Research, Reports & Publications

ESG in 2025: Turning Complexity into Opportunity

Workiva

Research, Reports & Publications

Sustainability Report: Emergency Preparedness at Marathon Petroleum

Marathon Petroleum

These Brands Are Starting Movements (And Your Brand Can Too)

Delivering on brand relevance also requires welcoming more and different voices to the table, using our collective wisdom to solve problems together and rallying consumers and employees to take action with us as brands. When net trust in global corporations is less than zero, it is understandable that brands may feel overwhelmed and afraid to go it alone. That is why thoughtful partnerships can empower brands to tackle meaningful issues without feeling like they are straining credibility or speaking out of turn.

Consumers Want Brands to Put a Stake in the Ground on Issues That Matter

More than ever before, consumers want brands to put a stake in the ground. It is not simply about reacting to today’s news cycle, but rather knowing where you stand and standing strong when issues arise.

As traditional corporate philanthropy efforts have ceased to capture the love and loyalty of consumers, it is time to rethink old models of CSR and consider how your brand’s purpose can translate to more meaningful and culturally relevant efforts that excite and engage consumers.

Define Your North Star: Brand Purpose Beyond Products

The new opportunity for brands is not only marketing incremental product benefits, but embodying a higher purpose that serves your consumers’ aspirations for a good life by directly addressing the barriers to it.

As capitalism shifts to unite profits and purpose, most brands know how to design a great product or a reliable service. Yet many struggle when their company’s deeper mission has become muddy or even irrelevant. Brand purpose lives at the intersection of a company’s authentic reason for being and the unmet human needs that it can uniquely fulfill in the marketplace and the world. Revealing this harmonic is the key to defining your north star.

Start with Empathy: Design a Brand with People at the Center

To stay relevant in a world of limited resources and mounting concerns, brands cannot simply show up and sell more stuff. Like never before, consumers expect brands to make their lives better. Doing so means understanding consumers’ struggles, needs and aspirations and addressing the issues that matter to them in meaningful ways.

A fundamental design principle in divided times is to start with empathy and listen to what people are feeling and what they desire for their lives. Empathy is fundamentally about respect. When was the last time you truly listened? When people feel ignored, or when their basic human needs are not being met, it is time for brands to start listening.

VIDEO | Aflac Releases Its 2017 Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility

Last week, Aflac Chief Brand and Communications Officer Catherine Blades, and Reputation Institution Chief Research Officer Stephen Hahn Griffiths, discussed the findings of Aflac’s 2017 Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility with 31 television and radio stations across the country. This annual, scientific survey collects the thoughts and expectations of 1,000 consumers and investors regarding business ethics and responsibility.

A Canadian Opportunity: Companies Predict Community Investment Budgets Will Increase in 2018

Canada's leading corporations widely recognize the business opportunity in putting their brands and resources behind worthy causes, and many plan to increase their community investments, according to a new study issued by Imagine Canada and LBG (London Benchmarking Group) Canada.

Wendy's | Investing in Quality and Making Progress on Animal Antibiotics

We’ve just published a year-end recap of our corporate responsibility efforts at Wendy’s. Having now done this twice, it’s fair to say this is a practice we will follow on at least an annual basis. It was a busy year with encouraging progress on several fronts, and we spent a lot of time working on sustainable food issues related to the livestock in our supply chain.

The Wendy's Company Reports on 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Progress

Today, The Wendy's Company released its annual update on the strides made to further Wendy's® Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to its Food, Family and Community strategy.

How Reporting Helps Businesses Uphold Human Rights

When companies use the GRI Standards for their sustainability reporting, they assess their positive and negative impacts on economic, environmental and social issues, including human rights, and are transparent about the results. Transparency makes human rights information available, empowering NGOs and other stakeholders to hold companies accountable and provide access to remedy.

More Consumers are Punishing Companies for Their Behavior Rather Than Rewarding Them

For the first time since 2009, more consumers say they have punished companies for their behavior (28%) rather than rewarded them (26%), and the number of those who are punishing brands is up by 9% since 2013.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is embedded in our company values. We actively promote it among our employees, raise awareness, and foster an...
  2. SAP | Climate Action
    Climate change is top of mind for government and business leaders worldwide who are committing to driving down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through...
  3. Cascale Governance
    Cascale shares updates from its Board of Directors who serve as the principal governing body and are responsible for setting the strategic direction...
  4. ESG Talk: Season Four
    The ESG Talk podcast features candid conversations with business leaders from around the world. In season four, co-hosts Mandi McReynolds, Steve Soter...
  5. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    Our people are our greatest asset. We’re committed to fostering the personal and professional well-being of every associate at Albertsons Companies...
  6. Leadership
    Cascale demonstrates industry leadership and collaboration to drive collective action, by sharing insight into key sustainability topics inside and...
  7. License to Operate
    Corporate governance, risk management, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance are demanding challenges that companies face in today’s ever...
  8. The Future of Trade
    We are committed to pushing the sector towards better, more efficient and more sustainable ways to trade.
  9. GoDaddy | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
    Diverse teams build better products — period. At GoDaddy, we make apps and services that our worldwide community of entrepreneurs can relate to. Our...
  10. ScottsMiracle-Gro | GroMoreGood Purpose
    At ScottsMiracle-Gro, it's our core belief that good can grow anywhere. That's why we make it our purpose to GroMoreGood everywhere. This purpose...