Podcasts about globescan

In this episode Mark and Chris speak with Alexis Morgan, Global Water Stewardship Lead for WWF, and Jason Walters, Director at GlobeScan, about a research project they led with 20 companies on the future of the corporate water agenda. Their discussion explores priorities for the water agenda and how those will evolve as water becomes a more central part of corporate sustainability strategies alongside climate and nature as a whole.

In this episode of The Water Zone, Rylan Dobson, water stewardship programs leader at the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), shares how he drives public-private collaboration and policy advocacy to advance global water sustainability. He highlights water's critical role as a connector across environmental priorities like climate and nature, and addresses key issues including water scarcity, stress, security, hygiene, and their link to UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6). Rylan voices frustration over water being sidelined in broader environmental conversations, noting that “water is where climate impacts hit first,” and stresses the importance of data-driven action. He also discusses WWF's partnership with GlobeScan and industry leaders to diagnose water challenges and push for a more impactful global agenda. Podcast Recorded on April 10, 2025

Pia Heidenmark Cook, acclaimed sustainability leader and former CSO at IKEA, sits down with Position Green Executive Chair Joachim Nahem in our latest episode. - Listen to one of the world's top sustainability influencers give advice on effective change management and how to ‘interpret the outside for the inside' in driving your company's strategic transformation. Pia shares insights from her time as Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA and discusses the untapped potential of sustainability reporting. Can double materiality be used as a tool for building a more robust and competitive business?   About Pia Heidenmark Cook Pia is a senior ESG and sustainability leader, executive and advisor with over 25 years of global industry experience spanning multiple sectors, including professional services, healthcare, sports retail, sustainable materials and hospitality. During her tenure as IKEA's Chief Sustainability Officer in 2017-2021, it became one of the top three sustainability brands ranked by Globescan. Pia is also a frequent keynote speaker at high-profile conferences and events including for the UN, World Economic Forum and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. She has been named one of the top 10 female leaders in sustainability by the WBCSD and one of the top 20 sustainability influencers on LinkedIn by the CEO Magazine.

As we have seen in the recent COP28 conference, and our episode with Valentina Lira, the nature of business for both leaders and stakeholders is vastly different to what it used to be at the start of the millennium. The rising importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance issues  for businesses brings opportunities and risks and we are thrilled to be joined by Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan.  Chris works with businesses leaders, NGOs and governmental organisations to help them better understand and respond to shifting stakeholder expectations, build trust with key constituencies and exert greater influence in shaping a more sustainable and equitable future.  Chris has two decades of experience providing evidence-based counsel to leadership organisations in the areas of reputation, purpose and sustainability.  Chris is co-author of two books, All In: The Future of Business Leadership (2018) and The Sustainable Business Handbook (2022), and has a podcast, All In: The Sustainable Business Podcast.  

Chris Coulter is the CEO of GlobeScan, an international insights and advisory consultancy working at the intersection of brand purpose, sustainability, and trust. Chris works with leaders in business; multilateral organizations and NGOs to help them better understand and respond to shifting stakeholder expectations, build trust with key constituencies and exert greater influence in shaping the future. -- If you haven't yet had the chance, make sure to register for our 2024 Real Leaders Impact Awards. Our Impact Award winners gain access to a values aligned community, credibility through Real Leaders, and access to our network of Impact capital sources. Apply now to claim your discounted application: ⁠https://eunbi5zgbx7.typeform.com/to/XNdfGsS2#app_first_name=xxxxx&company_name=xxxxx&work_email=xxxxx&campaign_name=xxxxx&channel=LN&owner=Z⁠ Also, check out Outsource Access for all of your Virtual Staffing Needs. At an affordable rate you can outsource the work you need to get done at an extremely affordable rate. You can find more info about them here using this link. https://outsourceaccess.com/

