The press release in the first url below tracks the evolution of the cutting edge practices some firms are adopting regarding CSR reporting (Chapter 4: CSR Audit and Report, p72; Issues: Auditing CSR, p94):
“With its Footprint Chronicles, Patagonia is taking the next step in a broader trend toward greater transparency on corporate social and environmental impacts. A website that tracks and discloses “the good and the bad” in Patagonia’s supply chain, the Footprint Chronicles build on a history of bold actions by other companies seeking to be “candid and forthright” in their transparency.”
Greater levels of transparency allow a firm’s stakeholders to better understand a firm’s actions and compare it to expectations. Minimizing the information asymmetry that exists between firms that control access to much of the information stakeholders need to evaluate firm performance stands to reduce uncertainty and head off potential unnecessary clashes. Rather than see greater transparency as a burden or intrusion, therefore, the most progressive firms will view it as an uncertainty reduction and risk management tool in its attempts to meet the needs and demands of key stakeholder groups:
“Patagonia, like its predecessors, figures its customers and investors are savvy enough to know that problems exist in its manufacturing processes. So instead of glossing over them, Patagonia exposes the problems--in hopes of partnering with its customers to create solutions.”
Additional detail about Patagonia’s “Footprint Chronicles” initiative—“an effort to document and share with customers information about the environmental effects of every link in the supply chain,” is contained in the article in the second url below.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
The Latest Corporate Social Responsibility News - Patagonia Takes Next Step in Corporate Transparency and Accountability
Borrows Elements from The Gap, Timberland, and Stonyfield
CSRwire Weekly News Alert
http://www.csrwire.com/News/11480.html
Measuring Footprints
A new program at Patagonia tells consumers about the eco-impact of its products -- and helps the company get greener.
Fast Company Magazine
From: Issue 124 | April 2008 | Pages 59-60 | By: Alissa Walker
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/124/measuring-footprints.html
