Contributors
Tara Grecosenior vice president Tara has experience on both sides of the equation, having worked in corporate CR and nonprofit communications & marketing. She focuses on trends and innovations in community engagement, strategic philanthropy, volunteerism, cause marketing, and CR/nonprofit communications.
Andrea ShatzmanA senior associate in APCO’s Washington, D.C. office, Andrea works on a broad range of CR issues. She’s particularly interested in the evolution of CR over time and how businesses can capitalize on their strengths to make unique contributions to society.
Leela StakeLeela is a senior associate who helps businesses innovate, collaborate and communicate to be more successful. She’s based in San Francisco, has worked in six Asian countries and is interested in the relationship between long-term business success and community prosperity.
Robin DelisoRobin is a senior associate who works in APCO’s corporate responsibility practice and is interested in the blurring lines between consumer and influencer expectations of companies. She looks at how companies use CR to engage audiences in innovative ways, especially re: social media, and started her career in nonprofit communications strategy.
Julie JackA vice president in APCO's New York office, Julie works on corporate responsibility with a focus on business strategy and emerging issues and trends. Her currents interests and work focus on sustainable agriculture and supply chain management, the integration of CR and financial communications, and CR in the consumer goods space.
Rachel ThompsonRachel is the global corporate responsibility practice manager for APCO. She has worked on global trade and CR in government and business. Her interests include the role (and limits) of CR in making globalization more sustainable; evidence and measurement issues; and the relationship between CR and preventing trade protectionism.
James RobinsonJames is a vice president who brings ten years of experience working on CR strategy and communications in New York, Beijing, and Jakarta. He looks at how CR is employed as part of broader business strategy and has a particular interest in the evolving role of technology and innovation in managing social and environmental issues.
Kitty PotterKitty is an associate director and leads APCO's CR practice in the Asia-Pacific region. Her current work and interests include the development of multi-stakeholder initiatives addressing corruption in supply chains, sustainability performance ratings, and engagement with private sector in climate change adaption.
Ellen MignoniEllen is a senior vice president and helped build APCO’s global corporate responsibility practice. She works primarily with APCO’s corporate clients on business alignment and corporate responsibility, stakeholder engagement and partnership development, and communication and outreach.
Category Archives: CR in North America
New Year’s Resolutions on Human Trafficking
I take New Year’s resolutions seriously, which is why I am hard at work on my 2012 resolutions now. As I think about changes I’ll make in 2012, I wonder what resolutions we’ll see from business leaders as the new year begins. In particular, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act takes effect on January 1 and will require business leaders to communicate what they are doing to address slavery and human trafficking.
Many do not realize that this is still a 21st-century problem. However, through violence, threats and coercion, victims are forced to work in, among other things, the sex trade, domestic labor, factories, hotels and agriculture. According to the U.S. Department of State, there are an estimated 600,000-800,000 men, women and children trafficked across international borders each year. Of these, approximately 80 percent are women and girls, and up to 50 percent are children. California has been reported to be one of the top four destination states for trafficking victims in the United States.
Posted on Monday, November 28th, 2011
Also posted in What's Next for CR Tagged BSR Conference, California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, HR2759, human trafficking Leave a comment
Also posted in What's Next for CR Tagged BSR Conference, California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, HR2759, human trafficking Leave a comment
The Debate Over School Lunch
Normally, we think of the government stepping in to regulate business when corporations overextend their reach in one way or another. When it comes to school lunches, however, it looks like the opposite may be happening.
The U.S. government was on the right track when the President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act nearly a year ago, followed by the announcement of new dietary guidelines earlier this fall. Just this week, however, Congress proposed new rules that would consider pizza a vegetable in school lunches. This comes on the heels of the potato lobby (yes, Virginia, there is a potato lobby) and other groups fighting for starchy vegetable allotments to remain unchanged in school lunches, leaving little to no room for healthier options to make their way onto cafeteria trays.
Posted on Friday, November 18th, 2011
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Health Tagged pizza, school lunch, vegetable 1 Comment
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Health Tagged pizza, school lunch, vegetable 1 Comment
BSR Conference Highlights
Two colleagues and I attended the 2011 BSR Conference a few weeks ago in San Francisco. As usual, the conference provided inspirational speakers, engaging sessions and thought-provoking ideas to consider. This year’s theme was “Redefining Leadership.” The BSR team effectively organized the presentations and discussions around this topic, and participants were able to address leadership from a variety of angles.
There were a few items that jumped out for the APCO team that we want to share with SP readers. You may also want to scroll through our tweets from the conference.
Posted on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR Tagged #BSR11, BSR, emerging markets, ESG, redefining leadership 1 Comment
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR Tagged #BSR11, BSR, emerging markets, ESG, redefining leadership 1 Comment
Is the Hub of Global Development Innovation the “Other” Washington?
