CENTER FOR BUSINESS
AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT

PortionPac Chemical Company manufactures and markets highly concentrated, pre-measured cleaning products to large commercial facilities such as schools and correctional facilities. The products are created such that they reduce the resources used throughout the product lifecycle, minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on the environment, and eliminate unsafe and ineffective habits of traditional cleaning procedures.

Enacting a fair trade model that values the farmers, consumers, and the environment, Equal Exchange is an inspiring example of success based on collaboration and honest intentions to do good. Equal Exchange is a co-operative that accurately calls itself a social change organization. It has been built as a company that is controlled by the employees. By collaborating with worker co-operatives around the globe, the organization is successfully providing high quality food to the customer. Additionally, it is also proactively educating consumers about trade issues affecting the farmers bringing positive social change in the community.

In consonance with its name of Triodos or ‘three way’, Triodos Bank has built its business model on the three pillars of people, planet and profits. The belief of the bank is simple and its mission is lucid - it finances companies, institutions and projects that add cultural value and benefit people and environment with the support of depositors and investors who wish to encourage social responsibility and a sustainable society.

Food, Fun and Social Activism - the blinking words flashing across the website of White Dog cafe more than sum up its philosophy- they define the life spirit flowing through the café’s business model. The café does not simply offer its award-winning cuisine but does this with social consciousness through various activities and events organized throughout the year. Through its initiatives to serve the customer, community, earth and each other, the café is a model for small community businesses as levers for social change.

Starbucks Coffee Company’s C.A.F.E (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices program ensures that Starbucks sources sustainably grown and processed coffee by evaluating the economic, social and environmental aspects of coffee growing along the supply chain. In 2005, Starbucks purchased 76.8 million pounds of coffee from the C.A.F.E Practice providers, which represents 24.6% of all coffee purchased by the company. By improving the environment, economy, and the educational and health services within local communities, Starbucks creates stability for its farmers and, in turn, for the company, according to Cindy Hoots, Senior Specialist at Starbucks in the Corporate Responsibility Office.

Newman’s Own Organics is an organic food manufacturer that focuses on providing the kinds of products people loved as kids, but takes them one step further by using the highest quality of available organic ingredients. Nell Newman, daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, along with Peter Meehan founded Newman’s Own Organics in 1993. Newman’s Organics has been an innovator of organic food products since its conception, concentrating on developing products with wide consumer appeal, such as pretzels, cookies and popcorn. According to Nell Newman, “Some people have a narrow definition of organic. They see it as heavy and tasteless, being forced to change your eating habits. No way! This is great food that is ultimately better for the environment long, long term.”

Located unobtrusively on the implicit boundary between the District of Columbia’s well-to-do neighborhoods to the west and the less prosperous ones to the east, City First Bank of D.C. has been on a mission since its inception to make a difference in the communities that most need assistance. City First has found, quite intentionally, an ideal integration of its social concerns and the necessity of maintaining a solid bottom line. They are especially skilled in financing the acquisition and renovation of affordable housing, facilities and working capital for nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and small businesses.

Equal Exchange is a successful, growing, for-profit, employee-owned, specialty foods company that has helped to pioneer the “Fair Trade” model that improves the market access, income, and commercial opportunities for small-scale farmers in developing countries. In the traditional coffee supply chain, small-scale farmers sell their crop to a chain of intermediaries who eventually export the coffee. Under this arrangement the individual farmers have almost no control; few economic options; carry out only the very least profitable link in the value chain; and receive just a small amount of the export price – which itself is usually too low to provide more than a poverty-level income. In contrast to conventional importing practices Equal Exchange deals directly with democratically run farmer cooperatives in Africa, Asia and South America, and buys their coffee, and other crops, at a guaranteed above-market price. In addition, Equal Exchange works with socially responsible financial institutions in the U.K. and U.S. to provide affordable loans to cooperatives that might otherwise lack access to credit. These Fair Trade practices increase the incomes of the economically disadvantaged growers; helps them to invest in their operations; and fosters broad-based, stable economic growth in rural communities. Fair Trade also helps to foster equality and democracy in countries where corruption is often a problem.

Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and alumina, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. The company, which employs 131,000 people in 43 countries, serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, and industrial markets. Alcoa’s vision is to be the best company in the world, through the eyes of its customers, shareholders, communities and people. To achieve its vision, Alcoa has taken an innovative approach to the environment and societies in which it operates. By developing technologies and solutions twenty years in advance, Alcoa can operate ahead of the curve. Alcoa has created a commitment to sustainability through its vision for 2020.

Bank ABN AMRO has made sustainability a cornerstone of its business. The bank strives to include a concern for social and environmental issues in the decision-making of every strategic business unit. These activities have gained such prominence that a special unit, the Sustainable Development Group was organized to coordinate sustainability work across the organization. The innovativeness of this sustainability mindset has led to numerous activities that are creating a shift in the impact of ABN AMRO on environment and society.

Cascade Engineering is a leader in engineered plastic systems for the automotive, solid waste and industrial markets. Cascade certainly is driven by the “Triple Bottom Line” philosophy. The company’s objectives are to create a higher level of organizational accountability and transparency; foster a balanced approach to continuous improvement; and provide a learning tool and framework for other medium sized companies. Cascade’s innovations include developing and issuing an annual report titled the Triple Bottom Line Report. This report includes a “sustainability scorecard which illustrates Cascade’s strong commitment to transforming what many people view as a ‘good idea’ into long term strategic advantage,” said Fred Keller, Cascade Engineering Chairman and CEO. “ In measuring our many areas of progress, and some remaining performance gaps, Cascade is inviting its many stakeholders and industry peers to take a close look at our multi-year effort to realize the potential of three vital and interrelated ‘bottom lines’. We believe that social and environmental initiatives can contribute to positive business results, and that sustainability will continue to gain momentum through the open exchange of ideas and best practices”.

The Lusty Wrench is an award winning "eco-conscious" auto repair shop that weaves environmental responsibility throughout its day-to-day operations. For over 25 years the repair shop has not only provided a needed service to the local community but has also restored the environment through innovative, responsible business practices. From recycling waste products, to purchasing auto parts from socially-responsible countries, to educating customers on auto-related sustainability issues, the Lusty Wrench demonstrates how a small local business can effect environmentally-desirable change using big concepts, while still making a comfortable profit.

The story of Hubbard Foods Ltd. of New Zealand represents an innovative approach to Sustainability Reporting (SR). Traditionally, SR is seen as an adjunct, or secondary, reporting process for a company, often performed for external stakeholders and marketed for general public as a means of PR. Hubbard Foods Ltd decided to use their SR process as a means for sustainability implementation – in other words, as a part of their overall change management process. As a result, a new set of Key Performance Area Drivers and Indicators have been devised and integrated into core operations of the company.

For corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them, the DuPont Legal Model offers instructive principles and processes that can improve the practice of corporate law. Since 1992, the DuPont Legal Model has given the company a framework for meeting new challenges and guided them through a period of tremendous change. By applying “business discipline” to the practice of law, the Legal Model has focused Dupont’s resources and made strategic partnering, information technology, metrics, diversity and other initiatives the cornerstones of their approach. Through this Legal Model, Du Pont Legal has embraced a diversity agenda. This model makes it a requirement that DuPont’s various law firms meet specified diversity requirements. This strategy has prompted a shift in the legal community to embrace greater diversity.

Interface, a highly regarded eco-conscious company, and one of the largest manufacturers of commercial flooring in the world, has created the industry's first post-consumer recycled polyester commercial fabric. Terratex® is made from 100% recyclable or renewable material, manufactured using increasingly sustainable processes, made to meet or exceed industry standards for quality and performance, and recyclable or compostable at the end of it's useful life. Interface believes Terratex makes an impact, not an imprint, on the environment.

Over the past 15 years, Groupe DANONE has moved into a number of emerging markets, including China, Indonesia, India, North Africa, and South Africa. In all of these countries, the sale of high quality food products is held back by the low purchasing power of consumers. Today Asia, Latin America and the Africa/Middle East region account for no less than 24% of group sales. To make its products accessible to low-income consumers, the company launched DANONE's Affordability Initiative. Through this Initiative it has developed products with significantly enhanced nutritional value that meets local needs at an affordable price, without compromising high standards for quality and food safety.

