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CENTER FOR BUSINESS
AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT

 
 



The growing number of studies suggests that the call for business to act as an agent of world benefit is not only a moral path, but an economic necessity. The Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit is offering a collection of resources reflecting the business case for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Enterprise.



THE RESEARCH CONNECTION:
Connecting corporate responsibility with a company's performance


Top 10 Reasons Why the Business Case for Sustainability is Strong

In this summary presented at the recent Entrepreneurs4Sustainability event, BAWB's own Nadya Zhexembayeva compiled the most interesting facts, figures and cases that support the business case for socially responsible and sustainable business models. The summary suggests the top avenues or drivers a company might use to achieve sustainable value creation. Download the Business Case Presentation


Comprehensive Research Project on Business Case for Sustainability

Swizerland's top business school, IMD jointly with WWF, the conservation organization, has taken the lead in one of today's most significant research areas of sustainability management: the business case for sustainability (or BCS). Since September 2002, it has conducted more than 350 interviews in 16 countries and analyzed more than 1000 questionnaires in 9 industry sectors to examine manager's perceptions and attitudes towards the economic rationale for corporate sustainability.
Comprehensive Research Project on Business Case for Sustainability


The Business Case for Sustainability

Produced by a team of KPMG professionals across the globe, the paper, outlines why incorporating sustainable practices makes good business sense. The argument is build on top research on stakeholder management, social responsible investing and reputation; which suggest that sustainable enterprise tends to enjoy the benefits such as enhanced reputation, corporate culture reform; enhanced risk management ability in the environmental, ethical, reputational and stakeholder arenas; sustainable profits; improved stakeholder relationships and others.
The Business Case for Sustainability


Who Cares Wins - Connecting Financial Markets to a Changing World

Developed under the auspices of the United Nations Global Compact by twenty financial institutions from 9 countries with total assets under management of over 6 trillion USD , "Who Cares Wins" establishes a link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and investment decisions. The report provides an overview of investment rationale for more rigorous inclusion of ESG criteria in financial analysis, suggesting that the way a company manages ESG issues is often a good indicator of overall risk levels, general management quality, and long-term shareholder value creation.
UN-Who Cares Wins


The Business Case for Corporate Citizenship >>

Developed for the Global Corporate Citizenship Initiative of the World Economic Forum, this report suggests that corporate citizenship and responsibility is linked to such economic drivers as reputation management, risk profile and risk management, employee recruitment, motivation and retention, investor relations and access to capital, learning and innovation, competitiveness and market positioning, operational efficiency, and licence to operate. Download the full report.


Environment Matters, 2004: World Bank Group >>

This report offers an overview of findings of a workshop commissioned by the UK Department of Trade and Industry and organized by Forum for the Future in May 2003. The findings suggest that a) capacity to innovate can be enhanced by both sustainability and corporate social responsibility; b) reputation and the importance of CSR and sustainability are clearly linked, particularly in developed, higher-income, market; c) key internal and external relationships could be enhanced through stakeholder management, and d) stakeholder and environmental management adds value to maintaining the license to operate strategic assets. The report concludes that a business with strong corporate social responsibility will often be more successful in generating Economic Value Added.



Call for Submissions

B·A·W·B invites you to submit resources, ideas, comments and news on the business case for corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Please, send your submissions and comments to Nadya Zhexembayeva at ntz@cwru.edu.