CSR Minute: October 1, 2009

The 3BL Media CSR Minute: 60 seconds or so of daily news and commentary on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the triple bottom line (3BL).

Today's Items: Wal-Mart's Sustainability Index; Palo Alto Software's Award; SDialogue's Report

All eyes are on Wal-Mart today as the mega-corporation officially launches its Sustainability Index. Consumer product companies who do business with the global corporate giant must now fill out and file a 15-question assessment form with details about their carbon footprint, resource use, and ethical business practices. Over 100,000 global companies sell to Wal-Mart. The retailer has announced a goal of rating the sustainable attributes of all products on its shelves.

Palo Alto Software has been named “Business of the Year” by the Eugene, Oregon Chamber of Commerce. The company won the sixth annual Emerald award for excelling in all four categories of community caring, environmental values, growth, and innovation. Palo Alto’s focus on the triple bottom line was singled out as the basic reason for being chosen from among 36 nominations and 12 finalists as this year’s winner.


A new research report, “Social Media Advances the Sustainability Dialogue,” has been issued by SDialogue, a strategy and communications firm. The white paper describes what leading brands are doing to change how they communicate their sustainability initiatives to stakeholders. The main conclusions? Social media is the communications method of choice for today’s CSR-savvy businesses and organizations, providing authenticity, accountability, and engagement with the CSR audience as the principal benefits.

For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com.