I am working on creating a visual overview of what comprises corporate social responsibility (CSR) and wanted to take a moment to mention the company that a few of my friends run called Greenland Enterprises. CSR encompasses many distinct areas of business activity or issue area, one of which is sustainability. Through Greenland Enterprises, Georges and Michelle help companies create sustainability solutions that are critical to addressing CSR. Take some time to visit their site and explore with them what role sustainability plays in an organization.

Here’s a snippet about their purpose:

“Greenland Enterprises’ core purpose is to role model the profitability of sustainable business practices, to spread the message of a strategic sustainable development, and to contribute to the creation of a sustainable global society”

[Update: 6/28/07] It looks like they just updated their website so the screenshot above is a bit out of date. Also, I didn’t mention that there were three members of their team — check out the “Team” page for bios on all three partners.

TAGS: CSR | corporate social responsibility | sustainability | environment | Greenland Enterprises

CSRwire today has a release from SustainableBusiness.com that presents the first positive news I have read regarding the real estate industry in some months: Real Estate Industry Quietly Embracing Green Development, Progressive Investor Reports. Following are a few interesting snippets:

“In an analysis of the industry, Progressive Investor reports that 41% of the 300 U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) are actively pursuing energy efficiency and green building upgrades and another 27% plan to do so.”

Those figures are a bit too low to be firmly optimistic, but promising nonetheless. Several factors were cited for the increased interest in incorporating green design into real estate:

• Higher energy costs
• Lower cost of “building green” than in years prior
• Increasing client/tenant preference for green buildings
• Noted increase in high-profile clients establishing green corporate headquarters (Bank of America, Toyota, Goldman Sachs, and others mentioned)
• Increasing mandate for green building
• Preemptive attempt to flush non-green and/or older and more inefficient properties from portfolios by real estate firms

TAGS: CSR | green building | REIT | sustainability | sustainable design | green design

I had the distinct pleasure of grabbing a cup of coffee with Mark Rowe of Hoffman Rowe this evening. (The coffee was Organic Guatemalan, if you are wondering, though I haven’t a clue whether it was Fair Trade Certified.) We chatted for quite a while, bounced a few ideas around, and shared our views of where we think corporate social responsibility currently sits and where it is headed.

Of note, Mark floated the observation that “corporate social responsibility” is a bit off and that “corporate responsibility” is less limiting. An interesting viewpoint indeed, and I look forward to talking with him further about the pros and cons of each.

If you haven’t heard of Hoffman Rowe before, be sure to visit their website. The firm is based in the Boston-area and offers a full slate of ethics and compliance consulting services.

TAGS: CSR | Corporate Social Responsibility | Ethics | Consulting | CR

I was in Washington D.C. for a few days with my wife and son and saw a bit of CSR in action. No, it didn’t crop up during on of the mid-June sunny jaunts with my son to the Mall or one of the many museums around its perimeter. I found it in the bathroom of our hotel…

If you have stayed in a hotel in the last five or so years, you are likely to have seen the same sign hanging in your room’s bathroom or shower. It typically reads something like:

“Hotel X is concerned about the environment. Every time we wash a towel, a lot of water and detergent is used and poured down the drain into the environment. To help out, please re-use your towel more than once. Please leave a towel you would like washed on the floor and any you intend to re-use on the rack.”

Simple and easy. The likely reduction in towel usage does indeed cut down in water, electricity and detergent usage (rather, the resulting detergent run-off). But it also does something else — it saves the hotel money.

Fancy that. …a business case for CSR…

Every towel that a guest re-uses is one less towel that the hotel has to spend money and resources cleaning. Yes, the information cards hanging in the bathroom cost money and used up resources (I have yet to see one that has been printed on recycled paper, or labeled as such), but probably far less than the resources they save by prompting guests to be laundry thrifty.

Kudos to the hotels that have been implementing CSR in such a manner, and to those looking to extend the “save the towels” campaign to other areas of their operations.

(If the hotel chain is of interest, it was one of the several Embassy Suites properties in the city. The Westin that we spent the latter half of our trip in did not have a similar sign.)

TAGS: CSR | business | social responsibility | environment | Hilton | Embassy Suites

Via the Principled Profit, this news very interesting indeed: ISO Developing Social Responsibility Standard. Shel also posted a link to a PDF overview (image to the right) of how NGO’s can get involved in the process.

The text is indeed a bit dry as Shel points out, but the content, if you are interested in the topic, is quite interesting. In short, it is about the ISO 26000 standard which will “give guidance to organizations on social responsibility.” More specifically, the guidance will involve:

• principles and issues relating to social responsibility;
• integrating, implementing and promoting socially responsible practices;
• identifying and engaging with stakeholders;
• communicating commitments and performance relating to social responsibility; and,
• contributing to sustainable development through social responsibility.

I look forward to watching the standard come together.

TAGS: social responsibility | NGO | ISO 26000 | CSR