It started out with a bang. Just as kids in San Diego were wrapping up their schoolwork to head out for summer fun, I was fortunate enough to join Jill Vaske, Vice President here at Redemtech, to promote the kick-off of the Connect-2-Compete program, in collaboration with FCC Chairman Genachowski and philanthropist Carlos Slim at a press conference held at Horace Mann Middle School.
Whether it was Cain vehemently denying that he’d killed Abel, or Bart Simpson saying “I didn’t do it” whenever he was caught doing another bad deed, fessing up has always been difficult for people, even though honesty is the best policy. Maybe that’s the reason why so many companies and organizations choose not to reveal significant details of data breaches when they occur and who knows how many others hide their breach incidents altogether.
Last week when Apple withdrew from EPEAT, I felt deep pain. I love Apple products. For personal use, I’ve been buying Apple computers for some 20 years. But, capital S Sustainability is my world view, my organizing principle, my bottom line – triple or otherwise. I started to think, “My MacBook Pro is almost 4 – it won’t last forever – what will I do?” I thought, “If this is Apple’s stance, I won’t be able to buy another Mac.” Thank God, Apple changed its corporate mind and changed it quickly.
When the first small gold nugget was found at Sutter’s Mill in California in 1848, Johann Sutter, owner of the mill, wanted to keep it secret. Not because he wanted all of the valuable resource for himself, but because he feared a gold rush would disrupt his plan to create an agricultural utopia.
A few years ago I was working at a nonprofit organization, overseeing a digital inclusion project that provided low-income families with in-home computers and Internet connectivity. As a result of the program, it was becoming common to receive email communication from our clients; but one day I received an email from an address I did not recognize. The message had no subject line and I remember hesitating to open it out of fear of spam or a virus – it never looks good when the person running the technology initiative infects the work network. When I finally double clicked, the message contained one simple line from a client I had worked with frequently:
Through this forum, we hope to raise awareness of the issues and challenges inherent in managing IT equipment to the highest standards of financial, social and environmental responsibility. We welcome you to join the dialogue. Learn more»
