ENFLUENCE'S GREEN WITH PRIDE HONORED BY PR INDUSTRY!

SUPPORT THE FISHERMAN & WILDLIFE AFFECTED BY THE BP OIL SPILL

Benefit Concerts for Fishermen & Wildlife affected by Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Let's make a difference now!

LET THERE BE PEACE. AND EARTH!

April 22, 2010 will mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. As the Earth Day Network says, "Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity -- an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future."

Building a healthy and prosperous economy sounds like the kind of thing that deserves media attention. So call me a grumpy environmentalist, but why do we have to wait for April 22 each year to hear about it? Practically every day there are companies building wind farms and solar cells across the country, scientists making break-through discoveries in vehicle and energy technology and citizens choosing to get involved.

Why do we have to wait for April 22 each year to hear about companies acting on sustainability?

Related News & Blogs

What's Happened to Earth Day?

S&P 100 on Track to Miss Obama's 2020 Climate Goal  Climate

Sunny Delight Stops Sending Waste to Landfill

Five Lessons From Walmart's Supply Chain Work in China  Climate

New Hydrogen Storage System Interfaces With Wind and Solar

And while it's true that many companies pitch environmental stories on Earth Day -- it's their best chance of getting coverage -- more and more of them are acting on it every day.

A recent study by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship revealed that, despite the recession, an increasing number of American businesses are expanding environmental efforts like greening of products, services and operations and integrating citizenship into their business strategy, with 75 percent of CEOs leading the agenda.

Why? There are many reasons -- a renewed focus on cost management, opportunities to capture market share, supplier pressures and a new level of corporate transparency, to name just a few.

Or perhaps it's just that it makes good business sense to understand how your products and operations impact and are impacted by the world around you. When natural resources are running scarce and prices for basic business necessities like water, fuel and raw materials are so volatile, smart execs know that environmental innovation must be a core part of their business strategy.

This is reinforced in a new report by the management consultants at A.T. Kearny, which showed that companies focused on sustainability outperformed their peers by 15 percent during the financial crisis. I'd love to see a story written on April 23rd about that trend!

Gwen Ruta, vice president for Corporate Partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund, spearheads the organization's work with leading multinational companies to develop innovative, business-based solutions to environmental challenges and drive change through the corporate value chain. Her post is available at EDF’s Innovation Exchange blog and is reprinted with permission.

Image CC licensed by Flickr user Ernst Moeksis.

 

Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/04/13/why-media-loves-earth-day-and-why-thats-not-enough#ixzz0lqBZheBZ

IF YOU DON'T RUN YOUR WATER WON'T EITHER

MULTI-GRAMMY WINNER MELISSA ETHERIDGE TO PERFORM IN L.A. DURING

THE DOW LIVE EARTH RUN FOR WATER – the largest global water initiative in history aimed at HELPing solvE the world water crisis

Register to Run or Walk Now at www.liveearth.org/run to See

Melissa Etheridge Perform Live in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA – (March 9, 2010) – Live Earth, organizer of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, Pacific Sports, race director for the Los Angeles event, today announced that two-time GRAMMY Award-winner and one-time Academy Award winner for Best Song for the Al Gore documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” Melissa Etheridge, will perform live at the Los Angeles.  The largest worldwide water initiative on record to help combat the global water crisis, the Dow Live Earth Run for Water is a series of 6km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to get water), culminating with water education villages and live musical performances.

“I’m a long-time environmental advocate and believe strongly that it is our duty as a society and as individuals to preserve our planet and its resources,” said Melissa Etheridge.  “I want to lend my name and time to this event because the global water crisis is an environmental issue that affects nearly one billion people on the planet and through this event we can raise awareness and money to help address it.”

The Los Angeles Dow Live Earth Run for Water event will be held in Exposition Park, near downtown Los Angeles, with the 6km course starting on Exposition Park Drive, turning onto Figueroa and traveling three kilometers toward downtown, turning around at 17^th Street for the return three kilometers, and ending in the Water Village in Expo Park. Starting time for the run is 8:0 a.m., live performance at 11:00 a.m.

Events will take place in nearly 150 cities across 50 countries around the world on April 18, 2010, to raise awareness and funds to help solve the global water crisis.  Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo, Alexandra Cousteau, and Jenny Fletcher have already been announced to support events on April 18^th.  Additional artists announcement for events taking place in Chicago, Minneapolis, and New York coming soon.

Funds raised from the events will benefit Global Water Challenge, a coalition of non profit organizations working to bring clean, safe drinking water to millions of people worldwide. This includes innovative projects that provide clean drinking water to communities in Haiti, Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. GWC has invested in previous projects with donations going towards improving access to water in schools and supporting local entrepreneurs who provide market-based solutions. 

 “Live Earth is honoured to have Melissa Etheridge and Rob Thomas as part of this global movement to help raise awareness for the global water crisis,” said Kevin Wall, Founder of Live Earth.  “Through the commitment of these artists, we are able to connect with a wider audience on this important issue and ultimately encourage them to participate in this movement to bring clean, safe, drinking water to the nearly one billion people on this planet in need.”

