CSR: Getting It Started, Getting It Right


Mats Lederhausen,
HOW Online contributor
CSR is a core business philosophy that balances the needs of all stakeholders

HOW contributor Mats Lederhausen sat down with The Business & Legal Quarterly to discuss what corporate social responsibility means, its benefits and disadvantages, and how to launch valuable CSR initiatives. As Lederhausen said: “I view CSR as a core business philosophy that balances the valid needs and desires of all stakeholders in an enterprise. … In reality, CSR is simply good capitalism.”

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Google Gets Tough on Values With China


Marc Gunther,
HOW Online contributor
The tech giant lives up to its 'Don't be evil' motto

Google’s threat to withdraw from China, rather than accept censorship, is a breathtaking example of corporate values at work and a landmark moment in the history of corporate responsibility, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther. It’s the boldest statement any U.S. company has ever made about doing business in China. And Google’s get-tough stance with China will be good for its business.

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Philosophy Is Back in Business

Dov Photo
Philosophy offers a deeper, broader way of thinking to help guide companies

The financial and climate crises, global consumption habits, and other 21st-century challenges call for a "killer app." I think I've found it: philosophy. Philosophy can help us address the (literally) existential challenges the world currently confronts, but only if we take it off the back burner and apply it as a burning platform in business, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

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Business Can Ignore Climate Deniers


Andrew Shapiro,
HOW Online contributor
There are plenty of good reasons to reduce risk and clean up our act

The trumped-up "Climate Gate" scandal has drawn an inordinate amount of attention, with climate change deniers using fairly innocuous evidence to question the integrity of all climate science. Even if the deniers were right — which they're not — the business case for investing in environmental innovation still holds up, as does the moral imperative, says HOW contributor Andrew Shapiro.

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Copenhagen, Meet Columbus


Andrew Shapiro,
HOW Online contributor
The future of our climate will be determined not in Denmark, but locally

Like many people, I was holding out hope for a binding policy agreement on climate change from Copenhagen, says HOW contributor Andrew Shapiro. Now, global leaders can re-frame the climate challenge as an opportunity to drive innovation and economic revitalization. We need a game plan that connects policymakers with business leaders and investors to drive the development of solutions.

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How to Behave Our Way Out of Crisis

Dov Photo
Dov Seidman and Thomas Friedman explore how to think and act now

Fresh from his appearance with best-selling author and acclaimed New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Dov Seidman writes about why we need to reconnect with sustainable values. The recent event featured a lively conversation between Seidman and Friedman that examined approaches to restoring growth, significance and leadership in the 21st century and explored the urgent need for sustainable rather than situational values today.

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Cling to Your Suki in the Marketplace

Dov Photo
Trust in action on the micro-level in the Philippines

Trusting relationships drive successful businesses, whether you’re a CEO ... or a suki, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. While the suki — a favored local market vendor who sees to customers’ needs through thick and thin — may be a social phenomenon unique to the Philippines, there is a larger story here: Good business is the outcome of connections based on values and principles.

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Will the Crisis Launch an Investment Revolution?


Marc Gunther,
HOW Online contributor
Investors seeing that short-term profits don’t build long-term value

Are investors who watched Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch destroy billions in shareholder value ready to focus on what makes companies sustainable? The recent “Sustainable Stock Exchanges” conference discussed building the case for whether companies with good environmental, social and governance practices will deliver superior shareholder returns, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther.

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Why Values Trump Rules and Regulation

Dov Photo
Regulation is situation-specific; values guide people on what to do in any situation

Everywhere I travel, I hear the same refrains: "We need more regulation," or on the flip side, "If we hadn't deregulated, we wouldn't be in this financial mess." More regulation could be a very good thing, but we shouldn’t rush to regulation without asking whether it’s a list of prohibitive rules or something deeper, something that inspires consistent and right behavior, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

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The Rise of the Ethical Consumer

Dov Photo
Companies catch on that consumers are not separating money, ideals

Out of the ashes of the recession, the “ethical consumer” has risen — or so says a recent TIME story. In this “Responsibility Revolution,” the companies that win will be the ones that act and behave according to values and principles. Although this new social contract among consumers, business and government is impressive, we are just at the start of a long climb, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

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