The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Archive for August, 2010

Technology Makes Diesel Fuel Kinder to the Environment

In the past, diesel fuel was always considered dirtier than gasoline. But newer standards regulating sulfur content and improved technology in diesel engines have made diesel somewhat kinder to the environment.

The Advantages of Wild Salmon vs. Farmed Salmon

Due to the large decline in wild fish from overfishing, many experts see the farming of salmon and other fish as the future of the industry. On the flip side, many marine biologists and ocean advocates fear such a future, citing serious health and ecological implications with so-called “aquaculture.”

Banks’ Self-Dealing Super-Charged Financial Crisis

Over the last two years of the housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history. Faced with increasing difficulty in selling the mortgage-backed securities that had been among their most lucrative products, the banks hit on a solution that preserved their quarterly earnings and huge bonuses: They created fake demand.

SEC Approves Proxy Access for Shareholders

Given the green light by Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved and released a long-awaited rule on procedures under which shareholders can get their nominees for directors included in corporate proxy materials. Under the new rule, shareholders seeking access to proxies would have to own at least 3% of the total voting power entitled to vote at an annual meeting.

Target, Best Buy Investors Seek Review of Political Contributions

Three leading sustainability investment firms filed shareholder resolutions at Target and Best Buy seeking to have independent directors review the companies’ political spending practices and policies. Target and Best Buy have been under fire for contributions made to an organization that backs a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate who opposes gay marriage.

Courts Fault Feds, SEC for Going Easy on Banks

When big banks have announced settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ProPublica put those agreed-upon fines into perspective, and often found that even millions of dollars in fines aren’t too hard for these big financial firms to shell out. Judges, increasingly, seem to agree.

Companies Pressed on Policies to Clawback Executive Pay

When financial results aren’t what they seemed to be – and a company is forced to issue material financial restatements – how does it recoup the incentive pay and bonuses that were awarded to senior managers on the basis of rosier outcomes? It’s not a simple process, as evidenced by reactions to a provision in the newly-enacted Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.

Hydroelectric Dams – The Good and Bad

Hydroelectric dams are among the greenest and most affordable electricity sources in the world—and by far the most widely used renewable energy sources—but they also take a heavy environmental toll in the form of compromised landscapes, ecosystems and fisheries.

Dairy Industry Says Soy Drinks Are Not “Milk”

The National Milk Producers Federation, a trade group representing dairy farms, has petitioned the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to crack down on what it calls “the misappropriation of dairy terminology on imitation milk products.”

Survey: Companies Worry More About Reputational Risk

Perhaps not surprisingly, heightened concern over risk to corporate reputation is “noticeably” affecting how senior management and boards are doing business, according to a new survey of corporate executives. The survey found the timeliness and quality of information shared with boards is improving while more time is being spent on risk management by directors and executives.