What is climate justice and why should business put people at the heart of their climate action? Tara Shine, Co-CEO at Change By Degrees, Chris Coulter, CEO at GlobeScan, and Javier Aliaga, the Director of Fairtrade's Center of Excellence in Climate and Environment joined together live during COP27 on Twitter Space and this is what they shared. If you want to know simply what Climate Justice is and why your business should start caring and promoting climate action, you've come to the right place. But don't miss a moment, cause the #ClockisTicking. Tara, Chris, and Javier are leading experts in climate justice and business action across three continents. Together they share practical insights, articulate the business case for climate justice and tell first hand stories of the impacts of climate action by business. Tara: “If you look at developing states, or the least developed countries in the world, the amount of carbon pollution they produce is still to this day miniscule. So it's not their fault, this problem. And so that's the great unfairness that lies the injustice that lies in climate change. And that's why we have to find a just and fair solution.” Who needs to step up? Chris says: “We did a study in July across 31 markets in the world, 30,000 interviews, trying to track the evolution and perceptions and responses to the two big massive challenges the climate change crisis and the inequality crisis.” What's remarkable now, is that this is the highest level of concern people are registering around climate change in 20 years of tracking. And the growth of that concern has been consistent across all parts of the world and has grown steadily in the last 8 years through the pandemic, which would have traditionally been one of those things that knocked off the agenda, and now through the cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine. So we're breaking new ground on levels of engagement and concern around climate change worldwide and one of the reasons for that is the immediacy of impact. Almost 4 in 10 people across the world say that they have been greatly affected by climate change.” Shedding light on business engagement with climate justice, Javier says: “The first step is investing to protect the most vulnerable ones, and creating resilience. And next probably is creating capacities and skills, transferring knowledge to these vulnerable people. And maybe last but not least, to promote a clear and transparent accountability. I think this is the framework for great use to promote in order to move forward.” We thank Pearson for being our learning partner and helping us to bring this to you.

During UNGA and Climate Week, AB InBev hosted a discussion on the shifting role of business in a VUCA world, VUCA being volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This special edition of Talking on Tap features Chris Coulter, CEO of Globescan, as he sits down with our very own John Blood, Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer, Rob Skinner, Deputy Director and Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement at the United Nations, and Christa Gyori, CEO of Leaders on Purpose, to discuss the expectations and how companies can participate in the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.

In this episode of the Sustainable Minds podcast, Gary Baker and Roxanne "Rocket" White are joined by Chris Coulter to discuss why organizations should take a proactive approach to global issues to build a more sustainable and equitable future. Chris works with leaders in business, multilateral organizations, and NGOs to help them better respond to shifting stakeholder expectations, build trust with key constituencies, and exert greater influence in shaping the future. Globalization ties together all countries, organizations, and people. To thrive in this globalized world, we must address sustainability issues, like environmental problems, inequality crisis, and human rights. Chris Coulter adds another one he thinks most organizations missed. That is geopolitics and a challenge to authoritarianism. Chris believes we should take a proactive approach and understand governance and the relationship between it and the progress we can make on social and environmental performance. And it all begins with understanding your brand purpose in alignment with sustainability.

Chris Coulter is CEO of GlobeScan, an insights and advisory consultancy helping companies, NGOs, and governmental organizations know their world and create strategies that lead to a sustainable and equitable future. He is a co-author of All In: The Future of Business Leadership, and The Sustainable Business Handbook. He is Chair of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, a member of B Lab's Multinational Standards Advisory Council and serves on Walgreen's Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board. Chris also co-hosts All In: The Sustainable Business Podcast."While we need action, I think at the same time, the world and the agenda are moving so quickly. We're learning more all the time. We really can't skip the dialogue part, and we need to create more space and more opportunity to think through - What are we trying to do? What have we learned? How do we move smarter and more quickly? So it's not just about doing more action constantly. It's taking stock consistently because the agenda keeps evolving at a more rapid pace than it has historically, which means we need to find more places for proper dialogue that are springboards for this action, but we shouldn't discount the fact that we've got to sometimes just stop and chat and listen and learn and that makes us better and stronger." https://globescan.comhttps://allinbook.net

