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CSR Blogs

CSR 2010 Resolutions and Predictions From Business And Social Sector Leaders: Part I

With a plethora of challenges (and opportunities) facing our world, I wondered what resolutions and predictions business and social sector leaders would make for 2010. So I asked people who have a wide variety of perspectives, all of whom are deeply involved in understanding and addressing vital issues facing...

  • Read more about CSR 2010 Resolutions and Predictions From Business And Social Sector Leaders: Part I
  • Alice Korngold's blog

Eyeballs vs. hearts-and-minds marketing

When prompted to define sustainable marketing, I often use the contrast between eyeballs and hearts-and-minds marketing.

Eyeballs marketing: “My eyes!”

Eyeballs marketing aims to reach as many people with as many touches as possible...

  • Read more about Eyeballs vs. hearts-and-minds marketing
  • Peter Korchnak's blog

The Price of Freedom: 79%

A January 2010 Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal accused a moderately progressive U.S. Congress of inadvertently creating a loan-sharking credit card interest rate. Congress enacted credit card reform to stop lender abuses. In retaliation, credit companies are finding ways to get around the new law. WSJ Opinion claimed that Congress’ attempt to rein in excessive credit card fees led the First Premier Bank of South Dakota to raise its rates from 9% to 79%.

...

  • Read more about The Price of Freedom: 79%
  • Monika Mitchell's blog

Get Your Nonprofit Board Off To The Right Start In 2010

Nonprofits were financially challenged in 2009 like never before, with funding cuts from all sources--government, corporate, and philanthropic (foundations and individuals), as well as fees for services.

For business people serving on nonprofit boards, here are five Dos and Don'ts to get your nonprofit board ship-shape for 2010:

DON'T waste board meeting time on minor matters, or reports that can be emailed.

  • DO focus the majority of your board

...
  • Read more about Get Your Nonprofit Board Off To The Right Start In 2010
  • Alice Korngold's blog

Corporate Volunteering: Top 7 Requests & the Bad, Better and Best Responses (3 of 7)

Companies want to engage their communities through employee volunteering programs. For most, this means calling a non-profit and scheduling an activity. But how should non-profits respond? Is there a “best” answer for everyone? (Part 3 of 7)

If men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, then non-profits and businesses must be from opposite corners of the universe. Their shoes, memos and boardrooms may look the same, but let me tell you - they do not speak the same language. 

Take, for example, the following: When a business says, “We want to help out for a day” the non-profits hears, “We want to give you a migraine.” Conversely, when a non-profit says, “We’d like a long-term relationship” the business hears, “We’d like to drain your wallets dry.”

Unfortunately, this debilitating language barrier exists between two groups who have the potential to significantly benefit one another. All that’s needed is a little translating....

  • Read more about Corporate Volunteering: Top 7 Requests & the Bad, Better and Best Responses (3 of 7)
  • Chris Jarvis's blog

Why People Who Volunteer Are Value-Add Hires For Your Company

In today’s marketplace, employers have their choice of qualified job candidates.  I recommend your hiring with a strong bias towards people with volunteer experience. What makes them better qualified to work at your company?

This is what I can tell you about volunteers.  Volunteers:

  1. Have developed personally and professionally through their volunteer work, often including leadership skills.  Ask them about what they’ve done, and what they’ve learned from their participation.

  2. ...
  • Read more about Why People Who Volunteer Are Value-Add Hires For Your Company
  • Alice Korngold's blog

My 2010 Prediction: Sustainability Communication Will Vastly Improve

 A few years ago, the trend predictions were that consumers and businesses would start to go “green.” How true it was! Today, “green” has morphed into “sustainability,” and that concept is by no means a short term trend, but a much longer termmovement.  Because of that, many brands (but still not enough) are now 1) starting to integrate sustainability into all their practices and processes, and/or 2) starting to mention their sustainable ways more in their marketing, communications and consumer education efforts.  So, as 2010 begins, I predict that communication about corporate...

  • Read more about My 2010 Prediction: Sustainability Communication Will Vastly Improve
  • Andrea Learned's blog

The Season of Hope

This is our winter of discontent. The jobless seek a pay check; the almost-homeless pray for a miracle; the indebted seek relief. Throughout the nation and across the globe, human beings are locked in the battle for survival. Yet despite our struggles, this last week signifies a new season of hope for humanity. 

Something miraculous happened on the way to the White House this holiday week. Sixty privileged and pampered U.S. senators dragged themselves out on Christmas Eve in the wee hours of the morning to push through historic health care reform.
 
