Corporate-NGO Engagement in times of rising Activism.
Future 500 Newsletter
March 2013
The bridge between corporations and NGOs
ENDING CLIMATE SILENCE
Earlier this year we presented our Top 10 Stakeholder Issues for 2013. Issues such as health and obesity, fracking, GMOs, and digital freedom present risk to all companies, but in particular to top brands, which stakeholders perceive as more powerful and therefore expect and demand more from them.
Ending Climate Silence is our #1 issue and the movement is accelerating quickly as more NGOs align in asking companies to support climate change policies. February’s Forward on Climate rally, organized by 350.org and the Sierra Club, mobilized more than 40,000 protesters in Washington D.C. Future 500 staff attended therally in D.C. and San Francisco and spoke to protesters.
Email us, for a more in-depth analysis of these issues.
Latest News
Business and Innovation
Bill Shireman held a roundtable with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and CSRwire discussing the effects of corporate-NGO engagement. Innovation it was agreed was the key to generating what nearly everyone, right, left, or otherwise wants from the US economy. One key take-away was that only through the consistent deployment of creativity, and a society-wide striving for continuously improving outcomes, will humanity be able to confront the profound challenges we currently face. We will soon release an archived video of the session.
Corporate-NGO Engagement
In February, several Future 500 team members – Erik Wohlgemuth, Leslie Lowe, Bill Shireman, and Danna Pfahl, presented at the Greenbiz Forum in New York and San Francisco: our main presentation, entitled Corporate-NGO Engagement in a time of rising Activism, is now available.Email us for access to the slide deck.
Future 500 at Zero Waste Week
We are looking forward to participating in International Zero Waste Week in Berkeley. The Northern California Recycling Association will hold a robust discussion around waste issues, updating participants from across the country on cross cutting trends in the arena. Several stakeholders that Future 500 engages through our materials stewardship program are attending. We are especially looking forward to engaging industry and advocates on finding common ground policy solutions to address post-consumer waste. Both our Senior Director Danna Pfahl and President Bill Shireman will attend.
Events
Sustainable Brands 2013
Discover what happens when brand strategists & designers connect with sustainability teams to drive purpose driven innovation that leads to business and brand value. An explosion of creativity and imagination is sweeping across the global brand community. Courageous brand leaders and entrepreneurs are finding ways to reinvent business and economies by looking to healthy natural systems for inspiration. Participate in collaborative discussions alongside Unilever, Coca-Cola, Ford, Target, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé Purina, plus others and learn how brands can benefit by leading the way to a flourishing future. Paradise Point, San Diego, CA. June 3-6, 2013. www.SustainableBrands13.com