Chris Coulter is CEO of GlobeScan, an insights and advisory consultancy helping companies, NGOs, and governmental organizations know their world and create strategies that lead to a sustainable and equitable future. He is a co-author of All In: The Future of Business Leadership, and The Sustainable Business Handbook. He is Chair of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, a member of B Lab's Multinational Standards Advisory Council and serves on Walgreen's Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board. Chris also co-hosts All In: The Sustainable Business Podcast."My intention was to become a doctor because my parents were quite civic-minded and old hippies who wanted to, you know, change the world in the sixties. And so those values were instilled. I thought medicine would be a great place. I ended up shifting to international development and wanting to focus on that part of what was transpiring in the world.I ended up working for the Canadian government in CIDA, which is the former USAID equivalent in Ottawa. And then I saw a poster to volunteer in Ukraine, and my mother's side of the family is Ukrainian, so I thought that what a great thing to do. So I ended up being the guy who could speak English and write proposals for NATO, ironically, in 1996, for this really interesting organic organization called Democratic Initiatives Foundation, which continues to exist by this fantastic founder Ilko Kucheriv, who's passed away, sadly. He was a democratic reformer. Ukraine became independent in '91. He wanted to bring tools from the West that were important to develop civil society, which included public opinion polling."https://globescan.comhttps://allinbook.net

Chris Coulter is CEO of GlobeScan, an insights and advisory consultancy helping companies, NGOs, and governmental organizations know their world and create strategies that lead to a sustainable and equitable future. He is a co-author of All In: The Future of Business Leadership, and The Sustainable Business Handbook. He is Chair of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, a member of B Lab's Multinational Standards Advisory Council and serves on Walgreen's Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board. Chris also co-hosts All In: The Sustainable Business Podcast."Now we're seeing people experiencing impacts, and there's been a growth, now 36% of the global population said they have been personally greatly impacted by climate change, up five points from a year ago. So it's growing, and the distribution of those impacts is unequal as well, and they tend to be mostly in developing countries where the impacts are felt the greatest. So we do have this interesting thing where in the Netherlands, the impacts are felt the lowest, yet concerns are highest and support for climate things are happening. And in other parts of the world, like Argentina or Mexico, we have very high levels of personal impact, and the concern levels sometimes are middling. So we're in a very strange time of unequal distribution, both of impact and also potential solutions at hand, but that will also, I think, lead to more interesting conversations going forward."https://globescan.comhttps://allinbook.net

Three of the globe's heavy weights in sustainable business and social impact pioneers join together to share how sustainable business can be done. David Grayson CBE is Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management and Chair of the Institute of Business Ethics, in the UK. Mark Lee is the Director of the SustainAbility Institute by ERM, based in Berkeley, California. And Chris Coulter is the CEO of GlobeScan, from Toronto, Canada. Each has devoted and dedicated their lives to creating positive social and environmental impact, particularly with business. Listen in to hear three fascinating stories of careers that have woven together to deliver impact. David, Mark and Chris provide us with frank updates on where business social and environmental impacts have gotten to. And together they share their insight into how we can all help businesses to take impact. David, Mark and Chris have recently launched ‘The Sustainable Business Handbook' – they join us to provide insights from the research that went into it. Providing strong business arguments as to why to take action and then unpick how you too can take action from within your organisation. They stress that this practical, step-by-step guidance isn't just for businesses leading the sustainability journey, but are vital for organisations at every level. So whatever stage your business sis at – this podcast is for you. If the reviews of their Handbook are anything to go be ready for an important conversation: Siddharth Sharma, Group Chief Sustainability Officer – Tata Sons, India says "The Sustainable Business Handbook is required reading for executives who are looking to better understand and respond to one of the most important issues facing business today, sustainability (or ESG)." Whilst Mark Cutifani, most recent Chief Executive of Anglo American states the book provides practical measures for companies of all sizes and from all geographies. And Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever plc calls the book a “comprehensive, step-by-step guide has the answers, skilfully navigating business through the big questions of our time." Links: The Sustainable Business Handbook; A Guide to Becoming More Innovative, Resilient and Successful: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Sustainable_Business_Handbook/qeFZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 David Grayson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-grayson-039a67/ Chris Coulter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriscoulter1/ Mark Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markpeterlee/ All In; The Future of Sustainable Leadership: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/All_In/ov1cDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 The All In podcast on Sustainable Business – https://www.sustainability.com/thinking/all-in-podcast/

