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To the question “is corporate social responsibility dead?” the answer, from Seventh Generation’s perspective, appears to be “no; it just needs to be reborn.” Seventh Generation’s 2008 CSR report, which it released this week, offers a fresh look at just what “corporate social responsibility” is. In the words of the company’s chairman Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation intends to take CSR to the “next level” by exploring ways in which companies can more effectively combine social justice, environmental stewardship, and economic growth. To do so would be quite the triple pundit.
Seventh Generation is not relying solely on its own opinions as to what CSR should look like. It is also incorporating consumers’ opinions, which it is gathering through its website (in partnership with Justmeans). Seventh Generation will compile consumers’ advice into an online guide for companies seeking to become more socially responsible.
Seventh Generation’s CSR report itself includes details of the company’s key achievements last year, its perspective on CSR, details on the company’s manufacturing, retail, and environmental practices, and additional consumer information.
The company is considered to be a pioneer in CSR, (in sustainability circles, anyway). Moreover, a 2sustain.com writer includes Seventh Gen in a group of corporations leading the way in evolving the concept of sustainability itself. (That group also includes Wal-Mart, IBM, and GE.) The idea these corporations seem to share, according to that author, is that CSR can’t be about being less bad; it has to be about riding the waves of change in the sustainability world, to the betterment of that world.
Will Seventh Generation’s approach to CSR have the intended impact?
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