Setting the Example

Wal-Mart to add solar panels at 12 Ohio stores
Wal-Mart Stores will expand a solar-energy program to 12 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Ohio, installing panels that will supply between 5% and 20% of each store's total electricity use. American City Business Journals/Dayton, Ohio (3/4)

Demolition firms explore sustainable solid-waste management
Industrial demolition companies are looking to be more sustainable, including the proper reuse and recycling of solid waste such as scrap metal, writes J.D. Elder, president of Elder Demolition. Elder takes on myths about scrap metal recycling and lists its environmental benefits, including LEED credits and savings on resource and landfill use. WasteRecyclingNews.com/Guest Blog (3/4)

Creating Accountability

Climate change leaves Chinese firms overexposed, underinsured
China is expected to be one of the countries most affected by climate change, but only small percentages of Chinese disaster-related losses are insured, according to China Insurance Regulatory Commission data. Bloomberg Businessweek (3/4)

Green Marketing

Green marketing is a red flag for environmental protesters
Environmental and social activists tend to target corporations that are vocal in promoting CSR efforts, perhaps because doing so gets them a bigger reaction from the media, studies suggest. "[T]he more active a company is in promoting its CSR efforts and the more highly regarded it is, the more likely it is that it will be targeted by social activists," writes Brayden King. Kellogg Insight (3/2013)

The Responsible Leader

Why the solar crunch was good for SolarCity
The solar-manufacturing industry's struggles have been good for SolarCity, says CEO Lyndon Rive. The company buys up panels and installs them for residential customers, so the manufacturing crunch has actually improved SolarCity's margins. "The pain that solar manufacturing has experienced, that has accrued 100% to our benefit," Rive says. CNNMoney/Fortune (3/4)

Powering Tomorrow

Offshore wind projects poised to break ground in the Northeast
The Deepwater Wind project in the waters of Rhode Island and the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts' Nantucket Sound plan to start construction this year or in early 2014. It's no accident that both projects are in the Northeast, Peter Galuszka writes, where densely populated urban areas, abundant offshore wind resources, state commitments to renewable energy, and a dearth of coal and other conventional fuel sources are conducive to such projects. Slate (3/4)

Engage. Innovate. Discuss.

7 tips for better networking results
It's important to set goals to help you focus your networking, Tara Horner writes. Always have a business card on hand, be honest and respectful toward contacts and don't forget to follow up, Horner writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (3/4)

SmartQuote

[P]ublicity around CSR investments has the effect of painting a larger target on a company's back." -- Brayden King, management professor, writing at Kellogg Insight Share: