Business & the Social Side of Sustainability

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Last Updated 11/19/2007

www.epiicenter.com

11.19.2007: This course is no longer offered.

This course is built upon the belief that values tend to be the true north of the professional compass for our behaviors. It is these values that move most whistle-blowers to action. And, it is these values that help us explain to ourselves why we make the decisions that we do. The values that I emphasis in this class are the values of integrity and trust. I believe that they are absolute necessities for long term, profitable business. Every day we see indications that both integrity and trust are in short supply in the business world.

Trust is not only important within a business; it is also a key component in a customer’s decision to patronize a particular company. Over the last decade, the question of trust in our institutions has been subject to much debate, often of a critical nature. The decade has seen protests, exposés and unfolding accounting scandals. The result has been lack of trust in virtually all institutions.

Yet, at the same time ethical behavior and a concern for people and the environment have been shown to have a positive correlation with corporate performance. The subject of corporate social responsibility is therefore a relevant one for business.

This class has been placed on this broader web site because I believe that many sustainability considerations are also ethical considerations; considerations that go to the values we each hold. I hope that you glance through the other resources that are available on this site, and if you have any recommendations for additional resources, please let me know.