Watching the Foxconn pays its low-level workers in Shenzhen the legal minimum wage at 900 yuan/month. Ma Liquan, a former employee informed China Central Television (CCTV, 11 May 2010): “After deducting mandatory social securities, we earn only some 800 yuan a month. No one seems to force us….and yet we’ve no choice but to do overtime work.” Set against the Harvard Business Review Case stud…
Following last week's post where I listed China's Social entrepreneurs and enterprises, I thought I would also update the list of people and organizations who are focused on sustainability and the environment in China. As before, this is certainly not a complete list of those who exist on twitter, so if you see anyone missing, please post in the comments section. Environmentalists and Sustainabi…
From Brandi Carlile “Have you ever”: have you ever wandered lonely through the wood? and everything it feels just as it should you’re part of the life there, part of something good if you’ve ever wandered lonely through the woods How many urban dwellers would say no, that they have never wandered through the woods, and what does that mean for increasing awareness of sustainability? T…
The other day while working with some colleagues on a paper, we began discussing the various approaches to sustainability and responsible leadership that we are seeing within the business school community. A discussion that has been taking place for several years, but what was interesting about this review was to see the progress that has been made, and how we are seeing others look to advance…
We cannot neglect the important role of catalysts. In the forward of the Jeffrey Hollinger's book The Responsibility Revolution, Peter Senge writes that business models will move away from CSR/ sustainability exercises (and towards true sustainability) when one of two things happen: "I can only see two things that will shift the state of affairs: a different vision of the future that is more insp…
Following last week's piece on moving from band-aids to solutions, I thought I would share the above as another example of where I see flawed thinking on sustainability in the economy. Great package. Statistics that back up his points. Key messages hit. But for anyone who has been involved in sustainability, this message is lacking depth. Particularly as his statistics and key messages ar…
If the goal is to solve (or avert) the problems of business as usual, then it is going to take more than band-aids to do it. That is a simple lesson that I teach my students every semester, and one that requires them to go through a series of exercises to identify the root factors causing the problems that emit the byproiducts we are seeing, who the stakeholders are of the key factors, and then…
While there are those who feel that China's economy has no limits, I would like to direct your attention to yet another example of where China's economy is outstripping the basic laws of environmental carrying capacity. Poyang lake, located in North Jiangxi province is perhaps one of the largest lakes that you have never heard of, and it is likely that it will be lost. At only 5% of its…
Over the last 2-3 years, one of the more interesting developments in China's philanthropic landscape has been the explosion of foundations that have come onto the scene. Interesting because as the number of foundations, and the number of celebrities/ CEOs opening their own foundation, grew there was a general belief that this would improve the mechanisms for giving, transparency, and impact. Ho…
If the first step towards recovery is admitting that you have a problem, then readers will agree that Apple taking the time to meet with several of China's most prominent Green NGOs was a first step for Apple. Particularly given the fact that Apple was largely unwilling to address the numerous labor and environmental failures taking place over the course of years. And, for others, the fact that…
Last month while being interviewed for the New York Times piece China's City of the Future Rises on a Wasteland, I was asked about the importance of planning China's eco-cities... What should be the goal of an eco-city and why are they important to China? To me, this was perhaps one of the more important and interesting questions I have been asked on the topic, a topic I have been interviewe…
There was a time where China could legitimately stand up and say that they were "cleaner" than everyone else, and use a per capita statistic to back that information up. Over the years though, it has grown tougher because the audience (1) began adjusting for the fact that China had hundreds of millions of farmers who had 0 footprints, and thus China was able to game the numbers a bit and (2) milli…
When thinking of the issues we face environmentally, and the recent links to climate change, we often speak about issues on a global level without considering the local issues/ impact of those discussions. A condition I think about often as the discussions around climate change and environmental protection continue to be hobbled by issues of ecology vs. economy. On a recent trip through the Ya…
In today's MSNBC article Beijing starts locking poor villages at night, it is being reported that Beijing's migrant communities will effectively be locked down in an effort to prevent crime. According to the article, residents entering and exiting areas will be asked to show their documents to law enforcement (assumed to be Hukou and/or temporary residence permits) at night in the 16 villages. Exp…
This is an old post that I originally had at another site, but while catching up on some reading, I was reminded by the power of the interviews we did last summer, the stories we began to tell, and the sense of respect I have for China's migrant workers Earlier in the year while a few of my interns were inbetween assignments, I tasked them to get out of the office and do some street int…
