Corporate Social Responsibility : Center for Social Innovation (CSI)

Articles : All | News Articles | Stanford Social Innovation Review Articles | Blog Posts

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Richard Jefferson believes that biotechnology can be used to benefit the poor and disenfranchised, but only if the R&D process is democratized so that everyone has access to critical scientific tools and technologies.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights

More than Beans

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Sustainable Harvest grows a new supply chain.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights

Positive Distraction Workforce

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Habitat International has grown its bottom line using a largely disabled workforce.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Government, Leadership

McNutt Describes How Cowboys, Engineers, and Scientists Plugged the BP Oil Leak

When oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico last year, scientists, engineers, and operations workers all had different ideas about what to do. The biggest lesson may have been getting these different groups to work together, Marcia McNutt of the USGS told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Cause Marketing, Nonprofits, Philanthropy & Responsible Investing, Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

The Science of Getting People to Do The Right Thing

For the movers and shakers of this world who could use some practical, cost-effective solutions for encouraging donations, volunteerism, social activism, and other responsible, caring, and pro-social behaviors, Frank Flynn reviews the latest findings. To receive Flynn's highlights, sign up for the quarterly prosocial highlight.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Whole Foods' John Mackey Is Out to Change American Business

John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods Market chain, has loftier goals than getting Americans to eat healthy foods, one of the missions of his grocery empire. He is out to change American business as well, putting it on the path to higher consciousness.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Government

TARP Head Allison Challenges the Banking Industry

Banking industry executives need to look broadly at changes to reform the American financial system, says Herbert Allison, MBA '71, the head of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Healthcare

In Africa and at Home, Supply Chains Are Getting Kinder and Greener

Solutions to supply chain problems from motorcycle parts in Africa to grocery delivery and solar power in the US were shared at the Advancing Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains Conference presented by the Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum and the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

Mexico's Global Builder

Lorenzo Zambrano, MBA '68, took the family's cement business from regional player to the industry's third-largest supplier.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Gap Urges Global Manufacturing Standards

Gap, the clothing giant, monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually. But today there is no single set of global standards, the firm’s vice president for social responsibility told a supply chain conference.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Case Study: LEED the Way

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

The LEED system is the platinum standard for green building certification, and its parent organization, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the fastest growing nonprofits in America. Here’s how the USGBC maintains its strict standards while responding to diverse members in an evolving field

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Research: Tech Clears the Air

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

Manufacturing growth doesn’t harm the environment—it helps

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Fun for a Change

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

Volkswagen plays with virtue

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

A Mandarin’s Lament

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

SMALL CHANGE: Why Business Won’t Save the World by Michael Edwards

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Research: The Business of Bribery

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Winter 2010

Is there a monopoly of bribery?

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Do Companies That Engage in BoP Markets Outperform the Market?

A new index is creating a benchmark for comparing large-scale companies serving the markets for the very poorest.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Social Entrepreneurship

A New Way to Respond to Natural Disasters

Better practices in disaster relief involve market-orientated nonprofit organizations, or social-mission-orientated, for-profit companies, playing a more prominent role.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

America’s Least Philanthropic Companies

Put companies on alert that their refusal to give back to the community is not going unnoticed.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Patina of Philanthropy

Corporate altruism has shrunk as corporate avarice has grown.

Resource: Blog Post

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Bottom Line on Corporate Giving

A new survey calls into question the bottom line effects of corporate philanthropy.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Social Enterprise in Food Supply Chains

In the arena of social enterprise, a California collaboration is creating a high yield. In this university podcast, executives Diane Del Signore and Maisie Greenwalt share how Community Alliance with Family Farmers and Bon Appétit Management Company have partnered to create a local distribution system to get locally grown products into institutional settings. They also talk about efforts to help farmers become more organic.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

20 Years of Business Partnership at EDF

What happens when the nation's largest fast-food chain and a leading environmental advocacy group partner to reduce food packaging waste? Sharing the lessons learned from the groundbreaking success story of an NGO-business model that began 20 years ago and led way for other cross-sector partnerships in sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund's Gwen Ruta and McDonald's Bob Langert, with host Jerry Michalski, kick off The Future of Green open call series.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Environmental Sustainability in Supply Chains

How can a company put environmental sustainability into its DNA? In this university podcast, Joao Paulo Ferreira, VP of operations and logistics, talks about Natura Cosmetics Brasil's supply chain and its challenges to embed sustainability concepts into the way it is designed and operated. He discusses the company's culture of collaboration with indigenous communities, NGOs, and other organizations.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Corporate Social Responsibility with Cotton Farms

With corporate social responsibility as a business imperative, Levi Strauss has evaluated how well its suppliers are doing on making cotton production more sustainable. In this university podcast, executive Michael Kobori discusses the company's efforts to support organic cotton farming that reduces water use and relies less on child labor, particularly in Uzbekistan.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Corporate Social Responsibility in Supply Chains

For Nike, corporate social responsibility has become a business driver rather than an obligation. In this university podcast, Nike's director of global logistics, Dawn Vance, talks about how the company is integrating performance, innovation, and sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. She also shares new efforts to provide a "closed loop" business model in which products can be reclaimed and reused at the end of their functional life.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Stanford's Guatemala Service Learning Trip, 2008-11

The trip to Guatemala gave Sarah Garrett, MBA '08, the opportunity to discover where that cup of coffee that she enjoys daily comes from, seeing the whole process from the farmer growing the beans to the final step of getting that cup of coffee from the servers at Starbucks.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Stanford's Guatemala Service Learning Trip, 2008-10

For Sarah Garrett, MBA '08, the service learning trip to Guatemala gave her an opportunity to get to know the first year students better, both socially and also in order to share thoughts about their service learning experiences.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Stanford's Guatemala Service Learning Trip, 2008-7

MBAs Get Their Hands Dirty and Get Perspective: Tom Mercer, Class of '09, says, "We went out and picked one of the toughest plots out there ... and got our hands dirty. It was really laborious. ... We were told we had each earned about a dollar a day as workers."

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Stanford's Guatemala Service Learning Trip, 2008-9

There Must Be a Better Way: "We saw their coffee operation. ... Individuals picked through their coffee beans to get the high premium quality beans. ... It made you think: There MUST be a better way," says Tom Mercer, Class of '09, of his experience in Guatemala.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Competitiveness and the Global Labor Force

Consumers can wield great influence over working conditions under which goods are manufactured, Professor Huggy Rao tells a Stanford audience. "You've got to influence consumers so they're willing to pay more," he says.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Using Public-Private Partnerships to Resolve Asia's Water Crisis

Countries all across Asia face the prospect of a water crisis that threatens the sustainability of their already stretched water and irrigation systems. In this audio interview, part of a Stanford Center for Social Innovation series on water around the world, the Asian Development Bank's Arjun Thapan talks with Stanford MBA student Ashish Jhina about the potential of public-private partnerships to catalyze the efficiency improvements required to meet increasing water demand in the face of reduced water availability due to climate change.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Social Enterprise in Food Supply Chains

In the arena of social enterprise, a California collaboration is creating a high yield. In this university podcast, executives Diane Del Signore and Maisie Greenwalt share how Community Alliance with Family Farmers and Bon Appétit Management Company have partnered to create a local distribution system to get locally grown products into institutional settings. They also talk about efforts to help farmers become more organic.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

20 Years of Business Partnership at EDF

What happens when the nation's largest fast-food chain and a leading environmental advocacy group partner to reduce food packaging waste? Sharing the lessons learned from the groundbreaking success story of an NGO-business model that began 20 years ago and led way for other cross-sector partnerships in sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund's Gwen Ruta and McDonald's Bob Langert, with host Jerry Michalski, kick off The Future of Green open call series.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Environmental Sustainability in Supply Chains

How can a company put environmental sustainability into its DNA? In this university podcast, Joao Paulo Ferreira, VP of operations and logistics, talks about Natura Cosmetics Brasil's supply chain and its challenges to embed sustainability concepts into the way it is designed and operated. He discusses the company's culture of collaboration with indigenous communities, NGOs, and other organizations.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

Resource: Audio

Topic:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Corporate Social Responsibility with Cotton Farms

With corporate social responsibility as a business imperative, Levi Strauss has evaluated how well its suppliers are doing on making cotton production more sustainable. In this university podcast, executive Michael Kobori discusses the company's efforts to support organic cotton farming that reduces water use and relies less on child labor, particularly in Uzbekistan.

