Month of April, 2011

The 2010 ISEAL 100 survey captures the views of thought leaders from organisations that are at the forefront of corporate social and environmental responsibility. ISEAL contracted OnEarth to conduct telephone interviews with 80 business and 20 government and NGO respondents.

This report aims to provide an overview of the diversity and development of engagement practices and the difficulties they face in France and abroad. It also focuses on how environmental and social issues are progressively being taken into account in these practices. The study is designed to provide information to and raise awareness of a range of stakeholders in engagement such as shareholders, NGOs, trade unions, companies, etc.

The need for collaboration between the different social actors to address social situations and tackle current and future challenges is a matter on which there is growing consensus.

The objectives behind both this study carried out by Marc Vilanova and Pax Dettoni and the presentation of the book, were to analyse the affect of innovation and sustainability on companies and the impact that these strategic issues have on the competitiveness model, to come up with a model that explains how companies consider sustainability and innovation as core competitiveness attributes and, most importantly, to help other companies understand how they could potentially follow similar strategies.

"Connected Reporting - A practical guide with worked examples" is a 'how to' guide which provides organisations with a simple approach to making the connection between strategic direction, financial performance and environmental and social considerations.

Even when we think we are making principled decisions, recent research reveals we are not as ethical as we would like to believe.

Leadership for Sustainability shows what an action research based practice of leadership for sustainability looks like and provides a sense of the personal and professional challenges this involves; it demonstrates how people who are influencing change draw on reflective practice strategically and also tactically.

The study focusses on three industrial sectors important to the EU (cotton, sugar from sugar cane, and mobile phones), in relation to five key CSR supply chain management issues (child labour, freedom of association and collective bargaining, an adequate standard of living, unfair price levels, and biodiversity).

The Commission launched this study, "The state of play in sustainability reporting in the European Union", following a series of interactive workshops on Corporate Social Responsibility transparency and disclosure in 2009-10 by DG Enterprise.

The Commission has published a new Compendium of corporate social responsibility (CSR) public policies in the EU, by way of update on the last one that was written in 2007. Whereas the 2007 compendium had a country by country focus, this one has a thematic focus.

This blog, implemented by the Diversity and Inclusion Leader at MSD for Europe and Canada, explores the intersection of Diversity, Talent Management and Corporate Responsibility

Companies which have implemented corporate sustainability strategies have enjoyed a broad range of important benefits but finance and cost are the biggest challenges companies face when implementing sustainable practices.

New Standards for Long-Term Business Survival is a free introductory booklet that explains what sustainability is, why it is important, and how sustainable practices are being successfully implemented in businesses around the world. Included in its pages is a brief history of modern-day business sustainability as well as an overview of the subject areas, almost limitless innovations, and financial benefits that sustainable-thinking encompasses.

Blending theory with practical application, this comprehensive text supports courses at the intersection of corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate strategy, and public policy.

The publication explores what a sustainability plan is, who has one, and how to develop one for yourself.

‘The Partnering with Governments Navigator – Building effective collaboration with the public sector in Africa’ is aimed at assisting donors, NGOS and practitioners from the private sector in navigating the challenges and seizing the opportunities of partnership with governments.

Researchers have reported a positive, negative, and neutral impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance. This inconsistency may be due to flawed empirical analysis. In this paper, we demonstrate a particular flaw in existing econometric studies of the relationship between social and financial performance.

This book presents examples of how organisations have used sustainability accounting for sustainability tools and principles to embed sustainability into their DNA.

The European Union, China, and the United States have all made significant commitments to renewable energy deployment, at either the central or regional levels. But they all face a major challenge: how to integrate this power into the existing grids. As the WRI report shows, policies to help transmit renewable energy have not kept pace with renewable energy ambitions.

‘Responsible investment’ has become mainstream. But, despite the volume of CR reports, reporters aren’t giving investors the information they need. This book (Valuing Corporate Responsibility - How Do Investors Really Use Corporate Responsibility Information?) aims to get reporters and the investment community speaking a common language.

The author traces the evolution of the CSR construct beginning in the 1950s, which marks the modern era of CSR.

A special report on climate change mitigation in the countries from central Europe to central Asia - looks back at the determinants of emission reductions in the region over the past 20 years and analyses the policies and institutions necessary to make the transition to a low carbon future.

The report documents the findings of an in-depth study about the economic and social impact of The Coca-Cola Company and SABMiller’ value chains on communities in El Salvador and Zambia.

This guide (in German) shows the challenges of diversity for business and identifies ways to address these. The main part of the guide is devoted to the practical implementation of the diversity management process, with examples of concrete action. At the end is a list of contact points, work assistance and information brochures.

Perceived injustice can lead to bossnappings as in France or lead people to resort to violence in the name of causes that are deemed socially legitimate. Good relations with stakeholders can help companies discredit the justifications brought forward by perpetrators.

In February 2008, Fabio Rosa (Rosa), a social entrepreneur based in Brazil, was awarded The Leapfrog Fund Award sponsored by The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the Lemelson Foundation. The award recognized Rosa’s efforts at providing rural families living in Brazil with access to electricity.

Veragua opened its doors on July 4, 2008. It was the first project developed by Costa Ricans that combined eco-tourism, adventure and scientific research. The idea to build this adventure and research park in Limon was based on taking 1,300 hectares of tropical rainforest that had been used for logging and converting them into an eco-tourism project targeting tourists from cruise ships.

In November 2006, 200 German policemen and prosecutors raided 30 offices and homes of Siemens managers to investigate allegations of embezzlement at Siemens’ fixed-line phone unit. This story is completed in the “Corruption at Siemens (B)” case, which consists of an interview that one of the case authors conducted with the convicted Siekaczek. He recounts his side of the story, thus illustrating the impact on the individual involved in a crime such as corruption.

The case study narrates lessons learned by a group of employees from Agility that voluntarily sets off with the support of their CEO to the Lebanese-Syrian border in the midst of the 2006 bombings. Personally convinced that they have a duty to help, they go to make their professional skills and contacts available to the humanitarian community on behalf of Agility.

The world's largest clothing retailer has enjoyed a fourfold increase in its sales and profits over the last decade, emerging as a case study for the industry. Lately, however, signs of weakness have emerged: Inditex has had to pull several garments from the shops of one of its retail brands because of allegations of piracy. The episodes represent the first major challenge for the company, industry observers say.