James Farrar focuses on the business balance between financial performance and social-environmental impact.
James has more than 15 years of experience working on corporate sustainability issues from both the corporate and NGO campaigning perspective.
An Iranian activist currently in detention in Iran has filed suit against Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia and Siemens for human rights abuses. The activist was detained during civil unrest in the aftermath of last year's elections after his mobile phone communications were intercepted allegedly using lawful intercept capability provided to the Iranian government by Nokia Siemens Networks.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt in a ponderous Wall Street Journal inteview shared a vision of life beyond search for business. Call it serendipity.
HP, already reeling from the ethics crisis culminating with the casting out of Mark Hurd last week, faced new problems on Thursday. The US Department of Justice has stepped in to assist German investigators of alleged bribery of Russian government officials by HP according to the Wall Street Journal.
Poor old Naomi Campbell looked like she was chewing wasps during her reluctant testimony at the war crimes tribunal for Charles Taylor at the Hague last week. Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia, is up on some very serious charges of murder and mayhem as he ran amok in West Africa destabilizing not only his own country but Sierra Leone also.
Sustainability business guru Marc Gunther reckons Mark Hurd got off easy in being allowed to resign and secure a generous severance package. Referring to Hurd's dealings with actress Jodie Fisher:In plain English, this means that he sent money to her that belongs to HP shareholders for work that she did not do.
Dramatic news from Sam Diaz to close the week with the announcement that HP CEO Mark Hurd resigns in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. This from HP's press release:Hurd’s decision was made following an investigation by outside legal counsel and the General Counsel’s Office, overseen by the Board, of the facts and circumstances surrounding a claim of sexual harassment against Hurd and HP by a former contractor to HP.
Microsoft is lending visionary and heart warming leadership by getting behind a lobby to cheer the UK government's plan to introduce tough new social and environmental corporate disclosure requirements. The new government took many by surprise in reintroducing plans to encourage greater corporate accountability already abandoned once by the previous government as part of its newly issued programme for government manifesto.
Sarbanes Oxley led to a new wave of IT solutions to shore up the information and business intelligence deficit of corporate boards. But almost ten years after the Worldcom-Enron-Tyco shocks the specter of dysfunction still hovers and its become clear that the model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is likely more part of the problem than the solution.
The pre Davos wind up is now well underway. Out of the traps today is the annual Edelman Trust Barometer timed nicely to remind executives on the way to World Economic Forum that, oh yeah, its kind of important for our leaders to be trustworthy.
It's beginning to become clear that Google's push back on China has become a watershed moment in the history of industrial globalization and everyone is struggling for context. It's important to consider the increasing anxiety in the US over the rising economic power & competitiveness of China as we address the core question: should Microsoft, Google & everyone else head for the airport and get out of China now in the interests of human rights?