… in the insurance and asset management business, AXA had risen to the top ranks in terms of corporate responsibility (CR) as well. In 2014, the French-based insurer led the industry on a number of corporate social responsibility and sustainability indexes. Not content to rest on these laurels, AXA transferred its CR team … new metrics was a tall order, but would be another step to establishing CR inside AXA. Eventually, the company aspired to produce an “integrated report” that would define the …
… Harish Hande and the company he founded, SELCO, provide solar electricity for lighting and power to India's poor. … The road to SELCO’s success, however, has not always been smooth. Hande cofounded SELCO (with Neville Williams) in 1995 to sell and service photovoltaic (PV) systems in his home … Investors put pressure on Hande to lay off employees and contract the organization. With the help of the World Bank’s commercial finance arm, the International Finance …
… Widjaja family (operators of the Sinar Mas business group), GAR became the holding company for the family’s agribusinesses, including its Indonesian subsidiary PT SMART. The … campaign took off in 2010, when the organization targeted a GAR customer, Nestlé, with a report and a provocative video that went viral on social media sites. Nestlé quickly … had not significantly altered the way the company did business, since the company "had sustainability in its blood." GAR also downplayed the importance of the differences among …
… project received a significant boost. While the proposed wind farm was located in an area with abundant wind resources, absent a creditworthy off-taker the project would not have … retailer. In addition, the project allowed Walmart de México to get closer to some of its sustainability goals. The wind farm would supply electricity to 348 Walmart de México … de México’s capabilities and focus. While the company had made sustainability a priority, corporate officials were loathe to take on projects that took them too far from the …
… At the end of 2010, Jifan Gao, Trina Solar’s founder and chairman, wondered how his company could expand its presence in the United States market. In the previous five years, Trina, a companywith manufacturing and headquarters in Changzhou, China, had managed to grow rapidly by … market during 2007-10 had allowed Trina to quickly establish strong relationships with some of the continent’s leading developers of solar projects. Trina supplied modules …
… Throughout the world, Cummins Inc. meant diesels. The company designed, manufactured, distributed, and serviced diesel and natural gas engines, … it manufactured components, including filters, turbochargers, and aftertreatment, used with its own engines and with the systems of other manufacturers. The components and engines … to a cleaner, healthier and safer environment." The mission statement had led to a detailed corporate Code of Conduct, and Supplier Code of Conduct, all based on the company’s Vision …
… and provided over half of the country's crop insurance. Crop insurance provided farmers with a hedge against climate, environmental, and other risks. Around 40% of grain farmers in … expertise and decades of weather-related data to estimate the frequency of major weather events. It was widely acknowledged that climate change was likely to increase the frequency … on crops. The company was proud of being in the forefront of social responsibility and sustainability issues. Company officials participated in discussions of climate change and …
… Andrea Illy is CEO of the global premium coffee company that bears his family’s name. As one might expect, he is passionate about coffee – … times, growers have little incentive to improve their operation – they have minor contact with the roasters or customers and no knowledge of how their crops get translated into the …
… Suzlon, an India-based wind energy company, had made quite a splash in its first three-and-a-half years on the international … wind turbines, Tanti discovered that wind energy was an even better business than textiles. Within six years of its incorporation, Suzlon had become the dominant player in the Indian … by coal-fired electrical plants had mounted and the price of fossil fuels had skyrocketed. With little more than a cell phone and the internet, Pedersen set to work building Suzlon’s …
… in 2003 by a group of students who wished to see the dining halls serve more organic food. With support from the university, they started a pilot project to introduce local, seasonal … the menu of one of Yale's undergraduate residential colleges. The experiment was a success with both students and dining hall staff, and helped inspire the Yale Dining Hall to move … sources (though the vast majority of the food comes from sources other than the Yale Farm). Within a few years the founding group had expanded beyond the dining hall menu issue and had …