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The Meaning of Responsibility
By Dr Wayne Visser
Part 1 of 13 in Wayne Visser's Age of Responsibility Blog Series for 3BL Media.
Do you sigh when you hear the word responsibility? Perhaps responsibility is even a dirty word in your vocabulary. Perhaps you associate it with burdens and restrictions; the opposite of being carefree and without obligations. But responsibility doesn’t have to be a chore, or a cage. It all depends how you think about it. Continue reading “The Meaning of Responsibility” »
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Be the Change – But Be Yourself First
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.13
What do we know about the role of individuals as CSR change agents? Intuitively, we resonate with adages such as Gandhi's 'be the change you want to see in the world,' or Margaret Mead's famous quote: 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does.' But beyond these clichés, what do we really know about change in the context of CSR? Continue reading “Be the Change – But Be Yourself First” »
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The State of Business Ethics in Israel: A Light Unto the Nations?
Featured In
Governance Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
To examine the current state of business ethics in Israel, the study examines the following: (1) the extent of business ethics education in Israel; (2) the existence of formal corporate ethics program elements based on an annual survey of over 50 large Israeli corporations conducted over 5 years (2006–2010). In addition it examines perceptions of the state of business ethics based on interviews conducted with 22 senior Israeli corporate executives.
Key Findings
In general, and particularly as a young country, Israel might be considered to have made great improvements in the state of business ethics over the years.
In terms of business ethics education, the vast majority of universities and colleges offer at least an elective course in business ethics.
In terms of formal business ethics program elements, many large companies now have a code of ethics, and over time continue to add additional elements.
Most respondents believed they worked in ethical firms.
Despite these developments, however, there appears to be significant room for improvement, particularly in terms of issues like: nepotism/favoritism; discrimination; confidentiality; treatment of customers; advertising; competitive intelligence; whistle-blowing; worker health and safety; and the protection of the environment.
When compared with the U.S. or Europe, most believed that Israeli firms and their agents were not as ethical in business.
A number of reasons were suggested that might be affecting the state of business ethics in Israel.
A series of recommendations were also provided on how firms can better encourage an ethical corporate culture.
Author(s)
M. S. Schwartz
Source
Journal of Business Ethics, 105 (4), 429-446
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Personalist Business Ethics and Humanistic Management
Featured In
Governance Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
The article examines the conceptual relationship between personalism and humanism. This article furthers that research by arguing that a true humanistic management is personalistic.
Key Findings
Article claims that personalism is promising as a sound philosophical foundation for business ethics.
Insights from Jacques Maritain’s work are discussed in support of these conclusions.
Of particular interest is his distinction between human person and individual based on a realistic metaphysics that, in turn, grounds human dignity and the natural law as the philosophical basis for human rights, personal virtues, and a common good defined in terms of properly human ends.
Although Maritain is widely regarded as one of the foremost twentieth century personalist philosophers, his contribution has not been sufficiently considered in the business ethics and humanistic management literature.
Important implications of Maritainian personalism for business ethics as philosophical study and as practical professional pursuit are discussed.
Author(s)
A. Acevedo
Source
Journal of Business Ethics, 105 (2), 197-219
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Scaling Sustainable Consumption and Resource Efficiency
Featured In
Social Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
The report focuses on how consumption can be made more sustainable through decoupling growth from environmental impact at the scale and speed required. It builds on four years of engagement by the World Economic Forum with leading businesses around the issue of sustainable consumption.
Key Findings
Through this engagement with chief executive officers, business leaders and experts, the report aims to answer six key questions.
The key questions are as follows:
What are the key trends in sustainable consumption?
What is the size of the opportunity for countries, companies and consumers?
What are the barriers to scaling existing models of sustainable consumption?
What does getting to scale look like?
What new solutions are needed to get to scale in sustainable consumption?
How can we achieve scale by working collectively and creating action on new fronts?
A systems view of sustainable consumption has been taken throughout the report.
Rather than focusing just on the demand side, the discussions that informed this work have taken the lens of consumer engagement (demand), value chains and upstream action (supply) and the policies and enabling environment to accelerate change (rules of the game).
However, in this report the narrative always begins with demand as the consumer and customer are at the heart of sustainable consumption.