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly.

Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

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Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

McQueeney's Publishing

This case presents two fictional vignettes dealing with issues in labor law. In one, a company president must deal with a threat from her labor force to unionize; in the other, she must handle a situation in which one of her top salespeople is having an affair with a key customer.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Obesity and McLawsuits

After successful litigation against tobacco companies, lawyers turned their attention to the fast-food industry and its possible connection to obesity. The case details McDonald’s response to the litigation.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Healthcare

Genzyme and the Research Ethics Questions Associated with Its NeuroCell-PD Trials

Genzyme Tissue Repair had just received favorable phase I clinical trial results. Should the company go ahead with studies that would involve subjects in the placebo group having to undergo surgery but not receive the experimental transplants?

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Healthcare

Geron Corporation and the Role of Ethics Advice

In 1999, Geron Corporation was at the center of the debate about human embryo research. The case details the controversy surrounding Geron’s stem cell research and the role the Ethics Advisory Board played in shaping the company's response.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Healthcare

Myriad and OncorMed and the Marketing of the First Genetic Test for Breast Cancer Susceptibility

Two companies are competing to develop a genetic test for breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. They must grapple with concerns about the ethics involved.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights

Dr. Frances Conley (A): The Resignation, (B): The Return

In 1991, Frances Conley, the first female, tenured full professor of neurosurgery in the United States, resigned from her position at Stanford Medical School over the appointment of a new department chair who was known for sexual harassment. As she becomes thrust into the media limelight, she wonders what she should do next.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Anatomy of a Corporate Campaign: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (C)

In 2000, the Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign to get Citigroup to stop financing destructive activities in endangered ecosystems. This third case describes how activists try to gain access to Citigroup's top management.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Nonmarket Environment of McDonald's

This case describes several nonmarket issues that could significantly impact McDonald’s business. Issues include rising obesity rates, legislation, media attention, and others.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Corporate Social Responsibility, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Visa Sponsorship Marketing

Visa’s executive vice president of international marketing, partnerships, and sponsorship played a key role in convincing Visa’s six regional boards and its international board to allow Visa to extend its Olympics and Paralympics sponsorship. His team planned to discuss the current corporate strategy and use it to refine the existing sponsorship strategy.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Anatomy of a Corporate Campaign: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (B)

In 2000, the Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign to get Citigroup to stop financing destructive activities in endangered ecosystems. This second case relates the opportunistic revival of the campaign two years after it started.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Starbucks Corporation Building a Sustainable Supply Chain

Starbucks created a new program to support coffee farmers through a partnership with Conservation International. If Starbucks could overcome issues it faced with implementation of the program, the initiative could go a long way toward improving the sustainability of its coffee supply chain.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy

Senior executives at Wal-Mart launched the company’s new sustainability strategy in 2005. The case describes their efforts to keep environmental improvement tightly coupled with business values and profitability.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

SK-II China: Managing Public Relations

Procter & Gamble’s high-end skincare brand in China had the potential to be a star. However, after two major public relations debacles, P&G had to rebuild the brand image and regain consumers’ trust.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

10b5-1 Plans: Mortgaging a Defense Against Insider Trading

Two executives came under fire for selling a significant amount of Midway stock just weeks before a precipitous decline in the company’s share price. Regulators had to decide whether they had carried out a sophisticated form of illegal insider trading.

