June 7

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focuses on the relationship between business, society, and the natural environment. This session explores the practice of CSR through a multi-stakeholder lens, challenging students to think strategically and critically about how to balance the needs of different - and often competing - stakeholders, including: Customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, local community members, NGOs, and the planet. CSR involves trade-offs between creating shareholder value (profits) and delivering products and services that impact people and the planet in both positive and negative ways.

Sustainable businesses seek to balance the needs of shareholders and customers with other important stakeholders, including their employees, suppliers, local community members, NGOs, and the planet. They compete by creating shared value across the triple bottom line – people, planet and profitability. Sustainable business leaders make deliberate strategic and operational choices in the way their companies develop, manufacture, produce, package, market and sell their products and services. This session will explore strategic choices and operational practices across the entire business value chain that enhance sustainability and mitigate risk for companies striving to "do well by doing good."

Our session will review the impact of sustainable investment in today’s American economy.  The factors behind this surge range from government programs, philanthropic initiatives, and concerns from investors that their investments address not only economic returns but also policy goals.  One major source of sustainable investments is around climate initiatives.  In just the last 2 years, the federal government alone has targeted hundreds of billion dollars to support climate concerns. These programs are premised on encouraging private market capital to jointly pursue environmental goals.  

This lecture contains three threads:

• Today’s social and environmental problems are far too big for any one sector to solve. The private sector, government and civil society must work together to create success for all stakeholders. 

• Regardless of your business or where you are in your career, you can make a positive social difference as well as earn a paycheck;

• It is our responsibility and obligation to make the world a better place to pass on to future generations.

Discussion will include: capitalism in today’s changing world; the purpose of a corporation, the value of teams; criticism (e.g.“woke capitalism”) of good business; how to talk and fight to win.