When the conservative 6-3 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 50 years of precedent on abortion rights last month, they handed a potential gold mine to data mining firms in search of new business. After all, states that pass new abortion laws need data to enforce those laws. They need to identify, monitor and track anyone capable of carrying a pregnancy. That applies to anyone of child bearing age, regardless of whether or not they are even pregnant, let alone seeking an abortion.

Many other tech companies, though, are facing a firestorm of consequences. To cite just one example, Snapchat removed several dozens of locations from its Snap Map feature last week, after Bloomberg reported that anti-abortion “clinics” are <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-27/anti-abortion-centers-find-pregnant-teens-online-then-save-their-data?utm_medium=cpc_social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=BLOM_ENG_OFFEDIT_COUSA_TW_SO_WTRF_BROADPROSX_KEYCO_00XXXXCPC_2PTW_XXXX_BUSFINLUXREAD_X1854_COUSA_XXXEN_TWITOA_ABOR_D1_EN_JP_NFLINKS&amp;twclid=2-3ke79pvdvc16xvt09etx5ok3" target="_blank">collecting data</a> and luring teenagers based on their use of social media.

“Google, for instance, now requires providers to note whether businesses are accredited to perform abortions or not,” added Bloomberg reporter Margi Murphy, “But the deceptive centers still remain en masse in states where women may no longer be able to find legitimate treatment.”

Murphy also cited Tara Murtha of the Women’s Law Project, who said that such deceptive centers effectively serve as data mills. They can flag people who leave a record of their visit but fail to follow through with a baby. That information can easily pass along to “overzealous prosecutors.” Murphy reported that examples of such information pass-alongs “have almost tripled in the last 12 years,” even before the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs case upended abortion rights.

Last week, the Washington Post also reported that there is already a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/05/04/abortion-digital-privacy/" target="_blank">pre-Dobbs history</a> of pregnancy prosecution based on online activity, including text messages as well as online searches.

<h2>The law of unintended consequences</h2>

One major area of new concern for privacy and abortion rights is the personal data collected by a growing number of apps designed to track menstrual cycles.

Self magazine was among several publications to release a list of <a href="https://www.self.com/story/best-period-tracking-apps" target="_blank">period tracking apps</a> last year, under the title “The 10 Best Period Tracking Apps to Try in 2021.” Their list included Flo, Eve by Glow, Clue, Spot On (developed by Planned Parenthood), Ovia, Natural Cycles, Life and Period Tracker.

Self also suggested that smart phone users could simply use a note-taking app. However, that will not protect people whose phones are confiscated as evidence in a criminal proceeding.

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Health professionals emphasize that period apps are valuable wellness tools that can save lives by flagging early signs of an underlying health issue. In other words, they can help people protect their ability to carry a pregnancy.

Nevertheless, privacy advocates have been urging users to delete all period tracking apps on their devices.

They appear to have a case. Last month, Input magazine <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/culture/period-tracking-apps-abortion-privacy-roe-v-wade" target="_blank">asked 12 popular period apps</a> about their plans for securing user data after Dobbs. Six responded and affirmed that they were taking steps to secure their data. However, Input cited Laura Shipp, an expert in period tracking apps at Royal Holloway University of London, who advised users to “stay away from some of the biggest app providers, especially apps like Flo, who currently have a class-action lawsuit against them for sharing user data without users’ knowledge.”

“The researcher advises people use apps like Read Your Body, drip, or Pow!, all of which are what she calls ’privacy-first trackers,” Input added.

<h2>They are already coming for your contraception</h2>

Pregnancy rights advocates have already raised concerns that the ultimate aim of the anti-abortion movement is to prohibit contraception as well as abortion. In the high-tech world of data collection, that sort of prohibition would not simply track anyone who attempts to obtain a contraceptive drug or device. It would also cover anyone who uses period tracking apps in order to avoid pregnancy.

Input magazine reporter Chris Stokel-Walker touched on the issue when they included a statement from Natural Cycles CEO Raoul Scherwitzl in their article. After assuring users on privacy, Scherwitzl observed that “women have enough to be concerned about, and it’s on us to make sure they feel comfortable sharing their sensitive data with us as their trusted method of birth control.”

“Trusted method of birth control” refers to natural family planning, a pregnancy avoidance strategy based on refraining from sex during the most fertile days of the menstrual cycle. NFP existed long before apps were ever invented, but not in a form that could easily be tracked by government authorities or, for that matter, self-appointed community vigilantes.

Some religions that prohibit contraceptive drugs and devices permit NFP as a matter of doctrine. Nevertheless, permission from one’s religion will not protect people who use their period tracking app as an NFP aid. After all, if the aim is to deliberately avoid getting pregnant, there is no difference between one form of contraception and another, including abstinence.

<h2>Tech firms on the spot for speech enforcement</h2>

The Dobbs decision has unleashed a monster of epic proportions upon the tech world, and the fallout has only just begun.

Data collection is only one issue for tech firms. Selective enforcement of online speech is another. Last week, for example, Salon took note of a report that Meta had “secretly” <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/07/02/facebook-swift-to-respond-to-roe-fallout-with-abortion-censorship/" target="_blank">designated</a> the abortion rights group Jane's Revenge as a terrorist organization, “on par with drug cartels and mass murderers.” Jane’s Revenge has apparently been linked to one act of vandalism against an anti-abortion group. However, as Salon notes, Meta places fewer restrictions on at least two groups accused of playing a role in the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/corporate-america-insurrection/717836" target="_blank">failed insurrection of January 6</a>, the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters.

Bias aside, that policy is consistent with Meta’s apparent accommodation of ant-abortion speech, which has a history of linkage with the white supremacist movement.

“Historically, the <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/07/02/facebook-swift-to-respond-to-roe-fallout-with-abortion-censorship/" target="_blank">vast majority of abortion-related violence</a> has been carried out by anti-abortion groups against pro-choice doctors and clinics,” noted Salon reporter Jon Skolnik. “Despite this, only two names associated with anti-abortion violence reportedly appear on Meta's list of Dangerous Individuals and Organizations, which was obtained by the Intercept last October.”

<h2>The bottom line for tech companies and abortion rights</h2>

Tech companies are only fooling themselves if they think the anti-abortion movement stops at abortion. The full, invasive repression of any person with a uterus is already on the table.

A torrent of new restrictions on the movement and activities of both pregnant and potentially pregnant people is already in motion. Piecemeal, corporate-lead efforts that offer lip service to abortion rights will not be enough to stem the tide.

Tech companies and other firms that profess to stand for human rights need to take a stand and choose a side, not just in public statements but in financial aid for candidates and officeholders who support a person’s right to manage their own pregnancy as they see fit.

Tech firms and other corporate leaders need to stop pretending that the Republican party is on their side, and start acting like human rights really do matter.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

Tech Firms Are Up to Their Necks in the Abortion Rights Tar Pit

Heartstopper's Sebastian Croft is an absolute badass when it comes to allyship with his LGBTQ peers.

We need more people like Croft, who is loud and proud when it comes to LGBTQ rights. Sure, this year’s Pride Month is now in the rearview mirror, but as a reminder on this side of the pond, the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legislation-affecting-lgbtq-rights-across-country" target="_blank">number of anti-LGBTQ bills</a> that have been simmering across the U.S. has resulted in less of a laundry list and more of a disturbing nationwide purge determined to strip queer citizens of their rights. At last count, about three dozen anti-transgender bills alone have made their way to state legislatures across America.

Judging by what’s been transpiring so far during 2022, the festooning of rainbows on corporate logos and proclamations of “standing with” or “supporting” LGBTQ employees and the community really haven’t been moving the needle. Such action is about as effective and inspirational as a Nancy Pelosi <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/06/dobbs-decision-nancy-pelosi-poem-response.html" target="_blank">poem reading</a> at yet another U.S. Capitol open mic.

Saying that one is an “ally” is easy. The hard part is the follow through.

<h2>How to be an ally, by Sebastian Croft</h2>

Enter 20-year-old Sebastian Croft, a U.K. actor with whom you might be familiar if you’re a fan of <a href="https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Sebastian_Croft" target="_blank">Game of Thrones</a> or the British historical comedy flick, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7715070/" target="_blank">Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans</a>, for which Croft scored a BAFTA nomination. His most recent work can be watched on the first season of Netflix's <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/netflix-heartstopper-binge-watching/745051" target="_blank">Heartstopper</a>, in which he plays a closeted, angry and toxic teen who does what he can to bully and gaslight the series’ lead character, Charlie Spring, whose experience as a year 10 student thanks to Ben is often miserable.

