New Corporate Social Responsibility Series Launched

Welcome to Good Company. I am writing this series as a resource to those seeking to understand the historic events that have shaped the CSR priorities of major corporations. This blog will explore why Wal-Mart cares so deeply about the packaging its suppliers use, why Coke is concerned about its water usage, and why oil companies are taking positions on climate change.

If you have found this blog, you most likely are already aware that CSR is driven as much by personal passion as by an understanding that corporate social responsibility plays an important role in a company's strategy. But what exactly is motivating company leadership and shareholders to spend money paying for CSR programs?  And how have CSR programs escaped decimation in the face of layoffs and budget cuts?

It should be no surprise that CSR programs survive because sustainability is an important risk management tool.  A perception that a company is behaving irresponsibly can lead to class action lawsuits (think: asbestos), regulation (think: phthalates), or NGO activist campaigns (think: Gap).  Meanwhile, "good corporate citizens" reduce energy costs (think: just about everybody these days!), actively shape regulation (think: Dupont), and even capture new markets (think: GE).  In short, CSR priorities are not arbitrary, but rather emerge as tools for mitigating risk to a company's financial performance and developing new profit opportunities.   In fact, many of the companies praised for exceptional CSR strategies have done so as a strategy for getting out from under the gun.

Over the course of 2010, this blog will explore the historic events that shaped the CSR priorities of companies in the Fortune 500.   These companies are among the most high profile in the U.S., and consequently face tremendous scrutiny surrounding their management of environmental, social, and governance practices.  My goal will be to look to experts from the sustainability field to help readers understand the issues driving each sector, and to reach out to company representatives for a first-person account of how these concerns fit together with the priorities the company has chosen to disclose to the public.  I intend to provide a resource that merges the historical context behind each CSR strategy with an idea of forward-looking priorities for companies in the field.  I also intend to use this blog to introduce you to the people who are shaping the fields of CSR strategy and sustainability analytics (sustainability experts and CSR practitioners, expect my call!).

My hope is that this blog will be as much a resource as a forum for discussion and debate on the history of the CSR field.   So please jump in anytime to embellish upon my account, correct misperceptions, or elaborate on comments that have only scratched the tip of the iceberg.  And if you would like me to cover a company sooner than later, please let me know!