Next week, I’ll head up to the Microsoft* campus in Redmond, Wash., to moderate a panel at Global Washington’s third annual conference. It’s a great model of statewide collaboration in the development community, and I thought you might want to know more about it.
During the 20th century, the state of Washington built a reputation for its airplanes, timber, software and coffee. Yet the state is now leading the way in addressing an entirely different class of global needs: good health, education, employment, food, shelter, and a chance for a better life.
Posted on Friday, October 28th, 2011
Also posted in Communicating CR, Community Engagement Tagged #globalwaday, Global Action Day, Global Hero Award, Global Washington, NGOs Leave a comment
Also posted in Communicating CR, Community Engagement Tagged #globalwaday, Global Action Day, Global Hero Award, Global Washington, NGOs Leave a comment
The Diverse Face of Food Day
Monday marked the first celebration of Food Day. Melissa Musiker’s earlier post provides a full background on the event. By some measures, including media pick-up, the event was a success. Coverage appeared on both wire services and in daily publications in most major media markets, including USA Today, NPR and Martketwire. Regular contributing bloggers were also a top source for coverage, with original content appearing in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and the Huffington Post.
Posted on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Also posted in Communicating CR, Health Tagged #foodday, CSPI, Food Day, GMA, health, Jessica Gover, Julie Jack, nutrition, tofu Leave a comment
Also posted in Communicating CR, Health Tagged #foodday, CSPI, Food Day, GMA, health, Jessica Gover, Julie Jack, nutrition, tofu Leave a comment
Sesame Street Tackles Food Insecurity
Happy Friday! As you’re thinking about your weekend schedule, here’s a little Sunday night TV watching suggestion: a new Sesame Street special on food insecurity called “Growing Hope Against Hunger.”Sesame Street is the barometer for a lot of things in our society. For example, you know you’ve really made it as a celebrity if you’re [...]
Posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011
Also posted in Community Engagement, Nonprofit Operations and Communications Tagged community engagement, Food Insecurity, Growing Hope Against Hunger, PBS, Sesame Street, STEM Leave a comment
Also posted in Community Engagement, Nonprofit Operations and Communications Tagged community engagement, Food Insecurity, Growing Hope Against Hunger, PBS, Sesame Street, STEM Leave a comment
Turning Ideas into Action – the First CGI America
Impact. That is CGI America described in one word. In just two short days, the Clinton Global Initiative brought many minds together to tackle some of the nation’s most challenging issues and developed solutions that will change the lives of countless Americans.
During the conference, 51 commitments were announced, impacting the lives of 2.7 million people in the United States. When fully funded and implemented, they will create or fill more than 124,000 jobs, provide more than 364,000 people with access to job training and support entrepreneurs with $265 million in investments or loans.
Posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR, Community Engagement Tagged CGI America, Clinton Global Initiative, commitments, creating opportunity, different future, entreprenuer, job training, minds, President Clinton, progress, solutions, tipact Leave a comment
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR, Community Engagement Tagged CGI America, Clinton Global Initiative, commitments, creating opportunity, different future, entreprenuer, job training, minds, President Clinton, progress, solutions, tipact Leave a comment
Confessions from a Recession
While it has been nearly two years since the market crept back onto its feet in June 2009 and out of a recession, the effects of the 18-month economic stand-still have affected every aspect of the way we do business.
Posted on Monday, April 18th, 2011
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR Tagged #bccccConf11, BCCCC 2011 International Conference, Charles Bentley, cr, CR investment 2 Comments
Also posted in Business Alignment/Integration, Communicating CR Tagged #bccccConf11, BCCCC 2011 International Conference, Charles Bentley, cr, CR investment 2 Comments
We’re Off to Minneapolis!
Sunday kicks off the first day of Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC) 2011 International Conference. A team from APCO, including me, will be attending the conference in Minneapolis, Minn., from April 10-12, and we look forward to seeing hundreds of professionals from many of the largest domestic and international corporations.
This highly anticipated conference provides a unique opportunity for diverse participants to learn, share, lead and grow as key influencers in the corporate citizenship space.
Posted on Friday, April 8th, 2011
Also posted in Communicating CR Tagged #bccccConf11, BCCCC, BCCCC 2011 International Conference, Charles Bentley, Minneapolis Leave a comment
Also posted in Communicating CR Tagged #bccccConf11, BCCCC, BCCCC 2011 International Conference, Charles Bentley, Minneapolis Leave a comment
Investing in American Jobs
Also posted in Community Engagement, What's Next for CR | Tagged corporate responsibility, economy, insourcing, jobs, White House | Leave a comment