Many...

  • Read more about The Season of Hope
  • Monika Mitchell's blog

12 Reasons To Stop Drinking Bottled Water.

It is a common misconception for many people that bottled water is safer than tap, plastic bottles get recycled, and no harm is being done to the environment in the bottling process. Unfortunately, that could not be further from the truth!So in case you either needed more reasons to stop drinking bottled water, or a few extra talking points when discussing with your friends, I have assembled 12 solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit:
 
  • American tap water is among the safest in the world.
  • As much as 40% of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is just filtered tap water anyway. Be sure to check the label and look for “from a municipal source” or “community water system”, which just means it is tap water.
  • By drinking tap water, you can avoid the fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, and other chemicals that studies have found in bottled water.
  • Tap water costs about $0.002 per gallon compared to the $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon charge for bottled water. If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000.
  • Read more about 12 Reasons To Stop Drinking Bottled Water.
  • The Good Human's blog

Cause marketing and social sustainability, Part 2

Even though from the social sustainability standpoint its shortcomings outweigh its advantages, cause marketing has its place in fostering the social sustainability of business. You will do well by doing good.

Using cause marketing for...

  • Read more about Cause marketing and social sustainability, Part 2
  • Peter Korchnak's blog

The Consciousness of Greed

Greed is destructive, cruel, primal. Yet it is nothing new. It has existed since time immemorial.
Respected journals and periodicals report that “nothing” has changed over the past year on Wall Street since the financial collapse. Some make the staggering claim that it is back to “business as usual.” In other words, surprise of surprises, greed still exists - particularly in the world of money.
Yes, greed does exist and will continue to until a transformation of consciousness takes hold of us. In fact, in the last year of our “Lord”- the Money God that is - a lot has changed.
Firstly, there is a growing recognition of the part that unbridled greed played in the destruction of venerable old firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns within the financial industry itself. AIG and Merrill Lynch exist in some form or other, but limp along as lifeless shadows of their former greatness.
Contrary to popular belief, most people on the Street, from top levels of high finance through the middle and bottom layers too, know that their coworkers are responsible in large part for the capitulation of a once celebrated -now vilified-free market business model. Too little, too late, they lament. We should have seen it coming.
Along with this private acknowledgement is the conviction that it won’t happen again-not on their watch anyway.
Perhaps ironically, much of the Street feels similarly to the public in one major area: the government did not do its job to oversee and regulate the safety and protections of the marketplace.  This is undisputedly true.
  • Read more about The Consciousness of Greed
  • Monika Mitchell's blog

Cause marketing and social sustainability, Part 1

With the holiday shopping season nearing its holy climax, what better time to evaluate from the business perspective the viability of cause marketing for social sustainability. Does cause marketing work? How to get the most from it?

Define: Cause marketing

Cause or cause-related marketing is a company’s ...

  • Read more about Cause marketing and social sustainability, Part 1
  • Peter Korchnak's blog

Message from the Amazon

One hundred and five million barrels. That’s how much crude the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that we will consume per day by the year 2030. Pretty staggering considering the fact that delegates from nearly 200 countries just gathered in Copenhagen with the singular goal of solving the world’s carbon emissions problem.

Going in, there was significant skepticism about the developed world’s ability to collaborate with emerging economies in order to come to a workable agreement on how to share the burdens related to climate change. Now, with only a moderately aggressive climate change agreement in place, the IEA estimates that global oil consumption will continue to rise – and with it, greenhouse gas emissions, international tensions, and the race of top oil firms to tap into the world’s reserves wherever and however they can.

Deep in the trenches of Ecuador lies an unfortunate victim of the developed world’s unwillingness to more rapidly taper its addiction to fossil fuels. It is a primal rainforest – an incredibly pristine and biodiverse region, holding the greatest known selection of trees, insects and amphibians on earth. The Amazon rainforest serves a distinct purpose for humanity, providing essential nutrients, absorbing large quantities of carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen into the atmosphere. It is home to several indigenous communities, including the Achuar, Shuar, and Kichwa peoples, who have lived there for millennia.

  • Read more about Message from the Amazon
  • Christine Arena's blog

VPR Commentary: Psychology of Climate Change Denial

What motivates the average person to engage with the tough societal issues?  That’s a question I’m deeply exploring in both my work and master’s studies these days.  An article by George Marshall in Yes Magazine...

