Friday 27 July 2007

 

Americans for Chavez praises Gildan Activewear

Americans for Chavez is giving Gildan Activewear some good press:

"The story of Canada-based Gildan Activewear - http://www.gildan.com - is an example of a company that was convinced, through a very comprehensive global campaign, to adopt worker friendly policies in its Latin American production facilities and deserves recognition for doing so."

See Gildan Activewear - A successful worker's campaign for details.
 

Toronto School of Creativity & Inquiry Call for Collaboration

A message from the Toronto School of Creativity & Inquiry:

"A Potential Toronto is underway: pods are forming, research isunfolding, experiments are happening. For more information on APotential Toronto.

Join us at our next Open Assembly to learn more and become involved.

Tuesday, 31 July - 6:30 to 8:30
Alterna Room (large boardroom on 4th floor)
Centre for Social Innovation
215 Spadina Ave, Suite 120

We will be looking at examples of counter-cartography that have beenpoints of inspiration. Bring yours to share over a potluck dinner.

Newcomers are always welcome!

Saturday 14 July 2007

 

Coca-Cola Suffers Two Big Setbacks in SRI Community

From a recent Campaign to Stop Killer Coke email notice...


Coca-Cola Suffers Two Big Setbacks in SRI Community - The Coca-Cola Company & Coca-Cola Enterprises Deemed Not Socially Responsible:

The Coca-Cola Company and its largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises
(CCE), do not meet the criteria as socially responsible companies,
according to KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. of Boston, Mass., an
independent investment research firm and world leader in defining
corporate responsibility standards.

This means that TIAA-CREF's (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association -
College Retirement Equities Fund) $9 billion CREF Social Choice Account,
the world's largest socially screened fund for individual investors, will
ban any investments in both The Coca-Cola Co. and Coca-Cola Enterprises.
Last July, The Coca-Cola Company was removed from the fund, which divested
1.25 million shares when the company was dropped from KLD's Broad Market
Social Index (BMSI). The BMSI consists of all companies within the Russell
3000 Index that pass KLD's screening criteria, including environmental,
human rights and product marketing concerns.

High-level representatives of The Coca-Cola Co. lobbied hard to be
reinstated into the BMSI this year, but instead suffered another major
setback in the SRI community, when CCE, along with The Coca-Cola Co.,
failed to make the BMSI. The CREF Social Choice Account will now have to
divest the CCE stock it holds just as it did last year with The Coca-Cola
Company stock.


For further information and updates, just vist their site.

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Friday 13 July 2007

 

MEC Opening LEED-Certified ‘Green’ Store Burlington

Mountain Equipment Co-op is opening its newest store in Burlington (between Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario) in 2008.The store will be the co-op’s greenest building to date and will meet at least the gold standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-building rating system.

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TorontoTheBetter Businesses among Canada's Best Corporate Citizens.

Corporate Knights has released its list of the 50 best corporate citizens in Canada. Coming in third place was VancCity Credit Union, parent company of Citizens Bank of Canada, and Mountain Equipment Co-op ranked 13th.

Companies were evaluated on environmental, social and governance indicators. Founded in 2002, Corporate Knights Inc is an independent Canadian-based media company that publishes the world’s largest circulation magazine with an explicit focus on corporate responsibility.

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Ontario Co-operative News, July 2007

News and information for - and about - ONTARIO'S CO-OPERATIVE AND CREDIT UNION SECTORS, stakeholders and champions...
from the Ontario Co-operative Association

* Order your co-op week materials. Co-op Week is celebrated October 14-20, with Credit Union Day on October 18th. The deadline to order your co-op materials from CCA is Tuesday July 31, 2007. Materials this year include leaflets, posters and a cotton tote bag. According to CCA, Co-op Week appears to be a uniquely Canadian phenomenon. In the US, October is Co-op Month, and the International Co-operative Alliance and United Nations have an International Day of Co-operatives on the first Saturday in July. Co-op Week celebrations began in Canada in 1981 in the Maritimes and Saskatchewan. In 1982, the celebration went national with the encouragement of the Co-operative Union of Canada, a predecessor of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA). For more on co-op week, or to order materials, visit www.coopscanada.coop/aboutcoop/coopweek/2007coopweek/

* Attention: Credit Unions make plans now for your Directors' Forum. The 23rd annual Credit Union Directors' Forum will be held November 2 and 3, 2007 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The conference starts with a Friday evening keynote session on the effects of climate change on our business, followed by a networking reception. Saturday workshops include strategic growth, managing member relations through technology, and dealing with the changing landscape. The day ends with a session dedicated to the new Central 1. All sessions are interactive and include ample time for discussion and questions. As in past years, CUSOURCE Credit Union Knowledge Network will offer Credit Union Director Achievement (CUDA) courses on November 1 and 2. Directors from credit unions across Canada and internationally are invited to participate. Additional details and the registration form will be released shortly. Visit www.ontario.coop/Directors for draft agenda and session outlines.

