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The “Citizens” Awards spotlight successful, inspired, and replicable models of positive business impact on people, communities and the environment.
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When people discuss the environmental impact of business, it's often with the assumption that the impacts are always going to be negative.
Chicago, Illinois; Santa Monica California; and Purcellville, Virginia beat out 132 other communities from 40 states to be named this year’s Siemens Sustainable Community Awards winners.
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Post-tornado Joplin, MO is a story about how a city should rebuild: by focusing on maintaining and growing better jobs, and giving people a reason to stay.
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As Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast, weather predictions show landfall near the Outer Banks, North Carolina, this weekend and New England at the start of next week. But the time is now for businesses and individuals along the entire Eastern seaboard to prepare for the potential damagin
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Cross-posted from BCLCBlog
It's been only three full business days since the devastation began in Japan. Already, companies have pledged $110 million in cash and in-kind donations. The pace of business assistance to Japan is rapid; the scope, generous.
The Chamber BCLC's Corporate Aid Tracker
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One of BCLC's most highly anticipated announcements of the year took place this morning. The energy around this announcement kicked off my day to a great start!
Twenty companies made it onto our annual “companies that care” list. Collectively, these 20 are the 2010 finalists for the annual Corpora
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The challenge of rebuilding public trust in business has perhaps never been harder. The chips are down in communities across our nation, and the bad or misguided decision-making by a few companies has tarnished the reputation of all companies. While some people want to charge all free market activi
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This month I had the pleasure to conduct a Q&A with Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation, which in its last fiscal year contributed more than $423 million to communities in the U.S. and abroad. I asked about recession-time giving, nonprofit partnerships, and the foundation’s long
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We still are in the public comment period for our new study on "State Government Policies to Reduce Losses from Extreme Events and Help Communities Recover." In my last post I outlined three policies meant to reduce the impact of extreme events. Now I'd like to direct your attention to policies #4
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BCLC has often been asked what some states do well in disaster recovery, especially since other states seem to sputter in their response efforts. BCLC has forged new research to find out.
Professor Emeritus Daniel Alesch, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, is the lead researcher on this project an
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David Brooks’ recent op-ed in the NYT discusses the rise in popularity of some American cities and the decline in interest in others. "Americans want to go someplace new," he writes. "The powerhouse cities of the 20th century — New York, Los Angeles, Chicago — are much less desirable today than the
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We want to make sure our members are aware of this recognition opportunity from Business Week. The magazine is launching a search for the top 25 for-profit companies that create positive social impact, whether in the United States or abroad. The nomination form is online and entries are accepted un
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Bob Langert, a McDonald’s VP who works on corporate responsibility, always has interesting information on the company’s sustainability journey. “It's much better to have sustainability viewed as something positive,” he says. In his most recent post on Open for Discussion, the McDonald’s CR-focused
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by Kitty Taylor
I recently approached a number of business officials to get their thoughts on Secretary Clinton's "Smart Power" policy agenda (the three-legged diplomacy, development, defense stool). Specifically, I asked what they would say to Sec. Clinton if they had the opportunity to help shape
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I’d be remiss if I didn’t also draw your attention to the hard work taking place to rebuild Greensburg, Kansas. This small town was leveled by a tornado in May 2007, and recovery and rebuilding efforts are still unfolding.
The local government’s motto is to rebuild Better, Stonger, Greener! – that’
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Yesterday’s post on the Disaster Safety Blog, hosted by the Institute for Business & Home Safety, highlights the process behind rebuilding smarter after disasters. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the subject of this post.
“Since the 1993 floods, Iowa has initiated more than 46 acquisition or relocation pro
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As we head into February here are some of the stories BCLC followed in January:
Massive economic development: Kroger Co. plans to invest $75 million in "a massive economic development initiative" in the Fort Wayne, IN area.
Steadfast companies: A number of companies see corporate responsibility as
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In a recent post I mentioned the role of CSR/corporate citizenship professionals in these tough economic times. As the keepers of stakeholder relationships, I argued, these professionals can bring long-term vision and value to their companies. Needless to say, I think CSR/corporate citizenship is g
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In this Charlotte Business Journal article, Ruth Kinzey writes:
When establishing a corporate social responsibility program, some companies make the mistake of thinking only "green" and focusing solely on environmental-related activities. But corporate social responsibility is much more than that.
