HOW Online contributor
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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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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HOW Online contributor
Imagine a company where profits were second to values; where executives were trusted to make deals; and where people were encouraged to have fun. That was how power generation company AES operated — until it all came crashing down, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther. Since then, AES has recovered without crushing its “can-do” spirit and the innovation that made it a success.
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HOW Online contributor
These days, big companies are battling over which can be more sustainable. Now, UPS and FedEx, longtime rivals, are going at it. More is at stake than bragging rights. Forward-thinking customers will want to do business with the more sustainable firm. And the environmental back-and-forth ties in to a bigger reputation battle between the two firms, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther.
More »To many people, sustainability means solar panels, wind turbines and LEED-certified buildings. But sustainability is more than just going green or being green. It's a way of thinking about business — a mode of leadership and behavior that aims to create lasting value as opposed to piling up short-term transactional wins, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.
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President and CEO, BSR
At the start of 2009, trust in business plummeted from the year before, found the Edelman Trust Barometer. By July, trust levels recovered slightly — but it is far too early to declare victory, says Aron Cramer, president and CEO of BSR. Business now has a chance to write a new chapter and align its interests with those of the public so, together, we can confront the challenges ahead.
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HOW Online contributor
HOW contributor Mats Lederhausen sat down with Anthony Tjan, founder of Cue Ball, to talk about Lederhausen’s philosophy of "a purpose bigger than your product." As Lederhausen said: “To regain trust, you must simply make sure that all your products … your people and the totality of your touchpoints with consumers sing from the same hymn — and that hymn is what I call purpose.”
More »A story about the “honor system” adopted by golf courses in Scotland caught my eye, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The courses allow golfers to pay green fees by dropping payment into an unmonitored box. The policy reflects the core traditions and values of golf: the qualities of honesty and integrity that have shaped the sport. And companies can learn a lot from the honor system.
More »Each week, Jack Welch and his wife, Suzy Welch, answer reader questions and share their views about “winning” on the back page of BusinessWeek. With Jack and Suzy off this week, the publication invited me to submit a column. It is meaningful for me to sit in, and I have taken the opportunity to talk about the role of trust and, specifically, how to extend trust as a business strategy.
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HOW Online contributor
The aspiration to create "green jobs" should be seen as shorthand for two public priorities — immediate job creation and long-term transformation of the economy for sustainability and prosperity — and both goals can be addressed simultaneously, says HOW contributor Andrew Shapiro. What we need to ask is: How can we make every industry a green industry and every job a green job?
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