Tag Archives: Employee Involvement

Patagonia Didn’t Wait Until the Planet Was Fixed Before Investing in its Employees. Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Either.

Part of running a business with a social mission means you work with a set of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, investors and community) versus with shareholders. We are used to evaluating our social mission in terms of the benefits it allays to a cause, consumers or revenue. Often, employee perks are mid-ranked priorities (at best) […]

13 Benefits You Can Count on if You’re a Company with a Social Mission

Most people think that a social mission* is a money drain on a business.  Conversely, I’ve found that it helps a company grow. Here are 13 ways that your business can profit from integrating a social mission. People will talk: consumers, competitors, investors, suppliers and the press. Employee morale goes up.  People like to work for […]

‘What’s the Social Compensation Package?’ 5 Ways to Attract Talent Without the Checkbook

Employee compensation packages are dropping in financial value–but this time, it’s not because of the recession alone. From MBAs to college graduates, potential employees are looking for more than stock options and dental care from their employers. In “Saving the World at Work” Tim Sanders calls this “Social Compensation–the purpose that comes with the paycheck.” […]

Interview with One World Cafe Visionary

I spoke with Denise Cerreta, founder of One World Everybody Eats,to find out how she developed her model for a community kitchen, how she plans to scale it internationally and what other businesses can do create a company that gives back. What are One World Everybody Eats’ primary objectives? Eliminate world hunger. Feed and include […]

Pro Bono Work Grows Wings at Deloitte

As is common practice with large firms, Deloitte provides pro bono services to local communities. Employees of the consulting giant also volunteer their time and skills with area nonprofits. It’s a pretty good one-two punch as big-name corporate responsibility goes. Deloitte, however, saw opportunity to leverage a greater impact. Welcome philanthropy, in the form of […]

Can Corporations Replace Philanthropies?

Will philanthropy be displaced by business? Marc Benioff, of Salesforce.com and Compassionate Capitalism, wrote a great piece on how to bridge the disconnect between corporate profits and cause.  He argues that socially responsibly initiatives are created in isolation from the corporate mission. An ‘integrated corporation’ creates value in its local community or global network as […]

Timberland Attaches “Nutritional Label”

The Timberland Co.’s nutritional label, found on shoe and boot packaging, reports on the brand’s social and environmental impact. The label-displayed on 30 million shoe boxes a year-provides information on where the footwear was made, how much energy was consumed to produce it and how much renewable energy Timberland uses. Inside the boxes are inserts, […]