Companies pursue CSR activities for a variety of reasons including not only contributing to sustainable development and addressing important environmental and social issues but also achieving a competitive advantage that improves their own economic performance and sustainability. Even the largest companies have limited resources and...
I recently had the opportunity to speak to a group of lawyers regarding corporate social responsibility and opportunities that it presents for lawyers to "do good" for their client and the world. I'm sharing the materials that I distributed to the group below. :Download A Brief...
Your company depends on a business model that is based on offering the lowest price in the marketplace to consumers for products that are sourced from suppliers working on narrow profit margins. Or perhaps your company relies on short lead times for delivery of products...
Companies need to be sensitive to actual or potential complicity with human rights abuses committed by governments against specific groups that might be subject to systematic discrimination and other limitations on their freedoms and ability to exercise their basic human rights. For example, if your...
Your company is about to enter into an arrangement with an outside financing source, such as a commercial bank, a governmental financing agency or investors (private or public), to secure new capital that can be used to continue existing operations, acquire and integrate new technologies,...
Your company is considering entering into a joint venture with a new foreign partner to pursue a specific business objective in the partner’s home country. Joint ventures with local partners in new geographic markets have always been an attractive and efficient way to gain access...
Sadly, too many people live and work in countries where contextual conditions create grave risks of severe and widespread human rights abuses by parties in authority or seeking to assume control over the lives and freedoms of others. Examples include countries where there is a...
The board of directors is ultimately responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s CSR commitments through appropriate processes and targets. In order to be successful, the board must design an appropriate organizational structure for CSR and assign responsibilities to various groups and individuals...
Common practice has been for recruitment and selection of new board members to be left to the CEO or to a small group of directors on a nominating committee. This committee meets only during that period of the year when the bylaws require that directors...
Regardless of the specific strategic planning processes for corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) initiatives, companies must be sure that they create adequate controls so that activities carried out in furtherance of the strategic, tactical and operational plans can be monitored and evaluated. This serves several important...