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To be clear, IRL Croft is nothing like Ben Hope; in fact, <a href="https://twitter.com/sebastiancroft" target="_blank">on his social media accounts</a> he <a href="https://thetab.com/uk/2022/04/25/heartstopper-cast-instagrams-netflix-248021" target="_blank">makes it clear</a> that he’s part of the “<a href="https://twitter.com/SebastianCroft/status/1519288200367423488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1519288200367423488%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themarysue.com%2Fheartstopper-multiple-queer-characters%2F" target="_blank">Ben Hope Hate Club</a>” and is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sebastiancroft/?hl=en" target="_blank">no where even close to Ben at all</a>. 

If anything, Croft has been stepping up, and doing far more to express his support for the LGBTQ community than frequently posting warm photos on social with his fellow Heartstopper cast members — mind you, they are a bouquet of positive, happy vibes.

<h2>A gentle reminder: Queer was always here</h2>

To start, Croft collabbed with an LGBTQ designer on this “Queer was always here” t-shirt campaign, currently available for pre-order on <a href="https://everpress.com/queer-was-always-here" target="_blank">Everpress</a>. As he explained:

<blockquote>
“I remember when my brother told me that there were animals that some were gay. Quite a lot in fact. Completely naturally, without any concept of what it would mean to love the same sex and why that might be different to any other kind of love. I found that incredibly empowering. Often being queer is sold as a choice or watered down to a trend. But it’s not, and exists across nature. We’re also robbed of a lot of gay history, and can easily forget how long we have been here for.”
</blockquote>
<figure role="group" class="align-center"><img alt="The 'Queer was always here t-shirt, a collab between Sebastian Croft and Kieran Blakey" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="59a3c011-d2e3-4156-995a-401ebf938a5e" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/sebastian%20croft%20queer%20was%20always%20here.png" width="878" height="619" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>The 'Queer was always here t-shirt,' a collab between Sebastian Croft and Kieran Blakey (Image credit via <a href="https://everpress.com/queer-was-always-here">Everpress</a>)</figcaption></figure>Some of the proceeds from the sale of these t-shirts will go to the nonprofits <a href="https://chooselove.org/" target="_blank">Choose Love</a> and <a href="https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/" target="_blank">Rainbow Railroad</a>, which are working together to support LGBTQ refugees seeking an escape from threats of violence and persecution. 

Incidentally, there’s another side to this campaign: sustainability. Everpress is only taking pre-orders for these t-shirts — which are <a href="https://www.fairwear.org/" target="_blank">Fair Wear</a> certified — in an effort to reduce any unnecessary textile waste. If you want to hop onto our queer bandwagon and join TriplePundit in supporting this campaign, as of press time you have less than three days to score one of these shirts; they’ll start shipping on July 18.

<h2>Forget the press releases, dance to Whitney Houston</h2>

Finally, if you really want to see how Croft makes his alliance with the LGBTQ community known, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2022/jul/02/stars-of-netflix-show-heartstopper-give-the-finger-to-anti-lgbt-protesters-video" target="_blank">watch</a> a few <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foQ3mdfx698" target="_blank">videos</a> from last weekend’s Pride parade in London. While Joe Locke and other Heartstopper cast members don’t exactly shy away from giving a murder of cawing homophobic protestors the middle-appendage salute (deservedly), Croft <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-bo1KNgk6U" target="_blank">clapped back</a>, literally, with relentless joy, dancing to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

 

 

<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/foQ3mdfx698" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></center>

 

That reaction was about far more than any cliche about having "the guts" — Croft responded with unconditional love and an unrestrained side of emotional intelligence. If there’s a video of a Big 4 accounting firm or CPG company employees reacting the same way at a Pride event in their rainbow logo t-shirts, please do send it onto us.

As Croft reminds us with his final pitch for the Everpress campaign:

<blockquote>
“I wanted to remind people with this T-Shirt, that queer has not just always been here throughout human history, but almost definitely predates us. Homophobia is the newcomer…”
</blockquote>

Image credits of Sebastian Croft: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sebastian_Croft_with_@voidlucy.jpg" target="_blank">@voidlucy on Twitter</a> via Wiki Commons; <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sebastian_Croft_at_the_BFI_London_July_2019.jpg" target="_blank">Edward Maestom</a> via Wiki Commons

How 20yo Actor Sebastian Croft Defines Relentless ‘Allyship’ with LGBTQ People

The world is beginning to endure an economic downturn as costs of living skyrocket along with energy and commodity prices. As a result, <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_gl/news/2022/05/rate-of-bank-loan-defaults-set-to-rise-across-the-eurozone-while-growth-in-lending-slows-from-the-pandemic-peak" target="_blank">loan losses are expected to rise and lending growth is expected to drop</a>. That’s not quite the same sentiment at the nonprofit micro-financing company Kiva, though. 

With a newly appointed CEO and swift adoption of SaaS (software as a service) tools like Slack to scale global efficiencies, Kiva's ongoing focus on increasing the amount of money it can lend across the globe stays strong.

<h2>How Kiva opens doors to financial inclusion</h2>

“In 2021, lenders on Kiva funded $223 million worth of loans to over 550,000 borrowers. Relative to 2020, this represents a 76 percent increase in loan volume and a 56 percent increase in the number of people we helped,” says Chris Tsakalakis, appointed as Kiva CEO in 2021.

According to the World Bank, more than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need.

Therein lies solutions like those that Kiva offers to loaners and borrowers. Launched in 2005 in San Francisco, the founders of this social enterprise have rewritten the playbook on how to boost access to finance in order to help underserved communities thrive.

Kiva operates on a unique micro-financing model where anyone can pick an individual to help through its platform with as little as $25. The average loan repayment rate stands at 96.4 percent, encouraging repeat lending. “In the face of uncertain economic times, this model of recycling and redeploying funds provides an accessible opportunity to be involved and do good, again and again,” Tsakalakis continues.

Since 2005, Kiva lenders have funded $1.4 billion in loans for more than 4.5 million borrowers across 85 countries.

Kiva has a global team across seven offices from San Francisco to Sierra Leone, along with a partner network of 300 organizations. The ability to streamline communications has helped Kiva and its partners thrive. For example, the organization’s adoption of the popular online communications tool Slack for its communications has helped scale up Kiva’s operations by containing conversations into a centralized hub. “By using tools that enhance asynchronous communication and connect dispersed workforces, we save money and time,” Tsakalakis tells TriplePundit. “The time it takes to fund each loan is based on many factors, including how many lenders we have. That said, we are incredibly proud of our ability to post a loan to the site and see it funded in a week, day, or even an hour.”

SaaS applications are known to boost productivity in organizations because of the flexibility and agility they provide in a continuously disruptive environment. As a result, at least one report has predicted that SaaS application revenue will surpass $300 billion by 2025, representing 52 percent of the total cloud software market.

<h2>Smart investments in online tools can help scale up impact</h2>

One way in which to further scale and increase the nonprofit’s impact is the launch of Kiva Capital in 2020 and the expansion of its strategic partner program. “With Kiva Capital, we aim for large amounts of money from a few institutions and high net-worth individuals," Tsakalakis says. "Individuals and foundations that can make larger investments may contribute to one of our innovative funds, such as our Refugee Investment Fund, or their loans may finance an entire business or community initiative."

Some of the company’s new partners redefine the very notion of a corporate partnership.

“Our list of strategic partners continues to grow each year, and we’ve seen some innovative approaches,” Tsakalakis explains. “One example is our partnership with USWNTPA [U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association] that commenced this March. These women are not only talented athletes on the front lines of the fight for pay equity in sport, but they are also financially supporting women and communities of color across the U.S. through their Kiva partnership.”

From Tsakalakis’ perspective, such strategic partnerships are integral to adapting Kiva’s model to fit the needs of each organization. “If your institution is looking to get involved with Kiva as part of its CSR [corporate social responsibility] efforts, reach out to us without hesitation,” he says. “Whether corporations want to increase employee engagement, help specific groups of people, or support their employee resource groups and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, we’re ready to explore options together.”

