The CSR Newsletters are a freely-available resource generated as a dynamic complement to the textbook, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation.

To sign-up to receive the CSR Newsletters regularly during the fall and spring academic semesters, e-mail author David Chandler at david.chandler@ucdenver.edu.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Strategic CSR - Voluntary vs. Mandatory

The article in the first url below provides an excellent example of the ability of effective, targeted legislation to shift incentives and rapidly change consumer behavior (Issues: Compliance, p310). In particular, this example concerns a 5 cents tax on shopping bags (both plastic and paper) in Washington DC that was introduced in January, 2010:

“Prior to the law, residents used an estimated 270 million disposable bags a year, according to the city's chief financial officer. … an informal survey of corporate headquarters for grocery stores and pharmacies with dozens of locations in the city estimated a reduction of 60% or more in the number of bags handed out.”
The article/graphic in the second url below demonstrates how similar incentive structures can be used to “nudge” people in the direction of greater societal value in various settings, while still maintaining the freedom to make less than optimal choices. This example presents the dramatic shifts in eating behavior achieved through subtle changes to the layouts of school cafeterias:

“A smarter lunchroom wouldn't be draconian. Rather, it would nudge students toward making better choices on their own by changing the way their options are presented. One school we have observed in upstate New York, for instance, tripled the number of salads students bought simply by moving the salad bar away from the wall and placing it in front of the cash registers.”
Take care
David

Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment (2e)
© Sage Publications, 2011
http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr2e/

Instructor Teaching Site: http://www.sagepub.com/strategiccsr/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: http://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Capital Takes Bag Tax In Stride
By Sara Murray and Sudeep Reddy
995 words
20 September 2010
The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704505804575484162110213150.html
or
http://www.bagcounter.com/news/Capital-Takes-Bag-Tax-in-Stride.shtml

Lunch Line Redesign
By BRIAN WANSINK, DAVID R. JUST and JOE McKENDRY
261 words
22 October 2010
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
35
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/10/21/opinion/20101021_Oplunch.html