The North Atlantic fin whale is the largest mammal in the world after the blue whale and considered to be verging on extinction. Environmental campaigners recently revealed that the meat from such endangered whales caught off Iceland by the company, Hvalur hf – “Whale Ltd” – was being sold in Japan as upmarket dog treats. Michinoku Farm, a company based in Tokyo, was producing chews made from North Atlantic fin whales, marketing them as “low calorie, low fat, high protein” and suitable for dogs that are allergic to other meats.

Clare Perry, a senior...

Sustainability reporting is harder than it looks. Companies new to reporting often pick up the reports of competitors, suppliers, or customers and think, “Well, that’s not rocket science. We already have a corporate brochure and a website. We’ll just add some ‘sustainability facts’ to that stuff and we’re good to go.”

Then they produce a report that looks like a corporate brochure mashed up with a website and a data dump, and they wonder why no one is impressed....

“Life is Cheap.”

April 25, 2013. London, United Kingdom. Yet another horrific incident has occurred in Bangladesh. This time a factory collapse has killed 161 people and injured hundreds more. The building housed a number of garment factories that have become sadly typical of industry in Bangladesh. Sadly typical because the workers are extremely low paid and often work in extremely poor and unsafe conditions. So why haven’t the previous disasters, like the Tazreen factory fire last November that killed 112 people and injured a further 200, had...

I recently found out that I am responsible for 52 slaves. With a son named Lincoln, that seems like something I should fix, given the other Lincoln's involvement in slavery.

You can take a test, and based on what you say (lifestyle, consumption patterns, buying choices) it well tell you your slavery footprint; the average number of slaves that support your lifestyle. It turns out that if I make average buying choices then there...

Things aren't really back to normal yet here in Boston.  My office was open today, but the streets on two sides of the building are closed.  I went to a new café for lunch because all my favorites are still shut.  My friends who live right at the site of the second bomb - whose apartment a bunch of us were in at the time of Monday's events - are still staying with friends.  The streets around my office, a block from Copley Square, are crowded by oddly quiet....

A recent report by McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, argues that a thorough stakeholder engagement process is vital to the success of a company. Today corporations are facing a diverse array of stakeholders - from government to consumers - that expect industry to help solve major economic, environmental and social problems. Unfortunately, traditional CSR programs are failing to deliver and pressure from...

With all the talk of restraint to ensure viability of our planet/lifestyles, dour economic forecasts (not just for Greece, Cyprus and a few others in the EU - how's your credit rating UK?) and general feeling that life just won't be as much fun anymore, I think it's time for a Sustainability Party!

Of course I'm not talking about throwing a party of...

Interview with the Oxfam policy advisor leading the charity’s latest campaign to drive up sustainability standards among the world’s top food and drinks companies.

Last month Oxfam released a set of scorecards ranking the ethical practices of the “Big Ten” food and drinks companies. The firms, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Kellogg’s, between them make more than $1bn a day and have an...

By Patrick Davis

Recently, my buddy Brian Weinberg and I had the chance to interview Matt Mahan, CEO of Causes as a part of our on-going GAMECHANGERS series (see full interview below). Causes is arguably the largest online platform for social change in the world. As I’m writing this, Causes boasts 153 million members hailing from 142 countries, who have taken over 1 billion actions collectively. These actions include starting...

World Water Day this year highlights the role of cooperation in managing the many competing needs for the resource, a topic near and dear to Future 500's heart. Demand for water is surging as global population booms and developing economies continue their steady hum. Meanwhile, climate...

Adapted from my original post on the OikocreditUSA CHiRP Force Blog.

The Microcredit Summit Campaign (MSC) recently released its 2013 report: Vulnerability: The State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report. This report is the latest...

By John Bath

Women and men gathered at thousands of events in more than 200 countries to spend part of their Valentine’s Day joining a global phenomenon known as One Billion Rising to end violence against women.

Coinciding with the 15th anniversary of V-Day, an activist movement to end all forms of violence against women and girls, One Billion Rising is a worldwide day of protest...

By Nancy Meyer

When it comes to mHealth, in many ways developing countries are ahead of the U.S., as innovative text-messaging programs bring life-saving information and supplies to remote areas and achieve remarkable results.

Take, for example, the ways SMS programs in Malawi, Zambia, and other parts of Africa are being used today:

• improving health care services at the community level e.g. ChildCount
...