<h2>Rethinking how to measure impact</h2>

Moving forward, Tsakalakis would like to see an evolution in the metrics used to measure Kiva’s impact, as in one that focuses more on the financial health of Kiva borrowers rather than that the number or value of loans given out. “What happens on an individual level when someone receives a Kiva loan? Beyond financial assistance, how do Kiva loans help our borrowers and their communities before, during and after their loans? The shift towards measuring overall financial health of our borrowers will take time to implement throughout the organization, but we’re patient and excited about the potential this will have on increasing the amount of impact we can drive,"  he concludes.

Image credit: Kiva

New Kiva CEO Scales Up Impact Investments Despite Risks of Economic Downturn

On June 21, the global sustainability community came together for Ukraine, by exploring the future of sustainability and the need for more inclusive efforts to advance sustainable development. The Sustainability For Ukraine <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/join-us-sustainability-ukraine-fundraiser-tuesday-june-21/747386" target="_blank">event</a> was a <a href="https://www.sustainability4ua.org/web-a-thon" target="_blank">24-hour webcast</a>, with topics featuring more than 90 speakers from around the world, who together explored the current state of sustainability and began to outline a revived roadmap to help us navigate towards a better future. More 1,300 people attended this “web-a-thon” and tens of thousands visited the event website. 

This event and ongoing fundraising campaign seek to provide vital financial support for local NGOs in Ukraine that have been devastated by the war. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, offices of local NGOs have been damaged, employees have gone without pay and, many organizations are struggling to keep operating without outside funding.

So far, through the generous support from corporate sponsors and individual donations made online, this campaign has been able to raise over $170,000 to help rebuild civil society in the war-torn country. This coalition looks to raise an additional $80,000 to bring the total of contributions to $250,000.

Sustainability For Ukraine is still seeking donations form organizations and individuals so its backers can achieve its target and help our brothers and sisters working in sustainability in Ukraine. <a href="https://dobro.ua/en/reserve_fund/sustainability4ukraine" target="_blank">You can donate online here</a>.

This event’s organizers wish to thank the two dozen organizations who led dedicated sessions of the web-a-thon, providing a robust program of dialogue on the sustainability agenda. Partners included: 3BL Media, Akatu Institute (Brazil), AuctusESG (India), B Lab, Business Council for the United Nations, BBMG, BSR, Business Fights Poverty, Business Leaders Forum, CBSR (Canada), CSR Europe, CSR Ukraine, ELEVATE, Forum for the Future, GlobeScan, GreenBiz, GRI, Maala (Israel), Net Positive, ReThink (Hong Kong), SB Japan, SB Thailand, Sustainability Connect (Singapore) and WWF.

For more information please contact <a href="mailto:stacy.rowland@globescan.com?subject=follow%20up%20to%20Sustainability%20For%20Ukraine%20-%20via%20TriplePundit%20story%2C%20July%205">Stacy Rowland</a> at Globescan. 

Image credit: Leon Kaye

The Global Sustainability Community Comes Through for Ukraine

According to a recent <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/CSR-quite-white/745946" target="_blank">report</a> from The Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP), corporations are failing to deliver on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) promises, even as they say they have committed to more transparency — and thereby improved performance — surrounding their environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts. TriplePundit has written extensively about such failures: lack of diversity within the corporation and even in the programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); failure to produce measurable results or examples of achieved objectives; and failure to participate in or report DEI efforts.

On the other hand, some companies are hard at it and have adopted social responsibility not only as a priority but as a core value. One such company is Ben &amp; Jerry’s. 

“Our corporate values are based on the values of two real people—our co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield,” said Laura Peterson, Ben &amp; Jerry’s Public Elations Manager. “We have long believed in social, economic and environmental justice, and especially where those areas intersect.”

And, there are numerous examples of the company’s bold involvement in social responsibility and even more importantly, social justice.

The <a href="https://benandjerrysfoundation.org/about/what-we-do/" target="_blank">Ben &amp; Jerry’s Foundation</a>, founded in 1985, funds organizations in Vermont and around the country that are working for progressive social change.

Inspired by the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020, the <a href="https://campaigntoendqualifiedimmunity.org/" target="_blank">Campaign to End Qualified Immunity</a> is another example. Qualified immunity refers to a law that grants government officials immunity from civil suits in most cases that might be questioned as excessive force or inappropriate behavior. 

As Cohen told CNN’s Victor Blackwell: “Right now cops have a get-out-of-jail-free card when they violate somebody’s…rights,” You’ve got to hold people accountable. That’s what ending qualified immunity is about.” 

Just as the murder of George Floyd <a href="https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy" target="_blank">inspired Ben &amp; Jerry’s to act</a>, so have the most recent shootings at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people were assassinated by a teenager with an AR-styled rifle. The first significant gun safety legislation in recent memory—the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bipartisan-Safer-Communities-Act-SAP-1.pdf" target="_blank">Bipartisan Safer Communities Act</a> — was signed into law on June 23.

But is it enough? Not according to a recent Ben &amp; Jerry’s <a href="https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2022/05/uniquely-american" target="_blank">blog</a>:

<blockquote>
“Corporate America must acknowledge its role in this country’s continuing gun violence. Money is the lifeblood of our political system and corporations and their trade associations bankroll the very politicians who offer thoughts and prayers for victims while ignoring the calls of victims' families to take weapons of war off our streets. It’s time for companies and their trade associations to stop political contributions to elected officials who do the gun lobby's bidding, blocking common sense gun laws that nearly all Americans support.”
</blockquote>

Other social responsibility <a href="https://www.benjerry.com/values/issues-we-care-about" target="_blank">priorities</a> of Ben &amp; Jerry’s include voting rights, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, climate justice and campaign finance reform. 

The brand’s most recent partnership is with <a href="https://www.unlock-potential.org/" target="_blank">Unlock Potential</a> (UP). UP, an initiative run by the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/businesses-reform-us-justice-system/120651" target="_blank">Responsible Business Initiative for Justice</a> (RBIJ), is an employment program that assists employers to use hiring and other resources to give at-risk young people the life chances they deserve.

Peterson also told 3p, “Ben &amp; Jerry’s has an excellent reputation for not only ‘supporting’ programs that positively contribute to racial equity, but it is a model for other large corporations in demonstrating corporate social responsibility.”

In light of the dismal ACCP report, the importance of CSR, and the ESG indices that rank companies for viability, 3p asked Ben &amp; Jerry’s to comment on what is necessary for implementing meaningful CSR programs and what prevents other corporations from doing so.

Peterson said, “I think the main reason other companies are not as transparent as we are about our values is fear. For years, companies were told not to get into politics because they would automatically alienate some of their potential consumers. These days, more and more consumers are demanding transparency on what a company stands for because they are voting with their dollars and, increasingly, they want to do business with companies that are aligned with their values.” 

As the company’s co-founder, Ben Cohen, has <a href="https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/how-ben-jerrys-took-both-its-ice-cream-and-mission-global/" target="_blank">said many times</a> over the years, the strongest bond a brand can build with a consumer is over commonly shared values.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/9TrpS2HRnd0" target="_blank">Antonio Manaligod</a> via Unsplash

How One Brand Continues to Get Social Responsibility Right

The far-right conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court handed a major victory to domestic fossil energy interests this week, when it ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is severely limited from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the 1970 Clean Air Act.

Coal, oil and gas fans may want to keep that bubbly on ice, though. Utilities are already under enormous pressure to decarbonize from elsewhere across the U.S. business community, and leading global stakeholders in the renewable energy field are already pouncing on the opportunity to crack the U.S. market wide open.

<h2>Elections have consequences: all six conservative justices were appointed by GOP presidents</h2>

To be clear, the 6-3 conservative <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1530_n758.pdf" target="_blank">majority decision</a> in West Virginia v. EPA is potentially devastating. The ripple effect could spin out to other federal agencies and limit their ability to make rules on leading issues without specific direction from Congress.

In effect, Congress would have to take upon itself the expertise and professional networking that goes into agency rule-making on major issues. The result would not simply be more gridlock, but a permanent deep freeze on meaningful action by federal agencies. 

“That’s one reason why this case might have very far reaching consequences,” legal scholar Shaun A. Goho told Harvard Law Today back in February.

