Source: LOHAS Weekly Newsletter
Published: Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Sebastopol, Calif.-based Zap (OTC BB: ZAPZ), a maker of electric-powered vehicles, has opened a new store in Santa Rosa, Calif. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2002, also announced that it is introducing a new Italian electric car called the Teener, according to a Nov. 21 article at PressDemocrat.com.

GlaxoSmithKline, a research-based pharmaceutical company, has awarded three grants worth $1.5 million to combat malaria in Africa, according to a Nov. 18 announcement on The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire Service. The money will be divided between three initiatives: Freedom from Hunger, which will develop a malaria education curriculum to serve 500,000 people during three years in Ghana, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Togo; Plan Sudan, which will aim to reduce the prevalence of malaria in Sudan from 35 to 20 percent by 2005; and Uganda's National Malaria Control Program, which will target the prevention of malaria in pregnant women and children younger than five years old.

The Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the city's largest electricity provider and a unit of Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC), was awarded the “Development of a Solar Community” award by the Solar Electric Power Association, a Washington-based organization composed of members from energy service providers, the photovoltaic industry and photovoltaic stakeholders. ComEd won the award because of its $12 million investment in photovoltaic power systems and its role in the Chicago Solar Partnership, a group that educates the community through trainings for contractors and installers.

Fuel-cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDP) received a $1.88 million order from an unidentified customer for fuel-cell engine and support services, including BLDP's light-duty fuel-cell engine, application engineering, integration and vehicle launch support.

International labor organizations and chocolate producers around the world have joined forces to promote responsible labor practices and sustainable farming in West Africa, where the majority of cocoa is produced. The campaign is being coordinated in association with African governments and the International Labor Organization (ILO), according to a Nov. 25 article at FoodNavigator.com. The initiative includes a series of pilot programs that will implement and assess different approaches to protect children and adults from abusive labor conditions in the Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria.