CSR

by: Jennifer Rice

As consumer expectations rise and trust in corporations decline, the need for ethical business practices is greater than ever. Yet in a recession, companies seeking to cut costs will likely postpone important CSR initiatives or cut spending in favor of core business initiatives.

But it doesn’t have to be either-or. Companies that consider social and environmental initiatives as potential innovation platforms and brand builders — not expenses — will come out ahead.

by: Michael Hoexter

In Part 1 of this post I summarized US and worldwide efforts to create legal standards to limit GHG emissions and described the political opposition to these efforts as based on a narrow conception of liberty, negative liberty, popular among conservatives over the last three decades. I introduced two types of ethical system, deontology and utilitarianism as helpful in understanding the debates over climate legislation.

by: Jennifer Rice

There’s been a lot of discussion about elevating corporate responsibility to become a strategic driver of your business. Most companies would like to benefit from their ethical efforts in the form of increased customer attraction and loyalty, yet few have figured out how to do it successfully. When marketing and PR are relied on, it can often backfire in accusations of greenwashing. The secret is to apply brand-strategy principles to build your ethical reputation.

by: Jennifer Rice

Dear reader: this is a white-paper draft, and I’d love your comments (especially if I’m missing anything major in the audit framework) before publishing.

by: Michael Hoexter

In Part 1 of this two part post I look at climate change regulation from the perspective of  political fights around the concept of freedom and government intervention. As it turns out, the philosophical discipline of ethics has something interesting to say about these conflicts.

by: Jennifer Rice

I’ve always been interested in leveraging Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to inform development of customer-based brand strategies. A couple years ago I wrote several posts about each of the stages (summary here).

An updated version of the 2007 report The Six Sins of Greenwashing has just been released. And like its predecessor, this version offers sensational findings: of 2,219 products making environmental claims that researchers found in North American retailers, "over 98%" committed one of several "sins." The 2007 report identified six such sins. This year's edition adds a seventh.

by: Jennifer Rice

by: Jennifer Rice

From New York Times, a good article on how luxury brands are embracing responsible business practices.

by: Jennifer Rice

Ok, I’m a bit late to the game, but I just stumbled upon Liberty Mutual’s The Responsibility Project that was launched last year. The discovery led me to investigate whether its focus on responsibility was rhetoric or real.