New Zealand’s economy was based on agriculture, which comprised 50 per cent of the country’s national greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, the government imposed a cap-and-trade system—known as the Emissions Trading System (ETS)—but had excluded the agriculture industry at the time. Recently, the government had been considering imposing a carbon tax at the farm level by 2025 to incentivize livestock farmers to reduce their emissions. However, there was significant backlash from the industry, and the government continued to delay implementing the tax. Would it be possible to propel the country into a new era of net-zero-carbon agriculture without destabilizing the meat and dairy industries?
Driven by the 2009 global economic crisis, Dacia Romania designed and built the Dacia Duster sport utility vehicle (SUV) to be the ideal SUV at an affordable price. After a successful introduction of the cheapest modern sedan on the international market in 2004, and one of the cheapest modern seven-seaters in 2006, Dacia planned to introduce what it hoped would become the cheapest modern SUV on the international market. The main challenge it was facing in 2009 was not only how to sell the car to existing customers, but also to conduct an extensive public communication campaign in order to convince other drivers to change their cars for the cheaper, more efficient Dacia SUV that was going to be available in spring 2010.
Chinese companies are not the standard setters when it comes to corporate social responsibility. But contrary to many published reports, they are implementing and following best practices, some of which Western companies have been using for some time. This article offers an up-to-date assessment of the successes and frustrations of corporate social responsibility in China. In doing so, it examines the country’s governmental and industrial forces, as well as pressures from communities, media, civil society, and unions.