“The Court has not been clear about how to draw the line between major questions and non-major questions — about when policy questions are just too big to be decided by agencies, and must instead be answered by Congress,” added Goho, who is a lecturer on law and deputy director and senior staff attorney of Harvard Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.

Responding to the West Virginia decision on Twitter on Thursday, Harvard Law professor <a href="https://twitter.com/JodyFreemanHLS" target="_blank">Jody Freeman</a> agreed, <a href="https://twitter.com/JodyFreemanHLS/status/1542529361110216705" target="_blank">noting</a> that the “Court's embrace of Major Questions Doctrine ominous for administrative state more broadly.”

<h2>Conservative U.S. Supremes clap back at the EPA and a Clean Power Plan that doesn’t exist</h2>

Freeman did note that the EPA can still regulate greenhouse gas emissions and make other rules under the Clean Air Act. However, the SCOTUS decision prevents the EPA from requiring power plants to reduce their emissions by shifting into cleaner fuels. This “generation shifting” element was the heart of the Obama-era <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2015/obama-epa-release-final-clean-power-plan/32831" target="_blank">Clean Power Plan</a>.

As for why the Supreme Court chose to revisit an Obama-era policy this late in the day, that’s a good question. After the EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan in 2015, <a href="https://www.energyandpolicy.org/clean-power-plan-utility-air-regulatory-group/" target="_blank">power companies</a>, other fossil energy stakeholders and their Republican allies in state governments, including <a href="https://www.wvpublic.org/news/2015-08-03/west-virginia-officials-respond-to-final-rule-of-clean-power-plan" target="_blank">West Virginia</a>, immediately took the EPA <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/us-supreme-court-halts-clean-power-plan-amid-questions-partisanship/28411" target="_blank">to court</a>. For all the noise, the Clean Power plan was never implemented.

During the Trump administration, the EPA dropped the Clean Power Plan and proposed a much less ambitious approach called the Affordable Clean Energy rule. That, too, was dead on arrival in the courts. This time the opponents were mainly on the Democratic and renewable energy side, including a number of utilities. 

When President Joe Biden took office last year, his administration apparently thought the issue was moot because the Clean Power Plan did not exist anymore. 

That’s not what the Justices thought. Last fall the court agreed to hear West Virginia v. EPA along with three related cases, North American Coal Corp. v. EPA, Westmoreland Mining Holdings v. EPA and North Dakota v. EPA.

<h2>It's déjà vu all over again for the Clean Power Plan</h2>

The Biden administration has apparently been holding back on plans to propose its own rule, in order to craft a new plan that would be consistent with the West Virginia decision.

In the meantime, rule or no rule, it’s likely that history will repeat itself. Even though the Clean Power Plan never left the drawing board, after 2015 many power companies and other stakeholders saw the writing on the wall and began to plan ahead for generation shifting as the leading pathway to decarbonization.

In addition, hundreds of cities and a number of states adopted climate plans aimed at shifting into clean power. Business leaders also began to stir the renewable energy pot, recognizing that their ability to compete both domestically and globally was at stake.

As a result, the <a href="https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/06/30/three-million-u-s-jobs-are-dedicated-to-decarbonizing-energy/" target="_blank">U.S. renewable energy industry</a> has grown exponentially in just the past seven years. On June 30, PV Magazine noted that a full 3.1 million jobs in the U.S. energy sector are now “dedicated to net-zero technologies,” out of a total of 7.8 million energy jobs.

On June 30, RMI (formerly the Rocky Mountain Institute) also noted that several states have been exercising an outsized influence on climate action in the U.S., regardless of the vacuum in EPA policy making.

The organization’s first-ever list of “front runner” states on climate action describes Colorado, California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Washington State as “the largest front-runner states due to their large populations and emissions footprints.”

“These states are a big deal when it comes to climate action,” RMI explained. “Together, they represent about one-fifth of the United States’ 2021 emissions. If these six states can get on track to cut emissions in half by 2030, they would reduce 2030 emissions by close to 200 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent on their own.”

<h2>Business leaders help set the stage for the next Clean Power Plan</h2>

If and when the EPA formulates a new decarbonization plan for power plants under the Biden administration, it will already have a running start thanks in part to the efforts of business leaders in support of renewable energy.

Influential business-led efforts <a href="http://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/reba-clean-power-market-plan/708011" target="_blank">have been up and running</a> all through the Trump administration. Despite the former President’s now-notorious plan to stay in power after the 2020 election, the business community received <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/biden-administration-business/709876" target="_blank">renewed support for climate action</a> after Biden took office.

In March, the revival of <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/epa-supreme-court-climate/738201" target="_blank">public-private collaboration on decarbonization</a> took the form of the U.S. Department of Energy’s new “<a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-pledges-90-organizations-slash-emissions-50-within-decade" target="_blank">Better Climate Challenge</a>,” which coordinates decarbonization among 90 leading businesses, academic institutions, local governments and other civic entities, in order to achieve maximum effect.

Among the private sector participants at launch were 3M, Cummins, Honeywell, Ikea, Kohl’s, Nestlé, Stanley Black &amp; Decker, Whirlpool, Xerox and many others, along with Ford, General Motors, Harley, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo.

The initiative sets next-level climate goals. It asks the participants — including a number of top global firms — to lead by example and cut their carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2030, without the use of carbon offsets. 

If that sounds like some measure of generation shifting will be involved, it most certainly will, and leading global firms will be front and center in that effort.

There is already a considerable international footprint in the U.S. offshore wind industry, and the U.S. solar industry has also attracted attention.

To cite just one example, Shell recently acquired a major stake in <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2018/royal-dutch-shell-invests-tennessee-solar/13626" target="_blank">the solar developer Silicon Ranch</a>. Shell is also seeking opportunities in the emerging green hydrogen field, as is Mitsubishi.

Make no mistake: the six Republican-appointed Justices on the Supreme Court will c<a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/us-corporations-abortion-dobbs/748636" target="_blank">ause more chaos</a> and d<a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-fight-reckoning-corporations/748501" target="_blank">o more damage</a> to American democracy — and the economy — before they are stopped, as demonstrated by their misbegotten decision to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-us-businesses/748271" target="_blank">overturn</a> Roe v. Wade. Nevertheless, the decarbonization movement is one area in which their attempt to flex power without principle is doomed to fail. 

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/qRtLPwRlXxI" target="_blank">Jen Theodore</a> via Unsplash

West Virginia v. EPA or Not, the Climate Action Horses Have Left the Barn

The Republican party has long positioned itself as a business-friendly organization, and corporate managers and executives have been eager to open up their purses in support of GOP candidates. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended that calculation through its ruling on the Dobbs abortion case. The bottom-line hurt has only just begun, and some of the nation’s top retailers are already on the hot seat.

<h2>The real impact of the Dobbs ruling</h2>

Much of the attention surrounding the Dobbs decision has focused on people who are already pregnant, and rightfully so. Doctors, clinics and other healthcare providers across the country suddenly shuttered their abortion services last Friday in response to state-based restrictions triggered by the Dobbs ruling. Pregnant people who were scheduled for clinical abortions had their world shattered under their feet, along with thousands yet to come.

However, in terms of the general impact on human and civil rights, and the specific impact on U.S. businesses, clinics and providers are only represent one corner of the anti-abortion dragnet.

Now that the freedom to manage one’s own pregnancy has been ripped away in some states but not in others, thousands of pregnant people will <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-fight-reckoning-corporations/748501" target="_blank">travel out-of-state</a> for abortions. That issue alone will ensnare other businesses in the anti-abortion dragnet: That list includes car rental agencies, gas stations, taxis, ride-hailing services, convenience stores, airlines, bus companies and any other commercial transportation operation that can assist travel for a person seeking an abortion.

That’s not even the heart of the problem, though. The real issue is enforcement. Anti-abortion states are already discussing how to stop pregnant people from seeking abortions out-of-state, and they can’t do that without knowing who is traveling while pregnant, and who is not.

They will have to screen, monitor, question and even test every person capable of carrying a pregnancy who is travels from one state to another. Even pregnant travelers who have no intention of terminating their pregnancy are vulnerable to state-sanctioned policing.

Corporate leaders who still think that <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-us-businesses/748271" target="_blank">out-of-state travel benefits </a>will solve the problem should stop and read the fine print: Any woman or girl traveling out of state is subject to enforcement whether or not they are pregnant, as are people who present themselves as female or gender fluid.

