Hardcore lessons of sustainability – ’10 Words or Less’

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Aman Singh in CSR, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability

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aman singh, barkha dutt, carol sanford, CSR, CSRwire, Edelman, henk campher, india, journalism, nick aster, parenting, Social Media, solutions journalism, Sustainability, triplepundit

I recently participated in “10 Words or Less,” a popular video series hosted by former journalist Michael Prager who writes on sustainable lifestyles and food. Prager reached out to me via Twitter, thanks to a recommendation from Asheen.

As we got started, he reminded me that “10 Words” is an ethic, not a limit. The conversation, despite a couple of technical hiccups – I’m still not sold on Google hangouts – was interesting and covered good ground.

Excerpts:

Name Aman Singh
Born when, where New Delhi, India, Sept. 15.
The year? “Earlier in the decade of the gas leak in Bhopal.”
Anything notable about the circumstances? “At that time, parents did not find out the sex of their child. My parents wanted a boy, had a boy’s name picked out, but they had a girl and stuck with the name.”
How’s that working for you? “I think it empowered me. My name in Punjabi, which is my native language, means peace. I’m quite the contrarian, but they had the right thought in mind.”
Where do you live? “New Jersey.”
Family circumstance “I’m happily married to a car geek, also from my hometown Delhi, and we have a 14-month-old son.”
When did you move to the US?

Grab the rest on MichaelPrager.com.

Brewing a Better Future [#BaBF] with Heineken: Examining the Many Flavors of Local Sourcing

18 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Aman Singh in CSR, ESG, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability

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#babf, aman singh, brand management, corporate social responsibility, CSR, CSR communications, Disclosure & Transparency, heineken, nick aster, Social Impact, Social Media, Stakeholder Engagement, supply chain, supply chain management, Sustainability, triplepundit, Twitter, Twitter chat

Earlier this year, TriplePundit‘s Nick Aster and I chatted with the Heineken team to discuss what “Brewing a Better Future” meant for the company. It coincided with the release of its latest CSR Report and the chat, which began with a selfie of the Heineken team, was both engaging and active.

It also revealed an area that deserved more digging than we could get to in the allotted hour: the company’s sourcing practices.

So we decided to team up with the experts for Round 2! This time we’ll chat with Heineken’s sustainability leadership team including:

Michael Dickstein (MD) – Director, Global Sustainable Development
Paul Stanger (PS) – Local Sourcing Director, Africa & Middle East Region
Edwin Zuidema (EZ) – Global Category Director, Raw Materials

Here’s what you need to know:

Date: August 27, 2014

Time: 11am ET

Hashtag: #BaBF

Speakers: @HEINEKENCorp

Moderators: @AmanSinghCSR @NickAster @TriplePundit

To RSVP, send out the following tweet:

I will join @HEINEKENCorp @AmanSinghCSR @NickAster & @TriplePundit to discuss local #sourcing on 08/27 http://bit.ly/BaBFchat #BaBF

Got a question? Include it in the comments section below or send it to contact@triplepundit.com. Talk soon!

From Conflict to Collaboration: Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace Participate in LIVE Twitter Chat

06 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by Aman Singh in CSR, ESG, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainability

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Accountability, activism, aman singh, aman singh das, brand management, corporate social responsibility, Disclosure & Transparency, forestsolutions, greenpeace, kimberly-clark, kleenex, kleercut, peggy ward, reforestation, richard brooks, rolf skar, Social Media, Stakeholder Engagement, supply chain, Sustainability, triplepundit

When two adversaries decide to cut across their divides to work together toward a bigger cause, chances are there’s a story – or two – to be told, learned from and examined for replicable tips.

Five years ago, Greenpeace launched a nationwide campaign aptly titled #Kleercut to invoke consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark to reexamine its fiber sourcing standards. K-C responded by inviting Greenpeace to a meeting.

What emerged from a series of meetings that followed that initial, tense meet up was a collaborative framework that has shifted K-C’s sourcing standards and helped offer both organizations a tangible way to move forward on protecting and conserving forests worldwide.

Today, K-C reports a significant increase in its FSC-certified fiber use and notes higher sales across its Kleenex and Scott tissue brands.

Marking their “wood” anniversary, K-C’s Sustainability Strategy Leader Peggy Ward along with Greenpeace’s Richard Brooks and Rolf Skar, decided to participate in a live Twitter chat facilitated by TriplePundit’s Nick Aster and me on August 5, 2014.

The questions were flying in even before we started keeping the panelists busy through the hour and more: from a behind-the-scenes story about how the two began collaborating five years ago to the future of alternative fibers and how the organizations are working on connecting consumers with sustainability, we covered a lot of ground.

Here are the stats: http://www.tweetbinder.com/rs/db6u3eRDv67

For highlights, grab the #Storify version. And to also grab our audience’s perspectives, search for #ForestSolutions on Twitter!