Global Environment Fund (GEF) is an international investment management firm established in 1990 to invest in, and provide management support to, companies that make positive contributions to environmental quality, human health and the sustainable management of natural resources. The Firm’s investments focus primarily on companies whose business operations deliver measurable environmental improvements through deployment of improved environmental infrastructure and “clean” technologies. GEF’s investment objective is to provide superior returns by harnessing the power of technological innovation to promote energy sources and means of production that are cleaner, cheaper, more efficient, and more sustainable.

The Winter 2004 Issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review tells the story of Placer Dome's development of "The Care Project" to facilitate the lay off of more than 13,000 employees in seven countries in a fair and responsible manner. A Canada-based global mining firm, Placer Dome purchased 50 percent of the South Deep Mine from Western Areas Limited in 1999. The mine required massive restructuring in order to make it profitable and to bring it in line with Placer Dome’s safety standards, resulting in nearly a third of the mine’s workforce being let go.

Grameen Bank (GB) has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and creating a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. GB provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. At GB, credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the overall development of socio-economic conditions of the poor who have been kept outside the banking orbit on the grounds that they are poor and hence not bankable. Since the bank does not wish to take any borrower to the court of law in case of non-repayment, it does not require the borrowers to sign any legal instrument. Although each borrower must belong to a five-member group, the group is not required to give any guarantee for a loan to its member. Repayment responsibility solely rests on the individual borrower, while the group and the Grameen Bank center oversee that everyone behaves in a responsible way and none gets into a repayment problem. There is no form of joint liability, i.e. group members are not responsible to pay on behalf of a defaulting member.

"Billionaire nerd with a social conscience" might describe Pierre Omidyar. Since founding eBay in 1995 and handing over the reigns of eBay to Meg Whitman, Omidyar and his wife Pam have found various ways to "do good" with their vast wealth. In June of this year, the Omidyars created the Omidyar Network, an organization with the simple core belief: "that every individual has the power to make a difference." The Omidyar Network will fund for-profit organizations as well as non-profits. Omidyar Network is intended to expand the investment scope of the Omidyar Foundation by funding not just non-profit projects, but also for-profit ventures and public initiatives they believe promote individual self-empowerment. The Network has established a $400 million fund to be invested by 2010. In addition to serving as Chairman of eBay and Omidyar Network, Omidyar is director of Meetup, a Web site that helps people self-organize local group gatherings on the same day everywhere.

Edun is a socially conscious clothing company created by Ali Hewson and her rock star husband, U2's Bono, with New York clothing designer Rogan Gregory. Launched in spring 2005, the company aims to bring the issue of sustainable employment to the world of high fashion. EDUN was born as an alternative approach to creating beautiful clothes in a respectful, sustainable manner and to shift the focus away from aid to trade in the developing world, particularly Africa.

Swiss Re is internationally recognized for taking a public stand on global warming. This year it has been named to the list of top 20 most sustainable business stocks by SustainableBusiness.com. Swiss Re's latest initiative to raise public awareness about sustainability came in the form of an inspiring TV documentary entitled 'The Great Warming'. Supported by Swiss Re and narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves, the documentary was a three-part series which explored not only the underlying science of climate change but the solutions that will lead to a truly sustainable future. 'The Great Warming' aired on TVB Pearl in March 2005. Swiss Re fosters broad awareness of climate risks. It supports effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provides new (re)insurance and financing solutions in this field. The company shares its know-how through its publications and engages in discussions on emerging issues with various stakeholders at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon.

Project Shakti is an alternative distribution system and a bottom-of-the-pyramid initiative created by Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), a subsidiary of Unilever. Shakti allows HLL access to the previously untapped market of rural villages in India, which do not fit the traditional distribution infrastructure. Shakti is oriented to both income generation and community development. By targeting low-income populations, particularly women, this project addresses deep social problems - like iodine deficiency or diarrhea disease - by training Shakti women to provide education about products that address these health issues, and also making the products available in remote areas of the country.

Cummins is a global power leader and family of four inter-related, yet diversified businesses that create or enhance value as a result of doing business with each other or having those relationships. It averages more than $6 billion in annual sales and is a technology leader in the diesel engine market, providing cutting-edge solutions to the increasingly difficult challenge of producing cleaner-running engines. Currently, Cummins clean diesel engines are powering transit buses in Southern China.

