Businesses Staying the Course on Community Involvement
Despite the economic crisis, businesses have forged ahead with community involvement efforts as part of a continued commitment to corporate citizenship, according to a Boston College survey.
While a significant percentage of companies cut their community involvement budgets, 62.1 percent maintained or increased budget levels in 2009. And though 37.8 percent of respondents' companies cut their community involvement budget, only 20.9 percent decreased staffing.
Read the news release

How Socially Responsible Investors Will View Companies in 2010
In the wake of a recovering economy and stock market, how are socially responsible investors viewing your company? Portfolio 21, a 10-year-old mutual fund investing in green companies around the world, recently offered 10 guidelines for investing in 2010.
Read more at GreenBiz.com

CSR Can 'Blow Back' If Seen as Market-Driven, Researcher Says
Corporate social responsibility initiatives carry the potential for significant “blowback” if they are perceived as market-driven rather than at the core of company operations. And if that happens, public relations practitioners are in the direct line of fire.
So says organizational communication scholar Steve May in a report supported by a grant from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University.
Read the news release via Newswise.

Corporate Social Responsibility Enters the Strategic Realm
Organizations today are increasingly recognising the benefit of focusing on environmental and social responsibility as a strategic objective. IBM's 2009 survey of 224 business leaders worldwide shows that three quarters of respondents in Western Europe believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased in importance over the past year.
Read the article in CIO magazine.