Air Date: Week of October 13, 2000

Living On Earth’s Anna Solomon-Greenbaum reports.that a leaked document about the Sony Corporation, shows the firm is keeping a close watch on activist groups campaigning for stricter environmental standards for electronics manufacturers.

Transcript

SOLOMON-GREENBAUM: A leaked document shows that campaigns to tighten environmental standards for electronics manufacturers have the Sony Corporation on alert. The document called NGO Strategy warns that non-governmental organizations including Friends of the Earth and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition have attained a global reach, and the industry must unite to counter costly new legislation and threats to its public image. It also urges companies to contact foundations that support NGO campaigns and offer an industry perspective before they empty their pockets. The report goes on to recommend the hiring of investigative agencies to track activist groups on the internet. The NGOâs say theyâre a little bemused at all the attention. Sony says it does not view NGOâs as a threat and the report was meant to inspire industry to start a proactive dialogue with activist groups. Thatâs this weekâs business update. I'm Anna Solomon-Greenbaum.