Corporate responsibility - my job and my hobby

I havent been really writing about my biggest passion - in professional terms that is - that is Corporate Responsibility. Or one could call it also corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability..and maybe a few other names for a concept that is essentially all the same: businesses integrating social and enviromental concerns into their daily operations and relationships with stakeholders, and doing that voluntarily (ooh! the latter is rather controversial topic, but i won't get into that right now :))

But yeah CR is my passion really (hehe...sometimes it feels like being in love or smth :))), it's amazing how interesting the journey has been for me (now for about 3 yrs already)...to dig in and discover the role of business in society, and not just Estonian society, but it has become thousand times more interesting when looking at the whole world, the balances/imbalances in the world, the power of MNCs, and the threats and opportunities that derive from that, the role of and opportunities for small businesses...and so on and on and on...the topic has huge depth and thus room for discovery...it has been so for me.

I actually started to write about it now, cos I had a full week of CSR action: a CSR/SME project meeting in Milan and right after that an ISO (international standardization organization) meeting in Vienna on a new standard they're developing - a standard for social responsibility - ISO 26 000. That is to indicate that it's a field that is globally addressed not just by big businesses, and a few goverments and a myriad of international NGOs and network organizations, but it's a hot topic on the table of ISO as well.

read more www.iso.org/sr

Important note (for all CR fans :) - ISO has already declared that social responsibility excludes all philantropic and charitable activities, thus moving the focus even further to the core activities of the business (yeah, that's what it should be!!).
And a note to the standards's fans - the ISO 26 000 is not going to be a standard that a company can acquire a certificate for, but it's going to be a guideline...contentwise, too early to say as the content is mostly not ready yet..but ought to be so by 2008.

For a little induction for a reader that's not crazy about CSR (yet!), read Anita Roddick (either www.anitaroddick.com or her books Take It Personally, Business as Unusual), she's one of the global CSR advocates, founder of the Body Shop (now sold to L'Oreal) or see the movie The Corporation (www.thecorporation.com)

Back on track

Just about 2 weeks ago I was talking to a friend that "oh what a fun it'd be to catch a little flu and be officially sick for a few days - just as a little break, have some rest, watch TV and do nothing!"
And there I went - last Monday when I was on an audit visit to a place called Vana-Vigala I did fell terribly sick, so that I was lying in bed for almost the whole week with 38-39 degrees fever. It was a bit more than I had wished for - I couldnt even get out of the bed for the first 4 days at all, later it got a bit better. During the process I figured it ain't that much fun to be sick, what I could do next time is just take a few days off (whenever I feel I'd deserve an excuse to be at home and take time off). Actually the only positive things that I could come up with are that I lost about 3 kilos while sick and that I actually did have some rest :))

Yeah well now I'm all healthy and fine again, it's my first day back in the office again. I ought to be working hard now, but instead I'm writing a posting to my blog. I have got just 1,5 weeks left here at my current job, so my thoughts are wondering off & around already, but well in 2 minutes I get myself together again!

Changing times

Really!!
Besides the fact that it's my last month at the current job as internal auditor, it also appeared that I urgently need a new place to stay as well!
I have known for a while the owners want to sell the current place, and they themselves were thinking of doing that later this spring. However they thought they'd still put the sales add on web right now..just for a trial kinda thing...considering the heat on the real estate market, of course the potential buyer was there the next day (for a 3 mln EEK apartment!!!). So I have about 2 weeks to find a new place! If you happen to have a free spot for me, let me know :)

Mairi WON!!!

It's such a great news I just have to share it here!
Just a little while ago our own Mairi - the current President of AIESEC in Estonia - got selected as a Director for AIESEC International!!!! Out of 18 people running only 6 were selected and she was one of them!!
And that's the position right after the first man in the organization (the President of AIESEC International) with 20 000 members across 90 countries!

Just to mention she's the second Estonian on AIESEC International overall, Minni Tint being the first (I was on her MC team in 2001-2002 :), she was there as an alumni coordinator.

CONGRADULATIONS MAIRI!!!!

[PAI!! PAI!! PAI!!!]

My friend Peep

Tegelt ma pean ikka Eesti keeles kirjutama, peaasjalikult seetõttu, et inglise keeles pole sellist head sõna nagu "priima".

Ma tahtsin öelda, et mul on priima sõber Peep! Juba aastast umbes 2002 või nii...tegelikult me tundsime juba enne seda, aga alguses me ei olnud päris-sõbrad. Peep kuuldavasti olevat mõnda aega päris põhjalikult kaalunud, kas ma üldse mingi mõistlik tegelane olen. Õnneks ta sai lõpuks aru, et olen.
Vedas mul :).

Niisiis Peep on priima - seda ma juba ütlesin - aga ma ei väsi kordamast :). Ja kirjutab vahvasti, soovitan lugeda tema blogi, vot SIIT. Täna veetsin ise ka seal jupp aega - üks konkreetne tulemus oli, et lõpuks andsin oma praegusesse põhitöökohta lahkumisavalduse :D. I had it coming - so now it came :))

Peebuga saab alati vahvasti elust ja asjadest juttu puhuda. Nüüd, kus ta kaugel Emiraatide-maal, õnnestub teda vahel ikka msn-ist kinni püüda. Viimasel ajal räägin ma temaga muidugi 90% ajast CSR traineeshippidest.
Täna mitte nii palju. Sain ka noomida, et pole oma blogis midagi kirjutanud. Nüüd kirjutan.


See pilt siin on tehtud Indias, AIESEC International Congressil. Pärast seda läksin Peebule Dubaisse külla, aga Peep ise jäi Indiasse viisaasjanduse pärast kuuks ajaks "peatuma". Nii et ma käisin tal külas, aga teda ennast polnudki :). Õnneks päästsid mind igavussurmast ja üksi ringiuitamisest AIESECisõbrad Pieter, Ana ja Daan.

2 asja veel: kui kunagi Peebuga kohtute, küsige saabastega kassi lugu! Ja viimane - ärge mitte mõelgegi Peebuga abielluda, sest mul on Peep juba broneeritud. See on juba ammu kokku lepitud, et kui saame 30, siis abiellume (noh tegelt oli tingimus, et kui me mõlemad siis veel vallalised oleme, aga...noh..eks vaatab)

Hehe...vot nii siis!