companies

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

Why Aren’t More Companies Reducing Methane, It’s Crucial For Protecting Climate And Health, And It Can Pay For Itself

Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is a larger climate problem than the world anticipates, and cutting its emissions will be crucial to slow global warming, a new United Nations report warns. The greenhouse gas is many times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the planet, and its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing faster than at any time since record keeping began in the 1980s. Methane is much more than a climate problem, though, and this is where the report gets interesting. As methane emissions are reduced, the world reaps several benefits quickly, for health as well as the climate. In most cases, the benefits of taking action far outweigh the cost – in fact many of them make money. The report’s lead author Drew Shindell, a climate scientist and physicist,...

To Fight Climate Change, More Companies Pledge ‘Net-Zero’ Emissions – But What Does That Really Mean?

21Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

To Fight Climate Change, More Companies Pledge ‘Net-Zero’ Emissions – But What Does That Really Mean?

Amrou Awaysheh, Indiana University You’ll probably hear the term “net-zero emissions” a lot over the coming weeks as government leaders and CEOs, under pressure, talk about how they’ll reduce their countries’ or businesses’ impact on climate change. Amazon, for example, just announced that more than 200 companies have now joined its Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. But what does net-zero emissions actually mean? “Zero emissions” – without the “net” caveat – means emitting no greenhouse gases. “Net-zero emissions” has more wiggle room. It’s like balancing a checkbook. The country or company cuts most of its emissions through efficiency and clean energy, then offsets the rest by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or eliminating emissions elsewhere....

Unlike Companies Traded On Wall Street – Trump Organization Indictment Hints At Downsides Of Having No Independent Oversight

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Unlike Companies Traded On Wall Street – Trump Organization Indictment Hints At Downsides Of Having No Independent Oversight

Bert Spector, Northeastern University A Manhattan grand jury indicted the Trump Organization and one of its top executives, Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, reportedly over a failure to pay taxes, according to multiple reports. The indictment is expected to be unsealed on July 1, 2021. I’m a scholar in corporate leadership and governance. While I can’t comment on the specifics of the case, I do know that private companies like the Trump Organization lack the safeguards of public corporations – like outside ownership and independent oversight. Moreover, impulsive decision-making by an individual or small, isolated group of followers, without those safeguards, can and often will lead to disastrous results. That appears to be what the ongoing criminal investigations into the Tru...

Echoing A History Of Calls For Companies To Chip In When Times Are Tough, Biden Wants Corporations To Pay For His $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plans

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Echoing A History Of Calls For Companies To Chip In When Times Are Tough, Biden Wants Corporations To Pay For His $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plans

President Joe Biden just proposed a roughly US$2 trillion infrastructure plan, which he ambitiously compared to the interstate highway system and the space race. He aims to pay for it solely by taxing companies more, including the first increase in the corporate tax rate since the 1960s. Biden said he wants to increase the rate from 21% to 28% – which would still be below the 35% level it was at before the 2017 tax cut – and strengthen the global minimum tax to discourage multinational corporations from using tax havens. Together, he estimates it would raise the necessary funds to finance his plan over 15 years. “No one should be able to complain about” raising the rate to 28%, Biden said in a speech announcing the plan. “It’s still lower than what that rate was between World War II and ...

Under New Trump Policy Companies Accused Of Crimes Get More Digital Privacy Rights Than People

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Under New Trump Policy Companies Accused Of Crimes Get More Digital Privacy Rights Than People

Corporations increasingly receive the same rights as people. Now, it seems, they have privileges even people don’t. Case in point: The Labor Department recently urged regulators to stop issuing press releases about companies that may have violated laws on discrimination, worker safety or minimum wage requirements. The concern is that doing so could cause reputational damage from mere accusations, even if the case is eventually dismissed. In a nutshell, the Labor Department’s action guarantees privacy rights to corporations under investigation. Unfortunately, this reasonable precaution is not afforded regular Americans. And as we know from our work on criminal justice and surveillance, an arrest without a conviction or an allegation of wrongdoing can become a scarlet letter that scares o...