Author(s)
World Economic Forum
Source
PDF report
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The Bottom Case for Product Philanthropy
Featured In
Social Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
The study provides the first detailed examination of the return on investment for donating inventory as opposed to liquidating or destroying it. In addition to providing an economic justification for retailers, manufacturers and distributors to donate excess merchandise, the report gives managers a framework for analyzing the costs, benefits, risks, and opportunities of implementing a product philanthropy program.
Key Findings
Businesses can do well by doing good through product philanthropy.
Donating products to charities helps corporate bottom lines, reduces waste in landfills, and provides relief for people in need.
Product giving presents a considerable financial advantage over cash donations because it can carry an enhanced tax deduction.
Product donations can provide the same image enhancement benefits as marketing and advertising programs and at a lower cost.
Companies that engage in product philanthropy avoid fees and negative branding implications associated with disposal of excess inventory.
Product donation is superior to liquidation in most circumstances, and the report provides a rule of thumb for companies wishing to make quick cost comparisons.
Author(s)
Indiana University
Source
PDF report
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Canadian Business Sustainability Challenges 2012
CSR Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
The Network for Business Sustainability releases its fifth annual sustainability priorities report, a document that represents the key sustainability challenges facing Canadian industry. The report highlights the Top 10 challenges according to the cross-sectoral group representing leading Canadian Business.
Continue reading “Canadian Business Sustainability Challenges 2012” »
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Enhancing Value through Inclusive Business Strategies
Featured In
CSR Research Digest - January 2012
Summary
The report highlights the Business Call to Action’s hosted workshop in New York City on the topic of creating scalable inclusive business models. The event attracted over 80 senior executives from small, medium, and multinational enterprises as well as high-level representatives from donor and international organizations and academia that were in town for the United Nations General Assembly.
Key Findings
Inclusive business offers the potential for development impact along with commercial success by integrating the poor into corporate value chains as producers, suppliers, distributors, consumers, and employees.
The following themes were discussed at the event:
understanding the needs of low-income communities;
understanding what works and what doesn’t;
catalyzing new sources of finance;
and collective action.
Author(s)
Business Call to Action
Source
PDF report
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The Effect of Ownership Structure on Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR Research Digest - January 2012
The article examines the effects of ownership on the firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). A sample of 118 large Korean firms is used for the study.
Key Findings
Authors hypothesize that different types of shareholders will have distinct motivations toward the firm’s CSR engagement.
Authors break down ownership into different groups of shareholders: institutional, managerial, and foreign ownerships.
Results indicate a significant, positive relationship between CSR ratings and ownership by institutions and foreign investors.
In contrast, shareholding by top managers is negatively associated with firm’s CSR rating while outside director ownership is not significant.
Article concludes that different owners have differential impacts on the firm’s CSR engagement.
Author(s)
W. Y. Oh, Y. K. Chang and A. Martynov
Source
Journal of Business Ethics, 104 (2), 283-297
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Changing the World – One Leader at a Time
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.12
We face a crisis of leadership. Our global challenges loom large and clear, but we seem to lack leaders who can make change happen at a scale and speed that match the size and urgency of the problems we face. In an attempt to understand this leadership impasse, I’ve done some research with the University of Cambridge’s Programme for Sustainability Leadership on how change happens. In this blog, I’ll briefly outline some of our conclusions.
Continue reading “Changing the World – One Leader at a Time” »
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Sustainable by Design? Lessons in Circularity from Seventh Generation
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.11
The CSR 2.0 principle of circularity has roots in life cycle assessment, cleaner production, sustainable consumption and cradle to cradle concepts. In The Age of Responsibility, I explore various well-known multinational examples, from Interface’s carpets and Nike’s Considered Design shoes to Coca-Cola’s water neutral initiative and Tesco’s carbon neutral programme. Continue reading “Sustainable by Design? Lessons in Circularity from Seventh Generation” »
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Polar Bears Are the New Canaries
What do polar bears and canaries have in common?At first glance, not much. The large marine mammal and the small songbird don’t share a habitat or a similar diet, and they certainly don’t look alike.
