On Corporate Social Responsibility

The New York Times covers how companies are making the effort to cut down on packaging waste.

The money quote:

“Waste of any kind is inefficiency, and inefficiency equals cost,” said Scott Vitters, Coca-Cola’s director of sustainable packaging.

 Companies mentioned include P&G, Coca Cola, Wal-Mart, Estee Lauder, McDonald’s, and Nestle.

The exams are over and the vacation is upon us! Here’s a quickie update:

• In response to negative publicity about Apple’s environmental impacts (mostly brought about by Greenpeace’s Green My Apple campaign), Steve Jobs recently stepped forward to clarify the company’s environmental record. As far as I can tell, there are no new plans or promises, just a matter-of-fact list of what Apple is doing. It’s an effort to communicate more than anything - which I think is good nonetheless, because companies have to close the loop by giving their stakeholders information. As Steve says, "Whatever other improvements we need to make, it is certainly clear that we have failed to communicate the things that we are doing well. Unfortunately this policy has left our customers, shareholders, employees and the industry in the dark about Apple’s desires and plans to become greener. Our stakeholders deserve and expect more from us, and they’re right to do so." It seems like Greenpeace isn’t quite satisfied yet…

 

• Still on the topic of electronics companies, IBM just announced a new investment programme to minimise energy consumption of its data centres around the world. And they’re spending $1 BILLION on the programme every year. It’s a pretty good service to be offering your clients, actually. "The cost and availability of electrical power is becoming a critical issue for many companies whose data centers have expanded steadily. I.B.M. formed an information technology optimization task force at the start of the year.“We decided it was critical to mobilize the full resources of the company to attack the problem… This is approaching a crisis for many of our clients.“"

 

• In other news, check out this article from The Economist about how corporate leaders now have to face up to the moral dimensions of their business operations.. even when you’re Warren Buffett.