CSR Minute: CNBC Features Unifi on Sustainability Series; London's Pro-Active Sustainability Plan for 2012 Olympics
(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) December 1, 2009 - Princeton, NJ and Burlington, VT – Kaplan EduNeering, a leading provider of compliance and knowledge management solutions, and Seventh Generation, a pioneer and leader in sustainability, announced the launch of their new Sustainability Institute. The Kaplan EduNeering/Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute (www.InstituteSustainability.com) will provide business and governmental managers, employees, subcontractors and supply chain partners with best practices and specialized training in the development and implementation of sustainability initiatives.
“Sustainability is a holistic, systems-based learning approach to living well today by employing business practices that enable future generations to live better tomorrow,” said Lisa Clune, President of Kaplan EduNeering. “The Kaplan EduNeering/Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute provides practical guidance and training for business practices that are responsive to the principles of sustainability and to the financial expectations of stakeholders.”
“There is now compelling evidence that sustainable companies enjoy a competitive advantage over organizations that continue to embrace an exclusive focus on short term profits,” said Jeffrey Hollender, Executive Chairman of Seventh Generation. “That business paradigm is now seen as counterproductive, not only for society and the natural world but also for company stakeholders. Organizations are beginning to understand that responsible corporate behavior has become a business imperative and that it will only become increasingly more important in the future.”
Although recent studies confirm the belief among business professionals that environmental, social and governance activities create shareholder value and increase consumer loyalty, a study by MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group reports that only 30% of firms are implementing sustainability practices.
The Kaplan EduNeering/Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute provides:
• An online library of courses, including Sustainability 101, Sustainable Supply Chain and Greenhouse Gas Management. Each of these modules addresses one of the essential business practices in an effective sustainability program. The Sustainability Institute courses are also a good primer for companies seeking distribution with Wal-Mart and that must adhere to Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Index. Kaplan EduNeering is a pioneer in online learning and has developed more than 4,000 custom courses and learning exercises for its clients and a library of 550 standardized compliance and regulatory courses.
• Ten video modules for ongoing sustainability learning, with topics ranging from “Developing a Sustainability Mindset” to “Be Transparent.” The video series includes five modules centered on sustainable business practices. Each of these modules addresses one of the essential business practices in an effective sustainability program. The videos feature Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation’s co-founder and current Executive Chairman. As the company’s Inspired Protagonist, Jeffrey has advised Fortune 500 companies and authored best-selling books including How to Make the World a Better Place: A Guide for Doing Good and What Matters Most - How a small group of pioneers are teaching social responsibility to big business - and why big business is listening. Jeffrey’s newest book, The Responsibility Revolution, is scheduled for publication in March 2010.
• An online toolkit called the Sustainability Communication CoachSM (SCC), which includes articles, brochures, mini-training modules, case studies and other resources to develop and sustain an ongoing, enterprise-wide sustainability communications program. The SCC is modeled after Kaplan EduNeering’s widely used Ethics Communication CoachSM, which now includes 2,000 tools and celebrates its ten-year anniversary in 2009.
• Optional services, including sustainability consulting, through Seventh Generation’s professional staff and an exam prep package for the LEEDv3 (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). A Green Associate certificate awarded by the Green Building Council can be provided by Kaplan AE Education.
“The gap between ‘recognizing’ the value of sustainability and ‘achieving’ that value is costing businesses around the world billions of dollars in lost profits,” said Lisa Clune. “The Kaplan EduNeering/Seventh Generation Sustainability Institute provides the broad resources to help companies understand and achieve the tangible benefits of sustainable business practices.”
About Kaplan EduNeering
Kaplan EduNeering (www.kaplaneduneering.com) is part of Kaplan, Inc., a leading global provider of educational services to individuals, schools and businesses. Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). Kaplan EduNeering develops technology-enabled knowledge solutions for assuring regulatory compliance and improving business performance. Kaplan EduNeering is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, and has offices in Houston, TX, Bloomsburg, PA, and London, UK.
About Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation is a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices and is committed to being the most trusted brand of household and personal-care products for your living home. It derives its name from the Iroquois belief that "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."
For information on Seventh Generation cleaning, paper, baby and feminine personal care products, to find store locations, and explore the company's website visit www.seventhgeneration.com. To read more about Seventh Generation's corporate responsibility, visit the Corporate Consciousness Report at: www.seventhgeneration.com/corporate-responsibility/2008.
(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) SAN FRANCISCO, December 3, 2009 – “Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born. And in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life. And to love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.”
