Huffington Post

Tim Sanders (best-selling author, public speaker and former Chief Solutions Officer for Yahoo!) has just published his third book, entitled, “Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference.”  In it, Sanders discusses the Responsibility Revolution currently underway – as evidenced by increasing demand by consumers and employees alike that the companies they buy from and work for offer social value in addition to economic value.

Huffington Post’s John Tepper Marlin spoke with Sanders recently about his book and the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) moving beyond being a “luxury good” to a more mainstream commodity.  Sanders also shares his thoughts on how to make such a revolution sustainable, what defines pioneers in the space of corporate responsibility and why companies embracing CSR as yet another way to make a buck won’t survive.   You can read the entire interview here. 

We’ve long believed in the premise that making a profit and making a positive social impact can and should live together in the world of business … we’re putting “Saving the World at Work” on our reading list.  If any of you have read it, we’d love your review.

Today’s blog entry by Collin Dunn over at Huffington Post reminds us being an eco-conscious consumer isn’t all about buying organic — or hybrid — or energy-efficient “stuff” — it’s also about buying less stuff and making sure the stuff we do buy is more durable than disposable.

Green is good, no doubt about it … but it’s so easy to get caught up in our Earthkeeping desire and responsibility to purchase nothing but the greenest that we sometimes run the risk of buying things we don’t really need.  As Dunn points out, “Recycling is great; buying green is great; but they both take energy and resources that can be saved by having something that will last a lifetime.”

For a sharper, deeper dive into the environmental impact of our production and consumption habits — and how we can change those habits – visit Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff website.  If you haven’t seen it, Leonard’s Story of Stuff video offers a thought-provoking glimpse at how the consumable goods cycle impacts our lives (including the staggering statistic that 99% of the “stuff” we buy gets disposed of after a mere six months):

You’ll never look at your iPod the same way again.