2007
  No.2
ABOUT US

The Edmund Rice Business Ethics Initiative, launched in 1991, exists to promote a conversation between business and the community on values and ethics: promoting life humanly in our businesses, our communities, our planet. It aims to create a space where these issues can be discussed and researched in mutually supportive ways. It seems to promote better communication for the sake of better outcomes for us all.

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Shareholder activism
Institutional shareholders have begun to ask questions at Annual General Meetings (AGM). They are concerned about executive remuneration. Zinifex, TabCorp, Tattersalls, and even Telstra have all experienced shareholders mounting significant protest votes which, although not binding, have borne results in some cases.

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Sexualising children?
“David Jones” (DJs) has begun legal proceedings under the Trade Practices Act against The Australia Institute (TAI) and its Director, Clive Hamilton, charging them with “misleading and deceptive conduct”.

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Moral mazes in philanthropy

The Gates Foundation has assets of US$65.95billion, Since its 2005 inception, the Foundation has made over US$13billion in grants around the world. The Foundation funds vaccination programs in the Niger Delta to combat polio and measles. The LA Times reports that people in the Delta also suffer from other diseases such as bronchitis, asthma and blurred vision which local medical practitioner, Dr. Elekwachi Okey attributes to flares from nearby oil refineries.

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Greenhouse gas accounting and verification standards

On the 1st of March 2006 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the ISO 14064 range of standards for greenhouse gas accounting and verification. The purpose of the standards are to provide government and industry with an integrated set of tools aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as setting the basis for emissions trading.
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  Stephen Mayne
» Free weekly lectures: Food For Thought Ethics Series
··Shareholder activism
··Sexualising children?
··Moral mazes in philanthropy
··Greenhouse gas accounting and verification standards
This newsletter is a publication of the Edmund Rice Centre and the Trustees of the Christian Brothers. While all reasonable attempts have been taken to ensure that the information in this newsletter is correct and that opinions and points of view are in accordance with the purpose of the Business Ethics Initiative, the Edmund Rice Centre and the Trustees of the Christian Brothers do not guarantee its accuracy nor should anything contained in the newsletter be treated as professional advice. The Edmund Rice Centre and the Trustees of the Christian Brothers do not necessarily endorse or recommend any opinions, individuals or organisations which are linked to, or mentioned in, this newsletter.