Beyond the Green Corporation
Businessweek’s latest cover story is devoted to how CSR practices can boost a company’s bottomline:
""You can’t ignore the impact your company has on the community and environment… CEOs used to frame thoughts like these in the context of moral responsibility. But now, it’s also about growth and innovation. In the future, it will be the only way to do business."
"As recently as five years ago, such [sustainability] reports—if they appeared at all—were usually transparent efforts to polish the corporate image. Now there’s a more sophisticated understanding that environmental and social practices can yield strategic advantages in an interconnected world of shifting customer loyalties and regulatory regimes.
Embracing sustainability can help avert costly setbacks from environmental disasters, political protests, and human rights or workplace abuses—the kinds of debacles suffered by Royal Dutch Shell PLC in Nigeria and Unocal in Burma. "Nobody has an idea when such events can hit a balance sheet, so companies must stay ahead of the curve," says Matthew J. Kiernan, CEO of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors."
The accompanying case profiles include Walmart, Toyota, and GlaxoSmithKline
"As Toyota prepares to motor past Ford as the world’s second-largest carmaker, it has become a textbook case on how a green reputation delivers a competitive edge. In the five years since the Prius’ U.S. debut, Toyota’s brand value has surged by 47%, to $28 billion, according to Interbrand. In the same period, Ford has been beset with numerous troubles, including a failure to meet its goals for SUV mileage gains or to exploit its well-regarded Escape hybrid. Its brand value fell 70%, to $11 billion."
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