<h2>Retail drugstores in the crosshairs</h2>

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the impact on the nation’s leading retail drugstore chains.

Drugstores are already on the anti-abortion radar because they are legally entitled to carry Plan B and other popular over-the-counter emergency contraceptives. The Dobbs ruling will only increase their visibility as other healthcare providers <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/birth-control-missouri-ban/" target="_blank">stop dispensing</a> emergency contraceptives. 
  
Emergency contraceptives are not the same thing as the prescription-only “abortion pill.” They are designed to prevent a pregnancy, not to abort one. Nevertheless, over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptives could be threatened by the Dobbs ruling. As anti-abortion advocates start to gear up for a national abortion ban and a clampdown on birth control, some degree of panic buying set in last week.

Among the large chain pharmacies, Rite Aid reported that it has <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/06/29/some-retailers-limiting-purchases-of-plan-b-morning-after-pills/" target="_blank">limited purchases</a> of the popular Plan B pill to three per customer. Walmart also reportedly imposed a limit, as did CVS, though CVS has since lifted the restriction.

Walgreens reported that it <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/27/cvs-capping-purchases-of-plan-b-pills-to-ensure-consistent-supply.html" target="_blank">has not set a limit</a> on Plan B. In any case, if the pills are not available in-store there are online options. Walgreens, for one, is not ready to cede emergency contraceptive sales to Internet-based companies like Amazon, Instacart and the startup GoPuff, or to the growing number of telehealth firms such as Wisp, Nurx and Stix.

As of this writing, the Walgreens online store advertises that Plan B One-Step can be ordered for about $50 and delivered within one to two hours, depending on the shipping option.

“Plan B One-Step is <a href="https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/plan-b-one-step-emergency-contraceptive/ID=prod6401038-product" target="_blank">available</a> for any woman who needs it with no age restriction,” the listing reads, adding enthusiastically that Plan B is easy to find and has been purchased by millions of women.

CVS goes even farther. In addition to the selling points noted by Walgreens, its bulleted list of items includes this observation: “<a href="https://www.cvs.com/shop/plan-b-one-step-emergency-contraceptive-tablet-prodid-876669" target="_blank">About seven out of every eight women</a> who would have gotten pregnant will not become pregnant after taking Plan B One-Step.”

That sort of language is all but certain to incite anti-abortion activists who believe that all birth control is just another form of baby-killing. That could explain why Rite Aid is much more cautious in its online marketing. The company mainly emphasizes that Plan B <a href="https://www.riteaid.com/shop/plan-b-one-step-emergency-contraceptive-1ct-8017536" target="_blank">should not be used</a> as birth control. To reinforce the point, a short, peppy video on the site portrays Plan B as a backup solution for people whose regular birth control failed.

<h2>Rethink that pharmacy-based community clinic, STAT</h2>

Whether emergency contraceptives remain widely available or not, pharmacies face a bigger threat from the Dobbs decision. In terms of enforcement, anyone who so much as breathes in the family planning aisle is a potential target for monitoring, whether they’re perusing condoms, lubricants or home pregnancy tests. 

It also mean that in-store clinics such as CVS’s “<a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/cvs-health-offers-more-just-local-drugstore/56821" target="_blank">Minute Clinics</a>” are liable to be monitored.

Back in 2019, CVS followed its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna to announce that it would reduce retail space and <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/cvs-emphasizes-consumer-health-healthhubs-expansion/83771" target="_blank">expand its HealthHub service</a> at 1,500 of its retail stores. The goal was to cement its position more firmly in the vanguard of pharmacy companies working to improve overall health and wellbeing, not simply treat illnesses after they arise.

Even without state- or community-sanctioned pregnancy police looking over their shoulders, healthcare providers of all sorts already have their hands full dealing with the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/texas-state-funded-crisis-pregnancy-centers-gave-medical-misinformatio-rcna34883" target="_blank">medical misinformation and outright lies</a> about abortion and contraceptives peddled by bogus “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/nyregion/crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion-nyc.html" target="_blank">crisis pregnancy centers</a>.” The Dobbs ruling is all but certain to layer on the misdirection with the blessing of state based anti-abortion legislation, while also placing pharmacy-based clinicians under the watchful eye of the pregnancy police.

In another concerning development, the Dobbs ruling has provided considerable state-sanctioned oxygen to organized white supremacist groups, which have a <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/anti-abortion-white-supremacy/" target="_blank">long history of linkage</a> with the anti-abortion movement.

Since the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/january-6-brands-fight-insurrection/734126" target="_blank">violent insurrection</a> of January 6, 2021, white supremacist organizations have begun <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/red-alert-pride-month-attacks/747801" target="_blank">instigating violence at Pride events</a>, and some observers recognize their footprint in the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/24/attacks-violence-abortion-provider-roe-bans" target="_blank">rising tide of violence</a> among anti-abortion activists.

If CVS has exposed its own community clinic model to the risk of violence, it has been feeding the beast all along. Last week the independent journalist Judd Legum of the newsletter Popular Information cited CVS among the <a href="https://popular.info/p/these-13-corporations-have-spent" target="_blank">top 13 corporate donors</a> to anti-abortion political action committees.

U.S. business leaders who thought they could buy security for their bottom-line interests at the cost of human rights for everyone with a uterus certainly did sow this wind. Now that the whirlwind has come down upon the entire nation, neither they nor anybody else should be surprised.  

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/K2vohBg4JSQ" target="_blank">Gayatri Malhotra</a> via Unsplash

Be Careful What You Wish For: Top U.S. Corporations Reap What Political Donations Sowed

Leading U.S. corporations that profess to support human and civil rights were put on the spot last week, when the U.S. Supreme Court announced its final decision in the Dobbs abortion case. Some business leaders <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-us-businesses/748271" target="_blank">tried to control the damage</a> by taking steps to ensure their employees of equal access to company-wide health benefits. However, a storm is coming, as employee and shareholder activists gear up for the fight of the century.

<h2>Business leaders can wield employee health plans as shields…</h2>

Salesforce and several other companies set the template for benefits-based action last fall. <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/salesforce-texas-abortion-law/728386" target="_blank">The company guaranteed travel support</a> for its Texas employees seeking abortions out-of-state after the state's legislature passed new restrictions on abortion access.

Since then, the trickle has turned into a flood. A leaked draft of the Dobbs opinion set the wheels in motion several weeks ago, and some corporations were already prepared to take a stand.

According to a list maintained by Reuters, so far two dozen leading corporations have added <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/companies-offering-abortion-travel-benefits-us-workers-2022-06-24/" target="_blank">out-of-state travel benefits</a> for abortions or have stated that their existing benefits already cover out-of-state medical care.

So far, the list mainly includes financial and tech firms such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Meta, Uber, Yelp, DoorDash and Microsoft, among others. However, entertainment companies (Netflix, Disney) also make an appearance, along with retailers (Starbucks, Kroger) and consumer brands (Levi Strauss, Gucci).

<h2>…at least for now.</h2>

Corporations may appear to be on firm ground by offering travel benefits. They position it as a matter of fairness, providing all employees with the same access to their health benefits regardless of where they live.

However, if corporations are placing the bar at consistency, the earth is already moving under their feet. The fairness argument is its own undoing. It gives oxygen to Republican office holders, and <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/republican-supreme-court-could-impose-national-abortion-ban-without-help-from-electeds-142816325931" target="_blank">their allies on the Supreme Court</a>, who are already working towards a national abortion ban.

If these corporations are looking for inter-state consistency, they could very well get it, just not in the way they anticipated.

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In addition, now that anti-abortion activists have the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/06/24/susan-collins-voted-for-kavanaugh-and-gorsuch-suggests-justices-misled-her/" target="_blank">in their pocket</a>, they can turn their full attention to changing state policies that still uphold the right to manage one’s own pregnancy.

As more states impose more restrictions, out-of-state travelers will strain medical resources in the remaining abortion-rights states. Concerns have already been raised over longer wait times for abortion services, resulting in increased risk to the pregnant person. The impacts could ripple out to impact services for residents in abortion-rights states as well as those traveling for an abortion.