This episode explores how sustainable practices have evolved over time and the currentstates of affairs with Chris Coulter, CEO at GlobeScan, and Michael Kuhndt, ExecutiveDirector at CSCP.

Chris Coulter is the CEO at GlobeScan, an international insights and advisory consultancy that works at the intersection of brand purpose, sustainability, and trust. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, GlobeScan's purpose is to co-create a sustainable and equitable future. It partners with leading businesses, NGOs, and governmental organizations to deliver insights that guide decision-making, and to build strategies that contribute to a sustainable and equitable world. More than three decades into its mission, GlobeScan now has a global network of experts, as well as offices around the world, including in Cape Town, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Paris, San Francisco, and São Paulo. GlobeScan is a participant of the UN Global Compact, and it is also a Certified B Corp. Based at GlobeScan's headquarters in Toronto, Chris has over 15 years of experience in providing evidence-based counsel to leadership organizations at the nexus of reputation, brand, and sustainability. He is a specialist in international relations, and has lived and worked in North America, Europe, and Asia. Besides his role as CEO at GlobeScan, Chris is the Director of the GlobeScan Foundation, a Board Member at CBSR (Canadian Business for Social Responsibility), a Council Member at SustainAbility (a think tank), and a Board Member at Good World Solutions. Along with David Grayson and Mark Lee, he is also the co-author of The Sustainable Business Handbook: A guide to becoming more innovative, resilient and successful, published in February 2022. In this interview, Chris talks about how GlobeScan is working with partners around the world to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable global economy, and what trends he's seeing among big multinationals when it comes to setting and reaching ESG targets. He also shares his insights into why it's so important for global-minded companies to take a long-term view of growth, and why markets outside their comfort zone may in fact hold the biggest future opportunities. Last but not least, he shares some of the top takeaways from his new book. Tune in!   Links: GlobeScan website GlobeScan on LinkedIn GlobeScan on Twitter “The Sustainable Business Handbook” on the Kogan Page website Authors' “All In” website All In – The Sustainable Business Podcast Chris on LinkedIn Chris on Twitter   This episode was sponsored by The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA).

Title: Episode 34: Will consumers be driving the action? Featuring Procter & Gamble, Hunter Boots, GlobeScan and FSC Author(s): Worm, Loa Dalgaard

Tensie Whelan is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Business and a Clinical Professor of Business and Society at NYU Stern School of Business. At NYU, she advocates for sustainable practices and equips students to address environmental challenges in their future positions. In her own career, Tensie has 25 years of experience working with national and international organizations on issues of sustainability. Before starting at NYU, Tensie worked as the President of the Rainforest Alliance for much of her career, growing the organization from $4.5 million to $50 million. She also continues to serve as a Board Member for GlobeScan, which helps different institutions grow their brand and sustainability efforts. In this episode… Sustainability efforts are more important than ever. The environment continues to suffer as more and more problems arise from human exploitation. Yet in the world of business, sustainability is often a hot-button topic, typically seen as an impediment rather than a companion. It can be difficult to change any minds — but it's not impossible.  Tensie Whelan has worked in sustainability organizations for most of her life. She spent 15 years as the President of the Rainforest Alliance and now works at NYU as a professor and director. Her goal is to educate and guide the upcoming generation of business leaders to see the value and importance of sustainability. She not only believes that change is possible, but crucial for the future. So what does all of that look like in practice? Dov Pollack invites Tensie Whelan, the Director of the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU, to talk about the needed intersection between sustainability and the future of business. She dives into a host of topics, from persuading board members to developing an internal culture of environmentalism. They also discuss what's on the horizon for sustainability and diversity in the business world. Find out more by tuning in to this episode of Next Wave Leadership.

