corporate social responsibility

Should I worry about sustainability?

March 2, 2015 Jeffrey Sherman Accounting Systems and Controls, Business and Legal Issues, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Environmental Issues, Finance and Accounting, Leadership and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations

Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or condition that can be maintained at a particular level for an indefinite period. In the context of a corporation or other organization, we can consider sustainability in two broad ways…

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Government updates corporate social responsibility strategy for extractive industry abroad

December 1, 2014 Adam Gorley Business and Legal Issues, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Environmental Issues, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Fraud and Corruption, Leadership and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations

A review of the federal government’s 2009 corporate social responsibility strategy (CSR) for the Canadian extractive industry operating in foreign countries found companies are recognizing “the need to consider CSR in planning and operations,” but are asking the government for more assistance…

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Non-profits: know what you want before asking for money

October 20, 2014 Adam Gorley Business and Legal Issues, Charities, Financial Management, Not for Profit, Sales, Marketing and Operations

For non-profit organizations and charities, fundraising is always top of mind. That means asking people and companies for money—sometimes lots of money. There’s no single way to go about this task but organizations will certainly make it easier on themselves by understanding themselves, building their profile and maintaining strong relationships with donors and potential donors. Alberta Culture has published a guide to help non-profits and charities do just that.

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Federal government seeks input on Canada Business Corporations Act

January 20, 2014 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting

The Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) last underwent significant change in 2001, and Industry Canada believes conditions have changed enough since then that it’s time for another review. The department is accepting input until March 11, 2014, on the following topics…

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Ethics and business conduct

December 2, 2013 Jeffrey Sherman Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, IT, Privacy and Security, Not for Profit

The ethical standards of a company are driven from the top. The ethics policy should be recommended by the president, ratified by the board and rolled out to the company with appropriate explanations and training. Implementing and consistently following a top-down ethics policy—with input from all levels—will help employees, customers, stakeholders and others who interact with the company to understand and relate to the company’s intentions.

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Indian experiment would have interesting implications in Canada

November 11, 2013 Drache Aptowitzer LLP Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit, Sales, Marketing and Operations

One of the advantages of being part of the commonwealth is that we share commonalities in methods of taxation and governance with a variety of different countries. So when one of these countries experiments with a different way of doing things we should examine the attempt for lessons which can be learned here. So it is with great interest that we note a recent attempt by India to mandate gifts back to the community in the name of corporate social responsibility.

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Corporate social responsibility: Following through on sustainable business initiatives

February 25, 2013 Occasional Contributors Corporate Governance, Environmental Issues, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit, Sales, Marketing and Operations

Sustainability has become a buzzword since sustainability as a practice is a relatively new initiative. From corporate social responsibility, to ‘green’ workplaces, to unethical ‘greenwashing’, it seems as though everyone is trying to get a piece of the eco-friendly pie. In the business world, sustainability is referred to as the ‘triple bottom line’, as organizations consider the environment an important stakeholder.

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Sustainable business frameworks

November 21, 2011 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Environmental Issues, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit

Recently, I wrote about the concept of shared value, a business strategy under which organizations consider the needs of their communities alongside those of their shareholders, in order to improve conditions for business (and communities where they operate) and maximize profit. What a crazy idea, right? Healthier communities mean more profitable businesses? So crazy it just might work.

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Fruits of the city – an example of shared value

August 15, 2011 Adam Gorley Not for Profit

Shared value is a different way of looking at CSR that offers a view to the possibility of inherent social responsibility, and the great potential that it offers to people and their economies. That potential lies in serving un- or underserved communities, of which there are many. For example, services directed at specific ethnic groups and immigrants, or hyper-local businesses that understand and meet their communities’ needs better than faceless franchises.

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Renegotiating value and values – do we have a choice?

July 18, 2011 Adam Gorley Environmental Issues, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit, Sales, Marketing and Operations

Last month I read about the death of corporate social responsibility. Now, I’ve come across the concept of “shared value”, which seems like a more thorough expression of the promise of CSR.

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Corporate social responsibility is dead!

June 27, 2011 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit

Some organizations might be happy to hear that, but it’s not what you think. According to some, corporate social responsibility (CSR) was never more than a stopgap measure that allowed unsustainable companies to clothe themselves in robes of virtue.

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New guide to CSR for small and medium businesses

January 13, 2011 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Not for Profit, Sales, Marketing and Operations

A business research centre at Cardiff University, Wales, has teamed up with the British arm of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to release a new guide on corporate social responsibility (CSR) for small and medium-sized businesses, called The ABC of CSR for small and medium enterprises. If you don’t mind the Welsh, and can handle reading “programme” instead of “program”, then you might find this guide offers some valuable lessons.

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OSC issues notice re disclosure of corporate governance and environmental matters

April 20, 2010 Colin Braithwaite Corporate Governance, Environmental Issues

The Ontario Securities Commission has announced that it will undertake a review of corporate governance practices and environmental disclosure requirements in 2010, as part of a broader corporate sustainability reporting initiative.

What’s the significance of this announcement?

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Social responsibility, social media – can’t I just run my business how I used to? (Part 2)

December 1, 2009 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, IT, Privacy and Security

Of course, you can certainly still run your business as you always have, and wait to see if corporate social responsibility and social media turn out to be passing trends. What’s more, maybe you don’t want to be on the cutting edge of marketing strategy—or don’t need to be. It is absolutely up to you.

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Social responsibility, social media – can’t I just run my business how I used to? (Part 1)

November 27, 2009 Adam Gorley Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, IT, Privacy and Security

Do companies really need to implement and integrate social responsibility and social media strategies in order to succeed in today’s business world? These ideas didn’t even exist until relatively recently, and most businesses appeared to run smoothly before. But in the last couple of years, rarely a day has gone by without some mention in the news of companies taking on the role of social or environmental steward or engaging their customers and creating communities on the Internet. With all the talk, it seems businesses that don’t incorporate these strategies will look like obsolete outcasts, soon to disappear from the market.

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