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In light of the great post on our awards this morning, I thought I would encourage everyone to visit BCLC TV for some great videos from the 9th annual Corporate Citizenship Awards Dinner. Watch, email, embed, or link to the videos of your choice.
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Microsoft, Target and Wal-Mart do a great job making a positive difference in their communities, according to their peers in the business community. In total, 19 companies were identified as "doing the best job of investing in the communities in which they operate" by respondents to a business surv
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Over the last week we’ve had a number of exciting developments happen with the 2008 Corporate Citizenship Awards Dinner. First of all, two high-profile government officials have agreed to be part of the evening’s activities: Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary, will emcee the program and U.S.
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by Kitty Taylor
We are deeply saddened at BCLC to hear about the recent and untimely death of Stephen Vance, an employee of the global-development organization CHF International. He and his driver, another CHF employee, were shot to death in Pakistan’s FATA region, where Vance directed the organiz
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Yesterday the federal government offered a new online resource for citizens and businesses dealing with the economic downturn. EconomicRecovery.gov presents in one place the various tools for assistance provided by the White House, Small Business Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporatio
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We’re now five weeks away from BCLC’s Global Corporate Citizenship Conference, "Public-Private Partnerships for Emerging Market Development." Our staff is getting increasingly excited for this event — we hope you are, too.
New this year is "The Globalization Debate," sure to be a key item of intere
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Interesting new public-opinion findings are out about the role Chinese citizens believe corporate citizenship by multinational companies should play in earthquake recovery. Here are two, specifically:
88% of the interviewees agreed "the aid of an enterprise in this disaster is not a demonstration o
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Earlier this week the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) co-hosted a sustainability conference in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Back in April, BCLC honored the local chamber and the community it serves as an inaugural wi
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Trust is becoming ever more important to business strategy. Trust affects brands and sales, new products and ventures, and protection against fraud and misrepresentation by outside parties.
Scandals and low public reputations have led to increased regulation and penalties, which have affected not
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BCLC issued a new report yesterday, offering expert analysis, lessons learned, and recommendations for a better disaster management system.
"On the Brink: Re-Engineering the Nation’s Disaster Response Processes" is a collection of 27 articles by emergency-response professionals. Writers represent
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By Kitty Taylor
Presidential candidate John McCain today announced he wants to create a $300 million governmental prize for anyone able to develop a car battery that allows future automobiles to outperform today’s commercially available hybrid and electric cars. “I further propose we inspire the ing
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Seventy officials from businesses, chambers of commerce, humanitarian organizations, and federal, state and local emergency management agencies last week participated in a two-day workshop to improve business continuity and long-term recovery after a pandemic flu outbreak. Convened by BCLC and held
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This morning the Washington Post covered the significant mobilization of business aid for the disasters in China and Burma. The Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) has been coordinating and tracking donations since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2 and the 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook centra
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Current estimates put the number of displaced people at 1.5 million, but the number is expected to "rise to a massive total as assessments continue." The death toll is expected to exceed 100,000 as hunger and disease spread throughout the region. Yesterday the military junta in Myanmar finally all
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What does sustainability really mean and what does it look like? This was the question that led BCLC and Siemens to come together to establish the Sustainable Community Awards. And now, we have three excellent examples for companies and communities to study.
Last night, U.S. Chamber President & C
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Colleen Bramhall, 29, recently told an Associated Press reporter, “I used to be the one that was working for the man, the one with the corporate job that was the sellout, and now I think my friends are looking at Accenture in a different light, as a sort of corporate citizen.”
The change in her
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What is the best way for businesses to invest in their communities’ sustainability?
Support local green initiatives
Support initiatives that create new jobs
Get involved in transportation issues
Adhere to recognized standards, codes of conduct, and regulations
Support housing affordability initi
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The president and CEO of Siemens Corporation published an op-ed yesterday in the Washington Business Journal ("Math and Science: It's up to Business" ), describing how social investments by companies can have a bottom-line impact on the future of the business. In Siemens' case, the company is depen
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By Kitty Taylor
I’m sitting in BCLC’s global corporate citizenship seminar on “Exploring the Linkages Between Aid and Trade.” The 20 or so participants include leaders from Abbott, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Creative Associates International, as well as the USAID Global Development Alliance, the U.S.
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You’ve probably seen the media coverage of Intel and nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Intel and OLPC agreed in July 2007 to work together to get cheap laptops into the hands of developing-world children as a way to improve teaching and learning. Intel gained a seat on the OLPC bo
