First Reference Talks

Fruits of the city – an example of shared value

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Shared value is a different way of looking at CSR that offers a view to the possibility of inherent social responsibility, and the great potential that it offers to people and their economies. That potential lies in serving un- or underserved communities, of which there are many. For example, services directed at specific ethnic groups and immigrants, or hyper-local businesses that understand and meet their communities’ needs better than faceless franchises.

Tags: 100-mile diet, corporate social responsibility, CSR, local food, marginalized, minorities, nfftt, not far from the tree, shared value, shareholder value, underserved communities, urban forest, volunteer workers
Posted in Internal Controls, Not-for-Profit | Make a Comment »

Renegotiating value and values – do we have a choice?

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Last month I read about the death of corporate social responsibility. Now, I’ve come across the concept of “shared value”, which seems like a more thorough expression of the promise of CSR.

Tags: business strategy, capitalism, community, community support, corporate social responsibility, CSR, economy, environment, Harvard Business Review, HBR, Natural Step Canada, shared value, sustainability
Posted in Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Not-for-Profit | 2 Comments »

Corporate social responsibility is dead!

Monday, June 27th, 2011

Some organizations might be happy to hear that, but it’s not what you think. According to some, corporate social responsibility (CSR) was never more than a stopgap measure that allowed unsustainable companies to clothe themselves in robes of virtue.

Tags: accessibility, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA, bribery, business plan, community action, consumer protection, corporate social responsibility, corruption, CSR, CSR is dead, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, DFAIT, ecology, efficiency, equality, Kelly Hawke Baxter, Natural Step Canada, regulation, responsible business conduct, strategy, sustainability, waste
Posted in Human Resources, Human Rights, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

New guide to CSR for small and medium businesses

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

A business research centre at Cardiff University, Wales, has teamed up with the British arm of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to release a new guide on corporate social responsibility (CSR) for small and medium-sized businesses, called The ABC of CSR for small and medium enterprises. If you don’t mind the Welsh, and can handle reading “programme” instead of “program”, then you might find this guide offers some valuable lessons.

Tags: Absenteeism, corporate social responsibility, CSR, efficiency, employee retention, motivation, reputation, strategy, sustainability
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, Recruiting and Hiring | Make a Comment »

OSC issues notice re disclosure of corporate governance and environmental matters

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

The Ontario Securities Commission has announced that it will undertake a review of corporate governance practices and environmental disclosure requirements in 2010, as part of a broader corporate sustainability reporting initiative.

What’s the significance of this announcement?

Tags: Canada, climate change, corporate governance, corporate governance practices, corporate social responsibility, CSR, disclosure, environmental disclosure, environmental matters, FAPP, Finance and Accounting PolicyPro, Ontario Securities Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission
Posted in Environmental Law, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Social responsibility, social media – can’t I just run my business how I used to? (Part 2)

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Of course, you can certainly still run your business as you always have, and wait to see if corporate social responsibility and social media turn out to be passing trends. What’s more, maybe you don’t want to be on the cutting edge of marketing strategy—or don’t need to be. It is absolutely up to you.

Tags: buzzwords, corporate social responsibility, CSR, environment, facebook, governance, interns, marketing, productivity, social media, social networking, social responsibility, social web, strategy, students, twitter
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »

Social responsibility, social media – can’t I just run my business how I used to? (Part 1)

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Do companies really need to implement and integrate social responsibility and social media strategies in order to succeed in today’s business world? These ideas didn’t even exist until relatively recently, and most businesses appeared to run smoothly before. But in the last couple of years, rarely a day has gone by without some mention in the news of companies taking on the role of social or environmental steward or engaging their customers and creating communities on the Internet. With all the talk, it seems businesses that don’t incorporate these strategies will look like obsolete outcasts, soon to disappear from the market.

Tags: buzzwords, competitiveness, corporate social responsibility, CSR, environment, innovation, marketing, productivity, social media, social responsibility, social web
Posted in Human Resources, Internal Controls, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy and Security | Make a Comment »