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What does it mean to be accountable as a company? Is it only being accountable to the shareholders? To the employees? In the past, that seems to be the case, but in today’s modern world of the internet and ease of access to information, companies need to go beyond what’s happening inside their corporate walls, writes James Short.
It is no longer about pleasing the shareholders and increasing the bottom line. Modern companies now operate in a business model that allows them to share their success with the community and help affect social change.
Corporate accountability refers to a company’s performance in non-financial areas like sustainability, environmental and social responsibility.
The earliest example of this was the campaign against tobacco smoking commercials which led to the passing of the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act. It didn’t stop there; companies are still engaging or funding projects and programs whose aim is to make a positive impact on the community and the environment.
Here are some great examples of socially responsible companies.
Dr. Bronner’s
If you’re a big fan of organic products then you might already be familiar with Dr. Bronner’s. They produce a wide array of organic soaps, lotions, balms and cleaners, which means they are only made with the purest ingredients without synthetic additives. This company is all about sustainability and ethical production and they have the certifications to back it up.
Certifications like Regenerative Organic Certified and Fair for Life ensure that when you buy their products, you can rest knowing that everything is made from natural ingredients and produced ethically.
Lego
You might be thinking, how can a toy company, which uses a ton of plastic, be a socially responsible company? Lego is proving that it can be done by incorporating environmentally friendly processes into their manufacturing methods. They have also committed to reducing their carbon footprint and are aiming to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Aside from being partnered with World Wildlife Fund, they are currently the number 1 ranked company in Global RepTrak’s Most Reputable Companies Worldwide.
Levi Strauss
Levi’s has been making jeans for nearly 150 years, yet they are proving that even the oldest companies can innovate and adapt to be more socially responsible. If you don’t already know, manufacturing jeans uses up a lot of water. To address this, Levi’s has designed a manufacturing process that saved more than 1 billion litres of water since its inception in 2011.
They also work with Blue Jeans Go Green and other organisations that collect used clothing from different countries. They are currently aiming for designing products that are 100 per cent recyclable.
By James Short, consultant
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