Practitioner Updates

The report defines the Brands Taking Stands movement succinctly: “A growing roster of Blue Chip companies are using their powerful voices to urge continued U.S. support of the Paris Climate Agreement, to strengthen gun control laws, to fight immigration laws that would negatively impact Dreamers, to champion diversity and inclusion, and to protect LGBTQ rights, among other hot-button and often political issues.”

What business strategists, and those of us who report on their projections, are on the lookout for is a trend that becomes much more than a cultural snapshot. We’re talking about a defining idea of the zeitgeist that carries large, long-lasting consequences for society as well as for business—in a phrase, a movement--not a moment.

A longtime marketing and content partner of The Conference Board, 3BL Media has its finger on the pulse of the communications practices of companies with active corporate responsibility programs.

In this week's Brands Taking Stands newsletter, John Howell takes us onto the "unconscious bias bus" with CEO Action on Diversity & Inclusion; Cone tells us that Americans want businesses to have purpose; Green Money Journal finds faith taking a stand on finance; and a Christmas commercial with an adorable orangutan is deemed "too political".

We may be heading into the cold, dark days of winter, but my inbox has been glowing red-hot with a blast of news about sustainable finance. Updates are coming from every area of the category, from giant global entities to funds offering niche investment products, and services aimed at millennials and women.

This week's Brands Taking Stands newsletter looks at employee activism atGoogle; FedEx ends NRA partnership; UK business leaders on Brexit; and Land O' Lakes and @Purina end support of Iowa rep Steve King.

Digital Version of CR Magazine’s 3BL Forum: Brands Taking Stands Edition Now Available Online!

SCS Global Services and SmartCert are hosting a Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) training event in early December in Montreal. The training is for potential auditors, as well as stakeholders, certificate holders, or prospective certificate holders looking to strengthen their knowledge about FSC Forest Management, FSC Chain of Custody, and the principles of auditing from ISO 19011.

3BL Media, the world’s leading communications partner for purpose-driven organizations, has appointed Robbie Lock as executive director of the 3BL Association. Formerly the Corporate Responsibility (CR) Association, the 3BL Association builds peer-to-peer collaboration to support and elevate corporate responsibility and sustainability leadership, through professional development and sharing best practices.

For the over 300 CR professionals, CEOs, sustainability executives, and journalists who gathered at the MGM National Harbor, just outside Washington D.C., the 3BL Forum was a fast-paced, idea-packed two days of panels, breakout sessions, issue tables, one-on-one interviews, and networking.