Resource: Academic Case

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment

Esquel Group: Transforming Into A Vertically Integrated, Service-Oriented, Leading Manufacturer Of Quality Cotton

Esquel Group, one of the world’s leading producers of premium cotton shirts, offered innovative products and services and was devoted to protecting the environment in areas in which it operated. The case describes the company’s culture and strategy.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

New Take on Affirmative Action

Results recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shed new light on why individuals might oppose affirmative action—and offer new insights into how such policies may be more effectively framed.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Financial Reporting Transparency

This article raises issues concerning financial reporting transparency and supports the notion that transparency is a desirable characteristic of financial reports.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction to the Special Issue of Nonmarket Strategy and Social Responsibility

This article focuses on nonmarket strategies and social responsibility of businesses.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

Organizational Diversity, Labor Markets, and Wage Inequality

Despite advances in organizational theory, there has been little progress in understanding how organizational processes shape the evolution of inequality. The paper draws greater attention to the consequences of organizational diversity for matching and wage inequality in the labor market.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility

Social Movements as Extra-institutional Entrepreneurs: The Effect of Protests on Stock Price Returns

This paper uses social movement theory to examine one way in which secondary stakeholders outside the corporation may influence organizational processes, even if they are excluded from participating in legitimate channels of organizational change.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Business World: Moral and Spiritual Inquiry through Literature: POLECON 349

This course uses novels and plays as a basis for examining the moral and spiritual aspects of business leadership and of the business environment. The literature covered illuminates the character of business people and the cultural contexts of values and beliefs in which commercial activities take place in a global economy.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Paths to Power: OB 377

Understanding the processes of power and influence in organizations is critical for leaders. This course aims to teach students how to to diagnose and analyze power and politics in organizational situations, show students how to exercise power effectively, and help students come to terms with the inherent dilemmas and choices involved in developing and exercising influence.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Leadership Perspectives: OB 363

This course examines the concept of principled leadership and the various ways leaders try to institutionalize values within their organizations. Through assigned readings, interactive lectures with visiting executives, and weekly small group discussions, students learn how leaders implement their principles, and reflect on their own values and career aspirations.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Ethical Issues in Biotech Industry: GSBGEN 522

This course focuses on the bioscience industry (biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, genomics, and vaccine). The emphasis is on the ethical and social challenges of running companies in these areas.

Resource: MBA Course

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility

Work and Family: GSBGEN 376

This course examines the strategies that highly educated women and men use to combine work and family. It also explores how managers can help others achieve balance in these two areas.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

Topic :

Government Programs, Nonprofits, Social Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Government

An interview with Jeremy Sokulsky (MBA '04)

Jeremy Sokulsky is working with government land managers, environmental regulators and private conservation investors to restore Lake Tahoe clarity.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Education, Human Rights, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Dave DeForest-Stalls (EPNL '07)

Dave DeForest-Stalls wants to help kids stay out of gangs. He's providing mentorship and hip ways to keep youth on the straight and narrow.

Resource: CSI Affiliates

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Environment, Government, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Court Gould (EPNL '06)

Court Gould is pushing for Pittsburgh to grow sustainably. He's working hard to inform decision makers about to accomplish that most effectively.

Resource: CSI Affiliates

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Philanthropy & Responsible Investing, Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Government, Healthcare, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Ruth Bolan (EPNL '06)

Ruth Bolan is giving voice to indigenous peoples of the Pacific Island. She funds documentaries that bring their culture and challenges to millions of viewers.

Resource: CSI Affiliates

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Education, Human Rights, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Daniel Grossman

Daniel Grossman's Wild Planet creates toys that parents love as much as kids. His aim is to inspire learning and inventiveness.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development

Crowdsourcing Microfinance

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011

The Grameen Foundation’s Bankers Without Borders initiative applies skills-based volunteering to poverty alleviation.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Social Entrepreneurship

Picking Green Tech’s Winners and Losers

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Unless clean tech follows well-established rules of innovation and commercialization, the industry’s promise to provide sustainable sources of energy will fail.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

What’s Next: Retailing with Heart

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Venture into a Panera Cares café and you’ll see the same menu and racks of freshly baked breads that are staples at the 1,400 Panera Bread restaurants across the United States. The only thing missing is the cash register. Instead, there’s a donation box where customers pay on the honor system.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Nonprofit Initiative Mentors Women Entrepreneurs In Emerging Markets

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program is helping women in 22 countries in the developing world start and grow businesses, Dina Habib Powell, who oversees the effort told a business school audience.

Resource: News Article

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

Research: Turning a Profit by Helping the Poor

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Politically radical social workers didn’t expect to be working in a bank any more than white-collar bankers expected to be holding meetings in a crowded public market.

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Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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