<h2>After last week’s ruling on abortion, corporate citizens need to look in the mirror…</h2>

After a generation of corporate happy talk on diversity, equality and inclusion, the Dobbs decision has suddenly slammed the sledgehammer of reality on their heads. Many of them deserve it, because many of them they have provided the financial backing that leveraged Republican candidates into statehouses and the halls of Congress, ultimately providing former President Donald Trump with the opportunity to cement a 6-3 far-right, anti-abortion majority on the Supreme Court.

The organization Equity Forward has been <a href="http://equityfwd.org/defund-the-bans" target="_blank">tracking political contributions</a> by corporations in support of anti-abortion lawmakers. They identified some of the best-known names in DEI — AT&amp;T, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Delta Airlines, General Motors, Google, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Lyft, Mastercard, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Uber and Walmart — as significant contributors to the anti-abortion movement.

The blowback from two-faced political donations is a relatively new risk on the corporate risk manager’s to-do list. As described last February by Dorothy S. Lund and Leo E. Strine in the Harvard Business Review, much of the problem is due to the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/01/corporate-political-spending-is-bad-business" target="_blank">opened the floodgates</a> on corporate political donations.

In particular, Lund and Strine cite Google for signing on to a corporate voting rights letter last April, while at the same time the company “had quietly funded a ‘policy working group’ on ‘election integrity’ with the Republican State Leadership Committee.”

That is just one case among many. Lund and Strine also took note of <a href="https://politicalaccountability.net/hifi/files/Conflicted-Consequences.pdf" target="_blank">a 2020 report</a> containing “abundant examples” of companies that “donate to help elect candidates they hope will do their industry’s bidding or support a specific cause, even as they publicly advocate for the opposite stance.”

<h2>…and stop shooting themselves in foot.</h2>

Lund and Stine also suggest that the bottom-line benefits of political donations are not as straightforward as they may seem.

“Emerging evidence suggests that [political donations] can destroy value by suppressing innovation and distracting managers from more-pressing tasks,” they write. “Perhaps most important, political donations greatly heighten corporate risk.”

“In an era when customers, employees, and investors are increasingly scrutinizing companies’ records on employee, environmental, social, and governance issues ... the threat of blowback from political contributions has become too great for executives to ignore,” they add.

That was a prescient warning, but it has come far too late now that Dobbs has set the wheels in motion. Corporations that support Republican candidates and other anti-abortion lawmakers are now faced with the potential for an unprecedented backlash as millions of consumers wake up to the fact that all of their pregnancies, intended or not — and ultimately, all of their menstrual cycles — are now under the thumb of state machinery and self-appointed community police, thanks to a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court consisting solely of Republican-nominated justices.

<h2>The fight of the century is just beginning</h2>

So, what’s in store for corporate crisis communicators? For starters, the consumer activist movement sparked by grassroots organizations like <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/when-boycotts-work-youtube-relives-2017-nightmare-yet-again/82591" target="_blank">Sleeping Giants</a> and <a href="https://grabyourwallet.org/" target="_blank">Grab Your Wallet</a> has already taken new form in at least one consumer-friendly app aimed at directing grassroots firepower against corporations that fund anti-abortion lawmakers, organized by <a href="https://equityfwd.org/defund-the-bans" target="_blank">Equity Forward</a> under the name “Defund the Bans.”

Employee activist organizations have also become powerful forces on issues ranging from <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/spotlight-unilever-employee-activism-confronts-pr-firms-us-immigration-policy/84561" target="_blank">immigrant rights</a> to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/how-amazon-may-win-battles-over-workers-risks-losing-war/88971" target="_blank">climate change</a>. Corporations can expect blowback from that quarter as well.

In addition, shareholder activism is also on the rise. An effective movement has already coalesced around <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/exxonmobils-climate-change-pivot-speaks-volumes-about-shareholder-activism/82596/" target="_blank">climate change</a>, and that is just the beginning. Last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) changed its policy to provide more opportunity for shareholders to force a vote on social issues. It’s a safe bet that abortion will be one of them.

“Last year, the SEC shifted its policy on ‘no-action’ letters — essentially green lights for companies to cast aside shareholder proposals without fear of an enforcement action down the line—saying it would start <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/shareholder-activism-emerging-as-path-to-protect-abortion-rights" target="_blank">factoring in broader social policy considerations</a> when evaluating corporate requests to reject proxy proposals,” Bloomberg Law explained last May, which took note of at least three companies facing votes on proxy proposals related to abortion access: Walmart, Lowe’s and TJX.

Corporations can ignore the coming wave of activism at their own peril, or they can work with consumers, clients, employees, and shareholders to ensure that the right to manage one’s own pregnancy is cemented into the law of the land.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/gIao33Ki3jQ" target="_blank">Gayatri Malhotra</a> via Unsplash

Abortion Fight Forces a Reckoning For America’s Corporations

She’s the recording artist you probably haven’t heard of yet, but London-based <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9S9t9qA3hf0DqvOd3YdHqQ" target="_blank">Arabella Latham</a> — better known by her stage name, Baby Queen — will soon enough be taking this side of the pond by storm. In the queer community, she already has, as her songs from Netflix’s <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/netflix-heartstopper-binge-watching/745051" target="_blank">Heartstopper</a> soundtrack have seen a huge boost in streams since the series launched in late April. Her two songs in the series' first episode are among the reasons why the show gets you hooked, and fast.

Born and raised in Durban, South Africa, Latham felt her aspirations for a music career would eventually stall in her home country. So she moved to the U.K. at the age of 18 and soon started work at the Rough Trade East record shop in London. Knowing zero people in the recording industry at first, she scrambled however she could to network within London’s music scene. Meanwhile, she constantly scribbled ideas of lyrics on sticky notes, many of which ended up on what her co-workers called “Bella’s Wall” at the store. The struggle went on for several years, as she hit rough patch after rough patch. Then, to top it off, she lost her job at Rough Trade when the pandemic hit. But several weeks after lockdowns started, Baby Queen signed her first recording deal with Polydor Records.

There’s far more to Baby Queen than her quick rise to stardom. Countless profiles and interviews sum her up as embodying the hopes — and anxieties — of Gen Z. But her music can also resonate with anyone who has become part of, or is thinking of joining, the so-called “Great Resignation," as her lyrics express exasperation with a toxic workplace, social media, homophobia, gender tropes, beauty standards and dismissive attitudes toward mental health.

Editor's note: Be sure to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/category/brands-taking-stands/59911" target="_blank">subscribe</a> to our Brands Taking Stands newsletter, which comes out every Wednesday.

Let’s start with one of her breakout songs, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX7MKhQXwqY" target="_blank">Internet Religion</a>,” which is as much about the impact (or lack thereof, despite what the press releases say) that many of our institutions — including the business community, often has on society — as the lyrics speak about Gen Z angst:

<blockquote>
Death and guns and beating the gay kids up 
It doesn't happen to you, so why give a f---? 
If you can go online just to become 
The identity that you construct 
Yeah, let's warp the standard of beauty 
So none of our little sisters want to eat 
Yeah, that's f---ing cool and it's a pity 
We can't Facetune personality…
</blockquote>

While we’re on the subject of angst and for those who still don’t understand what’s driving Gen Z’s mistrust of our institutions, including technology and media, then be sure to favorite “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJfUBadp7k" target="_blank">Narcissist</a>” on YouTube or your preferred streaming app:

<blockquote>
When I was just a girl, I read a magazine 
It said, "You can have the world if you look pretty 
But you'll never be enough, so avoid humiliation 
And stop looking for love when all you need is validation" 
So I grew up kind of hating myself 
And letting all you m-----f-----s monetize my mental health 
By making me believe that my personal success 
Was dependent on my weight and the way that I dress

I see the same magazine criticize my generation 
And I find it kinda weird you'd critique your own creation 
But you still go online and call me self-obsessed

Wait! Did you forget who made the internet? 
Oh, oh 
I hate it when you ask me "What's your problem?" 
Oh, oh 
As if you don't already know
</blockquote>

For those working within a company that spins its purpose and culture one way publicly, but IRL exhibits a completely different reality — whether internally or by resisting any meaningful social impact — listeners can certainly relate to “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_1LaMtXbG8" target="_blank">Buzzkill</a>:”