~ Kahlil Gibran, twentieth-century Syrian-born mystic poet and philosopher
“This book is about the life we choose to create for ourselves within our work, the businesses we bring to life, and how we relate to ourselves and each other in the process. It addresses the question: How do we become more human in the context of our work, so we can build life-affirming organizations that serve the greater good, while serving ourselves?” states author, Jeff Klein. “My intention with this book is to provide a meaningful context and the essential tools to support you in deeply and fully expressing your humanity through your work; to open to the vulnerability that makes you invulnerable; to establish a sense of aspirational purpose grounded in principles that sustain you in the face of adversity; and to find rich experience and deep fulfillment.”
In the opening of his classic book Working, Studs Terkel writes, ‘This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence—to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is, above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many
of us.”
Klein continues “This book, and the very idea of Working for Good, are meant to be an antidote to the violence people do to themselves and each other through business and work. People may may read Working for Good because they would like to do something to address some of the challenges facing humanity, because they believe that business provides an opportunity to do so, and because they want to understand more deeply how this vision can be manifested. This is what motivates many of us, especially young people; members of the Millennial Generation almost require that the companies they work for or build have a higher social purpose and act responsibly. Readers may also sense a calling to service and want to pursue it more fully. They may want to change their existing business or job, start a new business, or find a new place to work that is more deeply aligned with their purpose and principles. And they may want to learn new skills that will make them more effective in building a conscious business and make your business more responsive to the increasing market demand for good corporate citizenship. Working for Good acknowledges the power of these desires and provides tools for addressing them.”
“Working for Good is a way of conducting business and approaching work that orients us on a path of personal growth, development, and service. Based in the skills and practices of awareness, embodiment, connection, collaboration, and integration, Working for Good guides our thoughts and actions to create businesses that value more than financial return on investment, respect people and the planet, deliver broad-based service to society, and promote widespread well-being.”
About Jeff Klein: As CEO of Cause Alliance Marketing, Jeff Klein designs and facilitates collaborative cause-related marketing programs. His current clients include the Conscious Capitalism Alliance, of which he was a founding member, and O.N.E. Drinks, for whom he is producing a campaign to educate moms and others about the health benefits of coconut water. In the context of a Working for Good Collaborative, Jeff is in the process of launching the Working for Good Alliance, with a related web-based platform and integrated education and engagement campaign, and a Working for Good "Greenhouse" and Seed Fund to germinate and cultivate conscious companies.
Jeff was one of the visionaries and driving forces behind Private Music, the career of Yanni, Spinning, and Seeds of Change, and has consulted for the Esalen Institute, the National Geographic Society, GlobalGiving, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, among others. He wrote his new book, Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living, to support conscious entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, leaders, and change agents at work.
Corporate Social Responsibility News: IBM's Survey of 224 Biz Leaders; Team and a Dream's "Socially Sourced" Social Media Method
Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give donations to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues globally. Peacekeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land-of-plenty with extraordinary women who, just by chance of birth, don’t have our resources or opportunities.
Here are the ideals that they pledge to uphold in their business practices:
Slavery Free
Peacekeeper is building a slave-labor free company, so if we think there is any type of exploitation in hours, safety, healthcare, retirement, etc. we are gone.
They are consulting with www.newstandards.com to monitor this.
Fair Wages
Peacekeeper makes sure that the companies we are working with here and overseas pays a fair wage to their employees.
Animal Loving
Peacekeeper does not use any products that have been tested on animals. We also provide vegan products for animal lovers who do not use carmine.
Ethical
Peacekeeper uses the Yamas and Niyamas, which come from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, in its work. They refer to the concepts of exertion and rest and outline the ways in which a Yogi must find an ethical balance in his or her life. Patanjali says that if a person is truly established in the Yamas and Niyamas they gain powers.
When a Yogi practices truthfulness, ultimately anything he or she says will come true. That's powerful! Or, if he or she practices non-stealing/non-hoarding people will feel so safe around him or her that they will reveal unimaginable secrets and treasures. When we are truly living in non-violence then no negative energy or “enemy” can harm us, in the same way Buddhist monks can safely walk through a battle-field. By establishing ourselves in the Yamas & Niyamas, we can face each day unaffected by the negativity in the world.
The practice of truthfulness, non-violence and non-stealing enables a person to know where to step so as not to lose their reputation. It becomes clear to a practitioner that taking something that is not theirs will only weaken them of their fierce power of restraint and will ultimately decide not to make the choice that has toppled so many powerful men. Practicing the Yamas and Niyamas will make people feel safe around you and promote greater fulfillment in all that you do. This is good for you and good for the world.
To learn more about these and other ethical practices visit these websites – Fair Trade: www.transfairusa.org; Eradication of slavery: www.assetcampaign.org; Animal friendly information: www.vegan.org. To learn more about Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s visit http://dailyreadings.com/sutras_1.htm, and visit PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics at www.iamapeacekeeper.com.