Chris has substantive international experience having lived in North America, Europe, and Asia and works with GlobeScan clients in all regions of the world. He is a member of Walgreens' Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board, The Test of Corporate Purpose Advisory Board, and the Multinational Subcommittee of B Lab's Standards Advisory Council. He is also the Chair of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, and is the author of the new book, All In: The Future of Business Leadership. 

This season's first episode is dedicated to one of our favorite topics: food! We touch on themes from our recent Radically Better Food report and interview brand leaders from Danone working on regenerative agriculture, Impossible Foods on their mission to eradicate animals from our diets, and next-generation food vehicle Desert Bloom working to re-shape our food environments. Our Guests: Hans Taparia is co-founder of Tasty Bite, and more recently, Desert Bloom, a new food investment company that's reimagining the system by focusing on the food environment. He's also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Business and Society at NYU Stern School of Business. Learn more about his visionary work reshaping our food environment at desertbloomfoods.com. Gabby Hernandez Galindo, a Global Sustainability Director at Danone, and Jeanette Coombs Lanot, Sustainability Advocacy Lead at Danone, are two inspiring leaders who are pioneering their business and brand transformation for a regenerative future. In this episode they share what it takes to design manifesto brands and their vision for a food system that can actually restore nature and unite humanity. Plus their take on what really is the best taco. Jessica Appelgren is Vice President of Communications at Impossible Foods where she's bringing a powerful perspective on what it looks like to challenge the status quo with more empathy, more ambition, and a laser-like focus on impact.  Download BBMG and GlobeScan's free Radically Better Food report at bbmg.com/radically-better-food

In this third edition of the #AllInPodcast, Chris Coulter from GlobeScan, David Grayson from the Cranfield School of Management, and Mark Lee of the SustainAbility Institute by ERM talk about geopolitics and the sustainability agenda, the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and the shifting consumer marketplace. Val Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer at Citi, is their special guest in this episode.

In this second edition of their new #AllInPodcast, Chris Coulter from GlobeScan, David Grayson from Cranfield School of Management and Mark Lee of the SustainAbility Institute by ERM, talk about the triple whammy inflicted by activists on Big Oil recently; the launch of The Valuable500 business coalition on disability Phase 2 and wider issues on Diversity, Inclusion & Equality +++Their guest in this edition is Pia Heidenmark Cook - the Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA.

Dia 17 de maio celebra-se o IDAHOT – Dia Internacional contra a Homofobia, Transfobia e Bifobia. No 5º episódio do Igualmente trouxemos este tema para cima da mesa com o objetivo de debater a discriminação da comunidade LGBTI+ na sociedade e, especificamente, em contexto profissional. Segundo o estudo da IKEA, realizado pela GlobeScan, em fevereiro de 2020, apenas 58% dos inquiridos concorda que as pessoas devem ser livres de escolher o que vestir e como viver de acordo com o género com que se identificam, mesmo que tenham nascido com outro género. Ao Rui Maria Pêgo, juntaram-se três colaboradores da IKEA, o Luís Cunha, o Fausto Silva e o Tiago Gomes e ainda a atriz e ativista LGBT+ Inês Herédia para partilhar as suas histórias, com diferentes experiências e contextos, com a ambição de despertar para a urgência de combater situações de desigualdade e discriminação com base em características e escolhas pessoais.

O estudo da IKEA, realizado pela GlobeScan, em fevereiro de 2020 diz-nos que apenas 62% dos portugueses concorda que a inclusão de pessoas com necessidades especiais pode contribuir para uma sociedade melhor. Dados que demonstram a importância de trazer para o debate o tema das ‘Diversabilidades' - ou Diversabilities - palavra que traduzida à letra significa diversidade de habilidades. Ao Rui Maria Pêgo, juntaram-se dois colaboradores IKEA, a Madalena Ribeiro e o Pedro Gomes e, ainda, a Joana Frederico, da Associação Salvador, que enriqueceram a conversa, tanto com testemunhos pessoais, histórias do contexto de trabalho em Portugal e os passos que todos podemos dar enquanto sociedade para a integração de pessoas com deficiência e contribuir para a mudança.

