5.30.2012

Another non-environmental wonder

Only in the FT would you find this gem of a lobbying rebrand, which asks three industry figures the question "Is offering advice to government worth the hassle?"

Strategist Brian Millar offers this fascinating response:

"...the key is to be very judicious about when and how you get involved. If an initiative perfectly matches your company's values, then your contribution can add weight to your brand. But if there is even the slightest chance that the message could go awry or that your agenda could be overwhelmed by political expedience...run from Portcullis House via the nearest fire escape."

Right, because that's how public affairs departments work...

5.29.2012

Something that's actually good

As part of the Breakthrough Capitalism forum, Jeremy Leggett nails why energy is so much more than a just a commodity in the sustainability debate (via Guardian GSB):

"Energy brings into focus the systemic fault lines in society."

5.28.2012

Gem of the day

The AA1000 stakeholder engagement standard helpfully clears up that age-old CSR question, 'what is a material issue?':

"An issue should be considered material if it influences or is likely to influence the decisions, actions and behaviour of one or more stakeholders and/or the organisation itself."

Thanks AccountAbility.

Another non-environmental wonder

Best quote I've seen about the 2012 Games to date, in response to what the Guardian labels the failed hope that "Olympic fever would mean queues of advertisers writing out large cheques on demand":

"They thought the Olympics was too premium to fail," says one media buying industry source.

5.25.2012

Bonus gem

Marketing site BrandChannel has a gem of a take on the New York Times Magazine feature that ran on McDonald's new brand positioning a few weeks ago (see here for more on the chain's awkward quest for authenticity).

"There's no mention of how many jobs McDonald's creates and sustains in an era when joblessness is the huge vulnerability of the U.S. economic recovery, or of how its still-affordable prices help millions of consumers around the world eat every day amid financial conditions that continue to be difficult in many places."

More proof that when you reduce capitalism down to job creation and product prices, everyone looks like a hero.

Gem of the day

Insider take on the Heartland Institute's annual conference on all things climate skepticism (via Climate Progress):

“There’s not a lot of science here,” said Scott Denning, an atmospheric scientist from Colorado State University who attended the event last year.

5.21.2012

Gem of the day

Toughest job on the market is now open: Head of Sustainability Strategy for...Heathrow airport.

No wonder the description expressly states "outstanding communication and influencing skills are a must".

5.17.2012

Gem of the day

British Gas received rather unfavorable coverage last week when it announced in a statement that the company predicted wholesale gas prices to rise this winter by 15%, in addition to £50 extra for the average homeowner for 'non-commodity costs' such as 'environmental levies'. This prediction sat alongside a quiet announcement of a £4.4 million package for the CEO.

Whenceforth for the utility giant then? Ah yes, brand repositioning to boost corporate reputation. Let's hope the customers buy it!


5.16.2012

Bonus gem

MIT's annual Sustainability & Innovation Executive Study asks corporate leaders around the world to provide their two cents on the companies they believe are making sustainability good business sense.

It's a great way to frame a survey, but this year's results say a lot about the disinformation clouding the sustainable business landscape, in particular an astonishing failure to look at businesses from a truly global perspective: the highest scoring industry was autos.

More sustainable cars? That might be true in saturated markets like the US and Europe, but you better believe sustainability has nothing to do with the strategy carmakers are adopting in emerging consumer markets like China: selling millions of luxury vehicles.

Gem of the day

Mitt Romney confidently puts his finger on the reason why the fishing industry in New England is in a crisis, proving once and for all that he understands nothing about A. The environment and B. Why America is decaying (via TreeHugger):

"It's a tough time to be in the fishing business in America. Not just in that industry, but in many industries, Small business has really felt like it's been under attack over the last several years...Across America regulators are just multiplying like proverbial rabbits and making it harder for enterprises to grow and to understand what their future might be."

Treat yourself to some Overfishing 101, Mitt.

5.14.2012

Another non-environmental wonder

The extremely nutshell concept of the PR industry conducting PR for itself reaches new levels, thanks to PRCA Chief Executive Francis Ingam with the following promise to Britain's intrepid journalists (via PR Week, where else?):

"I want to say to them if you've got a story about PR you can come to us for commentary - we will always give you an answer."

5.11.2012

Gem of the day

BASD 2012, the organisation bringing the business community together to drive progress at the Rio +20 summit, must have an effective message to bring to the table on all this.

Or not (via GSB):

"When governments discuss between themselves, there are only governments represented," says Kris Gopalakrishnan, chair of BASD 2012. "Maybe, by broadening that and getting other stakeholders into the discussion, especially the civil society, we can look at a different way of approaching this challenge."

