News and Views from the leaders in sustainable and renewal energy communication Welcome to the world of Twitter, where everything you’ve relied on in corporate communications has been given racing wheels. Old crises peak faster, often hotter, engaging far more people, both important and not, and they take for granted that chief communications officers today are capable and already in the game. How will you manage your first Twitter crisis? http://envirocomm.com/comm-twitter-crisis-120409.php/ This past week I attended the annual meeting of the Drchelle, 09/28/2009 — Clinton Global Initiative. What struck me most was the call to action. Investing in young women reaps economic, social and political rewards for their families, their communities and their countries. Every story was followed by an investment of millions of dollars and countless hours by individuals, communities and corporations, including 284 commitments valued at $9.4 billion and projected to impact more than 200 million lives. Action has become intoxicating to me — because it requires courage and hope, because finding the will to act is often more difficult than acting, and because if a petite Indian woman can help millions to see then imagine what you can do. http://drchelle.wordpress.com/ Yoko Ishikura, 09/12/2009 — I spent three days in Dalian for the Meeting of New Champions organized by the World Economic Forum. It was quite a stimulating forum in that we talked more about specific actions (rather than theory) for identifying and promoting the unique positioning of Asia in the face of the global economic downturn and the trend found toward protectionism. http://www.yokoishikura.com/english/?p=671 Aron Cramer, 09/10/2009 — As the 1,000 leaders gathering for this year's event spend three days debating how to restore economic growth and social stability, the need to focus on a long-term transition to a more sustainable economy is clearer than ever. Doing this will require unprecedented cooperation among businesses and consumers. The companies that build new business models and innovative products and services will win in the reset world, and shape an economy that avoids disruptions like the one that erupted last fall.... http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/tag/world-economic-forum/ Chris Scott, 09/24/2009 — What strikes me most is the overwhelming sense of uplift and optimism here. There's a genuine sense that some of the world's biggest problems can be legitimately, persistently tackled through vast cooperation and innovative thinking. http://www.one.org/blog/category/clinton-global-initiative-2009/?aux=18 Reena Jana, 09/22/2009 — The Fifth Annual Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting kicked off today in New York, a gathering of heads of state and CEOS such as Wal-Mart’s Mike Duke and Coca-Cola’s Muhtar Kent. They come together annually to discuss and then find solutions for humanitarian problems. The opening session, which included an address by President Barack Obama, focused on the importance of innovation in the world’s recovery from the current economic downturn. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2009/09/obama_clinton_a.html The speakers at TED create an eclectic list which, on first inspection, reveals no-one familiar at all. However, the skill with which they are picked, and the diversity of what they bring, and the professionalism of the whole event, is extraordinary. They are clearly quite an extraordinary organisation, with a great power to communicate powerful ideas. http://transitionculture.org/2009/07/27/some-notes-from-the-final-day-of-ted-global-in-oxford Steve Boehlke, 07/27/2009 — The TEDGlobal 2009 Conference in Oxford was unquestionably THE most stimulating and engaging professional conference I have ever been privileged to experience. Most notable to me was the diversity of talent, stories, projects, people, from all over the world. Immediate affirmation was everywhere of the power of contrast and differences to stimulate learning and deepen global understanding. http://politicsofcreativity.blogspot.com/2009/07/learning-with-constrast-and-differences.html Modern cities are disconnected from food prodution, making them unsustainable and vulnerable. Carolyn Steel says that food needs to return to the centre of our lives and cities. We assume that it will magically always be there in our restaurants and supermarkets, but "it's remarkable that cities get fed at all." We are as dependent on the natural world as our ancient ancestors were. http://www.hungrycitybook.co.uk/blog/?p=88 David Rothkopf, 07/03/2009 — Aspen is emerging as the American Davos... absent the stultifying earnestness of the Alpine gabfest. While sometimes you look around a room (or a big tent) and it seems like all the people speaking are people you know from Washington continuing a conversation they were having hours before in the breakfast restaurant at the Hay Adams Hotel, the crowd is smart, unafraid to ask tough questions and the overall air really does seem to involve the search for ideas. http://rothkopf.