Corporate social responsibility

I have a colleague who cares passionately about the environment. She worries about global warming, supports policy to reduce carbon emissions, and is militant about keeping the heat down and maintaining the proper tire pressure in her car. Yet her car is an SUV that gets shameful (her words) gas mileage. She lives in a […]

Managers should make environmental investments for the same reason they make other investments: because they expect them to deliver positive returns or to reduce risks.

Are you ready to have an honest conversation with your customers?

Research over 35 years shows only a weak link between socially responsible corporate behavior and good financial performance. However, there's no evidence...

Most consumers don't care where, how, or by whom products are made, says David Vogel at Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

There are plenty of reasons to be disappointed with the Copenhagen climate talks that start today: the meeting will not result in a binding agreement, the timeframe for such an agreement is potentially years away, and of course, neither the US nor China has committed to binding reductions. While all this is certainly disappointing, the […]

Two trends will force business into action.

(Editor's note: This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will...

And how to support them.

The great volcanic eruption in Iceland has stranded seven million travelers and is costing airlines at least $1 billion in lost revenue this week. This...

If you are the leader of a large organization (or only of yourself) who cares about improving the world, here’s a question you should consider: How will you participate in the global solution networks that are increasingly managing to address the world’s problems? A global solution network is a group of independent parties that have […]

How social norms can help people become more sustainable.

The recent removal of Danone's CEO and chairman, Emmanuel Faber, has been seen by many as a clash between activist investors and stakeholder capitalism....

Smaller businesses will play a key role in halving global emissions by 2030. But they often lack the resources to succeed on their own.

Pepsi recently demonstrated its commitment to reducing its environmental impacts up and down the value chain with two rapid-fire announcements about new...

Climate change is a pressing concern for Bill Gates, who has just published a new book on the subject. He spoke with HBR's editor-in-chief about the need...

A consensus is emerging that there has been a shift in the attitudes and values of the U.S. work force and that this shift has been accompanied by increased dissatisfaction with many aspects of work. The evidence for this shift and disaffection has emerged from two camps: systematically recorded observations from case studies and surveys […]

(Editor's note: This post is part of a six-week blog series on how leadership might look in the future. The conversations generated by these posts will...

According to conversations with 25 directors.

Trust is essential for businesses. But many have abused stakeholders' faith in them. Facebook failed to safeguard users' data. Volkswagen cheated on emissions...