In my last post, I talked about the mindset of corporate citizenship, and my own path to working to support and expand it. In this one I’ll share a bit about the history and pieces of that field of work.

The concept of sustainability has been widely discussed since the 1950s, albeit primarily in the international development and agricultural arenas. As it moved into business spheres, the number of terms and related concepts were further developed to address the diverse business realities and needs. A few of the main ones you likely have heard are corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate sustainability (CS), socially responsible investing (SRI) and impact investing, and more recently, the metrics to measure these concepts are being embodied in ESG (environmental, social, governance) profiles, policies and plans (used by financial institutions to rate investability and impact of a company), which are aligned with the UN’s socially responsible investing (SRI) guidelines of 2005, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs for 2015-2030). You start to see why I call it an alphabet soup…. But also why I and so many of us care.

I actually think that the vast majority of folks care, and want to make a positive impact. And when we can create the space to think and dialogue about it, then we can focus those vague desires and move them to action. Even without the noble instincts, doing better and doing good is good for business, and I will share stories and concept overviews over the next several weeks and months, that illustrate that.


In this social media, info-travels-fast era, if a company wants to stay aligned with its market, and keep its best employees, suppliers, & customers, they increasingly have to focus on a variety of topics that have until recently, been viewed as semi-distinct, but ultimately equate to purpose and corporate citizenship. There’s a whole alphabet soup of corporate citizenship (CSR, ESG, DEI, SRI, sustainability, PPP & SDG, etc.), which can become a confusing policy checklist, or can become an authentic driver of corporate culture and long-term success.

A quote from my 2022 white paper, “The Alphabet Soup of Corporate Values and Citizenship – concepts, players, and how to make it work for your company.”

In this world, businesses who want to retain their best employees and customers, and have sustainable profit long-term, must create brand loyalty, which comes from informed decisions (read DEI and consulting diverse stakeholders), an authentic culture of purpose (CS, CSR, ESG) and communication.  

#Sustainability #CSR #ESG #DEI #CorporateCitizenship #SMB #BusinessCoaching #TripleBottomLine