How do you like your eggs? The answer to that question used to be sunny side up, scrambled, or over easy. Now, it’s cage-free and organic, thank you very much. Since I moved to London recently, I’ve noticed a greater level of public awareness regarding egg production and chicken welfare as compared to the United States. Most supermarkets and chain restaurants, and even some giant multinational corporations, sell or use exclusively free-range eggs and prominently advertise doing so.
It’s certainly a big change from the United States, where cage-free eggs are generally available but are not as widespread in popularity as in the United Kingdom. It appears to be a slowly growing movement back at home, and it’s great news that some states have begun to pass laws improving living conditions for chickens. Unfortunately, we’ve still got a long way to go before reaching the level of public demand and corporate response for the right kind of eggs that can be found here in the UK.
Here are a few of the differences I’ve noticed with regard to egg production and marketing in the UK and the States.
By Tom Schueneman •
March 30, 2009
Enterprise Rent-A-Car expands its vanpooling service on Atlanta, a growing metropolitan area that has some of the worst traffic congestion in the country.
By Adam Williams •
February 25, 2009
Yesterday I posted here about plastic bag fees and bans being frozen in — or before reaching — legislatures. Supposedly that’s due to economics, though reality seems to be more connected to politics. That, coupled with a post here by Low Impact Living about the green benefits of the stimulus plan signed by President Obama recently, got me thinking about a potential solution to our financial woes.
Maybe we don’t need to argue along partisan lines about small versus big government, or about a trillion-dollar stimulus plan versus whatever it is the Republicans think President Obama should be doing. Maybe instead of tax credits and billionaire bailouts, we need to impose a fresh idea of corporate social responsbility: cost-of-living increases + merit salary increases.
By Tom Schueneman •
February 12, 2009
Enterprise Rent-a-Car adds 5000 hyrbrid vehicles to its national fleet. Enterprise has the largest rental fleet of fuel efficient vehicles - but does it make Enterprise green?
By Gennefer Snowfield •
January 22, 2009
When you think of Kenneth Cole, timeless fashion, trendsetting shoes and stylish accessories likely leap to mind. Their commitment to the environment and their eco-tote likely do not top your list. But behind the well designed exterior lies a philanthropic soul, intent on sparking social change — and helping others do it, too.
Their recent launch of Awearness supports that mission, showcasing 25 years worth of philanthropy, and creating a place for consumers and businesses to get involved in championing the causes that are important to them. From a blog to a book to a volunteer link up program, Kenneth Cole shows us it’s possible to look as good as you feel.
Right down to its name, Awearness is the embodiment of Feelgood Style.
Being the slightly bold journalist that I am, I sought out an interview with this fashion icon to learn more about Awearness and uncover any other hidden gems lurking behind the finely stitched fabric of Kenneth Cole. It started with some light stalking of their Twitter account, a couple of emails and a few [dozen] phone calls before I finally connected with Robert Genovese, Vice President of Marketing & Media at the West 50th Street headquarters in New York City. Robert was gracious, responsive, and genuinely eager to share the details of the Awearness program, and happily indulged me in the laundry list of questions that I am thrilled to share with you now.
By Adam Williams •
January 22, 2009
PepsiCo, owner of the Tropicana brand, has announced the green-quotient it figures accompanies the production of a meager half-gallon carton of orange juice: 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide. Most of that stems from the emissions of just growing the oranges, which tend to include sizeable doses of nitrogen fertilizer.
What now? Pepsi isn’t sure. According to a report today in the New York Times:
(PepsiCo) figured that as public concern grows about the fate of the planet, companies will find themselves under pressure to perform such calculations. Orange juice seemed like a good case study.
All companies like to say they are “green,” but Xerox is putting numbers behind it. Its “2008 Report on Global Citizenship” provides a year-over-year look at its progress toward its goals toward corporate social responsibility.
Among the highlights:
[...]
By Amiel Blajchman •
September 18, 2008
Earlier this week we sketched out the Base of the Pyramid protocols versions 1.0 and 2.0. Based on some comments I’ve received via email, today I want to delve a little deeper into version 2.0, and see how we can take this innovative idea, and make it practicable (after all, that’s one of the goals of the Inspired Economist, is it not?).
The protocol retains as one of its fundamental tenets that it is based on a participatory philosophy and process, whereby the multinational company works in partnership with its local partners in order to co-create a new model for doing business locally.
By Amiel Blajchman •
September 15, 2008
(Readers may want to read yesterday’s part one post, which provides a brief description of the concept of the base of the pyramid, and introduces today’s post.)
While articles extolling the virtues of expanding markets to include, and creating brand-new ventures solely for the base of the pyramid proliferated in the early part of this decade, success utilizing this concept was fleeting, and challenging to sustain. In a recent article, Eric Simanis and Stuart Hall from Cornell, argue that the fundamental problem with base of the pyramid 1.0 strategies is that outside companies sought to “target” developing communities with affordable products, rather than questioning whether or not these were products that were appropriate or would be demanded by the community in question.
By Pem Charnley •
December 16, 2007
Last month was a busy time for the voluntary carbon standard (VCS). Admittedly, it’s not a phrase that rolls smoothly off the tongue.
Like corporate social responsibility (CSR), you find yourself semi-exhausted before the next sentence.
You sense inherent good in each of these phrases – sure – but just want them to make sense in a realer world.
And so to the VCS.
Voluntary carbon offsetting is big business. In 2006, there was a huge surge in this market resulting in a 200% growth.
Big brands were, and are, getting into carbon offsetting in a big way. Google, Nike, Coca Cola, Yahoo! – all are now part of this market.
I don’t think it at all beneficial at this stage to analyse their reasons for announcing green credentials. Whether it really is genuine CSR or in each case a PR exercise is redundant. Don’t muddy the waters. They’re doing it.
So, yes, multinationals are offsetting their carbon within the voluntary sector. Good.
But what’s drawing them to the market? Two reasons.
On Friday, Apple fans across the US were queuing up to get their hands on the new iPhone. In SOHO, the first through the doors wasn’t just any disciple of the Cult of Mac. It was indy film director Spike Lee followed by supporters of Keep a Child Alive, a charity devoted to providing anti-retroviral drugs to children in Africa.
The perfectly orchestrated act of PR was not the work of the masterminds [...]
