Business - Articles

Innovative ways to enhance corporate social responsibility (more)

Podcast

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible - Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility

Companies around the world are trying to figure out how to evaluate their performance—as well as that of their suppliers—on a host of corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions in areas such as diversity, community development, and environmental issues. How can CSR influence business initiatives and the value of CSR efforts be measured? In this panel discussion, Stanford 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference panelists share lessons and resources.

Podcast

Lawrence Jackson - Environmental Sustainability for Cheap

For Wal-Mart, social responsibility includes keeping products affordable to the millions of low- and middle-income consumers who form the bulk of its customer base. In this University podcast, Lawrence Jackson, former Wal-Mart president,  brings the perspectives of someone who grew up in inner city Washington, D.C., to ask a Stanford audience at the 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference whether pushing for social and environmental responsibility in business is a racially and economically segregated movement.

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Butter Your Way to the Top

By Alana Conner

Flattery, not good governance, reaps corporate directorships – especially for white males.

Podcast

Amory Lovins - Energy Efficiency in Transportation - Part One

"The United States can break its dependency on oil by 2040." So says Amory Lovins, who discusses in this audio lecture the strategy outlined in his book, Winning the Oil Endgame, through which the country can eliminate its use of oil and have a much stronger economy. Most significantly, this plan does not rely on big government programs, but leans primarily on the for-profit business sector to lead the way.

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Private Equity, Public Good

By Beth Sirull 2

Many businesses serving lower income communities languish because they can't raise enough money to fund their growth. To meet their needs, a new breed of private equity investment—development investment capital—has emerged. Although this style of investing is still in its infancy, it is already showing promise.

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Harnessing Purity and Pragmatism

By Alana Conner & Keith Epstein 1

As the wall between the nonprofit and corporate worlds crumbles, many social change organizations are asking themselves: Do we stick to our activist guns, or do we cross the divide and work with business? Research suggests that social movements need both kinds of organizations to make the changes they seek.

Podcast

Peter Eigen - Civil Society in Global Governance

How do we look after the global public good in a society where globalized businesses aren't subject to international control? In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen explains civil society organizations' role in creating necessary structures and rules to fill the gaps in current global governance. Suggesting cooperation between academic, business, and social actors, Eigen uses Transparency International's policies as examples in the fight against corruption and environmental abuse.