Interesting blog post recently from Paul Klein of Impakt, a Toronto-based consultancy whose mission is to bring about “positive social change at the intersection of business and civil society” by helping corporations and nonprofits become social purpose leaders.

New Research Report Reveals Corporate Social Responsibility Trends

by Guest Blogger on Apr 16, 2013 - 12:20am

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by Business4Better (B4B)

The non-commercial community partnership movement produced by UBM plc, released a research report on Tuesday that defines major trends in the way mid-sized companies approach corporate social responsibility (CSR), including plans for community engagement, employee volunteerism and metrics of success. It explores both challenges and opportunities that mid-sized companies regularly face in implementing their CSR programs.

Consumer Demand Shapes Corporate Social Responsibility

by Geri Stengel on May 22, 2012 - 12:20am

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Consumers have the power to change the world. If they demand corporate responsibility from those who provide goods and services, corporations will become more socially responsible.

Consumers Worldwide Expect, Reward Responsible Businesses

by Geri Stengel on Dec 15, 2011 - 12:20am

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I knew it! But it’s nice to know that 10,000 consumers in 10 countries confirm my belief: Companies have a responsibility to promote social good and consumers will support those who do.

Book Shows Businesses How Social Responsibility Can Improve Profits

by Geri Stengel on Nov 29, 2011 - 12:20am

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Despite what Gordon Gekko of Wall Street fame said, greed isn’t good. Not for the planet, not for communities, and not for the corporate bottom line.

Five Reasons To Be Optimistic About Corporate Social Responsibility

by Geri Stengel on Jul 7, 2011 - 12:12am

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When a report comes out advising big corporations to ignore social responsibility and focus only on profit, I could get depressed.

The report argues that creating jobs is all the social responsibility that businesses need do; everything else will take care of itself if people have jobs. The report does not mention living wages or health benefits but that’s another issue.

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Social Responsibility Leads To Bigger Profits

by Geri Stengel on Jun 7, 2011 - 12:11am

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I think they got it! Two items this week give me confidence that there’s been a sea change in corporate thinking: The planet and the customer now count. It’s a business model that small businesses can profit from as well.

Back in ‘05 or so, Walmart got on the green bandwagon, designing greener packaging, cleaning up its supply chain, and generally opting for sustainability. It did not do this to help the environment; it wanted to improve its bottom line. And it succeeded.

5 Steps to Greater Profitability ... Starting at the Bottom

by Geri Stengel on May 27, 2010 - 9:45am

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I've always been an advocate of treating all employees well and now the research is in that supports my contention.

Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder found that there is a link – unexpected by the researchers – between improved conditions for bottom-rung employees and profit. They expected to find that companies could provide good benefits to low-level employees and still be profitable. But they found much more. They found that well-treated low-level employees increased company profits.

10 Tips for Sourcing Ethical Suppliers in Developing Countries

by Geri Stengel on Apr 27, 2010 - 10:45am

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You want to be socially responsible, to buy from suppliers who treat their workers well and provide quality products. Very nice. But the practice is more complicated than the vision.

According to a study by the Chinese government and reported by Asia Inspections, nearly 80% of private Chinese firms violate employee rights and have not signed contracts with their employees.

6 Simple Ways for Nonprofits, Funders to Make A Big Change

by Geri Stengel on Mar 23, 2010 - 10:00am

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"Catalyze" is a great word, a great concept: to bring about or inspire change. It implies that a small action will cause other, bigger things to happen.

That's why the "6 Ways to Catalyze Change" list caught my eye. It was put together by the NASSCOM Foundation, an organization based in India that uses information technology to improve people's lives. It reminds us all that simple things can make a big difference.