51% dos portugueses reconhece que melhorar a igualdade entre pessoas de diferentes raças, etnias e nacionalidades pode contribuir para melhorar a sociedade, diz-nos um estudo IKEA, realizado pela GlobeScan. É sobre este tema que falamos no terceiro episódio do ‘Igualmente'. Ao Rui Maria Pêgo, juntaram-se três colaboradoras da IKEA, a Alessandra Fuenzalida, a Marisa Francisco e a Alessa Chen, que trazem para a conversa as suas experiências de inclusão no nosso país e no mercado de trabalho, refletindo sobre estes dados e os passos que podemos dar para evoluir.

For young people under 30, the words used to describe 2020 reflect both profound challenge as well as powerful hope for change. In this special episode of The Future We Want, we go deep into findings from BBMG and GlobeScan's new global survey of 27,000 people, and we share the voices and visions of a new generation, their expectations for brands, and how together we might radically reimagine the future after one of the most transformative years for humanity in the last century. To read the full Radically Better Future: The Next Gen Reckoning for Brands report, visit http://bbmg.com/radically-better-future/

Did you know that 85% of a company's value today is made up of intangible assets? Learning more about the importance of cultivating and nourishing the many relationships that contribute to an organization's success, we chat with CEO of Globescan, Chris Coulter, in this episode of The School For Humanity. GlobeScan is an insights and strategy firm that helps companies, NGOs and governmental organizations build the trust they need to create enduring value for themselves and for society. Chris explains how creating new opportunities tomorrow requires building more trust with your stakeholder network and how Globescan is helping forward-thinking leaders to understand how to preserve and grow this value. Stay tuned to learn how this company is shaping the direction of some of the most influential organizations in the world! - - - - - For more information about GlobeScan, visit: https://globescan.com

Did you know that 85% of a company's value today is made up of intangible assets? Learning more about the importance of cultivating and nourishing the many relationships that contribute to an organization's success, we chat with CEO of Globescan, Chris Coulter, in this episode of The School For Humanity. GlobeScan is an insights and strategy firm that helps companies, NGOs and governmental organizations build the trust they need to create enduring value for themselves and for society. Chris explains how creating new opportunities tomorrow requires building more trust with your stakeholder network and how Globescan is helping forward-thinking leaders to understand how to preserve and grow this value. Stay tuned to learn how this company is shaping the direction of some of the most influential organizations in the world! - - - - - For more information about GlobeScan, visit: https://globescan.com

