Corporations Take Note of Rising Focus on Socially Responsible Business Practices
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Socially responsible business practices, also called corporate social responsibility, or CSR,
is a newer iteration of socially-conscious money management. In the 1990s some environmentally-savvy
investors began paying attention to the companies in their portfolios, and demanded that their
investments support companies that were 'green.' Since that time the idea that businesses can and
should become socially responsible in other ways has taken root.
Buying Influence, Inc. is a non-profit organization seeking to influence publicly-traded
corporations so that they can make more socially responsible business decisions, has opened their
corporate office in Kansas City, according to Linda Eakes, President. “Our primary focus educating
consumers about how large corporations treat women and minorities within their corporate culture,”
says Eakes.
Dr. Maria Kunstadter is the founder and CEO of Buying Influence Inc. “At Buying Influence we
are providing the information that will permit individuals to consciously make informed purchasing
decisions regarding the corporations they support with their spending dollars. In this way we help
the corporations move toward socially responsible business practices.”
Buying Influence reviews data about publicly-traded corporations. Staff members at the
organization collect, screen, and evaluate the data to determine if corporations are practicing
socially responsible business. Using these facts and data they rate the corporation to indicate
the company’s performance in their treatment of women and minorities in two areas: pay equity
(receiving equal pay for equal work) and being fairly represented in the highest levels of
management and on the corporate board of directors. Corporations are assigned a letter grade
A (excellent) through F (failing). The actual data in detail that is used for evaluation is
available on line on the website,
www.buyinginfluence.com.
Buying Influence has researchers who gather the data on the corporations, enter it into a
database, and deliver it to consumers. But, there’s one more thing the organization also
provides. “We evaluate the data according to our stated criteria on an issue (in this example,
women), and assign the corporation a letter grade to indicate how well they scored on that issue,”
according to Eakes. “We are providing a service that gives the consumer a simple way to quickly
make a judgment call about whether to buy from a particular company.”
“Hopefully, the corporation begins to respond to consumer pressure being applied with
their purchasing decisions,” says Eakes, “And that is creating more socially responsible
business decisions."
Buying Influence is not the only organization doing work in the area of socially responsible
business practices. The Haas School of Business, Berkeley, CA, says they are re-defining what
good business means. Launched in 2003, the vision of the Center for Responsible Business is to
create a more sustainable, ethical, and socially responsible business and society by
establishing the Haas School of Business as the preeminent educational institution for research,
teaching, experiential learning, and community outreach in areas of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR), also known as socially responsible business. As a catalyst and innovator,
the Center's mission is to create a new generation of business leaders who are knowledgeable
about and committed to socially responsible business practices.
Looking back to the 1960s, Ralph Nadar's work in consumerism has in part been a catalyst for
today's concept of consumer and socially responsible business. Socially responsible business is
defined as "management’s acceptance of the necessity of equal balance in decision making among the following business considerations: profit, consumer satisfaction, and societal well being."
The interest in socially responsible business practices and mindset continues to proliferate.
Even the US Dept of State now provides a chapter in their online English learning series
covering business ethics and socially responsible business practices. An excerpt:
Socially Responsible Business means doing the right thing.
Businesses have an ethical responsibility to customers who buy goods and services from them.
Socially responsible business means that companies do the right thing for their customers.
Companies consider profit, consumer satisfaction, and societal well being as equally important
in the way business is conducted. In the United States, businesses are often judged by their
socially responsible business behaviors. Most people agree that these include the following
specific elements: equal employment opportunity for all citizens regardless of their race,
religion or sex; respect for employees’ diversity, safety, and health in the workplace; and
assurance and full disclosure on the quality of products and services. If any one of these
elements is ignored or abused, a business is likely to be subjected to a penalty and sometimes,
legal action.
Another example, from Sociallyresponsiblebusinessforum.com, is this socially responsible
business reference list:
Socially Responsible Business / Employment
Business For Social Responsibility CSR Jobs Page
http://www.bsr.org/jobs/csr/index.cfm
GreenBiz Joblink
http://www.greenbiz.com/jobs/
CSRwire.com -Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire Green Dream Jobs
www.sustainablebusiness.com/jobs/csrwire_jobs.cfm
Philanthropy Careers: Jobs For Nonprofit Professionals
http://www.philanthropy.com/jobs/
The NonProfit Times NPT Jobs
www.nptjobs.com
Websites For Socially Responsible Business
CERES
www.ceres.org
Business For Social Responsibility
www.bsr.org
Winning Workplaces
www.winningworkplaces.com
Social Venture Network
www.svn.org
Great Place To Work Institute
www.greatplacetowork.com
Business Ethics 100 Best Corporate Citizens
www.business-ethics.com/100best.htm
100 Best Companies To Work For In America
www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-2005.htm
Winning Workplaces: Best Bosses To Work For
www.winningworkplaces.org/bestbossesaward/index.php
Business Roundtable
www.businessroundtable.org
Corporate Social Responsibility
www.mallenbaker.net/csr/
Magazines Targeted to Socially Responsible Business
CRO Magazine
www.thrcro.com
Business Ethics Online:The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility
www.business-ethics.com
Ethical Corporation
www.ethicalcorp.com
Co-Op America’s National Green Pages
www.coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages/
Socially Responsible Business Blogs
SRI Notes Blog
www.sri.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Green Wombat
blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/
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