Event - Bringing Sustainability to Your Community II

On Tuesday, July 2, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT) Boston Area Sustainability Group (BASG) is presenting Bringing Sustainability to Your Community II in Cambridge, MA. at the Venture Cafe which is located at the Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, 4th Floor. Visitors must comply with Venture Cafe attendance policies (see http://bit.ly/vc-credo for more details). Continuing from June's great lessons, this month we hear from 5 more folks actively working to bring sustainability to their communities. We bring special attention to creating partnerships between public, private and community interests. Please invite your Town Planner, members of your Planning Board, town department workers, members of the Select Board/City Council, the Mayor, other governmental officials from your town/city as well as your friends and neighbors to learn about sustainability, the programs that are offered by the State of MA, and how to connect with local businesses and industries.

Come meet:

Meg Lusardi, Director of Green Communities, Massachusetts Department of Energy http://energy.blog.state.ma.us/blog/meet-the-energy-smarts-bloggers.html

Amanda Sardonis, Assistant Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government www.linkedin.com/pub/amanda-swanson-sardonis/7/991/917

Megan Ramey, Sustainability Programs Coordinator at A Better City www.linkedin.com/pub/megan-ramey-leed-green-associate/6/16b/84

Jim Nail, Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light, www.linkedin.com/in/jimnail

Peter Lowitt, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities & Devens Enterprise Commission, www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-lowitt/4/489/2b

Bringing Sustainability to Your Community - Part II

Time is short and we all need to learn a boatload, fast. One of BASG’s explicit goals is that we learn as much as we can from each other, where the very diversity of the group is one of our most valuable assets. Come join the discussion, or hang out and listen. Meet those folks working hard to do what you’re trying to do and your paths have not yet crossed. We have a great time and really want to meet you!

Our format for the evening begins with informal networking followed by quick introductions all round before several lightening-speed presentations from knowledgeable folks. Using the 5-minute IGNITE-style format, our speakers will share their experiences and then open the discussion.

We end the discussion with time left for more networking and sharing info on other local evnets. Hope to see you there!

Admission $10 - includes Eventbrite service fees and a glass of wine or beer

To register for this event click here.

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Victoria's Secret, the Benetton Group and Uniqlo Sign-On to Detox Fashion

Due to pressure from Greenpeace, Victoria's Secret parent company Limited Brands as well as the Benetton Group and Uniqlo have all agreed to eliminate hazardous chemicals from their supply chains and products by 2020. Greenpeace is behind the consumer driven pressure campaign that has succeeded in changing the business practices and processes of some of the world's largest clothing companies. In less than a year over a dozen big fashion brands have been forced to capitulate.

Greenpeace uses a very savvy strategy that engages people through a variety of social media initiatives. They are also are involved in direct actions at company headquarters or retail locations.

In 2012 Greenpeace launched an investigation into the practices, processes and products used by a number of clothing brands. Victoria's Secret is but the latest high profile clothing brand to succumb to Greenpeace's very successful "Detox Fashion" campaign.

Limited Brands has agree to stop using hormone-disrupting phthalates and perfluorinated chemicals in its clothing before 2020. The company will also be more transparent. Limited Brands has indicated that they will start by publishing pollution data from 80 percent of their supply chain this year.

The agreement to 'detox' applies to other popular brands owned by the Benetton Group such as Sisley, Playlife and the United Colors of Benetton. Japanese casual wear brand Uniqlo has also recently agreed to ban all toxic chemicals throughout its global supply chain and products by 2020.  In 2012, Zara, Nike, H&M, Mango, Esprit and Levi’s announced similar individual commitments.

The Detox Fashion campaign has been very successful. Despite this success some businesses refuse to see the writing on the wall. In the meantime Greenpeace continues to use its social media oriented grassroots consumer campaign to put pressure on other top fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Gap and G Star Raw.

Greenpeace's efforts are not restricted to the fashion industry, they have also succeeded in forcing other leading brands to change their practices including Waitrose, Trader Joe's, Lego and Matel,

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Responsible Business Summit USA (Event)

Over 150 corporate executives will gather in New York on June 28 – 29 to discuss how to revamp and re-focus CSR and sustainability. This will include corporate vice-presidents from companies such as; Timberland, GAP, Life Technologies Corp, AT&T, HP, Mars Inc, ABB NAM, Fedex. They will address how to embed CSR into core business functions and gain competitive edge from sustainability at the Responsible Business Summit USA . All sessions will highlight how CSR is used to generate business value, enhance reputation and meet corporate citizenship demands.

The Responsible Business Summit USA is exclusively for a corporate audience and brings together leading experts for two days of robust debate, problem solving, best practice and identifying business opportunities. Some of the key issues to be discussed include employee engagement, supply chain management, consumer engagement, future sustainability trends, G4 and sustainability reporting, the Dodd Frank Act and California Transparency Law, socially responsible investment and more.

For more information or to register click here. 

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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