The CSR Newsletters are a freely-available resource generated as a dynamic complement to the textbook, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation.

To sign-up to receive the CSR Newsletters regularly during the fall and spring academic semesters, e-mail author David Chandler at david.chandler@ucdenver.edu.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Strategic CSR - L.G.B.T.Q.

The article in the url below, buried deep into last week's Sunday NYT, is heartening:

"Nearly one in 10 adults in the United States identifies as L.G.B.T.Q., according to a large analysis from Gallup released Thursday — almost triple the share since Gallup began counting in 2012, and up by two-thirds since 2020."

The graph accompanying the article demonstrates the dramatic shift in reporting patterns, over a relatively short period of time:
 

It seems that the increase is accounted for mostly by "bisexual women" and younger generations:

"Nearly one-quarter of adults in Generation Z, defined by Gallup as those 18 to 27, identify as L.G.B.T.Q., according to the analysis, which included 14,000 adults across all of Gallup's telephone surveys last year. More than half of these L.G.B.T.Q. young adults identify as bisexual. Among all respondents, 1.3 percent identified as transgender, up from 0.6 percent in 2020. That is higher than other large surveys have found in recent years."

Some additional detail:
 

Presuming the percentage of the population who are L.G.B.T.Q. remains constant, the higher reporting percentage must be due to a sense of security and confidence in people feeling they can be open about who they are, which is a welcome sign of progress in our society.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Survey Finds Rapid Increase in U.S. Adults Identifying as L.G.B.T.Q.
By Claire Cain Miller and Francesca Paris
February 23, 2025
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
15
 
Posted by David Chandler at 8:13 AM

Monday, February 24, 2025

Strategic CSR - Coal

A quick update, in the article in the url below, on where the world is in terms of its coal consumption – spoiler alert, we are not in good shape:

"We're burning more coal than ever. … Coal is both the dirtiest fossil fuel and the biggest source of electricity, accounting for 35% of the world's generation [in 2023]."

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), this sorry state represents progress:

"From 2006 through 2014, [worldwide coal consumption] was 40%-plus."

And, it does not look like we can keep the positive trajectory going:

"But even as scientists sound the alarm on dangerous climate tipping points, coal consumption is still growing. It's expected to hit a record in 2024, and is on track to be higher in 2050 than it was in 2000."

As an indication of how far from where we need to be we currently are:

"To reach net zero by 2050, global coal use would need to fall by more than 90%, and what's left would need to be handled by plants capable of capturing and storing emissions."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Why We're Burning More Climate-Warning Coal Than Ever
By Will Wade
August 12, 2024
Bloomberg Law
 
Posted by David Chandler at 5:14 PM

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Strategic CSR - Larry Fink

This graphic produced by Bloomberg from the article in the url below is both interesting and frustrating:


It is interesting and frustrating for the same reason – because it reveals a superficial commitment to something that needs to be sustained and genuine. Fink had built a reputation for himself as someone who is committed to the sustainability cause. The chart reveals a superficiality to that commitment. I am all in favor of revealing the lack of thought that is invested in the latest term or acronym that gets the mainstream CSR conversation excited, but this very much suggests Fink is a victim of that superficiality, rather than having thought through what he was saying, and/or his and his company's ability to implement:

"[Larry Finnk's] 2020 letter mentions terms like climate, ESG and sustainability 46 times. But executives changed their tune after Texas and other US states launched attacks and legal action on the investment management company. 'Larry Fink used to talk quite a bit (in fairly short letters) about climate, sustainability, and ESG. … Now he does not.'"

Either way, it is another step backwards, when we need to be moving forward.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Wild Cards for the Green Transition
By Aaron Clark
February 3, 2025
Bloomberg
 
Posted by David Chandler at 4:06 PM

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Strategic CSR - Personhood

Following its groundbreaking law that granted legal rights to a river (see Strategic CSR – Personhood), New Zealand has taken another step forward in its recognition of the importance of the natural environment to its culture and heritage:

"A settlement under which a New Zealand mountain has been granted the same legal right as a person has become law after years of negotiations."

Specifically:

"It means Taranaki Maunga [Mt Taranaki] will effectively own itself, with representatives of the local tribes, iwi, and government working together to manage it. The agreement aims to compensate Māori from the Taranaki region for injustices done to them during colonisation – including widespread land confiscation."

