Among companies in the Russell 1000 Index, only 125 have an executive-level committee with responsibility for corporate social responsibility or environmental, health and safety oversight, according to "The Road Not Yet Taken" report (pdf), writes Environmental Leader.

The report also found that 54 of the firms, or just over 5%, have a "C" level executive responsible for such oversight.

Universal McCann's "Power to the People: Social Media Tracker" study, now in its fourth year, indicates that social networks continue to climb in popularity around the world. But the research firm believes a change is happening in social media: Internet users are "starting to focus their digital life" around single networks, rather than around many specialized tools with social features.

Facebook may have recently passed MySpace as the most-visited social networking site in the US, but it’s facing stiff competition for the attention of social media marketers. By some metrics, Twitter is more popular in the marketing world. Burson-Marsteller, in a July 2009 study of Fortune 100 companies, found that more companies had a presence on Twitter (54%) than on Facebook (29%).

A recent survey conducted by Proofpoint found that 8% of companies had terminated employees due to social media usage (common causes including sharing sensitive information on a network). And while the statistic seems significant, it only underscores one of several upcoming challenges nearly every organization will face as changes in people, process and technology fueled by the collective movement we call social media begin to transform business. Here are a few challenges that every organization should be planning for right now:

If you have raised money from investors, you will need to sell the company at some point for them to get a financial return. It's simple: if you don't want to sell your company, then don't raise external equity capital; if you want to maintain control indefinitely, then opt to incur debt instead (and meet your debt covenants). You may find an unusual breed of equity investor who is looking for long-term dividends. But the normal deal with venture investors is to sell the company within approximately five years so that they can get a capital gain.

A new set of guidelines has been launched by an industry body in order to promote better relationships between merchants and publishers. The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB's) Affiliate Marketing Council (AMC) has set forth an ethical merchant charter, designed to provide advice and assistance for merchants on how best to communicate with their affiliate partners.

In this down economy, where marketers are under increasing pressure to wring out as much value as possible from of each dollar, measurable ROI has become critical. Testing and optimization mean more bang for the buck. Still, e-mail marketing agency eROI found in a May–June 2009 survey that 37.1% of US e-mail marketers did not test their e-mail campaigns at all.

The first annual Oregon Green Expo was a huge success on many levels. It was history in the making – the largest and most extensive effort to date to bring "green and sustainable" businesses and educators together in one location in Southern Oregon.

Held over the 4th of July weekend, the Oregon Green Expo was a great way for hundreds of people to celebrate the move towards "energy independence" and developing a more independent, self sufficient region.

Our appreciation and heartfelt thanks go out to the volunteers, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors who made it happen. We were inspired by the commitment and dedication that everyone displayed by participating during this national holiday.