Next month, I will be speaking at the Martin Link conference Best Practices for Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility 2009.  With a number of long term Shanghai based CSR "experts", the 2 days are guaranteed to be filled with friendly discussions on CSR, and how companies are dealing with a number of new dynamic  - recessions and social media in particular.

Speakers include:

• Mr. Yingchu Qian - General Manager - Environmental Marketing Solutions, Inc., Shanghai

With only  days to go before earthday, and 5 days to go before our trip to the Organic Farm, Lorena Luo of Greenpeace has submitted the following article details some of the issues China faces with its food distribution system.

It is a system that recently was under investigation as China's milk was contaminated with melamine, but as you will see in the below.  The problems are far deeper than a specific category, or a specific part of the supply chain.

Our Daily Food: Do Supermarkets Deserve Consumer Trust?
Lorena Luo
Food and Agriculture Campaigner, Greenpeace China

It is no surprise that China's "develop first, clean-up later" development model has had disastrous consequences for the country's environment. One of the chief concerns when it comes to China's pollution has to do with its impact on people's health. For several years now, China has been known to have "cancer villages" located along various bodies of water.

For many firms, large and small - good CSR program and bad CSR program, writing the all imprtant CSR/ sustainabilty report is an important step.

For those firms who are US based, and looking to gain some insights into managing their China based suppliers, perhaps attending INFACT Global Partners New China Social Compliance Leadership Seminar Series may be an option for you:

Ethical Corporation reports on:

the news that on December 28, a number of Chinese companies that produce milk, children's clothes and other kid-related items, jointly established the Maternal and Child Brand Enterprise Alliance in Beijing.

This is a non-profit organization formed by domestic companies who produce maternal and child essentials.

Starting in 2008, Renesas Technology (RT) required all overseas Renesas companies to come up with their own CSR policy. For RT-China, a CSR policy must be written on behalf of all suppliers, distributors, contractors and out-sourcing partners located in China. The policy must comply with Renesas Technology's Corporate philosophy and CSR Charter.

Following my piece in October China’s Need For Psychiatry is Growing, I came across the Straits Times article China's suicide rate soaring that provided more evidence of how and why China needs to begin addressing the changing soical pressures faced by its citizens.

The context of the problem is best highlighted by the passage:

CCTV9 earlier this month looks at the link between drug use and HIV/ AIDS cases in China by profiling a couple of recovering addicts who are living with HIV/ AIDS and looking at the role of methadone clinics in China.

Rehabilitation of drug addicts and HIV/ AIDS care are two issues that China has struggled with over the years, but through programs like the one highlighted in this piece and programs such as the Daytop program in Yunnan, progress is being made.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz_2JBweq-A[/youtube]

With the news stories of milk contamination still fresh in the minds of many in China, it is with speed that China's central party and dairy industry wish to move on.