From Manual to Manifesto

When co-author Bill Breen and I wrote our new book, The Responsibility Revolution, we intended it to function as a how-to manual that would introduce the corporate community to the new brand of corporate responsibility that’s now emerging at renegade companies...

A Brand New Way for a Brave New World

Twenty two years ago, Seventh Generation was born into a world much different than today’s. There were no websites and no e-mail. No cell phones and PDAs driving a 24/7 global economy. And no way anyone thought a company selling bathroom tissue made from recycled...

The Death and Life of Corporate Responsibility

Corporate responsibility—the notion that companies should include the public interest in all their decision-making—has never been so popular. Nor has it so often proved so phony. The evidence is all around us: *In 2008, General Motors rolls out a TV campaign for its...

Secrets of a More Just and Equitable World

“We want bigger houses and more cars, not because we need them, but because we use them to express our status. Material goods are how we show the world we’re keeping up, and in a more hierarchical society that’s more important. Status competition...

I Want To Work At SAS, Too

SAS was just named the best employer in the U.S. by Fortune Magazine in its annual Best Companies to Work for survey. While the award is limited to very large companies, there’s a lot we can all learn. A few facts: SAS is the world’s largest privately held...

Seventh Generation & Transparency 2.0

I’ve received an overwhelming amount of deeply thoughtful feedback about my post on transparency, which recounted a public session on compensation with employees at Seventh Generation. Most of the feedback was sent to me privately and did not appear on my blog....

Transparency, Equity, and Justice at Seventh Generation

In my new book, The Responsibility Revolution, I look at companies that conduct internal business with transparency. Seventh Generation is one of those companies, but a recent experience here made me realize that it is always easier to stand at the doorstep of someone...