Helen Mathis taught accounting as a vocational instructor for 30 years before facing a career-defining moment: The school where she worked closed and Mathis knew she needed a new plan
Business needs another industrial revolution—one led by corporations like Phillips, selling light as well as bulbs, or Dell, creating a closed-loop recycled plastics supply chain to recycle computers back into new computers, or the Dow Chemical Company, recovering non-recycled plastics, and converting them into usable energy. While reducing waste is not a new idea, these companies understand the value of a circular economy at work, one in which resources are endlessly cycled back into supply chains, where waste simply does not exist.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a group of graduate students about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and my own career in social impact. The discussion was stimulating and the students asked probing questions. After the session, a young woman approached me and said that she would love to have a job like mine and change the world, to give away a company’s money to support worthy causes. My heart sank. In my experience, CSR can be a powerful force to transform corporate culture and align business activities with social benefit. While pure philanthropy remains an important component of CSR, the field has evolved beyond giving.
IKEA Sustainability Officer Steve Howard practically shook the earth when he announced early this year that the home furniture market had reached “peak stuff.” New product sales, he said, had already seen their heyday and were now entering a decline. And he wasn’t just speaking off the cuff—IKEA is currently positioning their business towards a circular economy while still hoping to double sales by 2020.
It’s no surprise that water is at the core of the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), given its connection to health, climate change and resiliency. The SDGs seek to improve water quality and to substantially increase recycling and safe reuse globally by 2030.
Increasing the efficiency of water consumption at the industry level will help address these goals and also reduce scarcity issues. From using stormwater to flush toilets to installing low-flow nozzles where appropriate, conserving water will drive efficiency and also help companies save money. Here are some ways businesses can get started.
General Motors is turning its employees’ recycled water bottles into a new life: noise-reducing fabric insulation that covers the Chevrolet Equinox engine. The bottles – collected from five of its Michigan facilities – are also being turned into air filtration components and insulation in coats for the homeless community.
This year's class of Ghetto Film School Fellows recently screened the family drama they shot on location in Spain, "El Coche Rojo," at a Paley Center for Media event in New York sponsored by 21st Century Fox. GFS teaches filmmaking to young people from communities traditionally underrepresented in Hollywood, and its Fellows Program gives the students the chance to create an entirely original short film. 21CF is a longtime supporter of Ghetto Film School and works hand-in-hand with the organization to provide new avenues into the entertainment industry.
Global power company Enel has partnered with international sustainability standard-setter GRI ahead of the 5th GRI Global Conference: Empowering Sustainable Decisions, which takes place in Amsterdam 18-20 May, 2016.
Happily for society, the clarion call of volunteerism is echoing across the business world, and National Volunteer Week (April 10-16, 2016) is expected to have more of an impact this year than ever. Initiated by Points of Light in the United States (the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service), the week is about “inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage their communities.” It’s also the ideal time for companies to spearhead workplace programs that respond to the growing interest in volunteer opportunities in ways that both business and community impact.
AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...
The business landscape is reorienting itself and you can almost hear priorities shifting toward change-readiness and the bigger picture. And in this...
Corporate governance, risk management, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance are demanding challenges that companies face in today’s ever...
Subaru is dedicated to supporting those who need it the most in our communities. From donating food to Feeding America, providing essential items to...