<blockquote>
Well, I was changing the world, but got distracted by my telephone 
In every crowded room I feel unnaturally alone 
It's like I'm living in a dream but all the characters are me 
I'm disillusioned by the world and I am filled with apathy 
All of the cheaters prosper and all of the quitters win And he's your president because you voted for him…
</blockquote>

And while we’re on the topic of whether one truly can contribute — or even be recognized for creativity and strategic thinking — where we work (i.e., that hijacked buzzword, “inclusion"), direct your AirPods at "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPu70lOdU4" target="_blank">Wannabe</a>:"

<blockquote>
I'm way too clever to talk about the weather 
And every rumor ever made up to fit in 
F--- being thinner, I'm done with skipping dinner 
And looking in the mirror for my ambition 
To all the critics who listen to my lyrics 
I'm totally prolific and capable of ruling the world 
But to the bitches in West born into riches 
Who think it's odd that I kiss girls…
</blockquote>

Now, before our Baby Queen playlist suggestions trigger you further, there’s a lighter side to Latham’s work, that is, if life’s complexities and themes of unrequited love qualify as breezier than daily reminders about unfair beauty standards and outdated gender roles. We can start with “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvmXKL4WPUw" target="_blank">Colours of You</a>," the theme song of the teasers Netflix dropped before Heartstopper launched. It's a loving yet haunting poem that illustrates one of the show’s lead character’s journey toward understanding and accepting his sexuality.

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Then, of course, there’s "Dover Beach," which is beautifully shot, though Baby Queen does a nice job reminding us that 10 consecutive days of PTO might not be enough to shake one’s current romantic obsession:

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Image credit: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Queen#/media/File:Babyqueen_tramlines.jpg" target="_blank">Treveales</a> via Wiki Commons

Your ‘Great Resignation’ Music Playlist Must Start with Baby Queen 

The United States has enjoyed 50 years of rights afforded by Title IX. It’s a simple <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html" target="_blank">amendment</a>: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Despite the text’s short length (37 words), Title IX’s impacts have been notable in school programs, and, even though the word isn’t explicitly mentioned, in sports. 

“What is so crystal clear about athletics is, you look at these budgets, and if women get 1 percent of what the men get, it’s such a clear case of discrimination,” Susan Ware, author of Title IX: A Brief History with Documents told <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2022/05/19/title-ix-50th-anniversary-womens-sports-impact-daily-cover" target="_blank">Sports Illustrated</a>, explaining why sports have been so clearly transformed by the law.

Here are the numbers. Before Title IX was passed in 1972, college athletic departments <a href="https://www2.edc.org/womensequity/resource/title9/report/athletic.htm" target="_blank">allocated 2 percent</a> of their budgets to their female students, and <a href="https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/education/title-ix-and-the-rise-of-female-athletes-in-america/" target="_blank">one in 27 girls</a> played sports. By 2016, two in five girls were participating in sports. Speaking as a Title IX beneficiary, I had an unlimited view of my sports opportunities growing up swimming, running and playing tennis. 

<h2>We have more to reap from Title IX</h2>

While the opportunities for girls’ and women’s sports seem limitless in 2022, the <a href="https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/press_release/as-title-ix-turns-50-research-shows-girls-have-yet-to-receive-same-number-of-athletic-opportunities-as-boys-did-in-1972/" target="_blank">Women’s Sports Foundation</a> (WSF), founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King, has made it clear in its Title IX 50th Anniversary research findings that the U.S. has a long way to go to achieve the ambitions of the amendment. According to the findings, sports opportunities for high school boys have grown approximately 25 percent in the past 50 years, while high school girls today still have fewer opportunities than boys had back in the 1970s. 

And it helps to look at subsections of girls and women to find which groups may need better advocacy. The report found that girls and women of color, those with disabilities and those identifying as LGBTQ+ are particularly in need of appropriate options. Schools offer these individuals less access consistently, WSF found. Among others, the report highlights the staggering fact that 78 percent of LGBTQ+ students avoid school functions because they feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

Those participating in sports at a high level are not blind to the lack of equality female athletes have been experiencing. WSF reports that in 2019, only 27 percent of U.S. women high school sport leaders, and 44 percent of college sport leaders, indicated that they believed institutions were complying with Title IX.

“We should absolutely celebrate the fact that girls’ participation in high school sports is nearly 12x higher than it was when Title IX was passed, but we cannot rest on it,” said King in a press statement from the WSF. Following King’s statement, WSF President and three-time Olympic medalist with the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Meghan Duggan said, “When girls don’t get access to sport, it means they don’t get access to the countless benefits sports provide, from higher levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression to critical workplace skills such as teamwork, goal-setting and the pursuit of excellence.”

<h2>The economic case for equal access to sports</h2>

Well, as Duggan noted, there are clear benefits to sports participation, including economic impacts. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/sustaining-the-olympic-legacy-women-in-sports-and-public-policy/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a> points to a correlation between sports and landing better jobs, as well as being more likely to lead a team. A 2014 <a href="https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/resources/documents/2015/3/making-the-connection-women-sport-and-leadership?lang=en&amp;utm_content=buffera3a04&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" target="_blank">survey</a> from EY found that almost 95 percent of women executives have played a sport, and about three quarters say experience with a sport can help accelerate a woman’s career. 

There are many reasons to put effort into fulfilling the promise of Title IX. Among the many suggestions the WSF gives that can help expand girls’ and women’s sports, it recommends simply not taking the right for granted. That may be particularly sage advice as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/us/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-monday/index.html" target="_blank">protests</a> spread across the U.S. following the Supreme Court’s <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/abortion-us-businesses/748271" target="_blank">rollback</a> of Roe v. Wade. Women (and men) are calling for a renewal of this protection. 

The decision that shocked the nation on June 24 should act as a wakeup call in many ways, one of which must be to defend the rights we currently have and ensure they are executed.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/8aIaV4Z34ZU" target="_blank">Jeffrey F Lin</a> via Unsplash

Title IX: After 50 Years, We Can Do Even Better for Women’s Sports

In only its second year of federal recognition, Juneteenth was once again subjected to a slew of exploitative and offensive marketing attempts from brands more interested in financial gain than respect and representation. <a href="https://purposebrand.com/about/our-team/diane-primo/" target="_blank">Diane Primo</a>, the CEO of <a href="https://purposebrand.com/" target="_blank">Purpose Brand</a> and an expert in DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), spoke with TriplePundit about which brands managed to go against the tide and get it right, which one failed the worst of all and what businesses should focus on for future Juneteenth commemorations.

“We have to remember what the holiday represents. At the heart of slavery was a commercial enterprise of the Black community,” she explained. Where people were “property that were sold for profit. Slavery represented a for profit system. So, when you get to celebration of freedom it’s important that corporations understand that transaction cannot be at the heart of any marketing effort without directly benefiting the causes of the community.” Unfortunately, she said — “We fundamentally don’t get it.”

<h2>Where were the Juneteenth teachable moments?</h2>

So, who was the worst offender? Primo's answer isn’t likely to surprise anyone. When it comes to what not to do, “Walmart is the poster child.”

3p previously covered the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/marketing-juneteenth-dei/747781" target="_blank">Walmart ice cream debacle</a> as a part of its Juneteenth reporting. The retail giant released a red velvet cheesecake flavored ice cream — complete with a trademark symbol on the package — to major backlash this year. While the dessert was eventually pulled from stores along with a line of Juneteenth themed disposable cups, plates and napkins that proclaimed “<a href="https://www.vibe.com/news/national/walmart-juneteenth-ice-cream-apology-1234664549/" target="_blank">It’s the freedom for me</a>,” it’s difficult to understand how the products made it onto shelves and into freezers in the first place.

“Shame on them!” Primo said as she pondered how the corporation can be so big and have so much talent at its disposal and yet make such a blatant mistake. “It shows they just don’t understand purpose. Or diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“If you’ve grown up segregated” — which most white Americans have due to the nature of how <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/even-as-metropolitan-areas-diversify-white-americans-still-live-in-mostly-white-neighborhoods/" target="_blank">white neighborhoods continue to endure</a> — then “your experience just isn’t good enough,” she said, bringing home the need for DEI at every level of leadership and marketing.

