It happens very often when I speak about sustainability and corporate responsibility, and it happened again last week. Someone will ask me about Milton Friedman's famous quote: "There is one and only one social responsibility of business -- to increase its profits."

In fact they are misquoting and simplifying just...

When I wrote and posted my last piece, "When -- And How -- Did Business Become the Enemy" I couldn't know it would be the most engaging piece I had written to date (based on the number of comments, emails, tweets, etc.) I concluded the piece with a...

Business has always had its critics and detractors. The unpopular actions of individual companies, e.g., onerous or unsafe working conditions or low wages, appropriately have elicited criticism for decades, including popular music literature, strikes and marches, and corrective legislation.

However, as bad as conditions are today with the...

Everyone -- even the most ardent climate change deniers -- actually knows that air pollution is bad.

I accept that for many the question of rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns remains a question. But rather than continue to debate and discuss whether or not...

I know this may not be popular, but the housing bubble is not an isolated incident, foisted on the unsuspecting public by a group of law-breaking criminals who took down our economy based on their own greed and avarice.

It is, however, the latest example (albeit a massive one)...

When any company or organization demonstrates its commitment to running its business in a manner that (1) benefits society (2) improves (or at least mitigates negative impacts on) the environment and is able to do so in a way that is (3) profitable, it lives the values of sustainability and,...

With all the dedicated, intelligent and hard working people working to solve the array of social, environmental and economic problems, and with all the progress reported by various organizations and companies, it would be reasonable to conclude that we are having tremendous success advancing sustainability.

And by some measures we...

These days it seems that the Internet, news stations and talk radio are all in a tizzy over the "shocking" news that the same people who deliberately created the fiscal cliff -- an onerous set of cuts and tax increases designed to be so drastic that it would force action...

The fall/winter holiday season in the United States has been undergoing a transformation for years, from a celebration of distinct and separate events into a several-month-long cacophony of merciless cheer, exuberant decorations and endless bargain shouting. Even the notion of "Black Friday" is a false one--while retailers do earn approximately...

Whether you're a Hollywood starlet offering "advice" on everything from presidential politics to preparing for a natural disaster, an elected representative "flirting" with constituents, or a person sharing your thoughts and ideas, whether you like it or not, people (and employers and voters) increasingly judge you by the...

Years ago, a woman I knew sent me what I thought at the time was a very clever and unconventional document as her statement of her 'net worth.' Rather than list what you might expect - her bank balances or even her physical attributes - she instead named things like...

I have never shied away from being a staunch believer in capitalism as an economic system. Not that capitalism is perfect. It is far from it, as evidenced by a myriad of environmental catastrophes, social ills and corrupt behavior. Capitalism also has the inherent flaw of creating 'asset...

Latest proposed reporting guidelines are open for public comment through September 25, 2012. Communicators in this space, as well as concerned stakeholders have the opportunity to weigh in now.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is preparing the latest version of their international sustainability and CSR Reporting Guidelines (G4). The new...

At some point every company must make a strategic decision if it is going to run its business by the letter of the law, or aspire to a higher standard.

Whether employee safety, environmental stewardship, labor relations, product quality, community relations -- including taxes paid -- companies have the power...

Living Our Values: More Expensive? Sometimes. Inconvenient? Maybe. Worth it? The jury is still out.

My online profile offers up what I consider my personal 'mission statement': At the intersection of communications and sustainability, I help companies live their values and tell their authentic stories.

As a staunch believer in...

As the world struggles to regain economic stability, there seems little agreement on what is needed. While most decry unbridled corporate and consumer excesses there seems no agreement whether the solution is imposing austerity measures that seek to reduce deficits by lowering spending or by infusing cash into markets hoping...

For anyone to seriously accept the premise that 'sustainability' is a business strategy we must be able to define and quantify the business benefits that can be derived from adopting this model. These then become the criteria against which success can be measured, because just as with any other business...

So many companies and organizations consider social media to be a threat to how they control their brand and messaging that they're missing the larger opportunity to use these powerful tools to build their reputation through authenticity and transparency.

They fear losing "control" because they have failed to recognize...

We each have our own favorite memories from the Olympic Games -- whether it be Jessie Owens demonstrating the absurdity of Adolf Hitler's racist notions, gymnast Nadia Comaneci's perfect "10"s, Kerri Strugg's valiant vault on a sprained ankle to win gold or Michael Phelps' eight gold medals. This summer the...

Are we so busy helping others to build their sustainability (environmental, social and economic) pillars that we're neglecting our own personal ones?

It is no secret -- in fact many take pride in knowing -- that altruistic endeavors traditionally pay less. Those working for not-for-profits accept that part of their...