Partnership for America’s Economic Success – This national coalition is using evidence on the high impact of investing in children’s early years to mobilize business leaders to improve tomorrow's economy through smart policy investments in young children today. Visit the PAES website here.
Working with Businesses for Better Communities - This is a very practical resource developed from findings of a U.K.-based project where the private sector and social landlords are working together to benefit communities. It outlines a rationale for why community groups should work with business; some possible opportunities for action; and, a How-To guide for engaging business in community projects. Its companion document, A Toolkit for Businesses: Building Opportunities for Business and Social Landlords to Work Together, provides resources for businesses that are “striving for better ways to engage, and most of all better ways to sustain long-term positive impact” in their work in communities.
Integrating Corporate Citizenship - Researchers from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship analyzed eight companies and discovered it is often mid-level managers who lead efforts to integrate corporate citizenship. In a few of the cases, the managers have made substantial progress in the face of daunting business downturns. Learn how they successfully lead from the middle here. [Source: The Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
A New Era for Business - More business leaders recognize that their company's future is increasingly intertwined with the needs and demands of society. What many executives don't understand is how best to manage that changing relationship. This article provides a model for incorporating sociopolitical issues into the strategic decision-making process. Learn more here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]
Ernst & Young to transform education - New research shows how companies can help transform public education and tackle concerns over workforce readiness. Learn more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
Converging Needs - The International Business Leaders Forum has produced a set of guidelines showing how companies can develop successful products and services where business growth and the needs of the poor converge. Learn more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
Strategy and Society - Michael Porter and Mark Kramer introduce a new approach to CSR in this article for the Harvard Business Review. Moving past generic CSR principles, they see societal influence as the new frontier of competitive advantage. Listen to the podcast or download the article here. [Source: FSG Social Impact Advisors]
1% For the Planet - Mountain-Equipment Co-op (MEC) has called upon the Canadian business community to join them in making a significant commitment to the environment. MEC has recently joined the 1% For The Planet program, a multinational alliance of companies who have agreed to donate 1% of their yearly revenues toward environmental causes. Learn more here. [Source: Community Foundations of Canada]
The Leadership Challenge - In today’s climate where business is known more for its focus on profits, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of business leaders urging the federal government to enact strong national legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions, seems like an anomaly. Or is it? Read more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
The Other Consumer Social Responsibility - Consumers often say they want to be socially responsible when it comes to buying food, clothing, office supplies, and the like. But consumers’ noble sentiments are not often reflected in their actions at the checkout. What causes this discrepancy, and what can companies do about it when entering the socially responsible market? Read more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
Business contributions to communities - Imagine Canada has released a report on the community investment practices of Canadian companies that reveals: why businesses contribute to charitable organizations; how they organize those contributions; how contributions are assessed and evaluated; and the challenges companies face when contributing to community. Learn more by downloading the report here. [Source: Charity Village]
Business launches disaster response site - Business Roundtable, an association of 160 chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, has launched a web site to provide a comprehensive clearinghouse of information to help the business community better prepare for disasters. Visit the site here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
True test of corporate social responsibility - Want a true test of a company's commitment to corporate social responsibility? Look no further than the company's employee volunteerism program. Read more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
Corporate Citizenship & Urban Problem-Solving - Business-led civic organizations have historically played an important role in urban policy making, planning and renewal. However, shifting economic forces - including corporate consolidation, industrial decline and the suburbanization of many businesses - have diminished the capacity of these organizations, potentially stripping cities of a significant advocate. Learn more from this Brookings Institution study here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper & the Brookings Institution]
Saltspring More Affordable for Workers - At Moonstruck Organic Cheese on Saltspring Island, owners Julia and Susan Grace believe in sharing the benefits of living on a farm. Learn how these business owners are making Saltspring more affordable for workers in the latest story from the Quality of Life CHALLENGE here. [Source: Quality of Life CHALLENGE]
Public attitude of corporate social responsibility - More than environmental stewardship and philanthropy, nearly one in two Americans believe the most important proof of corporate social responsibility is treating employees well. Read more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
An Enterprising Failure - How a British social enterprise that was embraced by the likes of Tony Blair collapsed into bankruptcy. Read this case study here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]
Changing the Game - Corporate social responsibility hasn't had a noticeable impact on society because most companies are still playing by the old rules. That may soon change as innovative firms adopt a new model that directly involves them in solving society's problems. Read this article by Mark Kramer and John Kania here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]
Is Philanthropy Enough? - Twenty years ago the social contract in most western countries was clear. Governments took care of society and made sure business could operate effectively, business took care of business and growing the economy, and nonprofits and charities filled in the chinks in the social fabric that governments missed. Today this social contract is fast unraveling, and as it does, business is suddenly finding itself expected to play a different role in society. Read this article by Chris Pinney here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
The Myth of CSR - As nice as it is to think that modern corporations can do well while also doing good, there are serious limitations that the market imposes on their CSR initiatives. In addition, the legal obligations of corporations to their shareholders further restrict CSR’s potential to help solve social and environmental problems. At some point, writes Deborah Doane, we should be asking ourselves whether or not we’ve been promoting a strategy more likely to lead to business as usual than to tackling the fundamental problems of our time. Read the article here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]
