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Just saw this post on  CSRWire , and thought I'd share since the topic frequently pops up in standards development work -- and how we can engage the younger generation.  Summary: there is hope. As companies and other organizations continue to become more globally connected and complex in structure, the landscape is changing for employee- employer relationships. There is a noticeable seismic shift with new expectations around leadership, culture, and engagement being at its core. Influencing this shift in attitudes are millennials, who, with rapid access to virtually infinite amounts of information are driving the era of transparency, and demanding more from their companies than a paycheck and benefits. ... millennials are more optimistic than previous generations about the state of the world and how things can change for the better; a belief that has manifested in the way this group views prospective employment. ... Younger employees are becoming more assertive and les

It always horrifies me when I see consumers clamor for the latest and throw out the old.  It's disturbing that most lack the curiosity to ask where their latest trinket came from, or who made it.  Even the best of us give in to such temptations on occasion. Here are two articles to help you give a second thought to the choices you make.  We live in a finite world, and need to look beyond the horizon of our own lives. Dire Glimpses of What Pollution Is Doing in Bangladesh  -- Bangladeshi photojournalist Probal Rashid's disturbing photos of his country's transformation as the world's clothier Faster, Cheaper Fashion  -- Irish fast fashion retailer, Primark, is coming to North America.  Their grand openings rival the black Friday shopping horrors we see south of the border.

The Guardian recently ran  an article  referencing a few pieces of research that make a compelling argument for a balanced executive team.  Numbers are numbers, and while there are always exceptions to the rule, apparently, having women in leadership roles bode well for environmental and social issues.  Women seem wired to take the long view, where men are focused on the short-term -- which isn't a bad thing if you have shareholders. Vision, and the ability to convey it convincingly to others, are two core attributes that McElhaney ascribes to female leadership, and ones that differ from male traits of goal-driven short-termism.  They also help explain why, according to McElhaney’s research ( pdf ), companies with higher female representation on their boards tend to give higher priority to environmental and social issues. The more gender-balanced an executive team, the more likely the company is to invest in renewable power, low-carbon products and energy efficiency, her stu

Related to my previous post , Pew Research recently published findings on how richer the world is getting -- and from this marco perspective, it's a lot of good news. Overall, the world is getting richer, and more people are being pulled out of poverty. The greatest shift is of course, coming from China, where there is a rapidly growing middle class -- but the promise of a global middle class is still a dream. The rich world remains the same -- North America, Western Europe and Australia. More, here: Mapping the Global Population: How Many Live on How Much, and Where | Pew Research Center There's lots of data and graphs to explore. Enjoy.

The race to the bottom continues. The OECD Employment Outlook 2015 is bad news cloaked in good news. Yes, unemployment is dropping across the world, but those returning to work are coming back part-time and/or for less money. Read more: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/jobs-outlook-improving-slowly-but-millions-risk-being-trapped-at-bottom-of-economic-ladder.htm

The latest OECD report on inequality paints a disturbing picture. The world is getting more unequal. The richest 10% of the OECD population now earns 9.6 times more than the poorest 10%. In 2012, the poorest 40% owned 3% of the household wealth in the OECD countries -- while the top 10% controlled over half; with the top 1% owning 18%. Increasingly, the culprit is low paying, non-standard work (temporary and contract). Between 1995 and 2013, 50% of new jobs created fell into this category -- and the disproportionately are youth and females. No surprise there. The OECD warns that the long term economic and social cohesion impacts will be significant if governments don't take steps to address the gap. Businesses also need to step up, as there is a direct impact to their viability. In Canada, income inequality has not increased during the economic downturn -- with Canada trending with the OECD average. But, the gap in pay between full-time workers and non-standard work

I don't entirely agree with Foster's take, but he provides a context for the state of worker safety and rights in Bangladesh; as well as the unintended consequences that could result from the lawsuit against Loblaw (there's one in the US as well, against Wal-mart, et al).  The issue is more complex than western businesses taking advantage of cheap labour. Peter Foster: Why a $2-billion lawsuit against Loblaw, Joe Fresh could bring unintended results to Bangladesh | Financia…

