Strategic CSR - Shipping + oil

The article in the url below focuses on the "phantom fleet" of ships with dubious ownership that the U.S. reports are shipping "illicit oil" around the world. Due to sanctions on the trade of this oil, since early December the U.S. has seized ten of these ships, while India has seized three and France another one. Unfortunately, those 14 ships do not put much of a dent in the scale of this problem for the global oil industry:

"The phantom fleet of sanctioned vessels now numbers 1,300 ships, according to TankerTrackers.com, a ship-tracking website. ... Many are clustered on routes from Russia and Iran headed to buyers in Asia."

While more than a quarter of the ships have turned off their transponder beacons (to hide their locations), the majority can still be identified and tracked:

"Shadow fleet ships, usually old, sailing under false flags and sanctioned, accounted for 6% to 7% of the global crude oil flows in 2025, according to ship-data firm Kpler. Russia last year relied on the fleet to transport around 80% of its crude and oil products, analysts estimated."

Of particular interest, the article contains a map showing where all these ships are located, as of February 10. I find this interesting because the red dots clearly delineate the major shipping routes across the globe, highlight how daunting it is for the U.S. to try and police this illegal trade, as well as how fossil fuels remain the driver of such massive amounts of human activity:

 

 

Take care

David

 

David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)

© 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 is archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/

 

The U.S. Is Hunting the Shadow Fleet. This Is What It's Up Against.

By Daniel Kiss, Ming Li and Rebecca Feng

February 21, 2026

The Wall Street Journal

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/the-u-s-is-hunting-the-shadow-fleet-this-is-what-its-up-against-0feba9bb

Strategic CSR - Coal

The article in the url below contains a statistic that suggests society can move quickly on seemingly intractable issues, when there is sufficient political willpower in place:

"16%: [the amount of] U.S. power generation coming from coal in 2024, [down] from 40% in 2014."

Take care

David

David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)

© 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 is archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/

The cost of bringing back coal

By Leslie Kaufman, Eric Roston, and Jeff Green

February 14, 2026

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-14/cost-of-trump-s-coal-push-plays-out-in-dollars-noise-and-health

Strategic CSR - Share buybacks

There is a good chance the motivation is distorted but, among all the noise and activity emanating from Washington DC, the announcement included in the article in the url below caught my attention: 

"President Trump lashed out at U.S. weapons manufacturers Wednesday, announcing new restrictions on executive pay and stock buybacks while also threatening to cancel contracts with one of the country's largest defense contractors."

I like it because it discourages an emphasis on shareholder value, while also addressing the mildly corrupt nature of government contracting in the defense sector:

 

"An executive order posted Wednesday evening said companies 'are not permitted in any way, shape, or form to pay dividends or buy back stock, until such time as they are able to produce a superior product, on time and on budget.'"

And the intention behind the executive order is specific:

"Earlier Wednesday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would limit executive pay to $5 million, but the dollar figure wasn't included in the executive order. … Trump also singled out contractor RTX in a separate social-media post, saying that the company 'has been the least responsive' to the Pentagon's needs and 'the slowest in increasing their volume, and the most aggressive spending on their Shareholders rather than the needs and demands' of the U.S. military."

While enforcement will be a challenge (and limiting pay will not amount to much unless stock options are also capped), the intention responds to a real issue: 

"Saying that he was addressing defense contractors and the defense industry, Trump wrote, that '…Defense Contractors are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment. This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!'"

Again, I am not confident that the issue is fully understood or that the order will be systematically implemented, but the story was still encouraging to see.

Take care

David

 

David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)

© 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/

Trump Lashes Out at Defense Firms, Buybacks

By Marcus Weisgerber and Drew FitzGerald

January 8, 2026

The Wall Street Journal

Late Edition – Final

A4

https://www.wsj.com/business/trump-defense-industry-executive-order-9cc2c42e

Strategic CSR - Water

I thought this quote, from the article in the url below, is interesting (and alarming):

"Three-quarters of the world's population—about 6.1 billion people—now live in countries where freshwater supplies are insecure or critically insecure. Four billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month a year."

The chart that accompanies the article illustrates how quickly water consumption, worldwide, has increased:

 

 

Take care

David

 

David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)

© 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/

The era of water 'bankruptcy'

By Danielle Bochove

January 20, 2026

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-20/water-bankruptcy-era-has-begun-for-billions-scientists-say

 

Strategic CSR - Privacy

The article in the url below contains interesting research about the ability of A.I. to read a person's personality from their face:

"Personality assessments are an accepted part of recruitment processes. … Yet previous research suggests that personality types can be encoded in facial features, and that artificial intelligence (AI) can spot them."

 

Although "it's not obvious what the AI is seeing," if this is true, then it raises the interesting question of whether it should be allowed:

"If your face could tell a prospective employer something [about your probable performance at work], without discriminating on grounds of protected characteristics, then firms would have a strong incentive to analyze it."

The article makes a compelling case that subjective assessments made on physical characteristics already happen naturally:

"There is a height premium in hiring, for example, which makes it more likely that a taller person will get chosen than a shorter one. Some might argue that face-based analysis is more meritocratic than processes which reward, say, educational attainment. [Researchers] are now looking at whether AI facial analysis can give lenders useful clues about a person's propensity to repay loans. For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing."

 

There are also plenty of causes for concern that revolve around perceptions of fairness and the ability of someone to overcome any natural 'disadvantages' to become a productive colleague. There is also the concern that "aggregate patterns do not tell you how an individual will perform." Nevertheless, the article provides another glimpse into what is coming our way, whether we like it or not.

 

Take care

David

 

David Chandler

Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)

© 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/

Face off

By Bartleby

November 8, 2025

The Economist

Late Edition – Final

64

https://www.economist.com/business/2025/11/06/should-facial-analysis-help-determine-whom-companies-hire

Strategic CSR - Cognitive dissonance

I enjoy reading Bloomberg's Green Daily newsletter. It is backed by a great deal of expertise and insight into the evolving environmental crisis we are imposing on the planet. My only suggestion would be that, more often than not, it reads like an extreme weather forecast — guess what, it is hot out there (except when it is cold)!

The newsletter sent on January 19 is notable because it clearly highlights the juxtaposition that is so often prevalent in sustainability discussions — we know what is happening and that we need to do something about it, but guess what … we are not acting nearly as quickly as is required.

This dissonance is highlighted initially by the headline article in the newsletter, which focuses on the market-driven costs to companies that ignore climate change:

"This month, a paper published by the European Central Bank found that banks with the greatest so-called transition risks now 'face significantly higher borrowing costs' in funding markets. That followed a December paper by analysts at the Central Bank of Ireland, which showed that companies facing physical climate risks are in a similar predicament, and will need to provide more collateral."

So far, so good. Unfortunately, a graph further down the newsletter, in a separate article about China's annual coal production, highlights the countervailing forces that, more often than not, cancel out any progress that is being made. Specifically, in spite of its amazing progress in generating electricity from sustainable fuel sources, China's demand for energy is such that it takes it from whatever source it can get it:

Oh well, half right.
Take care
David
 
David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)
© 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/
 

Banks Ignore Transition Risk at Their Own Peril, ECB Warns
By Alastair Marsh and Laura Millan
January 19, 2026
Bloomberg Green Daily
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-01-19/ecb-warns-banks-should-heed-transition-risk