The Dow Live Earth Run for Water is a global movement focused on the actions individuals can take to effectively address the issue.  People are encouraged to START solving the problem today, RUN in a Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk in their community or organize their own run/walk through the Friends of Live Earth program, SAVE water in their home and local community through conservation efforts, GIVE money to support clean, safe water projects and SPEAK UP by signing the Live Earth petition to add water as a basic human right to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.

“As the title sponsor for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, Dow is committed to bringing the science, technology and “human element” it will take to help solve one of the world’s greatest challenges – the global water crisis,” said  Ian Barbour, general manager at Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow. “On April 18, 2010, Dow’s 52,000 employees will join people from around the world to help millions of people around the world gain access to safe, clean drinking water.”

For more information about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water visit www.liveearth.org, and to participate in the Los Angeles event, please visit www.livearth.org/run. 

About Global  Water Challenge

GWC is a diverse coalition that consists of leading organizations working to provide creative and sustainable solutions for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.  GWC’s mission is to generate a global movement to meet the urgent need for safe water and sanitation by spurring collective awareness and investment in water supply/sanitation innovation by corporate, public, and nongovernmental actors.  Our challenge is to reach people with the tools and education they need to empower themselves.  Access to clean water and sanitation leads to healthier, longer and more productive lives, and breaks the cycle of poverty.  Water and sanitation are not just human rights, they are human necessities.  More information about Global Water Challenge can be found at

http://www.globalwaterchallenge.org.

About Live Earth Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action.  A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.  More information about Live Earth can be found at http://liveearth.org.

About Dow Dow combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world’s most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

# # #

READ THE VERDE FINE PRINT

WHOLE FOODS ORGANIC PRIVATE LABEL IS MADE IN CHINA?
A news report on how a number of WHOLE FOODS private label organic processed foods are made in China. Ironically, even their "California Vegetable Blend" frozen food is made in China. Always read the country of origin information (if available) and if it's not available, ask someone at the store to find out for you (like for their bulk items.) 

GREEN TAX CREDITS

ENERGY EFFICIENT TAX CREDITS
2010 is the last year that the federal tax credits for energy efficient improvements to your house will definitely be in effect. They might get extended, but at this point we don't know. The credits get you 30% or up to $1,500 (whichever is less) back on an energy efficient home project. You can only get the credit once (so if you do new windows vs. new windows AND insulate your house, your maximum credit is still only $1,500 no matter how many improvements you make.) This tax credit really makes doing things like insulating your house a NO BRAINER. And FYI, you can insulate an already existing house with the blown-in cellulose and foam technologies (they make holes in your wall and simply blow it in) so there's no reason why your house can't be LOTS more efficient. Also, in early December 2009 President Obama suggested a "cash for caulkers" program that could put $12K per home into taxpayers pockets for making our homes more energy efficient. Signs are good that this might move forward in the next couple of months, so stay tuned for that! For more details on the tax credits, visit our blog.

Enfluence Group's Partner Chosen for U.S. Census: CarbonFund.org

It's the new year and already we have new developments to report:the US Census Bureau selected Carbonfund.org to offset the 2010 Census "Portrait of America" National Road Tour. Also, Samsung has become a Carbonfund.org partner, having offset its presence at the recent Consumer Electronics Show and working with Carbonfund.org as part of its company sustainability efforts.

We are excited about the year ahead, and look forward to engaging with you, whether through our newsletter, blog, or personally, to make this a productive year on tackling climate change.

As part of our education and advocacy program, we will soon be offering our small business partners a chance to voice support for strong climate action by Congress. Members of Congress need to hear from all constituents on climate change, and it's important to keep the momentum as climate bills have been introduced but awaiting action.

How to Integrate Being Green in Your Organization

This week’s post about green and sustainability jobs brought a question from someone who recently landed a CSR position with a major corporation.  He asked for advice on how to incorporate green points of view in his CSR recommendations to management. 

Fortunately, friend and PR counselor Bruce Harrison has given this question a lot of thought so I enlisted him to offer up the following suggestions that will help anyone charged with green responsibilities at corporations or agencies.  Bruce runs EnviroComm Inteternational and he writes and lectures frequently on green subjects.  Here’s his recommended game plan for 2010:

Corporate greening moves up on corporate agendas as the economy strengthens and government pushes for private sector action.  Here are 10 points, or reminders, for PR professionals that will help them in all things green in 2010…and beyond.

1.         Educate yourself.  Get briefed on how the company is handling all environmental, health and safety matters. Insist on specifics.  Your key question:  How do our green and carbon credentials stack up against competitors’?

2.         Think 3 bases.  Shape your greening strategy to cover financial, social and government accountabilities. Your point:  These three must work together to define the company’s sustainability.

3.         Manage perception. On the web, in executive speeches, wherever you’re perceived, make green messages consistent and aligned.  Your question:  How does this advance our investor, social and political interests?  

4.         Get validated.  Put your greenness to the test of respected third parties.  Key move:  Among your external evaluators, include the Carbon Disclosure Project.

5.         Buddy up.  Find common ground with other influentials and work through them. Involve top executives as appropriate. Your point:  Let’s improve our options through groups like Business Roundtable, industry associations and green activists.

