Parents will naturally have an impact on their children’s values. New research, however, is showing that the opposite is also true: children, and in particular daughters, are impacting their parents’ values and beliefs. The surprising influence of daughters was previously revealed in studies that compared the decisions of members of Congress and (in a separate […]
Subject: Sustainable Development
Management Practices that Lead to Corporate Social Responsibility
While much research has focused on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on profitability and results, less attention has been paid on the antecedents of CSR — that is, what conditions make a company more likely to become socially responsible. Two researchers from Queen’s University School of Business and Saint Mary’s University investigated whether […]
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The World Needs Mining, but Mining Must Change
Mined materials are in many if not most of the products we buy — from the obvious such as jewellery to the not so-obvious, such as the number of mined materials in our ubiquitous cell phones. Mining, however, is known as the industry that degrades the environment, causes birth defects from polluted waters, and destroys […]
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Strategies Companies Are Using to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change
Progressive corporate leaders have been at the forefront of many societal changes, and climate change is no different. While different surveys show between 62% and 76% of the general public believes that humans are a factor in global warming, 85% of business leaders agree with the overwhelming consensus of climatologists and scientists on climate change […]
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How Well Is CSR Embedded in Business Strategy?
Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are increasingly linked to competitive advantage and innovation. Harvard’s Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer have, in recent years, ‘reframed’ CSR as ‘shared value’, pointing to the business opportunities in ‘unmet social needs’. Meanwhile, the external pressures for responsible business — from governments and regulators and from shareholders […]
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The Green Investment Gap – And How to Close It
Although global investment in renewable energy has grown significantly since the start of this century, it remains below the level needed to meet Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing CO2 emissions, according to renewable energy advocates. (Investment slightly decreased in 2012.) Portfolios that do include renewables tend to be weighted towards ‘mature’ technologies such as onshore […]
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How Social Intrapreneurs Get Heard
Many large companies have developed corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) initiatives. Examples include global management consultants Accenture, French cement, concrete and aggregates company Lafarge and Swiss pharmaceuticals multinational Novartis. Often referred to as ‘social businesses’, CSE initiatives are usually started by employees who want to help underprivileged people. Motivated partly by personal experience, these social intrapreneurs […]
Culture Club: Coaching by Values for Corporate Success
Success in business is no longer about simply becoming bigger or richer than one’s competitors. It is about being able to deal with increasing levels of complexity, including the management of that which is core to our human nature, our values. In the 21st century’s global arena, and in the wake of corporate scandals, wars, […]
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Female Directors Create Corporate Sustainability
The importance and value of corporate sustainability has been acknowledged for quite some time now. More and more organizations are striving to introduce ‘green’ and policies into their strategic plans. Now, new research suggests that the secret to better sustainability performance lies in having more women on the board. In a study sponsored by KPMG […]
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Engaged Employees: CSR, Sustainability and Performance
‘Employee engagement’ has now become a major concern for companies, as a result of the massive decreases in workforce sizes. Recent challenging economic times have led employers to become more concerned about how to better engage the employees they are left with; but that ‘magic bullet’ that ensures commitment, motivation and productivity is yet to […]
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