Advance Sustainability

Global Giving is an international funding agency that is holding its annual 2005 Marketplace at the Conference on Borderless Philanthropy Awards where the winners take home $100,000. Each individual rating will determine  the top 15 projects who will  be invited to present at the 2005 Marketplace to be held at the 2005 Conference on Borderless Giving.

Therefore we would request you to take 2 minutes off and follow the link below to vote for projects!!

The Social Venture Fund India aims to encourage & enable Social Entrepreneurs by providing seed, project & technology capital to innovate, create social value & Advance Sustainability in the region. A 10 would be the ideal score here :)

Follow this link - http://www.globalgiving.com/cb/gpf/pr/900/proj893a.html

(If you scroll to the bottom of the page you will find an ORANGE button - "Rate It" - click on it and rate the project)

Spread the word and let more people vote for this bold new approach to social development and philanthropy!

The Footprint has launched a 'one-of-its-kind' Social Venture Fund in India that will provide seed, project or technology capital to Social Entrepreneurs.

This initiative is one of the first and only Social Venture Funds in India that will invest in 'for-profit' and 'not-for-profit' social entrepreneurs.

You can invest in this fund!!

www.thefootprintonline.com/SocialVentureFund.htm

Bangalore, the IT Capital of India, saw the eco-friendly drive taken one step further when ‘Green Santas’ were seen walking along the busiest shopping districts in the city.

Click for more

The Ashoka Foundation Bangalore Chapter and The Infosys Foundation recently launched the book, ‘How To Change the World – Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas’ by David Bornstein. N R Narayan Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys – who also writes the foreword, released the book.

The author writes about social entrepreneurs from across the globe that act as examples of the power of the social entrepreneur and his role in development.

Kiran Menon, Founder of The Footprint is participating in the effort as a member of the Practitioners Network. He was nterviewed for views on improving the effectiveness and comparability of the reports produced using GRI guidelines. 

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.  www.globalreporting.org

Honda was presented with the "2004 Greenest Automaker" award by the Union of Concerned Scientists - propelling it to the top of the auto industry.  GM , that not too long ago could boast of the greenest cars, fell to the bottom of the heap!

Source - www.greenbiz.com

ITC, one of the largest conglomerates in India, has decided to go the Triple Bottom Line way.

All of ITC Ltds. individual divisions are expected to move to the Triple Bottom Line Reporting this fiscal.

Click Here for the Economic Times article

It has been 20 years since the World's worst industrial accident hit the modest town of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, India.

The killer gas leak struck the town in the night and has caused the death of more than 1000 residents of the town since. Besides the increasing death toll, it has also been the reason for lot of birth defects and illnesses the present generation faces.

The last week witnessed the 20th Anniversary of the disaster and people in the city are still suffering. Union Carbide, the company responsible for the disaster, has been accused of still not making an effort to decontaminate the ground water.

Warren Anderson - the CEO of Union Carbide, at the time of the disaster - still faces legal charges in India and New York. However, no progress has been made!

What will become? What will the Government do? How much longer do the innocent residents of Bhopal have to suffer?

Still un-answered questions loom large...

The Corporate Social Responsibility ‘movement or integration’ has gathered momentum in similar fashion. ‘The Tombstone Philosophy’, as defined in this piece, is an attitude shared by most companies and organizations across the world. CSR was an alien concept to the world before certain companies were pulled up for their irresponsible and unethical practices. Today, CSR is fast gaining space in journals, magazines and research centers across the world.