IBM execs say connecting with consumers can bring new market opportunities

Businesses are facing a new question about who owns them. And the answer is that it’s no longer who it used to be. 

A decade ago, the answer was pretty simple for publicly held companies--the shareholders. Senior management and the board of directors had one primary goal: to increase shareholder value by driving revenue and profit, paying bigger dividends and increasing the stock price.

But, today, the shareholders may still own the company, but consumers own the brand.

Awards to be presented at CRO Conference Sept. 10 in Chicago

CRO Magazine introduces its first CEO of the Year Awards Nominees 2008 to recognize the achievements of the all-star CEOs in Corporate Responsibility.

With the exception of the Mid Market Award, all 2008 CRO CEO of the Year Awards will be named live at the CRO Conference Sept. 10, 2008, at the Union League Club in Chicago. The Mid Market Award was named at the CRO Conference in San Francisco June 24.

New Global Action Network to train multinationals’ suppliers in reporting

In a push for transparency and accountability, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) launched a new network to promote sustainability in multinational corporations’ supply chains.

The GRI Global Action Network for Transparency in the Supply Chain aims to enroll multinational firms in an effort to entice their suppliers to use the GRI G3 Guidelines to disclose publicly their sustainability track record and challenges.

CROs should help companies 'prune, plant and preserve' 

Some Corporate Responsibility Officers (CROs) have a big problem. In the best of times, many are treated as spin doctors with little authority to make strategic change within their organizations. And now that the economy has headed south, corporate responsibility and sustainability (CR&S) can appear more marginal than ever. After all, who needs to worry about social issues or the environment when the company’s immediate problem is to protect earnings, cut costs and hit the numbers?

Funding focuses on math and science, leadership for '21st century economy'

General Electric (GE) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that the GE Foundation has awarded the New York City Department of Education (DOE) a five-year grant of $17.9 million in the largest single contribution to the New York City public school system.

Survey enables clients to benchmark against peers’ programs

IBM is approaching clients with a benchmarking survey that enables them to gauge how their Corporate Responsibility efforts measure up against more than 250 companies worldwide.

IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility Benchmarking Utility enables companies to see where their firms surpass or fall short of their peers in areas including labor relations, compliance, corporate ethics and other arenas in CR.

U.N. office also lists 317 more participants at risk of removal from the initiative

The United Nations Global Compact Office removed 630 companies from its list for failure to communicate progress on the 10 principles of the initiative, the office said. Under the Integrity Measures introduced in 2004, companies must report advancements annually to stakeholders.

CECP report makes case for alignment of goals 

One philanthropy trend parallels developments in the Corporate Responsibility (CR) arena as a whole: As in CR, many corporations are aligning their philanthropy with business objectives.

  The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) identified the synergy between philanthropy and business goals in a new report, “Business’s Social Contract: Capturing the Corporate Philanthropy Opportunity,” which was based in part on research conducted by McKinsey & Co.

Exclusive deal puts Governance Exchange into BoardVantage platform

RiskMetrics Group and board portal-provider BoardVantage signed an exclusive agreement that embeds a RiskMetrics governance application into BoardVantage’s portal offering.

RiskMetrics’ Governance Exchange is a platform that enables corporate boards and management from member companies to conduct online forums, share best practices and receive updates on governance trends through white papers, webinars, surveys and other analysis.

Seven steps to craft and customize corporate social engagement programs

As leading companies display a growing interest in fostering connections with social organizations and causes, the dynamics of the corporate social engagement landscape are changing.  Many companies are evaluating their level of engagement and participation, and advancing their journey toward a better tomorrow, for society and for the company.

Intel constructs powerful agenda for new initiatives

Despite lofty positions on various best-of corporate responsibility and sustainability rankings, including the No. 1 slot on CRO’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 list, chip maker Intel—led in its CR efforts by Dave Stangis, its Director of Corporate Responsibility—believes its efforts are still a work in progress.

These planned improvements come at a time when various antitrust lawsuits against the company and an anti-competition investigation recently launched by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reach critical mass.

Benioff breaks down the foundation’s unique giving structure in San Francisco keynote address

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff realized some corporate priorities were out of order when a Washington, D.C., school needed a Marine battalion, summoned by America’s Promise Alliance Founding Chair Colin Powell, to transport some computers several years ago. Before Powell was brought in, Benioff, then an Oracle executive, and another Oracle volunteer, tried to help the school, but the two weren’t up to the scale of the task. Thus, Benioff vowed at the time: “When I start a company, I’m going to integrate strategic corporate philanthropy in the business.”