PR News - CSR Awards Information and Application

PR News' Corporate Social Responsibility Awards honor the corporations and their partners that have implemented and executed highly successful CSR campaigns in the past 12 months.

PR News' CSR Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony on in March 2007. The deadline to submit entries is November 8, with a late entrants' deadline of November 17.
Download the Entry Form Read about previous Winners

Contact: Saun Sayamongkhun
301/354-1610
psayamongkhun@accessintel.com.

Court Overturns Lay Conviction

Enron CEO Ken Lay was convicted of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases on May 25. Enron's collapse in 2001 wiped out thousands of jobs, more than $60 billion in market value and more than $2 billion in pension plans. Lay died before his appeal could be heard.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ruled that Lay's death required erasing his convictions, citing a 2004 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that a defendant's death pending appeal extinguished his entire case because he hadn't had a full opportunity to challenge the conviction and the government shouldn't be able to punish a dead defendant or his estate.

Disney Commits to A Small(er) World

The news media around the world has lauded the Walt Disney company for their decision to eliminate junk food at their theme parks and to cease using beloved cartoon characters to sell sugary snacks and 'happy meals.'

If you agree with this decision, be sure to let the Disney company know!

Zenia Mucha -- 818-560-5300
Michelle Bergman -- 818-560-8231
Jonathan Friedland -- 818-560-8306

DCSBN Offers Help Finding Socially Responsible Retirement Plans

Increasingly, responsible business owners not only promote a better world by how they operate their business, the product and services they offer, and the way they treat employees, the environment, and the communities. Many also look for socially responsible retirement plans. DCSBN offered business owners the opportunity to learn more about to combine a commitment to employees with a commitment to socially responsible investment.

The discussion was led by John Campagna of Smith Barney and Rachel DeCosta-Martin from DCSBN sustaining partner, Calvert Funds.

Find out more about socially responsible investing!

Employers: set up a socially-responsible 401(K) for your company

GRI Simplifies Reporting; Creates Entry-Level CR Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative has released its new Guidelines for Sustainability Reporting, along with a full set of Indicator Protocols.

The results of this extensive, global, and inclusive process are the third generation of GRI’s Guidelines (G3) – building on past releases in 2000 and 2002.

Those familiar with the GRI reporting framework will notice some key changes and highlights in the new G3 version. These changes are chiefly aimed at increasing the user-friendliness of the Guidelines, and increasing the comparability of reports. Highlights include:
· Guidance on how to determine what issues to report on and how to select material indicators via the Reporting Principles
· Each Reporting Principle is accompanied by a set of self-tests to help with their application
· Guidance on setting the report boundary
· New disclosure items on strategy and analysis that highlight key issues, risks, and opportunities
· Indicator section has been restructured and now contains two main elements - “Disclosures on Management Approach” and “Performance Indicators”
· Each performance indicator is accompanied by an Indicator Protocol, which contains definitions for words used in the indicator, compilation methodologies, and other useful resources.

Follow up: DCSBN Letter In Fortune Magazine

In July DCSBN sent a letter to Fortune Magazine in response to their article "Sorry Jack" describing how business had evolved beyond the Jack Welch model of the 1990's to one that required a greater focus on core values and meeting stakeholder (rather than financial) expectations. The letter appeared in the print magazine as well as on Fortune's Web site.

THANKS FOR describing how changing expectations are creating a new model for success not measured exclusively by quarter-to-quarter stock prices. The new rules echo what we see around the world: the gravitation of both customers and the "best and brightest" to companies with vision, soul, and a desire to serve the customer rather than the shareholder.

-- JOHN FRIEDMAN Washington DC Sustainable Business Network