From the Corner Office: Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship
From the corner office: perspectives on corporate citizenship
Business leaders are aware of the increasingly significant role that corporate citizenship can play in overall business strategy, and how—if effectively aligned—investments can improve performance.
According to the Center’s 2014 State of Corporate Citizenship study, the majority of executive respondents view corporate citizenship as a way to achieve strategic corporate goals and they expect its importance to increase in the future. In fact, for the first time in the decade that the Center has conducted the study, the majority of executives anticipate resources for every corporate citizenship dimension to increase over the next three years.
It’s clear that executives understand the value of corporate citizenship and are investing in processes and programs that deliver both business and social value. Here, top executives offer their perspectives on how corporate citizenship is helping them create not only a world in which we want to do business, but a world in which we want to live.
Michael Dell—Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dell
To achieve major milestones in corporate citizenship and obtain long-term value, companies must create bold visions and set clear goals. At Dell, those objectives are collected under one ambitious umbrella—their Legacy of Good Plan.
“The changes headed our way require more than incremental progress. They demand meaningful, systemic change and, for businesses, that starts with a new mindset about corporate responsibility. We have to look beyond our walls to inspire sustainable practices throughout our entire ecosystem, making sustainability easier for our customers and partners.
That’s the 21st goal in our 2020 Legacy of Good Plan, and the one I’m most excited about. We want to develop a methodology for a 360-degree view of our environmental impact. For example, when we sell a server, we know the carbon footprint for its manufacture and operation. But what if that server is being used to support 100 remote workers who no longer drive to the office? How do we measure that? We want to understand the totality of our ability to make a positive difference.
If we can measure it, we can maximize it. And that’s a big opportunity for us all to work together to help ensure our collective future.”