6.         Qualify stakeholders.  Focus first on stakeholders with high-impact perceptions.  Your questions:   Who cares about our greenness?  Why?  Who can we count on? Who do we need to work on?  How do we neutralize detractors?

7.         Think as they do.  Find ways—research, feedback systems—to get your head around each stakeholder’s value point.  Think:  What’s in it for this stakeholder?  What must we deliver to get his or her approval?

8.         Size up Uncle Sam.  Sit down with business unit and government relations managers to see what they need, plan to seek, are willing to accept in terms of government help.  Your contribution:  Engage with them on a strategic PR plan that balances sustainability factors.

9.         Stay online.  Assign responsibilities to engage in social media.  Your checkup question:  Are we on top of conversations that affect our green perception?

10.      Forearm.  Get pre-crisis intelligence.  Use search engines, competitive research, internal grapevines—whatever it takes to constantly plug in to what could become reputation risk.  Your goal:  Your people bring you red flags before executives and others tell you about them. 
--from PR Job Advice Blog Culpwrit (January 2009)

Be/Differently by Ron Roecker 2010

Check Out Current Grammy Nominee The Foreign Exchange, Get Free Download

I want you all to know why I believe so strongly in a group of musicians – spearheaded by two very talented singer/ songwriter /producer /human beings Nicolay and Phonte  – these underdogs who write, produce, have created their own version of their “label”…book their own shows, promote their own stuff all by themselves…and they just got their first ever Grammy Award nomination – no major label, no huge radio play, no merchandising deal or international tour…they got it because they are talented! I dig their music.  I hope you check them out and help me spread the word by becoming a Facebook fan and Tweeting them and MySpacing them and whatever you can do.  For a free download of their Grammy-nominated song, hit http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com/daykeeper.php.  For more info: http://www.vimeo.com/8165330 http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com.  Ride the wave because you’re going to be hearing an awful lot about The Foreign Exchange.  Happy New Year!

THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Here’s what first grabbed my attention:

NAPSTER BLOG REVIEW OF FE’S FIRST L.A. PERFORMANCE:

“The line at the world famous Roxy … stretched two blocks the night of Sunday, June 14. I've been to many shows at the Roxy in the past, but only once before, for a John Legend show, has the line been as long. While I knew that the Foreign Exchange would bring in an audience, I didn't think it would be like this. Never mind the fact that this would mark FE's first performance in L.A. Never mind that their latest album Leave It All Behind is one of my favorite albums from last year and was my candidate for Album of the Year when it came out. Phonte, Nicolay, YahZarah, and Darien Brockington all took the stage with their band and gave one of the best performances from a group that I've seen in awhile. FE puts in work, and it shows. Do not pass up the opportunity to catch Foreign Exchange live when they come to your town. I repeat, do not sleep. Bite the bullet. Wait in line. I'm glad I did.

Then here’s what really intrigued me:

¯   They write and produce. They are their version of their own “label.” They book and promote their own shows (they book venues THEN talk to promoters!). They aspire to have the creative staying power of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

¯   Nicolay is from the Netherlands and Phonte is from the U.S. They met on a music message board based on similar interests in the kind of music they were each making. They worked on their first album solely via Internet exchange and conversations.  They didn’t meet face-to-face until the album was completely done.  Even though they now live in the same country and even the same state, this is how they still make music today -- exchanging ideas and input…collaborating through the music and never face-to-face. The exchange might seem foreign but listen to the music and you’ll hear and sense they are total, musical allies.

¯   After working in the traditional music biz/label/artist behemoth, they decided they wanted to do things on their own: musicians making the music they want to make, when they want to make it and how they want to make it.  All while also assuming 100% of the risks.  They sell out performances. They sell albums.  They are in high demand by other artists.  And they just received their first GRAMMY nomination in Best Urban/Alternative performance for their incredible single “Daykeeper.” 

¯   Download the song for free http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com/daykeeper.php.  

Roecker Letter

Page two

And here’s a glimpse as to why I am working with these tremendous human beings:

From FE’s Web Site Addressing their GRAMMY Nomination

“We haven't come forward with a personal press release or statement of any kind because truthfully, the past week has been a whirlwind of events and its taken us awhile to really wrap our heads around all that's happened.

“Needless to say, we are both filled with feelings of shock, wonder, amazement, nervousness, humility, and extreme gratitude.

“We have prepared a short video… that describes the FE story and gives an overview of our journey from random obscurity to fully independent Grammy nominated artists. Consider this our pre-Grammy acceptance speech...lol. We encourage all of you to pass this along and spread the word, as we feel our story is a big inspiration to artists everywhere. Every once in a blue moon, the good guys do win.”

¯   http://www.vimeo.com/8165330

¯   http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com

I hope you check out some of the links I’ve included here.  I hope you dig them as much as I do.  If you do, spread the word because this world will benefit from embracing The Foreign Exchange.  I think they’re going to be influential in changing the music business.  Perhaps it will be the Music Creation & Exchange.http://theforeignexchangemusic.com/