  • Read more about VPR Commentary: Psychology of Climate Change Denial
  • Andrea Learned's blog

Your 2010 CSR New Year's Resolution

Alice Korngold's Blog

It’s time to make your commitment to upgrading your company’s CSR program for 2010 and beyond.

Not so long ago, CEOs used company money (that is, shareholders’ dollars) to make financial contributions to their pet charities. Not so long ago, company volunteerism meant simple, random events organized among a handful of employees. Today, corporate giving can be a highly strategic element of the company’s mega-plan for corporate social responsibility (CSR), designed to...

  • Read more about Your 2010 CSR New Year's Resolution
  • Alice Korngold's blog

Green as a luxury? Premium pricing and conspicuous consumption

A theme has emerged from my conversations with Portland, Oregon real estate professionals: fearing overspending, home buyers these days are unwilling to pay a premium for green features, and instead decide with their pocketbook based on price and value. In other words, green* is a luxury these days, for homes and I suspect for many other product categories...

  • Read more about Green as a luxury? Premium pricing and conspicuous consumption
  • Peter Korchnak's blog

Corporate Volunteering: Top 7 Requests & the Bad, Better and Best Responses (2 of 7) 



“We want an activity that can be done together as a team”

Companies want to engage their communities through employee volunteering programs. For most, this means calling a non-profit and scheduling an activity. But how should non-profits respond? Is there a “best” answer for everyone? (Part 2 of 7)

Non-profits tend to hear the same general requests for volunteer opportunities from companies again and again. Particularly lately, with the increased interest in volunteering, non-profits are beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. There are basically 3 types of responses to the requests of companies: Bad, Better, and Best. With this blog series, we plan to guide you smoothly to the “best” response.

One thing to remember: Always start with “why.” Its essential to know what companies want, but first you must know why they want it. Assessing “why” will guide you to a solution that’s better for you, your community, and their company.

The 7 Requests:

The Ideal Volunteer Experience....

  1. ...can be undertaken in a day
  2. ...can be done together as a team
  3. ...has intrinsic value
  4. ...does not clash with other objectives
  5. ...enhances the skills of their employees
  6. ...coincides with the company’s chosen cause
  7. ...coincides with what their employees want to do

  • Read more about Corporate Volunteering: Top 7 Requests & the Bad, Better and Best Responses (2 of 7) 


  • Chris Jarvis's blog

Believe in CSR? You’re in ‘Good’ Company in 2010

As 2009 and the decade of the 00’s come to an end, it is interesting to think about what will make a truly good company in the years to come. In the past, companies that made a profit, paid taxes, and provided employment were thought to be ‘good’ based on financial success alone. When they exceeded financial expectations, they were considered great. The higher the profits, the stronger the brand image became.

Then the economic crisis hit, along with the potential destabilization of the entire system, and the wisdom of pursuing profits at all costs turned out to have a price tag after all.

Now once again, times are changing. Post our entry into the Great Recession, a ‘good’ company has been redefined as one that adds value outside the realm of financial success. At the same time, social media has deconstructed the closed corporate culture, creating a transparency that provides consumers with an inside look at a company’s guiding principles.

The rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has taken hold, and consumers are increasingly choosing to support companies that hold dear their own values, rather than simply produce a profit.

Here is a current snapshot of Consumer Sentiment, courtesy of Tim Sanders in Saving the World at Work:

-65% of Americans are willing to switch to brands that are associated with a good cause if the price and quality are relatively equal

-Two thirds of recent college graduates surveyed claim that they will not work for a company with a poor reputation for social responsibility

-Almost half of all consumers say they use the Internet to figure out if the products they buy are socially responsible

  • Read more about Believe in CSR? You’re in ‘Good’ Company in 2010
  • Ann Charles's blog

The Do's and Don'ts of Running a Great Nonprofit Board Meeting

The best board members will trample each other to the exit door, and hand in their resignations by the weekend, if board meetings are poorly handled. So…

DON’T

  1. Allow the CEO (executive director) to lecture the board.

  2. Let committee chairs recite a series of reports, one after another.

  3. Fail to provide financial information, and in a clear format.

  4. Allow board members to chat on about irrelevant matters.

  5. Let the board get involved in discussions about day-to-day operations, unless

  6. ...
  • Read more about The Do's and Don'ts of Running a Great Nonprofit Board Meeting
  • Alice Korngold's blog

The technology that could save the planet

What if the technology we need to curb climate change turns out to be not a solar panel, smart grid or electric car battery but social media powered by cellphones, laptops and online networks like Facebook?