But dig a bit deeper, as One World One Ocean did on a recent trip to Churchill, Canada this holiday season, and you’ll see that these two species are beginning to play a similar role for mankind. Continue reading “Polar Bears Are the New Canaries” »
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Myths About CSR in Developing Countries
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.10
Are concepts and models of corporate social responsibility (CSR) developed in the West appropriate for developing countries?
I decided to first tackle this question by setting out what I believe to be Seven Popular Myths about CSR in developing countries. Most of these myths exist as a result of the feeding frenzy that inevitably occurs every time the media has hunted down and sunk its teeth into one or other juicy story of corporate exploitation. They, however, become sustainable because they are spread by whole legions of largely well-intentioned people who have vested interests in promoting their particular brand of the truth about CSR.
Continue reading “Myths About CSR in Developing Countries” »
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The Sustainable Brands Boot Camp
The Sustainable Brands Boot Camp is a 19 part online seminar series designed as an orientation to the key aspects of building a sustainable brand. Each SB Boot Camp faculty member is a leading sustainable business expert in his/her specialty.The SB Boot Camp is a very extensive introductory course available for executives and managers seeking to understand how to step up to today’s market demands and learn to build business value and brand equity by innovating for sustainability. Topics include: Market Drivers & the Opportunity for Sustainability, Business Model Innovation and Brand Strategies, Product & Package Design, Sustainable Supply Chain and Effective Communications Strategies & Tactics.
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The Future Faces of CSR Activism
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.9
The third principle of Transformative CSR, or CSR 2.0, is responsiveness. (We explored creativityand scalability in the last two posts). Some of the most important players in the responsiveness game – especially through cross-sector partnerships – are civil society organizations (CSOs, which I prefer rather than the term NGOs).
Continue reading “The Future Faces of CSR Activism” »
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CSR 2.0 Licensee Training
Become a Licensed CSR 2.0 Assessor & Advisor
This 1-day licensee training programme is delivered by Dr Wayne Visser, CEO of CSR International, author of The Age of Responsibility: CSR 2.0 and the New DNA of Business, and Content Author of the CSR 2.0 Self-Assessment Diagnostic.
Currently, the following training courses have been scheduled:
- London, 18 January 2012
- Milan, 7 March 2012
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ECO-Cycology
Next for recycling? Brands taking back all of their products (and recycling them responsibly and innovatively). By Trendwatching.com.While in times of recession, economic interests tend to overrule eco-causes, the quest for a more sustainable lifestyle will remain a most pressing issue for years to come. We picked one ‘green’ trend (out of many) for this 2012 list: the phenomenon of brands helping consumers recycle by taking back all old items from customers, and then actually doing something constructive with them.
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Could Less Consumer Choice Be A Good Thing?
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.8
So you buy fair-trade or eco-friendly products, and you think that is a good thing, right? Think again. What if so-called ‘ethical consumers’ are the very ones standing between us a sustainable future?
I’m crazy, right? Maybe, but here is why I say it. By creating a premium-priced, niche market for ‘ethical consumption’, companies have been able to present a responsible front to the world, while leaving the vast majority of their products – which are, by implication, less ethical, less responsible, less sustainable – unquestioned and unchanged. At the same time, a small group of usually well-to-do Western consumers have been able to ease their conscience by feeling that they are making a positive difference. Continue reading “Could Less Consumer Choice Be A Good Thing?” »
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Corporate Sustainability: It’s all about the impact
By Juan VillamayorI am more and more convinced that being a sustainable and socially responsible company revolves around dealing with its own impacts. Recently I read a very interesting article on The Guardian: “Measuring social performance is difficult but essential”.
This article addresses a very important issue: Social impacts are relevant and we need to measure them properly.
Continue reading “Corporate Sustainability: It’s all about the impact” »
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Marketing and Sustainability: A Dangerous Liaison?
By Juan Villamayor
Greenwashing! How often have I heard this word every time I speak about corporate social reponsibility (CSR)?
The only reason for this reproach is that too many companies have used CSR initiatives in order to improve their image, as a smoke curtain to hide unsustainable activities.