Chatting LIVE with Mars’ Sustainability Chief: Integrating Sustainability, Driving Responsibility

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Aman Singh in CSR, CSR reporting, ESG

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@marsglobal, agriculture, barry parkin, climate change, cocoa, CSR, CSR reporting, Disclosure & Transparency, employee engagement, environment, ESG, fish, mars, palm oil, renewable energy, Social Media, social media, Stakeholder Engagement, supply chain, Sustainability, sustainability, sustainable sourcing, triplepundit, Twitter chat

On July 24, 2014, I facilitated a live Twitter chat with Barry Parkin, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mars, Inc. and TriplePundit to offer an opportunity to learn more about sustainability at the food manufacturer.

As a lead up to the chat, Mars published its fourth annual Principles in Action Summary, which details the company’s approach to business, its progress, and the shared challenges facing both its business and society.

As one of the world’s leading food manufacturers with more than 130 manufacturing sites and an expansive supply chain, how does the company contextualize sustainability, set goals that encompass its social and environmental footprint, grow its supply chain and do it all responsibly?

For an hour we chatted – with 104 attendees generating almost 600 tweets, over 3.5 million impressions and 27 questions. Here’s the Storify summary.

And here are Parkin’s responses to the questions that we couldn’t get to in the hour:

@cmehallow: Does @MarsGlobal use @CDP Water Disclosure to manage/measure its #water impacts?

We have just completed our second CDP Carbon response and are evaluating the Water and Forest programs.

@csrdispatch: This might be a cheeky question, but do you feel a conflict between commitment to sustainability and selling junk food?

Our consumers, both people and their pets, get nutrition and pleasure from our products. We are continuing to look at the role of our portfolio in addressing nutrition and obesity.

@dgardinera @dataeco: What have been your experiences with large #renewableenergy procurement?#MarsSusty

Our most recent large scale project was Mesquite Creek, but we have on-site projects or 100% renewable contracts at more than a dozen globally. We also just announced another project in Australia last week: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/10219-the-sun-won-t-melt-this-mars-bar.html

@kellyfmill: Specific ways #sustainability goals are integreated w/ other departments?

We believe it’s everybody’s responsibility, therefore we have goals in all functions/departments in the business.

@jsonenshine: Can you share how you are driving farmer productivity? [A3b: Driving farmer productivity is our way to do both.]

Yes, as an example in cocoa, we are providing training, latest planting material and access to fertilizer for farmers.

@wssocialimpact: How does @MarsGlobal address sustainability goals in the short term?

We have a range of Sourcing Targets for 2015 and 2020 and Operations Targets (SiG) for 2015. More info at:

http://www.mars.com/global/about-mars/mars-pia/our-operations/sustainable-in-a-generation.aspx

http://www.mars.com/global/about-mars/mars-pia/our-supply-chain.aspx

@gurumug: How do you cross-verify #sustainability reporting standards/systems ?

We have a third party audit of our data and an assurance by Corporate Citizenship.

@greenguyboston: Glad to see your sustainable sourcing goals, but what is your progress to date against them?

Check out our 2013 Principles in Action Summary to learn more on our progress to date: http://mars.com/pia.

@jreneemorin: What are @MarsGlobal biggest challenges working with suppliers on #MarsSusty?

One of the challenges is that we work with 100k+ suppliers and often many tiers of them back to the farmer.

@cmehallow: When @MarsGlobal needs to access capital markets, does its strong #susty program provide advantage?

We are a private, family-owned business, but we do believe that boosting our reputation through sustainability is crucial to attracting great people to work for us

@rohitms4: Is there any specific standard to measure your success in #sustainability?

Yes, measurement of impact and not just activity.

@earthshare: How is @MarsGlobal investing in associates and their communities? #MarsSusty

In 2013 we did more than 500K hours of Associate training, and through the Mars Volunteer Program, 19K Associates devoted 70K hours to their communities.

In response to A15: @darrylv asked: That is promising. How about elsewhere in your supply chain? #MarsSusty

Because there are more farmers in cocoa than any other crop we purchase, we started there first and we’re looking to learn from our experiences in cocoa.

@beth_rcarnac: As a Mars Associate, I’d love to ask where have you seen our Associates best come together to collaborate on this #MarsSusty

There are Associates at every factory around the world and collaborating across our sites to achieving our SiG goals.

Want to chat with us? Email me for more details.

#SustLiving: In Conversation with Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Officer

09 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Aman Singh in CSR reporting, CSRwire, ESG

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#sustliving, aman singh, Brand Management, Chief sustainability officer, consumption, CSR reporting, CSRwire, Disclosure & Transparency, Environment, ESG, gail klintworth, Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, stakeholder engagement, supply chain, Supply chain management, Sustainability, triplepundit, Twitter, unilever

A conversation with Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Officer Gail Klintworth on the Sustainable Living Plan’s progress, challenges, what’s necessary to shift global & local consumer mindsets and more: Moderated in partnership with Triple Pundit’s editorial duo Jennifer Boynton and Nick Aster.

[View the story “Unilever’s #SustLiving Trends Worldwide: Goals, Challenges & the Way Forward” on Storify]

In Good Company: Singh on CSR

~ Connecting the dots between Business, Society & the Environment

Tag Archives: triplepundit

#SustLiving: In Conversation with Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Officer

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