While I appreciate the symbolic value of this decision, in terms of respecting the Maori culture, tradition, and perspective on the natural environment ("natural features, including mountains, are ancestors and living beings"), it is challenging to see the practical implications. What does it mean for a mountain to "own itself"? The value of treating corporations as legal persons is that they can own assets and be sued in a court of law. This underpins the law of contracts and property rights, which are fundamental to our economic system. Firms also form the apex of the stakeholder structure, so create value for others, rather than needing value to be created for them:

"[Government Minister] Paul Goldsmith acknowledged that … it had been agreed that access to the mountain would not change and that 'all New Zealanders will be able to continue to visit and enjoy this most magnificent place for generations to come.'"

In this case, the name of the mountain will be changed, which his meaning, but it is difficult to know how this fits into the strategic CSR perspective, given that the mountain cannot communicate discernable interests that can be met. Rather, anyone seeking to interact with the mountain will need to deal with the appointed human 'representatives' of the mountain (who no doubt have their own values and interests):

"It means Taranaki Maunga [Mt Taranaki] will effectively own itself, with representatives of the local tribes, iwi, and government working together to manage it."

Given that the mountain cannot communicate its interests to those representatives (as far as we know), we will have to rely on the genuine intent with which they interpret what is best for the mountain:

"The mountain is not the first of New Zealand's natural feature's to be granted legal personhood. In 2014, the Urewera native forest became the first to gain such status, followed by the Whanganui River in 2017."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


New Zealand mountain gets same legal rights as a person
By Kathryn Armstrong
January 30, 2025
BBC News
 
Posted by David Chandler at 12:29 PM

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Strategic CSR - Cotton + water

I knew that the production of cotton took vast amounts of water, but only a vague sense of how much. The article in the url below quantifies this amount in a very relatable way:

"For all the water you'll ever use to wash your cotton T-shirt over its entire lifetime, it will have taken 50 times as much water to grow the cotton that went into it."

In addition to the water used to grow cotton, large amounts of insecticides and pesticides are used; there are also challenges related to the harvesting and processing of this crop:

"Cotton uses about 2.3% of global arable land and accounts for 16% for all insecticide sales. And the fashion industry has been forced to reckon with allegations of forced labor and poor working conditions in certain cotton-harvesting regions."

The article proceeds to detail a "Boston-based startup Galy" that is developing a more sustainable alternative, which (if it can be commercialized and scaled – always huge barriers) addresses many of these challenging issues, for which the fashion/apparel industry is only now beginning to be held accountable (see Strategic CSR – Fast fashion), or perhaps not (see Strategic CSR – Shein + Boohoo):

"Galy takes cells from a cotton plant, adds them to a large vat and feeds them sugar. After they have sufficiently multiplied, Galy technicians use their genetic understanding of the plant — which has been developed over decades of research — to activate certain genes and deactivate others. The result is the cell transforms and elongates into a cotton fiber. So far, Galy has only been able to make a few kilograms of vat-grown cotton. If it can make more at scale, the company has big dreams to also make lab-grown cocoa and coffee powders."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Fast Fashion Bets on Greener Lab-Grown Cotton
By Akshat Rathi
September 3, 2024
Bloomberg
 
Posted by David Chandler at 7:22 AM

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Strategic CSR - Coal

Here is a tale of two trajectories for coal that are heading in opposite directions (at least, in the short term). First, the article in the first url below reports that Duke Energy has announced its intention to change its plans for its largest coal-fired power plant. The company had originally planned to close all its power plants that use "the dirty fuel" by 2035, but that has now changed:

"The utility said it plans to operate its massive Gibson Station in Indiana through 2038, according to a presentation about its resource plan for that state posted on its website Thursday. The company previously said it would shutter the plant by 2035, in line with its broader plan to be entirely coal-free by that year."

What is interesting is that the article (pre-DeepSeek) blames A.I. for unpredicted electricity consumption, which is causing utilities to alter their plans of how they will be able to meet that growing demand:

"Some US utilities are struggling to meet ambitious climate goals set before electricity forecasts began spiking amid tech giants' move to build new data centers for artificial intelligence."

Similarly:

"FirstEnergy Corp. announced earlier this year it was abandoning its 2030 target for slashing greenhouse gas emissions because it couldn't replace some coal plants in time."

