the world is in trouble - i need to go on a diet

I cam across this headline from the Sun, Fatties cause global warming whilst browsing Martin Smiths updates on JustMeans.com. Overweight people cause over a BILLION tons of Co2, the article says. And then there is a picture of a polar bear looking all forlorn on a melting block of ice. Talk about emotional blackmail.

So I guess i am in serious trouble. Another reason to start that long overdue diet again. The tomorrow diet. Not only am i overweight, i am the cause of global warming. Will my kids ever forgive me ? Will polar bears become extinct because of me ? Will the world ever survive my ice-cream binges and my chocolate cravings ? I take comfort in the fact that the sum of our individual actions can never be enough to resolve our climate issues -it's a SYSTEMIC problem which has to be fixed by all of us acting together.

So i took a stroll to the Weightwatchers International dot com website, the specialists in weight loss in groups. "Each week, approximately 1.5 million people attend approximately 50,000 Weight Watchers meetings " Now, if each of these people lose 2lbs a month, thats 36 million lbs in weight loss and i bet that would offset my few extra layers of puppy fat.(Yes, it's still puppy fat ). Perhaps Weightwatchers could offer a carbon trading program, so that i dont need to actually diet, i can just buy back some weightwatchers carbon credits. How cool. Of course, the problem with weight loss is that it tends to creep back again - but let's not go THERE. Not a thing about Corporate Social Responsibility on the WW website. They obviously havent picked up on the PR value of marketing WW as a climate change program and not just a weight and health thing. Phew.

A Company who does address obesity as part of its sustainability program is Unilever. You can download a report on the 10 major food companies and their approach to obesity from the Unilever website here. This is a very interesting report on all the facets of tacking obesity from the way product R&D is driven , marketing, especially to children, and transparency and disclosure. Danone, Unilever, Nestle and Kellogg score well on addressing and reporting on obesity as part of their sustainability strategy.

Ok, so now i have confessed my personal embarrassment at being the cause of global warming, i think i deserve a little low-calorie snack. Where did i put that chunk of triple-layer smooth-fudge whipped-cream-topped high-density chocolate cake ? hmmm ?

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm based in Israel. Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz

Ten Tips for Sustainability Reporting

This is called an indirect impact.

My entry this week is posted not here but on one of my favourite blogs - The Sustainable Marketing Blog - by Peter Korchnak. Here it is! Enjoy Ten Tips for Sustainability Reporting.

Peter blogs about all aspects of sustainable marketing (one of my favourite posts is Word of Mouth Marketing - must read that book!) .

Sustainable marketing is a fascinating field and is of course a very relevant aspect of csr reporting, particularly for compnanies with consumer brands. This includes the way businesses choose to market, advertise and promote their products, which sectors of the population they target and how they reflect them in their marketing campaigns. Social marketing, or cause-related marketing are key elements of a sustainable marketing strategy. And of course the use of social media today has transformed the way companies consider reaching target audiences.

I was just taking a look at the Kellogg first global csr report, just released. They include a section on responsible marketing, and talk about an update to their marketing guidelines which have now prohibits marketing to kids under 12.

A final, and shocking view of irresponsible marketing is the way women are exploited for marketing purposes. Yes, feminist stuff again. but look at this . This represents the exact opposite of corporate social responsibility and sustainable marketing practices. Wonder if these ads appear in CSR reports ? So remember, next time you are tempted to indulge in a little cognac after reading a CSR report, DON'T go for Remy Martin.

Anyway, to round off, thanks to Peter for allowing me to guest-post on the Sustainable Marketing Blog.