Public-Private Partnerships

What gets a CEO’s attention when thinking about how a company should be socially involved? “The more quantifiable the impact is, the more comfortable CEOs will be,” said David Ratcliffe, retired chairman, president, and CEO of Southern Company. “But sometimes you just need to do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

This week we're down in Atlanta for our annual National Conference - Forecast: Corporate Citizenship and America’s Future. Over the next three days we're bringing together the foremost voices in corporate social responsibility (CSR) for a solutions-focused discussion on how to address the tough challenges facing America today and what we can do together for the future. 

We’re thrilled to bring you an unprecedented opportunity to hear from some of the best minds in corporate citizenship – all at one time, all one on stage. On Wednesday, the final day of our National Conference in Atlanta, BCLC is staging a session called “The Future of CSR: For Good or For Profit?”

Do “good” and “profit” have to be mutually exclusive, you ask? Well, that’s debatable.

California has long been seen as on the forefront of environmental innovation and sustainability. So it’s not surprising that two out of the nine Siemens Sustainable Community Awards finalist are from California. One of those finalists, Santa Monica, is a finalist in the mid-size community category, and has a long history of implementing innovative sustainable practices.

It’s always good to hear about communities that embrace sustainability as the key to enhanced quality of life, economic opportunity, and strengthened infrastructure. And as I’ve learned recently, Chicago -- a finalist for the 2012 Siemens Sustainability Community Awards -- is one such community.

New Jersey is the first U.S. state to have a comprehensive municipal sustainability program that links certification with strong state and private financial incentives and a technical support and training program. The program is called Sustainable Jersey and in 2011, the City of Jersey City – New Jersey’s 2nd-largest city – focused its attention on achieving certification. The city’s green initiatives became organized under one umbrella project called, “365 Days of Green.” 

Boston is one of America's oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. As the Northeast region's hub, Boston is home to 617,594 residents, many institutions of higher education, some of the world's finest hospitals, and many cultural and professional sports organizations. Every year, millions of people visit Boston to take in its historic neighborhoods, attend cultural or sporting events, and conduct business.

The humble molecule dihydrogen monoxide is so ever-present that it is often forgotten. Yet this one substance – water, the universal solvent, H2O – is fundamental for regulating the temperature of our planet, it’s the chemical basis of all life on earth, it constitutes as much as 78% of our bodies, and it was the fount of human civilization. It’s for these important reasons (and many more) that today we celebrate water, and draw attention to our stewardship of this life-giving substance.

Loss of power for a sustained period of time, especially when caused by an earthquake, can be scary to a household, to a business, to a community.  That’s what we discussed on March 8^th at a BCLC Disaster Assistance and Recovery forum, co-hosted by the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services. We focused on three themes: