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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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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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HOW Online contributor
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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HOW Online contributor
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.
More »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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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.
More »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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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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