CSR - General : Activists

Warriors from the Amazon basin tribe painted their bodies red and fired arrows to ward off the plane carrying José Carlos Meirelles, who says that he released the picture in order to highlight the plight of indigenous people in the jungle.

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As gas prices spiral upward, ExxonMobil posted record profits for 2007: an astounding $40.6 billion in profits based on $404 billion in sales, and it looks like they are headed for obscene profits again this year, with $10.9 Billion in profits reported in just the first quarter of 2008.  Exxon defends these profits by saying they spent $80 billion on developing energy sources between 2002 and 2006, with an additional $20 billion planned for 2008.  However, almost none of this development money is going to renewable energy research and development that will break our oil addiction and create a secure and green energy future for the US.

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New Voice of Business is working on AB2944, the California Business Leadership and Innovation Statute, with an organization called “B Lab,” in the effort to add California to the list of 31 states that currently have “constituency statutes” like AB2944 on their books.

These statutes give companies, executives and directors the option to include the interests of various stakeholders, in addition to shareholders, in their decision making process. There is nothing mandatory about this, companies may continue to only consider shareholders’ short term interests if they choose to. It simply gives companies the option to look more broadly without fear of shareholder retribution.

Something like this was introduced in the California Assembly in 2004 but did not go anywhere. This is a new time and completely different players are involved. And this time New Voice of Business is helping to lead a campaign to mobilize businesses, business organizations and business people to demonstrate strong business support for this. We are also working to gain the support of the California Chamber along with many other business organizations.

The first hurdle is coming up on April 29th when AB2944 will first be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee – and we’d like you to let them know that the business community and public support this.

What you can do right now:
Go to the New Voice of Business website  and download prepared letters of support that have already been addressed to each committee member.

Add your name, business (if applicable), and signature to each letter.

Fax your letter to each Representative (numbers are already on the letters) and to New Voice of Business.

Forward this email to a friend (5 would be terrific) to let them know about this important legislation.

A month from the Judiciary Committee hearing, it goes to the full Assembly and then to the Senate. It will likely go through the end of September before it gets through all the hoops.

We are asking all of our business friends to join the campaign to make California the 32nd state to adopt the constituency statute. This has all the key elements of successful effort:
It will cost you nothing to support this
It will take just a few minutes of your time
It will positively impact California and California business
This is winnable

It clearly demonstrates even further (as we did with AB32 and the Million Solar Roofs campaign) that there are new voices of business in America and California who are saying that the times are changing and that the time for business-as-usual is over.

Sincerely,

Elliot Hoffman
Co-Founder and CEO

About 60 protesters opposed to the U.S. Federal Reserve's help in bailing out Bear Stearns entered the lobby of the investment bank's Manhattan headquarters demanding assistance for struggling homeowners.

Demonstrators organized by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America chanted "Help Main Street, not Wall Street" and entered the lobby without an invitation for around half an hour before being escorted out by police.

"There are no provisions for homeowners in this deal. There are people out there struggling who need help," said Detria Austin, an organizer at NACA, an advocacy group for home ownership.

After leaving Bear Stearns, the crowd moved to JPMorgan.

McDonald’s has ended its controversial report card advertising in Seminole County, Florida. A campaign led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and nearly two-thousand parent complaints helped to end the program. Children in kindergarten through fifth-grade had been receiving their report cards in envelopes adorned with Ronald McDonald promising a free Happy Meal to students with good grades, behavior, or attendance.

CCFC’s director Dr. Susan Linn: “This is a good day for parents and children in Seminole County and anyone who believes that corporations should not prey on children in schools.  We are pleased that McDonald’s is listening to parents all over the country who believe that report cards should not be commercialized.” 

Tyson Foods Inc. said it will investigate allegations by the animal-welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that chickens were abused and tortured at two of its chicken processing plants. PETA said an undercover investigator for the group had video documentation of workers throwing live chickens, hitting them with fists, and urinating in an area where the live birds were shackled.

Tyson said it is cooperating with USDA's investigation of the matter. The plants were in Cumming, Georgia, and Union City, Tennessee.