Continue reading “Marketing and Sustainability: A Dangerous Liaison?” »
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Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20
The United Nations Global Compact will organize the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum: Innovation & Collaboration for the Future We Want in Rio de Janeiro – held in cooperation with the Rio+20 Secretariat, the UN System and the Global Compact Local Network Brazil.
Continue reading “Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20” »
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The Creative Destruction Revolution
By Dr. Wayne Visser: Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.7
One of the key theories on creativity is creative destruction. The concept is most associated with Joseph Schumpeter, following his 1942 bookCapitalism, Socialism and Democracy, in which he described creative destruction as ‘the process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one ... [The process] must be seen in its role in the perennial gale of creative destruction; it cannot be understood on the hypothesis that there is a perennial lull.’
Continue reading “The Creative Destruction Revolution” »
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What Can Web 2.0 Teach Us about CSR?
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.6
By May 2008, it was clear to me that the evolutionary concept of Web 2.0 held many lessons for CSR. At the time, I declared: ‘The field of what is variously known as CSR, sustainability, corporate citizenship and business ethics is ushering in a new era in the relationship between business and society. Simply put, we are shifting from the old concept of CSR – the classic notion of "Corporate Social Responsibility", which I call CSR 1.0 – to a new, integrated conception – CSR 2.0, which can be more accurately labelled "Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility".’
Continue reading “What Can Web 2.0 Teach Us about CSR?” »
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Can We Break the Spell of CSR Curses?
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.5
Looking back, we can see that the 1990s were the decade of CSR codes and standards – from EMAS and ISO 14001 to SA 8000 and the Global Reporting Initiative. But these were just a warm up act compared to the last 10 years, when we have seen codes proliferate in virtually every area of sustainability and responsibility and all major industry sectors. So much so that in the A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility, we included over 100 such codes, guidelines and standards – and that was just a selection of what it out there.
Continue reading “Can We Break the Spell of CSR Curses?” »
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Corporate Values: The Case of Seguros Unimed (Unimed Insurance) Brazil
Written by Denise Barbosa Fejgelman
In its 19 years of existence, Seguros Unimed (Unimed Insurance) has improved the relationship with its strategic public, based on ethical principles and socially responsible performance. Being part of the largest cooperative medical system in the world (Unimed System), this public company has in its history a philosophy of cooperatives.
Continue reading “Corporate Values: The Case of Seguros Unimed (Unimed Insurance) Brazil” »
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Exposing the CSR Pretenders
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.4
Industrialism created a limitless appetite for resource exploitation, and modem science provided the ethical and cognitive license to make such exploitation possible, acceptable, and desirable. – Vandana Shiva
Continue reading “Exposing the CSR Pretenders” »
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Is Philanthropy a Smokescreen?
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.3
“I believe it is my duty to make money and still more money and to use the money I make for the good of my fellow man, according to the dictates of my conscience.” —John D. Rockefeller Sr. The Rockefeller story is a good one to introduce the Age of Philanthropy, not only because of John D.’s iconic status as a tycoon and philanthropist, but also because his life and views on charity embody much of the philanthropic attitudes that still prevail today in business.
Continue reading “Is Philanthropy a Smokescreen?” »
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Is Greed Still Good?
By Dr. Wayne Visser
Quest for CSR 2.0 Series No.2
If CSR isn’t working, could it be because it pales into insignificance in the face of a much more pervasive force at work in business and society, namely greed? After all, “greed is good!” So declared the fictional character Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film, Wallstreet. “Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind.” I wonder if today, nearly 25 years and a $7 trillion global financial meltdown later, we are finally ready to lay this powerful myth to rest?
Continue reading “Is Greed Still Good?” »
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Governance Research Digest – October 2011
1. Sustainable Finance: The Risks and Opportunities that (some) CFOs are Overlooking
The report provides a unique view into how CFOs think about the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainability. Read the report summary in the Digest (see download/purchase links below) ...
Continue reading “Governance Research Digest – October 2011” »
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So many words on CSR
Here is our collection of over 40 CSR related blog sites we found on the web. Opinions, statements, discussion, thoughts, comments, issues, knowlegde, analasys, feeback, inspiration, reports, strategies, solutions, recomendations…. so many words on CSR and we have made a sellection of the most interesting ones.