<h2>What brands got Juneteenth right?</h2>

Fortunately, Primo reported that there were brands that didn’t approach the holiday through commodification and instead promoted dialogue and representation. Among these, she listed JC Penney and Sephora as businesses that promoted the meaning behind the holiday instead of using the holiday to promote their own products. “JC Penney said, ‘Let’s talk about this and have an honest dialogue’.” The department store brand opened up that conversation by inviting <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/style/opal-lee-juneteenth.html" target="_blank">Dr. Opal Lee </a>— the activist who walked from Texas to Washington, D.C. at the age of 89 as a part of her campaign to have Juneteenth recognized as a national holiday — to <a href="https://www.jcpenney.com/style/a-juneteenth-discussion-with-opal-lee/" target="_blank">give a talk</a> about observing the holiday. Meanwhile, <a href="https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/fashion-beauty-brands-showing-juneteenth-090002575.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADFAMBlGM81soJTIWHk0jDtPbzDQejFvG7zEivJSlWpEQCNfDjWGBmDph1hPxGxLQuz5mO2fXbIgUEENRWR17Avwqy6xhKrM50reoKW-evT4pwQddYFYqIt6N7cwPjt43IFDmq1VNr_5PBK1aTuvc8zXVuVcNzcKV9LH0CNycM81" target="_blank">Sephora</a> contributed their own part to the educational discourse by featuring Lee on a billboard above its Time Square store. 

“There are a number of commercial opportunities for brands to do it right,” Primo affirmed, giving the example of JC Penney’s <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220113005339/en/JCPenney-Launches-Hope-Wonder%E2%84%A2-Brand-to-Celebrate-Festive-Holidays-and-Give-Back-During-Cultural-Moments" target="_blank">Hope and Wonder</a> line, which donates 100 percent of its net proceeds back to community non-profits.

She remarked that just as rainbow washing exists, so does “Juneteenthwashing,” which she described as: “Hijacking holidays and doing nothing in return.” Still, there are a lot of brands doing Pride right, and the same could be said for Juneteenth. Primo pointed to <a href="https://www.themanual.com/culture/tinder-human-rights-campaign-blood-ban/" target="_blank">Tinder</a>, <a href="https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/come-through-for-pride-shorts-challenge-trevor-project-2022/" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://unlocked.microsoft.com/" target="_blank">Microsoft</a> as examples that marketers can look to for their Juneteenth campaigns. What matters, she explained, is to “Honor it authentically. What that means is, understand what the issues around the holiday are and ground promotion in history.”

<h2>Why it's important to acknowledge the pain behind this holiday</h2>

That also means understanding the pain that comes from that history and honoring it, she explained. “With that as a lens you really have to market differently,” she said, describing a spirit of promotion that is more about giving than it is about selling. “Authenticity should be at the core.” 

That means considering all aspects of a campaign for authenticity and representation — including context, voice and tone. It means vetting suppliers and partners. “Who are you using as your agency?” Primo asked pointedly. If the agency doesn’t represent the population how will it produce something genuine and meaningful? She added, “It’s about integration and connection in an authentic way.”

For marketers who still don’t understand why it’s so important to lean in authentically, Primo urges them to remember that only 30 percent of the American population is white male. Brands can no longer afford to ignore everyone else. “Power has shifted to the consumer and it is in their hands,” she said.

Which is why she insists that “The purpose of business is to be a business of purpose.” Brands would be wise to remember this, not just on Juneteenth or during Pride, but all year long. 

Image credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-african-american-flag-6724567/" target="_blank">William Adams</a> via Pixabay

As We Look Back on Juneteenth, Remember: Authenticity Beats Commodification

California's Central Coast, a 200-mile stretch of shore between Santa Barbara and Big Sur, is one of the Golden State’s quieter hidden gems. Among the region’s must-visits is Morro Bay, a town of about 11,000 people that’s home to calm waters for kayaking, seals and sea otters, seafood shacks, and the eye-catching Morro Rock. The town also hosts what was once a massive power plant and its three towering stacks, which PG&amp;E built in the 1950s.

For the vast majority of visitors to Morro Bay, which along with much of San Luis Obispo County ranks as a popular day and weekend trip for those seeking to escape the San Joaquin Valley’s scorching summer heat, the three 450-foot stacks elicit the thought, “Who thought it was a good idea to put this here?” Like most visitors, infrequent or (as with myself) quite frequent, the stacks are something not to post about on Instagram — I recently scrolled through my phone and yep, not a single photo of the stacks are in my gallery, as I’ve always noted to take selfies, pics of the dog staring at the seals, sunsets, and, of course, Morro Rock without the stacks in sight.

For locals, opinions about the power plant are a tad more nuanced. The stacks have been around so long that for many locals, they are an integral part of the town’s landscape. The old-timers who remember when the power plant was built note that the stacks indeed left Morro Bay stacked, as in flush with cash to buy new school desks or funds needed to keep the streets well-paved. Some residents just want the stacks to go. Nevertheless, observations of the swag sold in stores along the town’s Embarcadero, as well as the logos affixed on plenty of local storefronts, together show that the stacks for locals are more an important part of the town’s lore than a part of history that should be torn down.
<figure role="group" class="align-center"><img alt="An aerial view of Morro Bay and its namesake power plant (Image credit: Michael Olsen via Unsplash)" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8525449d-52fd-41de-8fcf-a79fda107ed7" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/morro%20bay%20aerial%20view.jpg" width="1920" height="1440" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>An aerial view of Morro Bay and its namesake power plant (Image credit: Michael Olsen via Unsplash)</figcaption></figure>In any event, the fate of the stacks is a sealed deal. The Morro Bay power plant has been largely <a href="https://keyt.com/news/environment/2021/11/01/morro-bay-to-remove-power-plant-stacks/" target="_blank">shuttered</a> for almost a decade, and last fall, the town’s council voted to tear down the stacks. Arguments over history or appearance were part of the discussion, but in the end the decision came down to finances: The cost to the town for maintaining the stacks could reach <a href="https://keyt.com/news/environment/2021/11/01/morro-bay-to-remove-power-plant-stacks/" target="_blank">more than a million dollars</a> a year. Do the math: Morro Bay’s annual budget is <a href="https://www.morro-bay.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/16400/FY-21-22-Midyear-Budget-Report#:~:text=The%20adopted%20General%20Fund%20Budget,22%20is%20approximately%20%2415.7%20million." target="_blank">less than $16 million</a> annually.

The city found a solution for its stacks dilemma in an agreement with Vistra, a power generation company that had agreed to buy the plant and will front the cost to remove the stacks. The company has plans to build what could become the world’s largest battery storage project, one with the capacity of as much as <a href="https://www.energy-storage.news/expansion-plan-to-take-worlds-biggest-battery-storage-project-to-3gwh-capacity/" target="_blank">600 MW</a> of energy storage once it is completed. The first phase of the project is slated to <a href="https://www.morro-bay.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/15093/Vistra---Morro-Bay---Battery-Project-Presentation-022021" target="_blank">switch on next year</a>, though time is of the essence as California’s controversial Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will be <a href="https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/how-the-system-works/diablo-canyon-power-plant/diablo-canyon-power-plant.page" target="_blank">decommissioned</a> during 2024 and 2025; in turn, California’s renewable power mandates will require more energy storage capacity, and the Morro Bay site is expected to help meet such demands. 

As for the stacks, Vistra has agreed to front the costs and <a href="https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/morro-bay-city-council-approves-agreement-with-vistra-on-future-of-old-power-plant-site" target="_blank">tear them down</a> by 2028 or pay an additional $3 million as a fine.

Vistra <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/battery-storage-monterey-bay/121071" target="_blank">has experience</a> transforming California’s coastal power plants: The company has taken on a <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/monterey-bay-energy-storage/727226" target="_blank">similar energy storage projec</a>t on the site of a former power plant in Moss Landing, a fishing village on Monterey Bay about 140 miles north of Morro Bay.
<figure role="group" class="align-center"><img alt="Morro Bay at Sunset, taken without any view of the stacks. " data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6685e558-cecf-48de-9c22-d0c2099bdbba" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Morro%20Bay%20sunset.jpg" width="3884" height="2913" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>Morro Bay at Sunset, taken without any view of the stacks. (Image credit: Leon Kaye)</figcaption></figure>Image credits: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/K3wQKeYvKwQ" target="_blank">Katie Rodriguez</a> via Unsplash; <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/e0PA1mJfbaY" target="_blank">Michael Olsen</a> via Unsplash; Leon Kaye

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