The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’

Social Responsibility in Russia: Yesterday, Today…and Tomorrow?

Moscow-based CSR consultant Tatiana Klimova discusses social responsibility in Russia: its historical prerequisites, current dramatic changes and further development issues.

Patagonia: Lessons from a Pioneer in Responsible Business

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has long been a proponent of corporate social responsibility – and financially successful as well. Columnist Gael O’Brien reviews a new book in which Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and his co-author explain how an entrepreneurial spirit is as important for achieving social and environmental goals as it is to a company’s bottom line.

Impact Investing: Finding Resources for CSR Start-Ups

Impact investing is an emerging asset class focused on the flow of capital towards companies that align market incentives with scalable impact. In other words, investing in for-profit companies that are making the world a better place. One problem: there is actually very little investment being made, especially for seed and early-stage companies.

Manifesto for the Corporate Idealist

While daily news headlines can sometimes make it easy to assume that big business is incapable of doing good in the world, contributor Christine Bader argues that there exists a “global army” of Corporate Idealists hard at work on a host of environmental and social issues. She offers the beginnings of a Manifesto to help support that army – “an outline of the principles and actions that will help us better align the interests of business and society.”

Executives Optimistic Sustainability Will Be “Core Strategy” for Business

Executives responsible for sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs at large companies are overwhelmingly optimistic that those initiatives will be part of the “core strategies and operations” of global businesses in the next five years, according to a new survey. Top priorities for those companies in the year ahead are human rights and workers’ rights, climate change, and the availability and quality of water on a global basis.

Business and Human Rights: Interview with John Ruggie

In July 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed a set of principles designed to address human rights abuses by business. In an interview, the man who led development of those principles – Harvard professor John Ruggie – discusses their implications and explains why he thinks the newly-coined term “human rights due diligence” has already become a permanent entry in the lexicon of international business.

Making the Case for “Shared Value” for Business and Society

Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and his colleague Mark Kramer argue that the time has come for global businesses to adopt the principle of “shared value.” Shared value, they write, “is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to achieve economic success.”

Making Money and Making a Difference

Blake Mycoskie founded Toms Shoes in 2006 and pioneered a novel marketing concept called “One for One,” which means that for every pair of Toms shoes that someone buys, a pair is given away to someone who needs it in the developing world. Toms has since given away more than 600,000 pairs of shoes, in the process becoming something of a media sensation. Mycoskie has now written a book with the aim of “inspiring, entertaining and challenging” readers to take action.

Corporate Citizenship at McDonald’s: 10 Lessons Learned

Managing the corporate social responsibility program for one of the world’s biggest and best-known brands is no simple task. Bob Langert, the man who has that job at McDonald’s – which serves more than 64 million people in 117 countries each day – offers his Top Ten list of observations about what’s involved in trying to be a good corporate citizen.

UN Council Endorses Principles on Business and Human Rights

The UN’s endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights marks not just a successful end to the mandate of UN Special Representative John Ruggie. It also signals a new beginning for business and human rights as companies around the world begin to implement the principles to ensure respect for human rights in all their operations.