Social Responsibility: Caring for People, Products, Peace, Preservation, and Planet

During the last 20 years or so, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining increasing attention around the world among business people, media, and academics from a wide range of disciplines. There are probably many reasons for the attention given to this phenomenon, not the least of which is the corporate excesses in various parts of the world. Such incidents are too common to recount that have left the financial markets in a state of uncertainty and have left ordinary people to wonder if such a thing as honesty exists any longer in business. As a result, the prevailing brand of “capitalism” has come under heavy fire throughout the world and corporations are increasingly being viewed as “selfish, greedy, and uncaring.” This chapter surveys the triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability imperative facing modern business enterprises: the imperative of economic, social, and environment viability. After delineating the need and importance of social responsibility as a context for current reality, it will chronicle the TBL efforts of such diverse companies as Clorox, General Electric (GE), Timberland, and Toyota. It will then critically examine the impact of their efforts on all the elements of “TBL”: sustainability of products, people, and planet. Finally, it will point out the costs of ignoring the sustainability imperative and indicate how adhering to sustainable social and environmental practices is good for business’ economic viability—the perennial challenge of doing well by doing good.