In contrast, the article in the second url below reports that the UK closed its last coal-fired power plant, in early October last year, in what is being framed as a risky experiment to meet its previously announced GHG emissions goal:

"By closing the 2,000 megawatt (MW) coal plant in Nottinghamshire, Britain has become the first G7 country to end coal-fired power production and make significant progress against energy transition and pollution reduction targets."

The key is that the UK is not self-sufficient in terms of LNG, which means it will need to rely on imports, paying the market rate that is heavily influenced by geopolitics:

"UK gas consumption has exceeded domestic gas production for the past 20 years, according to the 2024 Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. … Between 2018 and 2023, UK LNG imports jumped by 171% from 7.2 billion cubic meters (BCM) to 19.4 BCM, according to the Energy Institute."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e  
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


How is the energy transition going?
By Brian Kahn
October 4, 2024
Bloomberg Green

UK's last coal plant shutdown bodes well for US LNG export
By Gavin Maguire
October 1, 2024
Reuters
 
Posted by David Chandler at 7:38 AM

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Strategic CSR - Mirrors

Here is a heartening quote from the EU that was in the Green Daily newsletter by Bloomberg, last summer:

"32.5%: How much pollution has dropped in the EU from 1990 to 2022, even as the economy grew by 67%."

It counters the unhelpful narrative in the article in the url below, that economic growth and climate damage are positively correlated. In reality, what is important is the collective set of values and priorities in our societies. That is what will determine the behavior of corporations – if we want sustainability, then companies will deliver it for us; if we don't, then we cannot blame companies for more damage. We love to anthropomorphize organizations, but it is only humans who are capable of making complex decisions, weighing up multiple variables (including future consequences) – companies are mirrors that reflect those decisions. We get the companies we deserve; just like we get the politicians we deserve – they are functions of the decisions that we make.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Shrink the Economy, Save the World?
By Jennifer Szalai
June 11, 2024
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
C1, C4
 
Posted by David Chandler at 8:21 AM

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Strategic CSR - Aviation

I have been looking into the aviation industry, recently (see here). Thinking about how sustainability works in this space has been part of that inquiry. Along these lines, I found the article in the url below, which suggests we are nowhere near developing a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and that any headline you might have seen suggesting the opposite is misleading, at best:

"IPS report says replacement fuels well off track to replace kerosene within timeframe needed to avert climate disaster."

Even worse:

"Hopes that replacement fuels for airplanes will slash carbon pollution are misguided and support for these alternatives could even worsen the climate crisis, a new report has warned."

Specifically:

"There is currently 'no realistic or scalable alternative' to standard kerosene-based jet fuels, and touted 'sustainable aviation fuels' are well off track to replace them in a timeframe needed to avert dangerous climate change, despite public subsidies, the report by the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive thinktank, found."

As with many good ideas in the sustainability space, the idea in theory is possible; in practice, scalability is the challenge:

"Chuck Collins, co-author of the report, said: 'To bring these fuels to the scale needed would require massive subsidies, the trade-offs would be unacceptable and would take resources aware from more urgent decarbonization priorities.'"

What are some of those potential tradeoffs?

"Burning sustainable aviation fuels still emits some carbon dioxide, while the land use changes needed to produce the fuels can also lead to increased pollution. Ethanol biofuel, made from corn, is used in these fuels, and meeting the Biden administration's production goal, the report found, would require 114m acres of corn in the US, about a 20% increase in current land area given over to the crop. In the UK, meanwhile, 50% of all agricultural land will have to be given up to sustain current flight passenger levels if jet fuel was entirely replaced."

The conclusion, due to the unique challenges of getting heavy airplanes off the ground:

"Phil Ansell, director of the Center for Sustainable Aviation at the University of Illinois, said the aviation industry had been faced with a much steeper challenge than other sectors to decarbonize. 'There's an under appreciation of how big the energy problem is for aviation. We are still many years away from zero pollution flights,' he said. … 'We are now trying to find solutions, but we are working at this problem and realizing it's a lot harder than we thought. We are late to the game. We are in the dark ages in terms of sustainability, compared to other sectors.'"

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler6e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


'Magical thinking': hopes for sustainable jet fuel not realistic, report finds
By Oliver Milman
May 14, 2024
The Guardian
 
Posted by David Chandler at 4:05 PM
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