Corporate connections - Corporations have a role to play in the nonprofit sector, but exactly what that role should be depends on an organization's strategic vision, the partners they've chosen, and the goals they've adopted. Find out about some of the different approaches that companies are taking, and what nonprofits need to know. Read the article here. [Source: Charity Village]
State of Corporate Citizenship in 2005 - What do U.S. businesses actually make of corporate citizenship? The attitudes and expectations of nearly 1200 small, medium and large businesses are unveiled in the results of the 2005 State of Corporate Citizenship survey. Learn more here. [Source: Voice of Corporate Citizenship]
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart - This article by Steven Greenhouse, first published by the NY Times in July 2005, profiles Costco's human resources policies and the thinking behind the company's generous employee compensation program. Read the article here. [Source: Canadian Social Research Newsletter]
Rebuilding Trust in Canadian Organizations - This report examines the reasons for low levels of public trust. It concludes that organizations can rebuild public trust by enhancing their own trustworthiness. This approach alone, however, is not sufficient. Journalists, auditors, editors, financial analysts and others also play a critical role in enabling trust in our society. Learn more here. [Source: Conference Board of Canada]
BMO tops Canada's best corporate citizens list - Corporate Knights magazine recently unveiled its list of the best 50 corporate citizens in Canada for 2005. All of the major banks made it onto the list, including the Bank of Montreal, which came in first overall. Shoppers Drug Mart came in second, followed by IGM Financial Inc, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Husky Injection Moldings Systems, Torstar Corporation, TELUS, Interface Inc., TD Bank, and CIBC. Key indicators that helped determine the rankings include: shareholder conflict, lobbying, toxic releases, work stoppages, pension plan coverage, key executive retention, and board independence and diversity. For more information, click here. [Source: Charity Village]
Ethics Strategies for organizational culture - The Business Higher Education Forum (BHEF) recently released the results of their study on ethical business practices. Entitled Embedding Ethics in Business and Higher Education: From Leadership to Management Imperative, the report diagnoses the problem of corporate corruption, explains available management options to address organizational ethics, provides new strategies for weaving ethics into the culture of an organization, and offers a practical application of that strategy for businesses and nonprofits. This new methodology calls for "explicit accountability for the ethical performance of an organization" and "increased transparency or the ability for those with a stake in an organization to assess its ethical condition." For more information, click here. To download the full report in PDF format, click here. [Source: Charity Village]
Philanthropy, Inc. - In a broad, historic shift, and under a variety of names - like cause marketing or strategic philanthropy - large corporations are changing the way they view their charitable donations. Most appear to want a closer alignment with their business objectives. Read this article by Keith Epstein here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]
RBC: From Accommodation to Inclusion - This community story profiles a Canadian employer with an exemplary attitude and demonstrated ability to change its operations for the good of all employees. By adopting the principle that everyone needs help accommodating to life circumstances in some way – be it maternity or parental leave, religious observance, recovery from an accident coping with illness or managing a disability – RBC Financial Group has established services and programs for its employees and customers which make special needs a regular part of doing business. Read the story here. [Source: Caledon Institute of Social Policy]
Conference Board releases report on CSR - A new report published by the Conference Board of Canada finds the strongest CSR management among Canadian companies that operate in heavily regulated or intensely political industries. The National Corporate Social Responsibility Report: Managing Risks, Leveraging Opportunities includes an in-depth analysis of the CSR management practices of 53 of Canada's 300 largest companies, 62% of which issue formal CSR reports. "What the data shows is that Canadian companies are making progress in CSR, but the progress is slow and it is not universal," said Anne Golden, president and CEO of the Conference Board. For more information, visit the Conference Board website here. [Source: Charity Village]
The Gap releases report on labour standards - Labour activists are hoping that a new report published by Gap Inc. will spur other US and Canadian retailers to examine company labour practices. The 40-page report examines the clothing retailer's compliance efforts at the hundreds of factories that are vying to be in its supply chain. In the report, Gap Inc. insisted that most of its suppliers in developing countries meet its labour standards, but acknowledged that a significant percentage of the factories that were audited had violations such as psychological abuse of workers, or unsafe equipment. The company announced that, for the first time, it will adopt the standards of the United Nations' International Labour Organization for worker rights, including the right of freedom of association that is key to the formation of independent unions. Download the full report here. [Source: Charity Village]
Corporate Knights rank 50 best - Corporate Knights recently released the results of its third annual ranking of Canada's best corporate citizens. Zenon Environmental took top honours, ranking number one overall. The Best Employer Corporate Citizen Award went to Dofasco, while Telus won the award for Best Environmental Corporate Citizen. Aliant was recognized as the Best Community Corporate Citizen, and Alcan earned the award for Best International Corporate Citizen. For more information, click here. [Source: Charity Village]
CCP introduces program to increase equity giving - The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) recently launched a new initiative as part of its Imagine program. EMAGINE asks entrepreneurs and investors to make a commitment of a minimum of one to five percent of their future profits to the charity of their choice. The initiative is modeled on the framework of the Imagine one percent commitment, which now includes 550 corporations that have pledged to give one percent of their pre-tax profits to charity. For more information, click here. [Source: Charity Village]
Blending Social, Environmental, Economic Value - A new report explores the activities of practitioners, investors, and philanthropists engaged in intentional efforts to achieve a blend of social, environmental, and economic value. In their paper, “The Blended Value Map: Tracking the Intersects and Opportunities of Economic, Social and Environmental Value Creation,” the researchers identify five “silos” of blended value activity: corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, social investing, strategic philanthropy, and sustainable development. For each silo, the report literally maps key issues, information resources, resource organizations, initiatives, and leadership examples. Learn more here. [Source: Philanthropy Information Retrieval Project Report #116]
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