* Co-operative Young Leaders Program. CYL camp is up and running for another season. Some updates...

The Co-operative Young Leaders program and the Ontario Co-operative Association wish to offer our condolences to the family, friends and co-workers of Ruth Blackburn, who passed away July 1, 2007. Ruth was COO of Superior Credit Union, and was a strong supporter of the CYL program. Ruth spent many summer weeks nurturing and mentoring young leaders - positively impacting many young lives and hearts. Ruth's spirit (and incredible aim with a water pistol) will be missed by CYL facilitators and participants alike. She will be greatly missed.

* Sitaram re-elected CCA board president. The Board of Directors of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) re-elected Dave Sitaram as president during its Annual General Meeting, held late last month. Vice president Claude Gauthier of GROWMARK, Inc. was also re-elected, as were executive members Norma Tomiczek of Co-op Atlantic, and Jill Kelly of Credit Union Central of British Columbia. Sitaram also serves as a Board member of Credit Union Central of Ontario, and will continue as a Board member of Central 1.

* Second E85 fuelling location operational. E85, the environmentally friendliest gasoline possible, became available to motorists in the Chatham area June 26th. E85 is a premium-quality gasoline, which contains up to 85% ethanol and UPI’s high quality unleaded gasoline. The resulting blend offers the highest octane available in Ontario. The environmental footprint left from E85 is the least significant possible for any gasoline product. E85 benefits the environment by lowering vehicle carbon monoxide emissions, generating less carbon dioxide discharge, and releasing fewer volatile organic compounds and particulate matter than conventional gasolines. This is the second E85 fuelling location that UPI has opened in Ontario. The first location, Guelph, was opened in January, 2007. www.upi.on.ca

* Credit Unions Give ATM Fees to Hamilton Health Care Facilities. Healthcare and Municipal Employees’ Credit Union and McMaster Savings and Credit Union announced a five-year agreement with Hamilton Health Sciences, St. Peter’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton that will see all ATM surcharges from machines at those locations returned to the hospitals. Under the agreement, the two credit unions will give the $1.50 surcharge charged to non-members for ATM withdrawals to the participating hospitals. More than $500,000 was returned to the hospitals under a previous five-year agreement.

* Job Posting: The Ontario Natural Food Co-op (ONFC) seeks a full-time Financial Manager. Visit www.onfc.ca to learn more.

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Thursday 12 July 2007

 

YWCrew: Volunteer Youth Opportunity with Free Bikes and Film Workshops

This was forwarded from the City of Toronto to all Bike Week 2007 organizers and participants (the deadline was July 11th, but we only received it today, so just in case...):


I wanted to inform you of a unique opportunity for youth this summer...to join the YWCrew, a
committee of Toronto's youth experts on active transportation and livable
streets in the City.

We'll be profiling various communities in Toronto for pedestrian safety,
accessibility to youth spaces and walkable/liveable streets. This process
will include weekly capacity building workshops, cycling along Toronto's
bike paths, lessons in bike maintenance and leadership training. In
addition, all YW Crew members will receive a free bike to thank them for
their efforts and to get them around Toronto during our cycling workshops!

And finally: In collaboration with the International Environmental Film
Festival, the YW Crew will participate in a FREE, two week film workshop
from August 13-24th where they will create, edit and showcase their own
documentary or fiction film.

The YW Crew will have their first meeting on Friday July 13th from 6-8pm at
Metro Hall in downtown Toronto. The YW Crew will then continue to have 3
hour meetings once a week throughout July and August (meeting dates/times
will be decided at our intitial gathering on July 13th).

The YWCrew is a group being organized as part of the YWalk Global Youth
Forum in Toronto on October 3rd taking place during the International Walk21
Conference: Putting Pedestrians First.

Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ywalk.ca/"www.ywalk.ca or email HYPERLINK
"mailto:getactive@ywalk.ca"getactive@ywalk.ca for more information.

Saturday 7 July 2007

 

Web Networks' 20th Anniversary Present

** A 20th Anniversary Birthday Present **

It's amazing to think of the foresight that the founders of web.net
had when in the eighties they decided to create an innovative social
enterprise to promote the use of electronic communication in support
of social change.

In recognition of our 20th anniversary, we have decided to get back
to our original mission of using technology to enable expression and
work for justice at a grassroots level. Please help us in building
the new web.net: a place for your community and its' issues, your
personal passions, your interests—a reflection of your life’s work.

We are offering FREE websites (or “blogs”) to all our clients and
their networks, with easy–to-use tools that allow you to put online
your ideas, photos, YouTube videos, rants, raves, faves, and recipes
for justice, neighbourhood improvement, and strawberry mousse. :-)
With a sustainable, shared advertising revenue model, we believe your
community of interest or you personally can also be fairly
compensated for your time spent in this endeavour.

Here’s how it works: It all starts with a topic that matters to you,
about which you are passionate. You (you can involve others) take
responsibility for adding relevant writing, pictures, links, songs,
or videos to your website, on a regular basis. Or, you can simply
record and share with the world your own personal online diary of
activities, thoughts, and images—kind of like your own scrapbook. We
also have a system that makes it simple to quickly add headlines from
other sites, as well as categorize your collections of “blog
postings”. Don’t like to write? You can upload sound files of
speeches, raps, talks, and interviews (“podcasting”), or just post
images and multimedia files.

The next step is to name your website with one word or phrase (the
name of the site will be in the form MYSITE.web.net, or ME.web.ca
(depending on whether your topic is international or Canadian in
scope). So if you were interested in farming, the site would be
“farming.web.ca”, or if you were interested in Buddhism the site
would be buddhism.web.net, or if you just wanted your own site, you
could call it michael.web.net)

We will set your site up immediately upon receiving and approving
your request, give you instructions on using your site, and support
you by e-mail and telephone when you require. That’s it! Then it’s up
to you to add to your site on a regular basis. We will display
advertisements on your site, and based on the number of visitors and
ads clicked on your site, will share the revenue received with you.


Please contact me personally at oliver@web.net, or call me if you’d like to
discuss your idea at 416.596.0212 x.18 in the GTA (1.800.932.7003 x.18).

Sincerely,

Oliver Zielke, Executive Director

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Friday 6 July 2007

 

Job Posting: EthicsAssurance Administrator

EthicScan Canada is moving into gear with its new start-up, EthicsAssurance, to be formally launched on Monday, 15 October 2007. This includes hiring an administrtor, please see the job posting below for details:


EthicScan Canada is searching for a Product Administrator for a new knowledge based ethics assurance product to be launched in October 2007. For information about this new web-based knowledge-based instrument, see www.ethicsassurance.org.

The position, which initially is part-time, will appeal to someone with administrative talents, a keen interest in corporate responsibility, an aptitude for entrepreneurial self management, skills at inter-personal communications, an appreciation of organizational performance metrics, and a talent for or familiarity with web-site applications and educational software. Responsibilities, remuneration and working conditions are described below:

Job Description:

1. Client Liaison

1.1. Set up and operate handling of phone calls, recorded messages and e-mails from the public, prospective clients and the media: initially EthicScan phone extension number and/or in a few months a 1-800 number

1.2. Set up a records system to support sending out, creating a record for, and tracking paperwork for license sales and annual renewals

1.3. With training, take calls from client (company or organization) liaison officer re: glitches or questions—initially go to experts; over time, build up expertise and protocol for frequently asked questions FAQ in order to answer questions yourself

1.4. As a product and sector knowledgeable professional, represent the tool to resellers, industry associations, and others

1.5. Admin support for client services such as sending out literature, pointing people to relevant resources and EA web-site location, setting up appointments, meetings and other contacts with service providers (web site hosting, communications and marketing)

2. Education

2.1 Full education officer support for learning circles; including, arrange meetings and materials, arrange food and travel schedules, invitations, prepare PPT presentation materials, and other related needs: typically out of office appointments

