What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business Is Listening

by: Jeffrey Hollender, Stephen Fenichell

(11 December 2003)

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Abstract

CEO Jeffrey Hollender, whose Vermont-based company Seventh Generation is a poster child for corporate conscience, has written a brave and detailed blueprint for a new paradigm of "responsible business." Written in the dog days of Enron/Inclone/Martha Stewart scandals, Hollender's vision is passionate and panoramic. "Corporate responsibility is a broad social movement centered in the corporation as much as the anti-war movement of the 1960s was centered in college campuses." He builds a persuasive case for global citizenship, with in-depth analysis of case histories (For example, the "peace pops" controversy after Ben and Jerry's ice cream was acquired by Unilever, the commitment to healthcare coverage during Starbuck's global coup d'etat). Hollender borrows from best sellers such as Built to Last but he is willing to ask the tough questions: When do core values conflict with goals and commitments? Does being a responsible business really cost shareholders more money? How do corporate charters inhibit social responsibility? How can reputation become a corporate pressure point? His answers are provided in seven approaches to social responsibility. Each defines new metrics to define prosperity, environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship. For example, he unpacks the strategy of "transparency" in descriptions of Challenger explosion, the embedded journalists of The Gulf War and the SARs epidemic. Sometimes these powerful strategies are swamped in an overabundance of examples, sources, or acronyms of activists groups. But Hollender's comprehension shows us the forest and the trees. --Barbara Mackoff What matters most in business? Traditionally, the answer to this question has been straightforward: growth, quarterly profits, and shareholder value. Everything else was an "externality," which is economists' jargon for "someone else's problem." But as Jeffrey Hollender and Stephen Fenichell tell us, the bottom line isn't enough anymore. Not because corporations have suddenly become enamored of losing money, but because consumers, shareholders and the general public are demanding better behavior. They want businesses to be better citizens-to do more to make sure their products are healthy and safe, their manufacturing processes cause as little pollution as possible, and their employment policies are humane and not harmful to local communities. Across the country and the world, there's an evolving consensus that we need new standards to measure and reward business performance. The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just a PR tactic, sales strategy, or management trend. It's the future of business. It's what companies have to do to survive and prosper in a world where more and more of their behavior is under a microscope. But becoming a better corporate citizen is not as easy as posting slogans in the office canteen. What Matters Most describes the real-world struggles of well-known companies as they confront the dilemmas of social responsibility. How much can Starbucks-far from the world's largest coffee buyer-reasonably do to improve the conditions under which its coffee is grown? If Nike knows that publicizing its improving record on factory conditions will only draw fire because that record is not perfect, where's the value in striving for transparency? If Microsoft gives away $1 billion worth of software each year to needy nonprofits, is that genuine charity or an attempt to build market share? And what does it mean when a company is bought? If Ben & Jerry's once sold Peace Pops as an expression of its social values, is it the same when Unilever, Ben & Jerry's new owner, continues selling Peace Pops because they fit the brand identity? What Matters Most is a report from the front lines of a social revolution by one of its most thoughtful and committed leaders. Based on hundreds of interviews with activists, CSR experts and business leaders at both small and large companies, this book takes nothing for granted and does not hesitate to ask the tough questions. There is no better guide to the real dilemmas, and real promise, of the corporate social responsibility movement.

@book{citeulike:330195, abstract = {{CEO Jeffrey Hollender, whose Vermont-based company Seventh Generation is a poster child for corporate conscience, has written a brave and detailed blueprint for a new paradigm of "responsible business." Written in the dog days of Enron/Inclone/Martha Stewart scandals, Hollender's vision is passionate and panoramic. "Corporate responsibility is a broad social movement centered in the corporation as much as the anti-war movement of the 1960s was centered in college campuses." He builds a persuasive case for global citizenship, with in-depth analysis of case histories (For example, the "peace pops" controversy after Ben and Jerry's ice cream was acquired by Unilever, the commitment to healthcare coverage during Starbuck's global coup d'etat). Hollender borrows from best sellers such as Built to Last but he is willing to ask the tough questions: When do core values conflict with goals and commitments? Does being a responsible business really cost shareholders more money? How do corporate charters inhibit social responsibility? How can reputation become a corporate pressure point? His answers are provided in seven approaches to social responsibility. Each defines new metrics to define prosperity, environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship. For example, he unpacks the strategy of "transparency" in descriptions of Challenger explosion, the embedded journalists of The Gulf War and the SARs epidemic. Sometimes these powerful strategies are swamped in an overabundance of examples, sources, or acronyms of activists groups. But Hollender's comprehension shows us the forest and the trees. --Barbara Mackoff} {What matters most in business? Traditionally, the answer to this question has been straightforward: growth, quarterly profits, and shareholder value. Everything else was an "externality," which is economists' jargon for "someone else's problem." But as Jeffrey Hollender and Stephen Fenichell tell us, the bottom line isn't enough anymore. Not because corporations have suddenly become enamored of losing money, but because consumers, shareholders and the general public are demanding better behavior. They want businesses to be better citizens-to do more to make sure their products are healthy and safe, their manufacturing processes cause as little pollution as possible, and their employment policies are humane and not harmful to local communities. Across the country and the world, there's an evolving consensus that we need new standards to measure and reward business performance. The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just a PR tactic, sales strategy, or management trend. It's the future of business. It's what companies have to do to survive and prosper in a world where more and more of their behavior is under a microscope. But becoming a better corporate citizen is not as easy as posting slogans in the office canteen. What Matters Most describes the real-world struggles of well-known companies as they confront the dilemmas of social responsibility. How much can Starbucks-far from the world's largest coffee buyer-reasonably do to improve the conditions under which its coffee is grown? If Nike knows that publicizing its improving record on factory conditions will only draw fire because that record is not perfect, where's the value in striving for transparency? If Microsoft gives away \$1 billion worth of software each year to needy nonprofits, is that genuine charity or an attempt to build market share? And what does it mean when a company is bought? If Ben \& Jerry's once sold Peace Pops as an expression of its social values, is it the same when Unilever, Ben \& Jerry's new owner, continues selling Peace Pops because they fit the brand identity? What Matters Most is a report from the front lines of a social revolution by one of its most thoughtful and committed leaders. Based on hundreds of interviews with activists, CSR experts and business leaders at both small and large companies, this book takes nothing for granted and does not hesitate to ask the tough questions. There is no better guide to the real dilemmas, and real promise, of the corporate social responsibility movement.}}, author = {Hollender, Jeffrey and Fenichell, Stephen }, citeulike-article-id = {330195}, howpublished = {Hardcover}, isbn = {0738209023}, keywords = {sustainability}, month = {December}, posted-at = {2008-03-13 02:45:25}, priority = {2}, publisher = {{Basic Books}}, title = {What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business Is Listening}, url = {http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20\&path=ASIN/0738209023}, year = {2003} }