5.10.2012

Another non-environmental wonder

A gem of an interview with the [retiring] CEO of manufacturer 3M, charmingly entitled 'The View from the Top', offers more proof that capitalism in its present form is basically an old white men's club (via the FT, where else?):

"Q: You're stepping down as CEO in the summer. What are your plans?"

"A: I'm not really interested in stopping work, so I'm going to do a couple more boards. I've been asked to be a consultant to a couple of other companies. I'm going to do a little bit of private equity. And I'm going to do some more fly fishing."

Here's to the rolling paychecks and plenty more free time then, Sir George Buckley! 


5.09.2012

Another non-environmental wonder

A great definition of what counts as the beloved business holy grail, 'innovation', from an unlikely place (Philip Auerswald in the Harvard Business Review):

"If you're not pissing someone off, it's probably not innovation."

Another non-environmental wonder

The New York Times occasionally gets carried away with its descriptions of American politics.

Here's one macho byline that makes for an instant classic:

"Mr. Mourdock, who defeated Senator Richard G. Lugar in Indiana’s G.O.P. primary, rides motorcycles, runs marathons and believes that only one party must prevail."

5.08.2012

Gem of the day

Another thorn in the side of air travel for the U.S.of.A. (and yet another reason to, er, build some trains that can actually cross the country efficiently, via NY Times)

"The average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds, while airplane seats are designed for those of 170 pounds."

5.04.2012

Bonus bonus gem

The NY Times Magazine is running a glossy feature this weekend exploring the sickening quest for 'authenticity' that has defined the shiny cubicles of McDonald's HQ over the past year.

This is the kind of stuff nightmarish corporate PR cliches are made of:

"It was a simple plan. McDonald’s would pay to appear at the top of the trends list on Twitter’s home page, using the social-media site to drive people to its new commercials highlighting some of the real-life farmers and ranchers who supply McDonald’s with its ingredients. Executives at the fast-food company loved the commercials; the word in-house was 'authenticity'...McDonald’s wasn’t about fast food, the commercials suggested, but real food, born of the earth."

And what about how this drive for an undeservedly wholesome image is impacting the restaurants themselves? This one really takes the cake:

"The restaurants themselves are changing, too, adding...flat-screen TVs playing the McDonald’s Channel.  The content on the nascent channel is breezy (think Top 10 lists) and anodyne. The objective is 'an agnostic view of the world,' according to Lee Edmondson, the founder of ChannelPort Communications, the California company building the channel for McDonald’s (its only client)...the audience, Hunter says, 'is everyone.'"

A TV channel that doesn't believe in anything, just like the profit machine that dreamed it up.

Bonus gem

Why I am not surprised that every single planned speaker except for one at the Heartland Institute's upcoming conference is male?

I'm sure that between John Dunne, who "has practiced medicine in several states", Tom Harris, who has experience writing "letters to the editor and open letters to government", Harrison Schmitt, who has claim to fame as "chairman of Interlune Intermars Initiative Inc., an organization whose goal is to advance the private sector’s acquisition and use of lunar resources", and a handful of other ageing white men, great ideas will be had.

Gem of the day

Web 2.0 rarely delivers the gift of blog comments worth reading, but here's one example. An anonymous user wrote this in response to an article touting the community work of UK supermarkets (ah yes, the undying corporate aspiration to become a 'pillar'):

"If supermarkets really want to act responsibly to communities nationwide they would keep out of already happy, thriving and cohesive communities which have good shopping facilities well established in their centre."

Zing!

5.03.2012

Gem of the day

The Economist is no place to look for insights that put sustainability in the same league as profit. Here's columnist Schumpeter's latest recommendation to the world's board (bored) rooms:

"Companies need to keep hammering away at the simplicity mantra. Gareth Penny, a former boss of De Beers, a diamond company, says that: 'The role of a CEO is to simplify the complexity and stick to a few themes.'”

Sorry boys, but figuring out how to deal with the growing pressures of climate change, degradation of the natural environment, human rights and everything else that fits into the sustainability big tent ain't simple.

Then again, that kind of blind mantra is no surprise coming from De Beers' Penny, who once stated under the title 'Sustainability' in a De Beers CSR report this rather simple interpretation:

"Following a profitable 2008, in 2009 De Beers will focus on running a sustainable business at a lower level of sales."

5.02.2012

Gem of the day

A Yale doctoral student on the solution to palm oil emissions and deforestation in Indonesia (via NY Times):

"We do need more protections, but a good place to start would be enforcing the rules that already exist.”

Indeed.