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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
12.26.2005 ET
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CSR News from:
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economie and LUCITÀ join efforts to cross-pollinate SRI and CSR at eco6 in 2006
A unique partnership harnesses the power of finance and visual media to deliver results for tsunami-impacted communities
(CSRwire) New York, NY/London, UK - On the 1st-year anniversary of the tsunami
in Southeast Asia, LUCITÀ Inc. and economie have announced a partnership
to ensure that the upcoming economie 06 conference in Zurich, Switzerland
delivers material results in the SRI and CSR fields. In this spirit, the
two companies are simultaneously announcing their commitment to establish
a Tsunami Fund to directly support long-term sustainable business and
development in countries affected by the disaster.
Unlike most sustainable business conferences that select the initiatives
they intend to support upon the event's conclusion, economie 06 is one of
the first of its kind to begin actively supporting a project before
the event. The project selected by economie is LUCITÀ's "Tsunami--stories
of human resilience," a body of fine photojournalistic images taken in
Southeast Asia to document the reconstruction process and give
international voice to the resilience and spirit of the people impacted by
the tsunami. The Tsunami Fund will be supported, on the one hand, by
revenues from the project, and on the other, by a percentage of delegate
entry fees as well as of the final profits of the economie 06 event.
The economie-LUCITÀ partnership stems from a realization that the SRI and
CSR sectors bring powerful stabilizing forces to a world where business is
taking on an increasing share of responsibility to social and economic
challenges, and from a desire to create new, viable business models to
engage multiple stakeholders in real-world, multiple-win initiatives.
economie and LUCITÀ feel that a closer alliance must be forged between
the often exclusive conference circuits and the people and issues that are
discussed at the events but rarely truly represented or resolved. By the
time economie 06 takes place on October 9 and 10, key Tsunami Fund
information and statistics will be available for release.
The eco6 event
economie, a top SRI education and training organization in the UK and
Europe, is the entity behind economie 06, the first event on the
international conference circuit to combine socially responsible
investment and corporate social responsibility. Affectionately called
eco6, the conference targets a much wider combined SRI & CSR audience and
aims to:
Measure the current pulse of SRI and CSR worldwide and assess the
future in both sectors;
Educate, empower and inform delegates and participants to harness the
power of both SRI and CSR within their organizations and their business
communities, through peer-to-peer networking, Open Forum workshops,
sessions streamed online, and other interactive activities both onsite and
online;
Promote the advancement of qualified SRI financial planning within
the financial services advisory sector worldwide;
Actively encourage the involvement of young people worldwide in SRI &
CSR (with the support of the eco6 Student Bursary); and
Announce key data about the Tsunami Fund.
LUCITÀ, a socially conscious design and visual media company based in the
US, is heading up visual media and interactive strategy & support for eco6,
and will be working directly with economie on media outreach.
Partners' comments
"There is a very real feeling that those involved in the SRI & CSR arena
are mere representatives of a worldwide momentum for financial
accountability, equity, social responsibility, and fair play that is
driven from the 'bottom up'," said Brian Harrison Spence, Development
Director and the founder of economie. "In many Western countries there is
a feeling of disenfranchisement and alienation from the political system.
This is a unique opportunity to make a significant difference. We are
delighted to have the opportunity to be involved in the launch of the
Tsunami--stories of human resilience project and the Tsunami
Fund."
"It's time to galvanize the business model of disaster recovery and
rebuilding, and to do so, we need to harness the power of the two most
powerful forces of modern society--the media & communications and
financial sectors," said Birgitte Rasine, CEO of LUCITÀ Inc. "Without
the active involvement and support of these two socioeconomic forces, we
will continue to trip across the same obstacles time and again, as we're
doing now."
"This probably has been the single most profound experience in my life,"
said Daniel Root, lead photographer at LUCITÀ Images, talking about his
travels to Southeast Asia to photograph the reconstruction process. "To
see the devastation in person instead of viewing a sixty-second video clip
on a 32-inch TV screen was a truly humbling experience. The most beautiful
thing I came away with was the resilience of the human spirit in the face
of mass destruction, loss of life, and upheaval of people's day-to-day
existence."
How to participate in eco6
Conference registration officially opens on January 4, 2006; prior to that
date, individuals can register their interest by emailing eco6@economie.co.uk. Those who are
unable to attend the conference in person but are interested in staying up
to date can register for free as eco6 members, online at
http://economie.co.uk/page.php?page=95. Registered eco6 delegates and
members alike will receive regular notices about the progress of the event
and of the Tsunami Fund. They will be able to communicate with eco6 their
opinions and questions about the Tsunami Project and/or the conference,
and to find out about ways in which they can be involved personally. "We
encourage people to use the economie discussion forum. We want people
involved, engaged," said Mr. Spence, "and above all we want to help
business entities realize just how valuable SRI and CSR really are when
properly harnessed."
Those interested in the Tsunami Fund and the Tsunami Project specifically,
can sign up for email updates at
http://www.lucita.net/tsunami/contact01.html.
Note to editors:
For more information about eco6, please visit http://06.economie.co.uk.
For press registration for eco6, please email media@lucita.net.
For information about the Tsunami Project, please visit http://www.lucita.net/tsunami.
About economie
economie is a privately owned corporation based in London and Zurich with
partners in 19 countries worldwide. The company provides specialized SRI
& CSR education resources to the financial services industry in the UK and
Europe, and is an active force in the movement toward greater
accountability and transparency within the global financial sector. The
first education corporation in the world to online SRI/CSR accredited
examinations for Financial Services Practitioners, economie is in the
process of rolling out similar examinations to the worldwide financial
community.
For more information about economie, please visit http://www.economie.co.uk.
About LUCITÀ Inc.
LUCITÀ is a socially responsible high-end design, photography,
communications and media consultancy company. Providing high-end web
design and development, print design, photography, video production,
writing and editing, and media & communications consultancy services,
LUCITÀ works with business, non-profit, academic and government entities
that strive to improve the world we live in. A signatory member of the
United Nations Global Compact, the company is privately owned, based in
Milford, Connecticut, and has a presence on the West Coast of the US and
in Belgium.
For more information about LUCITÀ, please visit www.lucita.net.
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