2.2 Support country reps (UK: Eric, Nigel, and US: Bart, Lynne) in negotiations to set up education programs, research partnerships, and education and research initiatives

2.3 Prepare draft materials for existing and future research studies and co-funded developments

2.4. Maintain Marketing Wisdom notes

2.5. Provide support services for commission sales staff, including training, marketing and communications suggestions, and referral of prospects and client messages

3. Record Keeping

3.1 Record of prospects and existing clients (December 2006 lists in three priority sectors) for Canada, US, and UK

3.2 Receive, review and report to CAO and/or David Nitkin on regular reports from commission sales agents (Felix Benzimra)

3.3 After training from accountant, prepare royalty revenue calculations as well as EA employee deductions for self in EthicScan submissions for Revenue Canada

3.4. Prepare regular sales and revenue-related account information, records and inputs for accountant

4. Technical Updates

1. Familiarize self with EA product and contents, as well as corporate ethics, responsible governance, sustainability and corporate responsibility fields

2. Meet EA teams: (a) content experts (Nigel Blumenthal, Dave Gaylor, Gay Miller, Jane Garthson and David Nitkin); (b) education partnerships (Cambridge MIT, Washington IBSI, Toronto EC); (c) marketing

3.. Negotiate with content experts and data stream sources to keep web-site refreshed

4. Technical data programming and data entry skills in order to enter updates directly on the EA web-site

Working Conditions

1. Initially a 6 month commitment (until December 31, 2007) to a start-up division of a nineteen year old successful, fee for service business. This virtual enterprise, which is wholly owned by EthicScan Canada Limited, will have all content experts, sales staff, representatives and other staff working from their own home offices with client list, ethicscan web-site access

2. Bi-annual review of opening up a conventional office in rented premises

3. Regular annual performance appraisal

Remuneration

1. Part time salary commencing August 1: $20 an hour for 24 hours (3 days) a week, to rise to $25 an hour January 1, 2008, and a likely increase in hours as volume of work increases.

2. After two years, possibility of sales-related bonus system and/or revenue sharing.

3. After five years, possibility of junior partnership

Application

Send a resume together with three references by e-mail or surface mail, on or before 23 July 2007. Qualified applicants will be notified of an interview. Questions by phone can be left for Tamara, at 416/783-6776, ext 105.

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Thursday 5 July 2007

 

Clothing Swap at Buddies in Bad Times

TorontoStreetFashion is holding a clothing swap for women this Sunday (July 8th, 2007) at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. The clothing drop-off is from noon to 1 pm (a maximun of 10 gently used and unquestionably chic vintage, designer or bare-basic duds) and the clothing swap frenzy is from 1 pm to 3 pm. Leftover clothing will be donated. RSVP to Sonja@Torontostreetfashion.com for further guidelines.

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Sunday 1 July 2007

 

Registration for RCO Awards extended

This is reposted from John Warren of Alter-Eco; it is short notice, but it also looks very easy to apply...


Hi. Every year the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) present awards to
Business, Municipal, Waste Diversion Projects, Waste Reduction
Projects, Promotion and this year the Arts! The 2007 awards will
recognize businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to
environmental protection by reducing resource requirements as well as
reducing energy and water consumption. This award recognizes artists who effectively incorporate the 3R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) into their work on a consistent basis or as a single 'piece' or 'body of work'.

If you are interested in this opportunity, or know someone who is,
see below.

I apologize for the short notice but I hope that you can take
advantage of it.

All the best,
John Warren
http://alter-eco.net/


RECYCLING COUNCIL OF ONTARIO

2007 Ontario Waste Minimization Awards; Thursday, October 18, 2007

EXTENSION OF DEADLINE

If you have not yet filed your RCO Registration form confirming your
intention to participate in the 2007 Ontario Waste Minimization
Awards, there is still plenty of time.

The deadline has been extended to
Tuesday, July 3, 2007!

Filing is easy - simply use the electronic
registration form located on the RCO website:
http://www.rco.on.ca/awardsregistrationform.php

No other paperwork is required at this time. All the information
concerning application deadlines, the nominations package, categories
and criteria is available on our website:

http://www.rco.on.ca/ontariowasteminimizationawards.htm

The RCO is calling on all organizations, businesses and the arts
community to get involved and nominate one or more Ontario waste
champions for this year's gala October event.

For further information, please contact the Events Manager at 416 657.2797 Ext 4.

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