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/07/03/an_ideas_festival_at_a_precarious_moment Hartnett Hurst, 07/02/2009 — While the financial markets have dominated the discussion here, other conversations have been devoted to the equally challenging issues of creating the political will to support new directions in energy policy, fixing our broken health care system, creating safe and performing schools for our nation's youth, and reforming the food and agriculture industry in the United States to give consumers healthier options. http://blog.bsr.org/2009/07/next-big-ideas-postcard-from-aspen.html Washington politicians who favor legislation to fight global warming are doing what companies do when faced with a declining brand in an overcrowded marketplace: rebrand and take charge of the terms that influence perception. "It’s about security, economic security, energy security and national security", Sen. John Kerry told a Washington press event. In a congressional space where financial and health reform has sucked up 99 percent of the air, the senior senator from Massachusetts asserted that the bill is hard nosed. "It’s about security!" http://envirocomm.com/comm-global-warming-security-100609.php Sharp, effective communications to manage the perceptions of stakeholders must wrap around the company's government relationships, is key message in Harrison's speech. The Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who have devoted themselves to services that help build and nurture the profession. Harrison has been active in the Page Society since 1989 as board member, secretary and conference organizer, as well as its first executive director. http://envirocomm.com/comm-awpage-remarks-093009.php Sustainable development has evolved to a more specific and significant set of applications that is redefining business models, changing the scope of policy initiatives, transforming governance and expanding the voices of global citizens. Jane Nelson and Terry F. Yosie explore some of the challenges: the global economic crisis and evolution of financial and trade systems, poverty and economic development, climate change impacts, water and other global scale ecosystem stresses, and the crisis of trust and legitimacy facing businesses and governments. http://envirocomm.com/comm-transformation-060809.php Who would have thought, say five years ago, there would be a PR job in carbon capture advocacy? What's driving such an opportunity, posted by a Florida firm earlier this year? Read Bruce's recent commentary on Ron Culp's blog "Cupwrit" this blog, filled with useful career insights and direction for individuals pursuing careers in public relations. http://www.culpwrit.com/?p=410 Who would have thought, say five years ago, there would be a PR job in carbon capture advocacy? What's driving such an opportunity, posted by a Florida firm earlier this year? Read Bruce's recent commentary on Ron Culp's blog "Cupwrit" this blog, filled with useful career insights and direction for individuals pursuing careers in public relations. http://www.culpwrit.com/?p=410 Diogenes, the Greek philosopher who went about ancient Athens with a lantern in the daytime, looking for an honest man, was the most noted of the Cynics, a school of philosophy that preached that virtue was better revealed in action than in theory. In the business world today we have the Diogenes of corporate greening. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm-be-diogenes-030909.php Chief communication officers have a new challenge. They have to understand, explain and engage with the federal handouts. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm-CCO-role-030409.php There are two alternative approaches that the Obama administration can take to regulate greenhouse gases, like the carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. One is to craft regulations under existing legal authority, particularly the Clean Air Act. The other is to work with Congress on the enactment of legislation to address climate change. Although either approach is feasible, we believe new legislation is preferable for four reasons. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_graham_richards_022009.php Only two companies' stock rose in the Dow last year. Coincidentally, or not, they are companies that, under the influence of the same green activist organization, have made environmental accountability a key business strategy. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_lessons_green_lift_020109.php Why does a company communicate? How are companies — and especially American companies who work under the distinctive carbon war conditions of American democracy — communicating their climate change and sustainability strategies? http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_create_stakeholders_011709.php If you're in the C-suite of any large company, here are three strategies that can be considered for a rudimentary evaluation of how you are positioned and from that, how you will communicate in the years ahead. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_benchmark_111508.php We have only just begun the task of reconciling the facets of climate-change impact on companies. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_reconciliation.php Who wants to talk about corporate greening, philanthropy and social accountability in the middle of financial upheaval? http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_wallstreet.php The war on carbon is a different kind of campaign. The ultimate object — namely, carbon-containing fuel — is a critical economic mainstay. http://www.envirocomm.com/comm_carbon_scorn.php Everything a company does – where it operates, its use of raw materials and fuel, operational pollution, product stewardship that goes from design to reuse – strives to have minimum or no negative impact now or in the future. http://envirocomm.com/comm_going_green.php Corporate communications, to engage the true power brokers in the climate change arena, will be aimed at the financial community. Investors have coupled with the interests of social-issue groups, free marketers, environmental and energy businesses, to question corporate performance, commitments and risks related to global warming. http://envirocomm.com/comm_trends.php The practice of sustainability reporting has continually evolved since its origins in the 1960s and '70s to become more robust, more demanding, and more credible as a means for a company to convey the full range of its social, environmental and economic commitments. http://envirocomm.com/comm_sloan_reporting.php