Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust joins move to disinvest in mining company over Indian projects

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) has sold shares worth £1.9 million in the mining company Vedanta because of its plans to mine bauxite from a mountain in Lanjigarh and the Niyamgiri Hills, in the state of Orissa, which are sacred to the area’s Kondh tribal people. JRCT’s disinvestment follows similar action taken the previous week by the Church of England; other third sector investors, including the Millfield House Foundation, have also sold their shares in the company. Click here to read ...

Abraaj Capital sets up 22-year-long fund for Palestinian orphans

Dubai-based private equity group Abraaj Capital is donating US$10 million to a trust fund to help educate more than 1,200 Palestinian children and youth who lost parents during violence in Gaza in December and January. The fund, launched in May at a ceremony hosted by the King and Queen of Jordan, will be managed by the Palestinian-based Welfare Association. Strikingly, it will have a lifespan of 22 years, allowing it to support young children right through to adulthood. Click here to read ...

Banking on values in a changed world

As initially explosive and profoundly felt as the financial crisis has been, its most fundamental effects could still be to come, if we take the opportunity it presents to reinvent the financial system. We have a unique chance to replace an approach that puts profits before all else with one that maximizes sustainability, and a new coalition of successful sustainable banks is trying to do just that. Click here to read ...

SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS IN ROMANIA - Corporate social …what?!

This would probably be the most frequent answer to a Romanian survey asking ‘How would you define corporate social responsibility (CSR)?’ It doesn’t even have a proper Romanian translation. During a CSR conference last year it was almost funny to see businesspeople asking ‘Why exactly are we here?’

This article focuses on one aspect of CSR: involvement of businesses in community issues.

Giving by Romanian companies Click here to read ...

Italian banking foundations join forces to respond to earthquake in Abruzzo

On 6 April, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Abruzzo region in central Italy, leaving 295 people dead, 1,500 injured and more than 65,000 homeless. L’Aquila, the capital of the region, and 48 surrounding villages – all close to the quake’s epicentre – were severely damaged. Click here to read ...

US corporate giving likely to feel the pinch of recession, survey suggests

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Cadbury agrees deal with Fairtrade Foundation

Sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms will triple in Ghana following an agreement between Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation, and Cadbury chocolate bars sold in the UK and Ireland will carry Fairtrade accreditation by the end of this summer following a recently-concluded agreement between Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation. Cadbury say this will increase sales for existing certified Fairtrade farmers and open up opportunities to new farmers. The move comes one year after the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (CCP) was announced. As part of this programme Cadbury will invest £45m over ten years to help provide a sustainable socio-economic future for cocoa farmers where the industry is under pressure. They will now also help developing farming communities to gain Fairtrade accreditation. Click here to read ...

Applications for Coffey International Award open

Applications for the 2009 Coffey International Award are now being sought. One of the four Business in the Community (BITC) Company of the Year Awards, the Coffey Award identifies and celebrates examples of excellence from businesses that have contributed to one or more of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The closing date for applications is 24 April.

For more information
www.bitc.org.uk/awards_for_excellence/how_to_enter/index.html Click here to read ...

Persuading corporations to ship condoms to Africa

In August 2008, Troy Kennedy, aged 20, asked the question: if large multinationals can distribute products like drinks or cigarettes to every corner of Africa, why are condoms and other HIV preventatives not as widely available? Since then he has become a campaigner on the UK’s Channel 4 multimedia project called Battlefront, which follows nineteen 14-21 year olds as they turn an issue they care deeply about into a fully-fledged campaign. Click here to read ...

MasterCard Foundation supports financial services in Africa

The MasterCard Foundation and Bangladesh-based BRAC announced in November last year a $19.6 million programme to bring financial services to poor people in Uganda. As part of the programme, BRAC will explore the feasibility of becoming a regulated deposit-taking institution in Uganda, a role it has not yet played in Africa. Sixty-two per cent of Uganda’s population does not have access to financial services and the Ugandan government has made expanding financial services to the rural poor one of its top priorities. Click here to read ...