Year of carbon neutrality for NAB

National Australia Bank Group intends to become carbon neutral by 30 September 2010.
As a carbon neutral company NAB will reduce the greenhouse gas impact of its operations to zero, by improving energy efficiency and use across its international operations and purchasing offset credits where emissions can’t be avoided.
“Global warming is clearly one of the most concerning issues of our time. Across the world people are becoming more and more engaged with climate change, and there is real momentum for all of us to reduce our impact, both at home and at work,” General manager Mr Stewart said.

The Bank announced the following initiatives:

• Undertaking energy efficiency assessments and reducing energy use in offices, 790 branches and 158 business banking centres, while also purchasing up to 10% of green energy.
• Delivering behavioural change to reduce the amount of energy nab uses Australia-wide. nab has set an internal target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%.
• Purchasing hybrid vehicles for use in the nab fleet.

Indian companies embrace CSR:

Corporate social responsibility

EMERGENCY management teams of various companies could be seen on the site when bomb blasts recently rocked Mumbai. It is through such gestures that organisations show their responsibility as corporate citizens to the society.

Corporate social responsibility comprises sustenance of depleting environmental resources, emergence of effective workplace practices and narrowing the gulf between the rich and the poor.

The good old concept of corporate social responsibility though is taking new dimensions with more and more companies encouraging and involving their employees in the numerous social activities and ventures being undertaken in collaboration with NGO groups and voluntary organisations. With a large percentage of the workforce being young and enthusiastic they are volunteering with utmost dedication and concern and not as a mere obligation. Even in the absence of any legal binding the concept is catching on worldwide.

Where did this concept emerge? Really speaking this concept is neither the brainchild of a single person nor of a single organisation. There has always been an ethical perspective to the business strategies practised all over. There are several moral edicts organisations have been following for several decades. One such ethical perspective is the desire to offer help, being conscious of the fragility of the environment we are living in.

However, one tends to wonder how genuine is the concept of corporate social responsibility? There's widespread scepticism about the commercialisation and publicizing of this responsibility and the authenticity of the triple-bottom line reporting. A section of the media considers these initiatives as brand building tactics echoed merely in the closed doors of executive boardrooms.

In reality, most companies have special departments to document the best practices of corporate social responsibility and integrate them into the organisational fabric. They are investing huge amounts in creating special foundations for the implementation of these practices with a view to making a huge difference to the people around them. They are also drafting special policies to ensure better working conditions and promote the family welfare of their workforce.

Korean business making CSR progress Posted: 2010-01-08

Over half of Korean corporations have now implemented sustainability practices, according to a survey of business professionals in the country.

Fifty five per cent of respondents to the CSR survey said their organization has sustainability initiatives in place, while two thirds said the issue has become more important since the economic crisis.

The Korean research firm SolAbility, which conducted the poll, also found that a portfolio of the most sustainable Korean companies had outperformed the Korean stock index by more than 200 per cent since 2002.

Given the momentum reported in CSR following the global recession, 98 per cent of Korean professionals say they expect their company to have fully implemented sustainability management practices by 2014.

Mining firm loses licence to operate Posted: 2009-12-18

A Norwegian mining firm has had its permit suspended in the Philippines after apparently failing to consult local communities about its operations.

A nickel project of Intex Resources has had its environmental compliance certificate rescinded for 90 days by the Philippine government’s environment secretary.

The $2.4billion project, which was operating on the Mindoro island of the country, has led to hunger strikes by the tribal community, local officials and residents which demanded the government revoke the mining permit.

Locals say the project sits on a watershed, and that the government had stopped a permit for the same nickel project in 2001 for this reason. The government says it will now hold a consultation about the project, but that it will revoke the permit if an investigation shows local communities were not consulted about it by Intex Resources. Governmental officials responsible for giving Intex the permit could also face legal action.

Intex says it has ‘continuously conducted consultations and established a close relationship with the tribal leaders of communities’ in the Mindoro area.