TEDxHunterCCS - Christine Bader - Manifesto for the Corporate Idealist

Manifesto for the Corporate Idealist.
Christine Bader, ES '83 HS '89, is a nonresident senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke. She recently completed a term as Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for business and human rights. From 1999-2008, Bader worked for BP in Indonesia, China, and the UK. With stints in investor relations and
corporate planning, she spent most of her time with the company addressing the social impacts of its projects on communities in the developing world. Among many other activities, she serves on the advisory board of The OpEd Project, an initiative to broaden the range of voices in public discourse.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[katie Suave]

The second half was excellent, in particular the encouragement to tell companies that you want them to take action on human rights, particularly in the making of products you are interested in buying, and tweeting about them helps.

I also liked the encouragement not to think do I buy organic or not, but do I buy organic or death! Well-put! And don't save to give away charity later, our earth needs saving now.

[5by8photos]

Excellent job Christine. You remind us of our power as consumers and in the collective workplace. Perhaps, in these changed economic times, more will heed your challenge(s) and make effort to share, and create stories. This is the root of education - to lead out of, into a state of greater knowing - which, for some will result in the leveraging of opportunity, at least for those of us who truly hunger.

[wintercow20]

The default view that business is inherently eviil, will pollute, or exploits its workers is disturbing. So, too, is the default view that "buying fair trade" is actually a good thing, or "organic" is actually good for the environment. I know we use those as illustrations for the power of the consumer - but organic turns out not to be green at all, for example. And is there ANY evidence that Fair Trade helps anyone but the Fair Trade middlemen, or does not make overproduction problems worse?

[trapezistaruby]

Thank you Christine. We need clear spokespeople.



[gyangting]

Congratulatiions Christine! Very progressive and well-delivered ideas!