The future ISO 26000 standard giving guidance on social responsibility has just passed another important development stage with confirmation that support by ISO's national members and by participating liaison organizations is strong enough for it to be progressed to a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). This is the final stage in the development of an ISO standard before it is published as a fully fledged ISO International Standard.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has aroused understandable public anger. The resulting slick has already caused considerable damage to the environment along the Louisiana coast. It has hurt businesses and livelihoods. Americans are frustrated that the attempts made by the British oil company responsible, BP, to stem the leak have not been successful.

The core argument of the mining industry is that C-300 (The Responsible Mining Bill) would cause reputational damage to mining companies. That is nonsense. C-300 didn't cause reputational damage in the case of the allegations of murder against Blackfire in Mexico; it's not even clear that C-300 would apply to the Mexican situation.

In January 2007, the Hong Kong-based Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) released a report entitled Toxic Chemicals — Asian Investors are At-Risk. In it, the authors warned investors that an estimated 70 per cent of listed companies in Asia (excluding Japan) were exposed to risks associated with toxic chemicals.

A Chinese employee of Foxconn Technology Group fell from a building and died Tuesday, state-run media said, in the 10th such death this year at the world's largest contract maker of electronics, such as the iPod, Dell computers and Nokia phones.

The box that protects Apple’s latest creation tells us why we just sacrificed a few hundred dollars for a gadget. The precision of the fit and finish of the card board box. The flawless protective plastics that keep your iPhone and iPod safe. The glorious moment and pride you feel when you turn it on the first time. But what are we exactly proud of? Shouldn’t we feel at least some sort of guilt?