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SOMO news - May 2010
In this newsletter
In brief
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The makeITfair campaign (hosted by SOMO) and Treemagotchi (in Dutch language) will be carrying out a joint campaign in June for fair and green mobile telephones. -
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The publication RESET (MVO Platform and GoodElectronics) is translated into Chinese. The Social Resources Institute is distributing the translation among social organisations, government bodies and academic institutions in China. -
In June, Procure IT Fair will be launching an online petition with an appeal to educational institutions in Europe to purchase computers sustainably. SOMO is bringing this appeal to the attention of students, buyers and policymakers at universities and other institutes of higher education in the Netherlands.
Advise for sustainable investors based on research of SOMO
 This year the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling - VBDO) has issued voting advices which can be used when voting in shareholders’ meetings of Dutch stock exchange-listed companies: Ahold, KPN, SBM Offshore, Heineken, ING, Aegon, Fugro, Unilever, Shell. Like previous years the voting advices are based on research of SOMO. On the basis of the research results, VBDO put various critical questions during the shareholders meetings. VBDO is also in discussions with ING and Aegon, and the Party of the Animals asked questions in Parliament (in Dutch language) about Ahold on the basis of SOMO research. more >
SOMO brings together various stakeholders in Brussels for e-waste conference
 On Thursday 29 April, SOMO organised a conference in Brussels on the European WEEE directive on electronic waste (e-waste) from computers, televisions, mobile telephones, etc. SOMO brought together European policymakers, scientists, social organisations and the business community to discuss relevant themes such as recycling standards, collection objectives and producer responsibility, and to generate ideas for tightening up the WEEE directive. The European Parliament will be voting on a reform of this directive. Earlier research by SOMO into e-waste shows clearly that this is a growing problem, primarily for the health of people in developing countries and the environment. The problem of e-waste can be tackled by introducing changes to the recycling and production of electronics.
Financial food markets deserve more attention in financial reforms
 Just before the meeting of the G-20 Ministers of Finance in Washington on 23 April 2010, SOMO brought out a new publication: Financing Food. Financialisation and Financial Actors in Agriculture Commodity Markets. The study focuses on how derivative markets work and on speculation in food and agricultural products. SOMO demonstrates how the futures market for agricultural products, in particular, has changed and is being disrupted by new speculators, growing index funds and commodities funds. This system has an influence on food prices, which can rise to such an extent as a result that food becomes too expensive for the poor inhabitants of developing countries. The publication is intended primarily for NGOs and other interested parties, and proved very useful in the follow-up to the recent hearing in the European Parliament on this complex subject.
Towards a Global Finance System at the Service of Sustainable Development
 The financial crisis - originated in developed countries - has severely impact on emerging economies and developing countries. In some countries, poverty and unemployment have increased dramatically as a result of the crisis. The project ‘Towards a Global Finance System at the Service of Sustainable Development’ is implemented in January 2010 by SOMO and five other European NGOs (and coordinated by WEED). The project aims at ensuring that European economic stimulus packages remain coherent with development concerns and EU development policy and with Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The project will monitor and inform about the development impact of the financial crisis as well as current proposed financial reforms. A bi-monthly newsletter is part of the project. more >
First publication in the series CSR & Trade: Relationship in Sustainable Development
 In 2010, SOMO published a series of memos which focus on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and trade. SOMO's intention with this is to build a bridge between these two fields, which too often are approached by different methods, but which are in fact closely connected to one another. In the various publications, SOMO discusses the behaviour and effect of individual companies - including multinationals - and business sectors, as well as the system of which they form a part: international trade. The first memo, which has just appeared in this series, examines the CSR aspects of trade missions. more >
Worldwide training and advice on CSR
 Alongside carrying out research, SOMO regularly gives training and advice to social organisations in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in the context of building capacity and spreading knowledge. In March, SOMO trained Chinese social organisations in order to deploy CSR effectively in the promotion of sustainable agriculture in sectors such as tea. Furthermore, SOMO issued advice to the research of a coalition of consumer organisations. This advice was targeted at their research methodology for a study into the effects of spending at European supermarkets for food suppliers in developing countries. more >
New publications
Upcoming publications
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10 Years on. Assessing the effectiveness of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to resolve conflicts between business and society.
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Update paper about sustainable investments with an European focus.
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European Works Councils and Corporate Social Responsibility in the European Power Sector
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Best practices in sustainable public procurement of IT hardware in Europe; Report of the Procure IT Fair European Roundtable Meeting Amsterdam, 31 March 2010
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