Corpobligation: Responsibility and obligations extend to international non-governmental organizations (INGO). These obligations to donors and other stakeholders include transparency, independence, and commitments to promoting human rights and equality.

• INGO Accountability Charter created in 2006 by leading INGOs
  
• The "Charter outlines our common commitment to excellence, transparency and
  accountability. To demonstrate and build on these commitments, we seek to: 
  · identify and define shared principles, policies and practices;
  · enhance transparency and accountability, both internally and externally;
  · encourage communication with stakeholders; and
  · improve our performance and effectiveness as organisations."

Corpobligation: Misleading ads can hurt not only the brand but distract from the efforts at improving sustainability.

Can civil society hold corporations accountable for greenwashing? If the current complaint against Nestlé Waters North America by Canadian environmental NGOs (Friends of the Earth Canada and Ecojustice along with the Polaris Institute, the Council of Canadians, and Wellington Water Watchers) succeeds, the answer will be yes!

The complaint cites a full-page advertisement that appeared in the Globe and Mail in October, which contained a series of statements, including that:

• “most water bottles avoid landfill sites and are recycled”;
• "bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world”; and,
• “Nestlé Pure Life is a Healthy, Eco-Friendly Choice”. 

The complaint is based on contraventions of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and new guidelines that have been set by Canada’s Competition Bureau and the Canadian Standards Association:

Corpobligation: Bottled water ban will reduce consumption and waste of plastic bottles. When your entire business flies in the face of rational resource consumption, what can a company do? Obfuscate, change, remedy damage...

• London, Ontario Council banned plastic bottled water sales at several city owned buildings (18/08/2008), and the list will expand to all city owned properties, except during festivals.

• Nestle seems to have decided to obfuscate about the benefits of drinking fountains and has tried to avoid discussion of the wasted energy inherent in plastic bottle, by instituting recycling plans. If this works, then corporate social responsibility will be damaged.
• Quote of the day: "Councillor Van Meerbergen: predicted Londoners won't let their kids drink from public fountains that are exposed to things as vile as urine. 'Most families are not going to encourage their children to lap up water from public fountains,' he said."

Maps can cut through the BS around the big environmental choices that we will make as a society, individuals, corporations and governments. Peter Black, of the Environmental Defense Fund, has created brilliant maps that communicate more information than thousands of words. They bolster global warming arguments made by many a scientist, government, and campaigner. Issues covered range from oil reserves, transport patterns, wind resources, temperature changes and beyond.

Offshore drilling

The map below shows the ridiculousness of drilling in offshore-nature-preserves.