RIS record

TY - BOOK ID - citeulike:330195 L3 - citeulike-article-id:330195 TI - What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business Is Listening PB - {Basic Books} SN - 0738209023 N2 - {CEO Jeffrey Hollender, whose Vermont-based company Seventh Generation is a poster child for corporate conscience, has written a brave and detailed blueprint for a new paradigm of "responsible business." Written in the dog days of Enron/Inclone/Martha Stewart scandals, Hollender's vision is passionate and panoramic. "Corporate responsibility is a broad social movement centered in the corporation as much as the anti-war movement of the 1960s was centered in college campuses." He builds a persuasive case for global citizenship, with in-depth analysis of case histories (For example, the "peace pops" controversy after Ben and Jerry's ice cream was acquired by Unilever, the commitment to healthcare coverage during Starbuck's global coup d'etat). Hollender borrows from best sellers such as Built to Last but he is willing to ask the tough questions: When do core values conflict with goals and commitments? Does being a responsible business really cost shareholders more money? How do corporate charters inhibit social responsibility? How can reputation become a corporate pressure point? His answers are provided in seven approaches to social responsibility. Each defines new metrics to define prosperity, environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship. For example, he unpacks the strategy of "transparency" in descriptions of Challenger explosion, the embedded journalists of The Gulf War and the SARs epidemic. Sometimes these powerful strategies are swamped in an overabundance of examples, sources, or acronyms of activists groups. But Hollender's comprehension shows us the forest and the trees. --Barbara Mackoff} {What matters most in business? Traditionally, the answer to this question has been straightforward: growth, quarterly profits, and shareholder value. Everything else was an "externality," which is economists' jargon for "someone else's problem." But as Jeffrey Hollender and Stephen Fenichell tell us, the bottom line isn't enough anymore. Not because corporations have suddenly become enamored of losing money, but because consumers, shareholders and the general public are demanding better behavior. They want businesses to be better citizens-to do more to make sure their products are healthy and safe, their manufacturing processes cause as little pollution as possible, and their employment policies are humane and not harmful to local communities. Across the country and the world, there's an evolving consensus that we need new standards to measure and reward business performance. The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility is more than just a PR tactic, sales strategy, or management trend. It's the future of business. It's what companies have to do to survive and prosper in a world where more and more of their behavior is under a microscope. But becoming a better corporate citizen is not as easy as posting slogans in the office canteen. What Matters Most describes the real-world struggles of well-known companies as they confront the dilemmas of social responsibility. How much can Starbucks-far from the world's largest coffee buyer-reasonably do to improve the conditions under which its coffee is grown? If Nike knows that publicizing its improving record on factory conditions will only draw fire because that record is not perfect, where's the value in striving for transparency? If Microsoft gives away $1 billion worth of software each year to needy nonprofits, is that genuine charity or an attempt to build market share? And what does it mean when a company is bought? If Ben & Jerry's once sold Peace Pops as an expression of its social values, is it the same when Unilever, Ben & Jerry's new owner, continues selling Peace Pops because they fit the brand identity? What Matters Most is a report from the front lines of a social revolution by one of its most thoughtful and committed leaders. Based on hundreds of interviews with activists, CSR experts and business leaders at both small and large companies, this book takes nothing for granted and does not hesitate to ask the tough questions. There is no better guide to the real dilemmas, and real promise, of the corporate social responsibility movement.} KW - sustainability AU - Hollender, Jeffrey AU - Fenichell, Stephen PY - 2003/12/11/ UR - http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&path=ASIN/0738209023 ER -

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