British Petroleum, (BP) is one of the world's largest energy companies, it's origins dating back to May 1901. Despite BP's reputation as an oil and gas giant, it has taken highly innovative steps to move away from fossil fuels and toward the development of alternative energy sources. BP states that, as a global energy business, its aim is clear: to reduce its environmental footprint by producing cleaner products and encouraging customers to use them safely and efficiently

One specialty group of medical providers has largely shielded itself from the rising cost of medical-malpractice insurance. Over the past two decades, anesthesiologists have advocated the use of devices that alert doctors to potentially fatal problems in the operating room. Their innovative practices have resulted in lower fatalities and low malpractice premiums.

The Co-operative Bank, whose roots go back to 1872, is a full-service retail player in the United Kingdom commercial banking industry. It offers a full range of banking services, including on-line banking, and is an innovator in the field of sustainability reporting. Using sophisticated financial value analysis methods, the bank reports not only shareholder and stakeholder value created but also an analysis of the direct contributions that ethical and ecological positioning has made to the company's profitability.

Whole Foods is the largest organic and natural foods grocer in the United States. Clearing $188 million in profits over the past two years, it has beaten Wal-Mart in overall and comparable store sales growth, while profoundly impacting how Americans eat. The company also prides itself on treating employees in a fair and equitable manner and preventing upper management salaries from skyrocketing out of control. Financial data is released to employees, to help them understand how the company is doing and keep the working environment transparent. Executive pay is limited to 14 times the average frontline worker, while frontline employees qualify for stock options, profit sharing, health insurance for full time employees, and paid time off for volunteer work.

A Home for the Holidays, which airs annually on the U.S. network CBS, is the product of Wendy's, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and The Children’s Action Network. In 1992, Dave Thomas created the Foundation to promote adoption awareness in the United States. This organization has allowed Wendy's employees to be engaged in the cause of adoption at the local and national levels. The results have touched tens of thousands of families and children.

The Greyston Bakery, a for-profit business, incorporates the positive societal agenda into its core business practice via hiring individuals “chronically unemployed” due to lack of skills and education, as well as histories of homelessness, drug addiction and incarceration. Furthermore, the bakery sustains the work of its non-profit affiliate, Greyston Mandela. With an overriding mission to reduce human suffering, both organizations are focused on sustainability, community development and empowerment.

As an industry leader in the design and manufacture of air conditioners, Lennox International has not been content to rest on its laurels. The company recently came out with the quietest, most energy efficient unit on the market. In addition, this unit uses a refrigerant that does not deplete the ozone. The new unit is actually ahead of the curve in terms of meeting government requirements, while Lennox maintains a healthy bottom line.

A number of major financial institutions have come together to adopt a framework for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social issues in project financing. These global voluntary regulatory guidelines, the “Equator Principles” (EPs), are revolutionizing the way large projects are financed. Banks that adopt the EPs apply them globally to project financing in all industry sectors including mining, oil and gas, and forestry, and they make loans only to those projects whose sponsors aim to be socially responsible and environmentally sound.

Luther Tyson and Jack Corbett developed the first investment fund that enables people to invest in companies that uphold high ethical standards of social responsibility. By giving investors such a choice, the two essentially reevaluated and transformed the role of investors in society.

Furniture manufacturing is a messy business that produces lots of waste. Yet Herman Miller Inc has made it a goal, not just to reduce waste, but to entirely eliminate it. This commitment is more impressive because it originated as a grass-roots effort. The company consistently develops technological and organizational innovations that should lead to "total footprint elimination."

As president of Reebok’s Apparel and Retail Products Group, Marilyn Tam realized the soccer ball manufacturing operations in Pakistan were harmful to the children being forced to make the products and detrimental to the local community. By taking a long-term approach, she oversaw a process to correct the situation so that adults would take over the jobs and children would return to their schools.

Recognizing the sizable challenge of having an aging workforce with an average of mid-fifties at one of its plants in South Africa, Nissan took steps to replenish its workforce. Young relatives of the retirees were recruited to assure continuity of family incomes, older relatives served as their mentors before retiring, and financial planning and small- to medium-size business consultants were provided to all retirees. As a result company rejuvenation stimulated community development.

Because strict religious practices prohibit Muslims from participating or investing in certain types of businesses or financial products that are incompatible with Islamic law, Saturna Capital Corporation created a fund designed to meet the needs of Muslim investors.