Tag Archives: csr

It’s the Little Guys Who Are The Real Change Agents Towards Sustainability

change

When it comes to protecting the environment or improving workers’ conditions, you might think the biggest companies are making the biggest positive impact.

Multinationals like Apple and McDonald’s are so large that –just by taking a few significant steps towards sustainability– they can change vast swaths of the global marketplace.

But it turns out that the largest corporations aren’t leading on this issue. It’s the small and medium-sized businesses that are out in front on compliance with sustainability, worker safety and other standards.

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Posted in Business and Sustainability, Leadership, new economy | Also tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Building your CSR Strategy without the baggage – what would you do differently?

Establishing a new sustainability strategy at your company can come with plenty of baggage but what if you had the chance to do it all right…from the beginning.

baggage

  • No long term relationships that are inconsistent with your sustainability strategy
  • No long term contracts with non-aligned partners
  • No inertia built into your operations and decision making
  • No culture of fear for trying unproven strategies
  • No track record with reliable supply chain partners
  • No interference from a parent company

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Posted in Business and Sustainability, Culture and Leadership, Culture Change, Organizational Culture, The Hub | Also tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Find purpose for your business and you just might find the path to greater profits.

I got into a friendly debate with a manufacturing business owner about the need for corporate social responsibility (CSR) this past weekend. Our discussion went something like this:

Old School Business Man: “I don’t believe in CSR, the purpose of my business is to maximize profits and treat my employees well. I don’t need to give to charity”.

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Unrequited Love – Corporate CSR Reports and Bay Street Investors (Part II – Bringing government into the relationship)

More questions than answers

There were certainly more questions than answers at the Feb. 5th TSSS event, and the three panelists offered different insights.  When moderator Dr. Feltmate asked whether it might be valuable to develop a way of measuring progress of a company in the sustainability realm over time, with a quantifiable index that presents an annual summary score calculation, McPherson answered that this would be important to the corporation for understanding trending, but might not be of interest to the capital markets. (To read Part I of the event summary please click here)

TSSS Event Feb. 5, 2015 – CSR and the Capital Markets with expert panel; Blair Feltmate (moderator) Julie Desjardins, Ian McPherson and Martin Grosskopf.

TSSS Event Feb. 5, 2015 – CSR and the Capital Markets with expert panel; Blair Feltmate (moderator) Julie Desjardins, Ian McPherson and Martin Grosskopf.

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Posted in Business and Sustainability, Communication, Event Summaries, Sustainable Investing | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Unrequited Love – Corporate CSR Reports and the Capital Markets (Part I – Understanding the Disconnect)

Sustainability is important to companies but do investors notice or even care?

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Martin Grosskopf of AGF addressing the audience at recent TSSS event, “Bay/Wall Street and Sustainability (Feb.5, 2015)

2013 United Nations Global Compact survey of one thousand CEOs representing 27 industries in 103 countries found that 93 percent viewed sustainability performance as important to their company’s future success. How can corporations have their sustainable development work more accurately reflected in their stock valuation? Professionals from sectors as diverse as mining, academia, energy, public relations, sustainability, marketing and finance gathered on Feb. 5, 2015 at the offices of Loyalty One in Toronto to explore answers to this question. (Learn more about the event theme and panel by clicking here)

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Posted in Business and Sustainability, Communication, Event Summaries, Sustainable Investing | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed
  • TSSS EVENT: Sport and Sustainability: A Focus on the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games (FREE Livestream)

    Pam AM TorontoJoin TSSS on April 1st as our panel explores the power of sport to reach people and communities like nothing else can. Topics to be discussed include: Community Engagement, Sustainable Purchasing, Importance of a Clear Vision, Diversity and Inclusion, Branding and Leaving a Legacy. Learn more
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