I didn't know about the IDRC ... discovered the organization today, and they were too exciting not to share. IDRC - International Development Research Centre This how they describe themselves: I DRC believes that research and innovation hold the keys to progress in developing countries.  To make knowledge a tool for addressing pressing challenges, we provide researchers in developing countries with the financial resources, advice, and training that will help them find solutions to the local problems they identify we encourage sharing knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world we foster new talent by offering fellowships and awards we disseminate research findings and strive to get new knowledge into the hands  of those who can use it. In doing so, we make an important contribution to Canada’s foreign policy, complementing the work of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, and other government departments and agencies. T

I had the opportunity to attend the ESF (an Intertek shindig) in NY.  So much of my last two years have been tied up with worker safety efforts in Bangladesh, that I took note of the presentation given by Sarah Labowitz of NYU Stern.  The Sourcing Journal has a piece on her presentation that may be of interest: https://www.sourcingjournalonline.com/ethical-sourcing-forum-subcontracting-prevalent-brands-believe-td/ Labowitz describes Bangladesh’s RMG sector as a hub and spoke model of production, where the hub factories are the ones that have direct relationships with foreign brands, are often in good condition, with their own power plants, and are well lit and ventilated. And those hub factories have a lot of relationships with spoke factories. “The spoke factories are the invisible factories,” Labowitz said. They are often in mixed-use buildings, above auto repair shops, for example, and some don’t appear on any registry of factories in Bangladesh. Labowitz and her partner

The Ontario government (Minister of the Environment and Climate Change) is currently in public consultations on Ontario's plans to tackle climate change. ref:  http://www.downloads.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/er/documents/2015/012-3452.pdf The government is looking to implement a carbon pricing policy, with four potential approaches: a cap and trade system; baseline and credit system; carbon tax; and, regulations and performance standards. Have your say, here:  Environmental Registry

It's time to drop a double from your double-double.  The World Health Organization finds that there are significant benefits to health (obesity and tooth decay) with the reduction of sugar intake.   The " WHO guideline recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits ." These are steps that most could take.  It doesn't require significant lifestyle changes -- just a little nudge in the right direction.  No sugar in coffee and tea; water instead of juice or pop; and read nutrition labels, you'd be amazed at what you find. ref.  WHO | Sugars intake for adult and children  

Recently, MIT Sloan Management Review published the above titled report.  It makes for an interesting read.  If you're working in industry, it doesn't matter your size -- sustainability isn't something you can tackle alone and in isolation.  It's something that requires collaboration -- and not just the basics of collaboration -- but meaningful effort beyond the sharing of ideas, best practices and standards.  Effort to develop and implement solutions to collectively have a bigger impact than one company, one industry, going at it alone. "In the 2014 Sustainability Report, new research by MIT Sloan Management Review, The Boston Consulting Group and the UN Global Compact, shows that a growing number of companies are turning to collaborations — with suppliers, NGOs, industry alliances, governments, even competitors — to become more sustainable. Our research found that as sustainability issues become increasingly complex, global in nature and pivotal to success,

I've been absent for a while, but thought I'd impose by reminding you, who don't need reminding, that there's a huge untapped potential in terms of science, economics and general progress in our species.  Do your bit to promote equality. Related reading: Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing Restrictions to Enhance Gender Equality (PDF)   -- analyzes laws that impact women entrepreneurs and employees globally. The new edition highlights reforms carried out over the past two years and expands coverage to examine legal protections addressing violence against women. Women and Leadership  (PDF) -- According to the majority of Americans, women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate boardroom. And according to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence and capa

The Economist declares that the notion of "peak oil" is being dealt a death blow in its latest special report on energy and technology. There is no shortage of hydrocarbons in the Earth’s crust, and no sign that mankind is about to reach “peak technology” for extracting them. That of course, is a short-term view.  We are living off the past with hydrocarbons, and as large as the planet is, and as long as the past is, hydrocarbons are a finite resource.  Cutting dependence on this finite resource that has long term negative consequences to sustaining a planet as we know it.  And here, the Economist helpfully suggests curbing subsidies that encourages dependence on hydrocarbons. For now, though, low oil prices put money in consumers’ pockets and give a bit of breathing space to governments, making it easier to cut fossil-fuel subsidies (and perhaps even tax carbon emissions). In 2013 some $550 billion was spent on subsidising fossil fuels, a policy of extraordinary