This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news. U.S. space agency NASA says it views China as a potential partner, not a threat, in the civilian space area. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made the remakes at an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Bolden discussed his agency's role in U.S. international affairs. Bolden said that since he only views civilian space, he sees China as a potential partner. He said China is already a partner in some areas including Earth and lunar science. The United States and China have cooperated in areas including collaborative research on geodetics and glacial characterization in the Himalaya region. Bolden said there are potential areas of partnerships, but because of congressional restrictions right now, the two countries are limited to merely multilateral activities. He said engagement always beats isolation. U.S. Congress passed a law in 2011 prohibiting NASA from hosting Chinese visitors at its facilities. The law also bans working with researchers affiliated to any Chinese government entity or enterprise. In April, China said it's open to space cooperation with all nations including the United States. It said cooperation between major space players will be conducive to the development of all mankind. This is Special English. The civil aviation authority is making efforts to prevent terrorist attacks on passenger planes and airports, including for the first time requiring that all industry employees receive security clearance. According to the draft of the revised Regulation on Safety and Security of Civil Aviation, all of the country's civil aviation personnel must undergo background security investigations. Additionally, civil aviation and public security administrations, airports and airlines are asked to enhance their anti-terrorism intelligence capabilities. Safety and security plans drafted by foreign airlines that operate in China also must conform with China's laws and regulations, and the plans need to be examined and approved by local civil aviation administrations. Besides anti-terrorism measures, the draft also bans passengers from attacking or occupying check-in counters, security check lanes and boarding gates in airports. It stipulates penalties for various offenses. These parts of the plan are designed to deal with an increasing number of angry passengers who are frustrated by flight delays. The draft is posted on the website of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office to solicit public opinion before May 20. The current regulation was adopted 20 years ago. Industry observers say the new requirement that all aviation industry personnel receive security clearance is an important measure. You are listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. A government investigation team has announced that the school at the center of an alleged pollution incident had relocated to contaminated land before remedial treatment of its soil had been carried out. The school made headlines after hundreds of students reportedly fell ill at the school. Eastern China's Changzhou Foreign Languages School found itself at the center of a media storm after reports claimed the school was built on toxic land contaminated by three chemical plants. The investigation team said the local district government failed to finish a soil treatment project in time and the school followed its original construction schedule. Students were moved to the new school in September last year. The city government said that all of those responsible, including people from the school and the chemical factories, will be investigated. Those found guilty will be punished. Some of them have already been detained for investigation. Health experts from the team said 909 students were examined at hospitals. Thyroid nodules were found in 247 of them, and 35 had lymphatic anomalies. However, the investigation team said it was hard to tell whether the conditions were directly related to pollution at the school site. This is Special English. China ranked at the top in a Save the Children survey of 18 countries in reducing discrimination against and neglect of children. More than 70 percent of Chinese people said they had seen an improvement. The survey results showed that 74 percent of Chinese people thought things were getting better. That's the highest proportion out of all the countries surveyed. Other countries in the survey included the United States, India and the United Kingdom. The survey also found that 77 percent of those who said they were affected by discrimination during childhood in China believed the situation in the country had improved. That represented the highest level among all the countries surveyed. India was second, with 61 percent, and Nigeria third at 55 percent. Worldwide, almost 40 percent of adults said they were discriminated against as children because of gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or because of where they lived. The survey interviewed 18,000 adults in the participating countries. Almost half of those surveyed in Asia said they faced discrimination as children. In China, the figure was 44 percent. The survey has been conducted for Save the Children by the international opinion research and consultancy firm GlobeScan. It was the largest survey of its kind undertaken by Save the Children, the world's leading independent organization advocating for children. You are listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Overseas travelers passing through Beijing Capital International Airport no longer need to worry about communication breakdowns thanks to volunteers from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Starting this month, the students, based in a call center on campus, are offering interpretation services for passengers who do not speak Chinese. The volunteer service covers seven foreign languages including French, Arabic, Japanese and Korean, from 8 am to 6 pm. Passengers who are not at the airport can still make an inquiry about its services by calling the multilingual hotline on 96158. Student volunteers have been working in the languages, plus English, for emergency services since 2010. In order to qualify for volunteer work at the multilingual service center, students need to have foreign language proficiency level that is equal to or greater than a third-year bachelor's degree level. The job can also be physically challenging when interpretations are being provided for the emergency services, as calls can come in at all times of the day, including late at night. People made the calls to ask for medical help, inquire about delayed fights, or complain about disputes. This is Special English. （全文见周日微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news. U.S. space agency NASA says it views China as a potential partner, not a threat, in the civilian space area. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made the remakes at an event hosted by the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Bolden discussed his agency's role in U.S. international affairs. Bolden said that since he only views civilian space, he sees China as a potential partner. He said China is already a partner in some areas including Earth and lunar science. The United States and China have cooperated in areas including collaborative research on geodetics and glacial characterization in the Himalaya region. Bolden said there are potential areas of partnerships, but because of congressional restrictions right now, the two countries are limited to merely multilateral activities. He said engagement always beats isolation. U.S. Congress passed a law in 2011 prohibiting NASA from hosting Chinese visitors at its facilities. The law also bans working with researchers affiliated to any Chinese government entity or enterprise. In April, China said it's open to space cooperation with all nations including the United States. It said cooperation between major space players will be conducive to the development of all mankind. This is Special English. The civil aviation authority is making efforts to prevent terrorist attacks on passenger planes and airports, including for the first time requiring that all industry employees receive security clearance. According to the draft of the revised Regulation on Safety and Security of Civil Aviation, all of the country's civil aviation personnel must undergo background security investigations. Additionally, civil aviation and public security administrations, airports and airlines are asked to enhance their anti-terrorism intelligence capabilities. Safety and security plans drafted by foreign airlines that operate in China also must conform with China's laws and regulations, and the plans need to be examined and approved by local civil aviation administrations. Besides anti-terrorism measures, the draft also bans passengers from attacking or occupying check-in counters, security check lanes and boarding gates in airports. It stipulates penalties for various offenses. These parts of the plan are designed to deal with an increasing number of angry passengers who are frustrated by flight delays. The draft is posted on the website of the State Council's Legislative Affairs Office to solicit public opinion before May 20. The current regulation was adopted 20 years ago. Industry observers say the new requirement that all aviation industry personnel receive security clearance is an important measure. You are listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. A government investigation team has announced that the school at the center of an alleged pollution incident had relocated to contaminated land before remedial treatment of its soil had been carried out. The school made headlines after hundreds of students reportedly fell ill at the school. Eastern China's Changzhou Foreign Languages School found itself at the center of a media storm after reports claimed the school was built on toxic land contaminated by three chemical plants. The investigation team said the local district government failed to finish a soil treatment project in time and the school followed its original construction schedule. Students were moved to the new school in September last year. The city government said that all of those responsible, including people from the school and the chemical factories, will be investigated. Those found guilty will be punished. Some of them have already been detained for investigation. Health experts from the team said 909 students were examined at hospitals. Thyroid nodules were found in 247 of them, and 35 had lymphatic anomalies. However, the investigation team said it was hard to tell whether the conditions were directly related to pollution at the school site. This is Special English. China ranked at the top in a Save the Children survey of 18 countries in reducing discrimination against and neglect of children. More than 70 percent of Chinese people said they had seen an improvement. The survey results showed that 74 percent of Chinese people thought things were getting better. That's the highest proportion out of all the countries surveyed. Other countries in the survey included the United States, India and the United Kingdom. The survey also found that 77 percent of those who said they were affected by discrimination during childhood in China believed the situation in the country had improved. That represented the highest level among all the countries surveyed. India was second, with 61 percent, and Nigeria third at 55 percent. Worldwide, almost 40 percent of adults said they were discriminated against as children because of gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or because of where they lived. The survey interviewed 18,000 adults in the participating countries. Almost half of those surveyed in Asia said they faced discrimination as children. In China, the figure was 44 percent. The survey has been conducted for Save the Children by the international opinion research and consultancy firm GlobeScan. It was the largest survey of its kind undertaken by Save the Children, the world's leading independent organization advocating for children. You are listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Overseas travelers passing through Beijing Capital International Airport no longer need to worry about communication breakdowns thanks to volunteers from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Starting this month, the students, based in a call center on campus, are offering interpretation services for passengers who do not speak Chinese. The volunteer service covers seven foreign languages including French, Arabic, Japanese and Korean, from 8 am to 6 pm. Passengers who are not at the airport can still make an inquiry about its services by calling the multilingual hotline on 96158. Student volunteers have been working in the languages, plus English, for emergency services since 2010. In order to qualify for volunteer work at the multilingual service center, students need to have foreign language proficiency level that is equal to or greater than a third-year bachelor's degree level. The job can also be physically challenging when interpretations are being provided for the emergency services, as calls can come in at all times of the day, including late at night. People made the calls to ask for medical help, inquire about delayed fights, or complain about disputes. This is Special English. （全文见周日微信。）