Search results for: "social responsibility"

Social Catalysts

Written by Raf Chomsky
When it comes to sustainability, one brand that stands out is Social Catalysts. With a ‘good’ environment rating, this brand is committed to using eco-friendly materials, especially recycled ones. By utilizing such materials, Social Catalysts reduces its impact on the environment, including minimizing the use of chemicals, water, and wastewater during production. Another aspect that […]

Aware…the social design project

Written by Raf Chomsky
Aware…the social design project is a brand that focuses on sustainability and social responsibility. Their house apparel brand has been given a ‘good’ rating for its environmental practices. This rating takes into account their use of eco-friendly materials, including organic cotton, and their commitment to using low impact non-toxic dyes in all of their products. […]
  1. Lifestyle

This is what one nonprofit CEO thinks about climate change

Written by Jared Wolf

I was fortunate to sit down with Upstream’s CEO, Matt Prindiville. During our conversation, we covered sustainability versus climate change, the power of the public and private sectors, ESG, circular economies, rational climate optimism, and more!

Upstream Solutions is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 with a mission to not only reduce but remove single-use plastic from the world. Their organization finds, makes, and celebrates practical solutions that help people, businesses, and communities shift from single-use to reuse. Over the past few decades, they’ve worked with countless orgs committed to a more sustainable future.

When asked about the future implications of climate change, Prindiville said, "I'm an optimist. What scientists are saying is, of course, very scary. But when I think about the change I’ve seen in my career, it’s incredible how far we’ve come. Ten years from now, you'll see environmental and social responsibility be the norm worldwide."

Dig deeper → 10 min
  1. Business

Do CSR Sustainability Programs work?

Written by Radhika Goyal

How it stands

  • Companies frequently implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs (which include sustainability initiatives) in order to improve their image in the eyes of investors and customers, which in turn boosts profits.
  • But it is unclear if CSR programs actually make the world a better place
  • Most of the information about a company’s environmental footprint is only available through the company itself, presenting an obstacle to objective evaluation.

Examples

  • Coca-Cola claims to have reduced the water footprint of their drinks. But their calculations do not include the water used in the supply chain that provides the ingredients and packaging for the final product.
  • CSR programs (like Coca-Cola’s) often use offsets which instead of conserving limited resources lead to increased consumption.
  • Unilever claims to use a scientific approach to sustainability, trying to reduce their own emissions instead of investing in offsets for carbon neutrality.
  • More recently, Unilever announced the addition of carbon footprint labels on all products to increase transparency.

Bottom line

  • While the effectiveness of corporate sustainability programs is mixed, the fact that sustainability is on their radar and part of their marketing strategy is a big step forward. 
  • Don’t take everything you hear at face value. Take a deep dive into a company’s sustainability practices and decide for yourself.

Dig deeper → 5 min

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