stray gas or other substances. More than 100 cases of pollution were confirmed over the past five years.

The full article is well worth a read, because Begos makes the point that the raw numbers tell only part of the story. Just as significant is the practice that of isolating individual complaints, which according to Begos is characteristic of Pennsylvania.

The result is that persons alleging a fracking-related problem are largely unaware that their case is one among many, and the overall effect is to discourage individuals from coming forward to report a complaint.

Prying statewide information out of Pennsylvania officials is not something that individuals can easily engage in, either. Begos's report is the result of some determined labor by AP, which along with other news organizations engaged in a years-long battle with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection over access to statewide records.

Records from the other three states were easier to access, though only Texas provided a meaningful amount of detail. Here is a rundown of some of AP's other findings:

Ohio has confirmed six cases of water-well contamination since 2010 but none were found to be related to fracking.

Out of 122 complaints of water-well contamination in West Virginia over the past four years, four cases resulted in corrective action undertaken by the driller.

Texas provided AP with a detailed spreadsheet including 62 allegations of water-well contamination from oil and gas drilling. However, according to a Texas official the state hasn't confirmed any cases of water-well contamination related to drilling in the past ten years.

The low figures for confirmed cases are not particularly a surprise, since the fracking industry has been exempt from federal regulations requiring the disclosure of hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act, a gaping loophole that makes it virtually impossible to make a direct link between fracking-related pollutants and their source.

[Image: Pennsylvania postcard by pds209]

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