Description: Royal Dutch Shell’s plant will produce more than a million tons of plastic, in the form of tiny pellets. Many in the Pittsburgh area see it as an economic engine, but others worry about long-term harm. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Aug 12, 2019 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/business/energy-environment/plastics-shell-pennsylvania-plant.html Questions for discussion: Summarize what the report says about the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Ethics & Social Responsibility
Retired Manitoba farmer battling cancer proposes class action suit against makers of Roundup
Description: A retired Manitoba farmer is hoping to lead a class action lawsuit against the company that owns Monsanto, alleging he developed cancer after using Roundup on his yard and field to get rid of weeds. Source: CBC.ca Date: Aug 29, 2019 Link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-farmer-proposed-class-action-lawsuit-monsanto-1.5269936 Questions for discussion: What are the legal, ethical, and social issues… Read more »
Panera is losing nearly 100% of its workers every year as fast-food turnover crisis worsens
Description: If you think it sounds like a mathematical impossibility for a company to lose more than 100% of its workers every year, you’ve never worked in the fast-food industry. At fast-food restaurants, losing 100% of employees — and then losing still more of the employees hired to replace those workers — is a common,… Read more »
Change the World 2019: Where Business Creates Virtuous Circles
Description: You might not expect modern corporations to tackle an urgent problem of the 21st century by looking back to the 1950s. But that’s what one group of companies is doing with a new service called Loop, whose backers refer to its approach as “the milkman model.” Source: Fortune.com Date: Aug 19, 2019 Link: https://fortune.com/2019/08/19/change-the-world-circular-economy/ Questions… Read more »
Elon Musk and Jack Ma agree: This existential threat is getting overlooked, and it’s not those killer robots
Description: There are almost 8 billion people on Earth and, if United Nations projections play out, that number is expected to balloon to 10 billion by 2057. That’s a lot… but maybe not enough, at least according to the two tech visionaries who tangled on stage for almost an hour at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in… Read more »
Amazon workers are showing signs of unionizing — here’s how Amazon remains union free
Description: An examination of unions and the relationships with businesses today. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Aug 22, 2019 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/08/22/how-amazon-fends-off-unions-as-more-workers-hold-protests.html Questions for discussion: Summarize the key points presented in this report. Why are the developments at Amazon so important?
Whole Foods CEO on plant-based meat boom: Good for the environment but not for your health
Description: There are currently two main, buzzy players in the plant-based “meat” market: Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Aug 21, 2019 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/21/whole-foods-ceo-john-mackey-plant-based-meat-not-good-for-your-health.html Questions for discussion: What is happening in the alternative-to-meat industry? Why is this industry growing in popularity? Where do you see developments heading over the next… Read more »
An Insider Takes Aim at Corporate America’s ‘Elite Charade’
Description: As a conference-circuit regular and former McKinsey consultant, writer Anand Giridharadas has seen firsthand business leaders’ efforts to solve social problems. Here’s why he’s come to see those efforts as more self-serving than world-changing. Source: Fortune.com Date: Aug 20, 2019 Link: https://fortune.com/longform/anand-giridharadas-winners-take-all/ Questions for discussion: Summarize what Anand Giridharadas has to say about corporate… Read more »
