Conferences are a great opportunity to network and learn. Should corpobligation be there?

• Here the focus is on alternative energy sources and plans. Note the orientation of the speakers tends towards the big existing players although Bullfrog will also be present. See a related an analysis of this up and coming alternative energy company.

EECO 2007: Learn About Proactive Business Solutions that Address Environmental Issues in Ontario

(CSRwire) TORONTO, ON- May 29, 2007 - Climate change is becoming a global reality. From rapidly increasing temperatures and elevating water levels to extreme weather patterns, damaged ecosystems and declining agricultural output, it is time for individuals, businesses and governments to learn about these issues and plan for the future. Particularly, Ontario and the Great Lakes region, the industrial epicenter of North America, must discover how to balance economic growth and energy resources with clean air. While many governments and businesses have adopted environmental policies, one must ask: is this enough? Are sufficient preparations underway? How will these changes affect business and society? These important issues and more will be discussed by over 700 delegates at Ontario’s largest conference on Energy & Climate Change, EECO 2007, June 19 & 20 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

CO: What happens when an industry-specific publication decides to define green building? Who is consulted? How does the publication's definition get legitimacy?

• Green Builder(R) Media, the leading national purveyor of information and education about residential green building and sustainable development, announces its new corporate mission: "Defining Green(TM)." - Is a trademark of a phrase like "Defining Green" fair given the interests of government, industry and consumers, all of whom will likely have something to contribute to the debate.
• "We have found that our readers and advertisers want us to take a bolder, more authoritative leadership position within the green space and to actually define what green means," says Sara Gutterman, CEO of Green Builder Media.
• This is not to criticize the concept of green building.

• US Green Building Council
• Canada Green Building Council - Canadian adaptation of the LEED standard
  

CO: Corporations and their directors are accountable to shareholders. Directors' have a fiduciary duty to the corporation, which is mostly noticed when things go wrong: Enron, Hollinger and Conrad Black, Nortel's $2.5 billion settlement and the passage of Ontario's Bill 198.

• Extensive list of links around corporate governance defined broadly
• Canadian Coalition for Good Governance

* * * 

Shareholder Association for Reserch and Education presents a Pension Investment & Governance Seminar Series

Securities Class Actions & Trustees Fiduciary Responsibilities – June 14 in Toronto

In the wake of Nortel's $2.5 billion settlement and the passage of Ontario's Bill 198, fiduciary duties for trustees are changing. With investors successfully suing companies to recover losses caused by corporate wrongdoing, are trustees and other fiduciaries who fail to act in breach of their responsibilities?

This seminar will help pension trustees and other fiduciaries evaluate the governance and legal implications of these trends for their pension and investment funds. Presenters will look at the role of shareholder litigation in strengthening corporate governance; the implications of U.S. settlements for Canadian funds; as well as Canadian and international experiences with secruities class actions and shareholder litigation.

Join us to hear from Canadian and international pension and legal experts from Grant & Eisenhofer, Koskie Minsky and the Osgoode Hall Law School. Pension trustees who have been involved in securities litigation in Canada, the U.S. and the UK will also share their experiences.

The seminar will take place from 8:00am to 4:45pm in the East Wing Room at the Osgoode Hall Professional Development Centre located at 1 Dundas Street, 26th floor.

Click here to view the complete seminar program.

TO REGISTER: Continue reading

CO: Small scale dams on rivers may disrupt the environment in unanticipatedly severe ways. When does green energy become bad for the environment?

• what does the term small scale mean, when talking about projects ranging from producing 0.5 to 210 gigawatt hours each per year?
• Peak power production (spring melt) will not be in alignment with peak demand (winter). The author suggests that this is just an attempt to generate electricity for sale to the U.S.
• What are the potential long-term or knock-on effects of multiple watercourse diversions (dams)?
• Keep reading to find a list of sources on the issue

CO: Why is it so hard to come up with the right balance of corporate carrots and sticks? Even companies like Yahoo that have a hip modern image (vulnerable to public pressure) are placed in an awkward position when faced with liability claims.

• The Alien Torts Claim Act mentioned in the following article, permits civil claims by "aliens", non-US citizens, for breaches of international law. It has been read to provide a remedy to victims of human rights abuses.
  
• See the transcript of Microsoft, Yahoo and Google's testimony before US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Under pressure from the Chinese government, Yahoo disclosed some information about its users and their search patterns. Allegedly, this led to a human rights violation.
  
• What could Yahoo do?

1. China might have shut them down and they might have lost money. They might have been replaced by another search company (ie google).
2. They could have tried to negotiate an agreement that censored terms but did not disclose user searches.
3. They could have gone ahead as they did under protest.
   

• Arguably, they were screwed either way. But now they are faced with both a claim under the ACTA and a shareholder motion for the Board of Directors to form a human rights committee.
  

TAKEAWAY: Corporations are placed in an awkward position when they face competing incentives: wanting to appear green and clean, but wishing to avoid liability.

Q: Will you or anyone you know stop using yahoo or google? See Google's testimony before the US congress about this issue.

CO: Jump on the old "Walmart slammin' bandwagon". Now criticisms have even more legitimacy, see this Human Rights Watch Report:

Wal-Mart Denies Workers Basic Rights

Weak Labor Laws Perpetuate Abuses

NEW YORK: In its first study of how an American company treats its workers, Human Rights Watch asserted that Wal-Mart's aggressive efforts to keep out labor unions often violated federal law and infringed on its workers' rights.

...

"While many American companies use weak U.S. laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus," the human rights group wrote.

Wal-Mart Stores has more than 1.3 million workers at its nearly 4,000 stores in the United States, none of whom belong to a union.