Entrepreneurial Energy Companies Can Innovate With The Help Of Regulators Clearing The Way

16Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Entrepreneurial Energy Companies Can Innovate With The Help Of Regulators Clearing The Way

How regulatory policies are implemented can make a huge difference for entrepreneurs in clean technology. In a study, we found that giving state-level regulators more discretion in approving hydropower facilities in the United States led to faster adoption of this clean energy source. Distributed power generation, such as this fuel cell installation, requires new ventures to work with energy regulators. Business Wire, CC BY We reviewed regulatory approvals of entrepreneurial hydroelectric power facilities from 1978 to 2014 and found that, on average, when regulators had a relatively high level of discretion, entrepreneurs received a license 22.5% sooner. We calculated hydropower ventures that use innovative run-of-the-river, pumped storage and marine technologies can generate up to US$7,7...

Here’s How Companies Can Prevent Women From Losing Decades Of Workplace Progress Due To COVID-19

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, Journalism

Here’s How Companies Can Prevent Women From Losing Decades Of Workplace Progress Due To COVID-19

American women have made strides in the workplace over the past half-century in terms of earnings, employment and careers – in no small part thanks to the efforts of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The COVID-19 pandemic risks undoing many of these gains in a matter of months. Without concrete action, I believe a generation of women may never fully recover. One group of women who are at particular risk are those in professional fields. While fortunate enough to have quality jobs, many are being forced by the increased demands of child care to reduce working hours – or to stop working altogether. Mothers have always handled more of a household’s child care than fathers have, but it has become further lopsided since lockdowns began earlier this year. As a result, more than one in fou...

Why companies were so quick to endorse Black Lives Matter

21Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Why companies were so quick to endorse Black Lives Matter

It’s not every day that you see companies switch gears on a dime. Not too long ago, few companies paid much attention to Black Lives Matter. Today, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, it seems as if most major companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook have endorsed the movement – or at a minimum pledged millions of dollars to fight racism and vowed to do more to end discrimination in their workplaces. CC BY-ND So how did companies so swiftly decide to align with Black Lives Matter? As with anything, there usually are lots of reasons. But, as a scholar who studies the psychology of consumer behavior and how companies respond to it, I believe that one stands out: young people. A post-Floyd poll found that nearly 90% of members of Generation Z – those born from 1997 to 2005 – b...

Companies are struggling to engage with today’s activists – a new survey explores why

5Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Companies are struggling to engage with today’s activists – a new survey explores why

Dozens of companies with no track record of activism have made statements in recent weeks in support of Black Lives Matter following what I believe is unprecedented pressure from racial justice protesters. It may have come as a surprise to some – given just a couple months ago corporate America showed little interest in the Black Lives Matter movement – but to me and my colleagues at the USC Center for Public Relations, it made sense. Earlier this year, we conducted a global survey on what we dubbed the “new activism.” At the time, we were aware that activism was a growing force in American society but couldn’t have predicted the topic would become so relevant so soon. Only a few months later, the brutal killing of George Floyd in late May sparked an eruption of activism on the streets o...

Why companies as diverse as eBay, IKEA and Mars are increasingly supporting US clean energy policies

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Why companies as diverse as eBay, IKEA and Mars are increasingly supporting US clean energy policies

The big idea My new analysis of companies that seek to buy renewable electricity finds that business is becoming a powerful new ally in the U.S. political battle to stop climate change. Driven by pressure from environmental groups and by the increasingly competitive prices of wind and solar, many companies have pledged to power their operations with clean energy. But the legal and technical complexity of U.S. electricity markets has stalled corporate progress on their clean power goals. This has prompted companies as diverse as eBay, Mars, IKEA and Walmart to push for public policies that expand the generation of renewable energy in the U.S. and make it more accessible through mandates, incentives and other regulations. Why it matters Politically powerful fossil fuel interests have long st...