Framework:CR partners with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment

Framework:CR initiated a partnership with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment beginning in the fall of 2008. Working with Professor Maureen Burke’s Business and Environment Clinic, we seek (1) to connect leading companies with graduate students from Yale’s School of Management and School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and (2) to provide real-world experience to the next generation of corporate leaders.

For more information on Framework’s partnership with the Center for Business and the Environment, or to inquire about participating in future research projects, please contact Kyle Whitaker at kwhitaker@frameworkcr.com. more

Project descriptions

Over the course of the 13-week semester, a team of graduate students completes a project defined by their corporate client. Framework helps make this process possible by ensuring the project definition meets course requirements for content and timing, facilitating the client/student relationship, and advising on the project as needed. At the end of the term, the students present the results to the client for further consideration, feedback, and implementation.

Fall 2008

The first semester of our partnership was a tremendous success. A group of three students joined Seventh Generation, a trusted name in household products, to develop strategies that enhance sustainability within Seventh Generation’s value chain.

The students engaged with Seventh Generation’s staff and supply chain partners to gather information and provided strategic recommendations on how to meet this goal.

The response—from all participants—has been overwhelmingly positive. Gregor Barnum, Seventh Generation’s Director of Corporate Consciousness, said of the program, “This is a great opportunity for us all to learn from each other and find new ways to move the needle together.”

Spring 2009

We are currently facilitating a second research project with another leading consumer products company. In addition, we presented a guest lecture on how to effectively manage the consultant-client relationship. Stay tuned for more information on the research and its outcome later in 2009!

Framework:CR hosts forum on transparency and disclosure

On September 22, 2008, Framework:CR hosted a one-day forum to stimulate conversation about the risks and opportunities inherent in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Held in the wake of the news that Lehman had failed, the federal government had bailed out AIG, and that Bank of America had bought failing Merrill Lynch, the topic could not have been more timely.

Framework:CR is pleased to provide additional resources for those who were unable to attend the disclosure forum in person. Below you can find many of our speakers’ presentations, a photo gallery, and some additional reading material. more

Speakers’ Presentations

Photo Gallery

(Click photos to enlarge)

Framework:CR supports the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future

Since 2006 we have donated our time and expertise to help the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF) communicate with its constituents by reporting on the annual businesswomen’s sustainability leadership summit and advising on website content. In October 2008, the WNSF focused on the recent financial crisis and the opportunities that it brings to make positive change in organizations. Panelists from AIG Investments, American Express, JPMorgan Chase, and Intel Corporation helped attendees to indetify ways of building sustainability into their own corporate cultures.

Announcing Net Impact in New Haven

Framework:CR Principals Aleksandra Dobkowski-Joy and Kyle Whitaker serve as co-presidents for the Net Impact Professional Chapter in New Haven, Connecticut. Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of leaders who use business to improve the world. The New Haven Chapter is the only Net Impact Professional Chapter in Connecticut.

For information on membership and upcoming events; please send an email to .