As I prepare to leave today for the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, I’m struck by–actually, flooded, overwhelmed, swamped and dizzied by–the sheer volume of user-generated content coming out of Copenhagen, much of it created by people in their 20s and 30s. Groups like 350.org and the Youth Climate...

  • Read more about The technology that could save the planet
  • Marc Gunther's blog

Greenwash Of The Week: COP15 In Copenhagen

Some say it is a greenwash, some say it isn’t. The leading climate change researcher, James Hansen, has already stated that any idea of a treaty there needs to fail as it will do literally nothing to stop climate change. “Summit talks so flawed that (a) deal would be a disaster” was said in The Guardian. So what is the hoopla over Copenhagen and its promise of saving the planet? From the ...

  • Read more about Greenwash Of The Week: COP15 In Copenhagen
  • The Good Human's blog

Non-Toxic Toyland

If you’re like me you spend a fair portion of each holiday season assembling plastic toys made in China, which often arrive unassembled in several dozen pieces. I have to admit, I do so begrudgingly. Of course I appreciate that all holiday gifts are given with the best of intentions and that, in the spirit of the season, we should appreciate all we have and are given. But the truth of the matter is, however magical the color photos on any given toy box look, what rests inside the package is often another story.

Last Christmas and Chanukah my son received, among other things, the...

  • Read more about Non-Toxic Toyland
  • Christine Arena's blog

Far Beyond Sustainability

It’s great that the word sustainability is in such common usage today.  It suggests that people, organizations and institutions have accepted that environmental responsibility matters, and that we all play a role in achieving and ensuring it.
 
Still, I know plenty of people (both within the broader community of CSR thinkers and doers as well as outside of it) who find the word problematic.  Few would argue that the term is overused, and much has been raised and written about the limitations of sustainability as both a word and a concept.  Despite these limitations and challenges, though, usage of the term persists.
 
There is great diversity even among the most often quoted and widely used definitions of sustainability, among them, those developed, adopted or advanced by the United Nations, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Business for Social Responsibility, and the World Resources Institute.  Looking at these and at other definitions of sustainability collectively, a common theme emerges.  There is a strong focus on maintaining, preserving, and ensuring the continued viability of a process, product, resource, system or state.  Many would argue that, in terms of the environment and natural resource management, achieving this level of performance by business would be incredible.  It would certainly be a good start.
 

  • Read more about Far Beyond Sustainability
  • Chad Tragakis's blog

The End of the Barking Dog

What’s your opinion on the purpose of corporate philanthropy?

Is it an example of the powerful partnership that can be created between business and nonprofits?

Or is it simply about writing a check – and checking a box?

I mentioned in an earlier post on The Changebase that I recently attended the 2009 Net Impact Conference at Cornell University, and...

  • Read more about The End of the Barking Dog
  • Ashley Jablow's blog

Microinsurance: The New Microcredit

A core value in my consulting work with corporations is that CSR will only be effective and sustainable if it is aligned with the company’s business mission. So it’s exciting to see an innovative iteration of that principle where a company develops a new investment vehicle that could potentially drive entrepreneurship and facilitate wealth accumulation in developing countries.

“If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and

...
  • Read more about Microinsurance: The New Microcredit
  • Alice Korngold's blog

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Subscribe to RSS - blogs

CSR Bloggers

Alice Korngold - Korngold Consulting

Andrea Learned - Learned On

Benjamin Comer - Pharma Executive

Beth Bengston - Hale Advisors

Celesa Horvath - Making Sense of Responsibility

Chris Jarvis - Realized Worth

David Chase - Forbes

David Connor - Coethica

David Williams - Health Business Blog

Dorothy Davis - All Energy All the Time

Dr. Scott M. Shemwell - Governing Energy

Elaine Cohen - CSR Reporting

Future 500

James Epstein-Reeves - Citizen Polity

Joe Waters - Selfish Giving

Julie Urlaub - Taiga Company

Kate Olsen - Companies for Good

Marc Gunther - Green Biz

Marcy Murninghan - Murninghan Post

Matthew Rochte - Opportunity Sustainability

Maxwell Drommond International - Human Capital: A Global Perspective

Megan Strand - Cause Marketing Forum

Monika Mitchell - Good-B

Paul Klein - Forbes

Stephen Heiser - Nuclear Knowledge

Tracy Lloyd - Emotive Brand

Wayne Visser - CSR International

Will Henley - Responsibility Inc.

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