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April 07, 2012
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Corporate Sustainability Is Itself Unsustainable

Submitted by kgilliam on Thu, 2012-03-29 14:38.

New Research Highlights Structural Flaws in the Field & Profession of Corporate Responsibility

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As More Companies Develop Corporate Responsibility Strategies, Gaps in the Profession Remain

Submitted by kgilliam on Wed, 2012-03-28 15:52.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce BCLC and CROA benchmark the evolving professional field.

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An Ethical Voice Silenced

Submitted by kgilliam on Mon, 2012-03-12 00:09.

I was riding in the back of a cab some where between Detroit and Troy, Michigan when I knew he had died.  The Maine area code on my iPhone told me even before I heard the voice on the other end that Rush Kidder was no more.

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Sneak Preview of 3rd Annual International Corporate Volunteerism Conference

Submitted by kgilliam on Thu, 2012-03-08 13:09.
On April 11 & 12, private sector leaders from IBM, PepsiCo, Pfizer, and dozens of other corporations will join the U.S. State Department, USAID, and other public sector groups to talk about some of today’s most pressing issues – jobs creation, water, education, global health, and the environment, among others.  How are these groups looking to impact such a divergent set of issues?  Through the lens of international volunteering.  
 
Addressing the intersection of corporate citizenship, talent and leadership development and more traditional international development programs, CDC Development Solutions’upcoming Third Annual International Corporate Volunteerism Conference will look at why some of the largest corporations in America are sending employees beyond their office walls to pro bono skilled volunteer assignments in emerging markets such as Ghana, Vietnam, Brazil, and Cambodia – and how this is making a difference.
Companies as diverse as Dow Corning, Intel, and Ernst & Young are sending teams of employees on International Corporate Volunteer programs (ICV) – a type of corporate Peace Corps in which employees donate their skills to build the capacity of a local nonprofit, government, social enterprise, or NGO in an emerging market.  Businesses are seeing a return on investment from these volunteer trips that pays off in social and business dividends: companies build partnerships with critical stakeholders in emerging markets and gain a competitive advantage, while employees gain unparalleled leadership skills in a global marketplace that otherwise take years to develop.
 
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Climate Science is Useless (to Business): Time to send scientists to b-school & business leaders back to science class

Submitted by kgilliam on Thu, 2012-03-01 13:29.

Kyoto. Montreal. Durban. Rio.Venerable cities all, but, with the exception of Rio (only because it hasn’t happened yet), each is also synonymous with failure. Failure to get consensus on the future of the environment and sustainable development.
 
But why? When I speak with individual business and government leaders a broad consensus exists on the need for action. The barrier seems to be politics. So let’s by-pass the politics. To do that, though, we need a different kind of collective-action—one based on science and grounded in data.
 
The problem with science is that it’s mostly aimed at scientists. The “big science” coming out of scientific academies and institutions is aimed either at other scientists or at the big multi-national conferences. Let’s flip that on its head.
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Where CSR Fits On The Board's Agenda

Submitted by kgilliam on Mon, 2012-02-27 23:31.

According to the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) 2011 Public Company Governance Survey, when asked to name the top three issues for the board,only 1.5% of corporate directors picked “Corporate Social Responsibility” among the highest priorities for the board in 2011.

 
But what counts as corporate responsibility (CR) and when and how should boards and CEOs take an interest in it?  Read more...
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Do Corporate Responsibility “Best Practices” Really Exist?

Submitted by kgilliam on Tue, 2012-02-21 21:26.
In short, no. 
 
Although there are a growing number of examples of “successful practices”. More often than not, companies are still sorting out what CR really means for them. While companies have an important role to play in tackling some of our most pressing challenges, each company’s CR strategy has to make sense for their industry, their business model, and the identity of their individual organization. So rarely does CR look the same at different companies. Moreover, this remains a nascent field, making it a little early declare any practice “best”.
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Showcasing Supply Chains

Submitted by kgilliam on Thu, 2012-02-16 05:57.

A few years ago, Nike paid the price for the bad labor and human rights practices of its suppliers.  Now it's Apple's turn in the penalty box.

 
In stark contrast, McDonald’s has put its suppliers front-and-center in a series of heartwarming new ads.  McDonald’s put faces, names, and voices to these folks.  Frank Martinez, potato supplier.  Dirk Giannini, lettuce supplier.  Steve Fogelsong, beef supplier.
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Finding & Supporting New Models of Collaboration for Good

Submitted by kgilliam on Wed, 2012-01-25 15:39.

Following up on last week’s blog post about how, in the midst of the economic downturn, the best corporate citizens built more successful ways of working with governments and NGOs, we now look at how to help organizations establish them by shining a light on real-world examples and providing a platform for connecting with potential partners.

At the 2011 COMMIT!Forum we highlighted several new models of collaboration. Two of my personal favorites were the work done by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Compass Group to alleviate slave-like working conditions for migrant workers in Florida and that of Western Union and USAID to establish an African Diaspora Marketplace to harness the wealth and entrepreneurialism of this community to jump-start new businesses in Africa itself...

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Leveraging Deficits: How the Best Corporate Citizens drove more effective cross-sector collaboration during the Great Recession

Submitted by kgilliam on Thu, 2012-01-19 14:07.
In last week's blog post, I pointed to the emergence of a "renaissance" in how companies, NGOs, and governments are collaborating to tackle some of our toughest challenges. This week I'm going to look in-depth at the specific new models and practices we're seeing emerge. 
 
Throughout 2011 we looked for successful practices in cross-sector collaboration by examining commitments made as part of the annual COMMIT!Campaign and by talking with CR Magazine’s Best Corporate Citizens. There were stark differences in the way these organizations engage with NGOs and governments as compared with most companies and donors. The best:
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