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At Green Gov 2011 this morning I facilitated a lively panel that included discussion of what is  sustainability and what is the role of the sustainability profession. Ira Feldman (Greentrack Strategies), Terry Yosie (World Environment Center) and Valerie Patrick (Bayer Corporation) were our panelists and came with a rich set of views and experience.

The discussion of what is sustainability was broad and philosophical using terms like ‘systems thinking’ and ‘form of art’. But many people in the room (myself included) had sustainability jobs, with specific job descriptions and objectives.  So what can we compare that to?

Susan Pullin, CSC Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, writes that

There are many opinions about the real value to a company of corporate responsibility (CR). Aman Singh recently wrote for Forbes about these contrary opinions and posed the question: “Are we fighting over semantics or strategy?” She went on to consider how stakeholders often view CR. Is it perceived as something that is disconnected from markets, profits and capitalism itself? Is it typically misinterpreted as a cost, with some seeing CR as little more than “giving away money and adopting the latest cause of activists”?

As we look at this debate, one point is clear:  if CR is perceived anything but a contributor to top-line growth, then stakeholder opinions will be negative and the value of CR is misunderstood.

 Posted April 23, 2011

 Posted Mar 19, 2011

Don't rush off to build that business case just yet.  CEOs and CFOs that say, "prove the business case first," fail the test of intellectual honesty.  Moreover, Best-in-Class responsibility programs start with a commitment to doing the right thing first and then figuring out how to earn a return on responsibilty.  Don't get sucked into the intellectual bullying.  It's time to shift the burden of proof:  commit to doing the right thing and then figure out how to do it in a way that earns an ROI.

 

Posted November 16, 2010

In this third installment of our Ethical Dilemmas Series, Kevin Moss puts forward a Truth vs. Loyalty dilemma.  As a Corporate Responsibility professional, do you have to act when your company behaves in an unethical manner?  Other professions have positive obligations.  Should CROs? Help us test our draft Ethics Code by playing out this scenario in your own mind and giving us your feedback.  At CRO Summit we had some great live-fire exercises.  Share how you'd resolve this dilemma and how the Ethics Code helped (or didn't).

Posted October 9, 2010

This week's choices for "Responsibility Play of the Week" come from politics, sports, and pop culture.  Which one best spotlights a lesson in responsibility...or irresponsibility?  Your comments and votes pick the winner!

Posted October 8, 2010

The CROA’s Professional Development Committee drafted an ethics code and came up with a set of ethical dilemmas to test it.  In this post we layout the overall concept of ethical dilemmas and propose the first dilemma for you -- our field testers -- to consider.  Dilemma #1:  A Gaggle of Privacy Concerns.  Complying with a Chinese request to provide personal data would break your company's privacy policy but failure to comply breaks the law.  What do you do?

Posted October 6, 2010

The CROA is simultaneously raising the bar and lowering the barrier to improving corporate responsibilty.  Throughout 2010 we've reviewed the ranking system used to create CR's Black List and its Best Corporate Citizens Lists while also working on a Code of Ethics.  Now these efforts come together with specific tools companies can use to create more ethical cultures.