Social Change

[Editor's Note: This post original appeared on Huffington Post Impact]

Today we face many tough issues as a society and much work is being done to address them. Let's look at a slice of one such challenge -- health.

Attendees at BCLC's recent National Conference had the opportunity to take a first look at the 2012 goodpurpose® study presented by Carol Cone, Chairman, Edelman Citizenship. Now in its fifth year, the research explores consumer attitudes about social purpose and business. goodpurpose® is the only global, longitudinal study of its kind, and the wealth of data and insight will provide tangible tools and best practices to leverage in your brand and corporate citizenship.

We’re thrilled to bring you an unprecedented opportunity to hear from some of the best minds in corporate citizenship – all at one time, all one on stage. On Wednesday, the final day of our National Conference in Atlanta, BCLC is staging a session called “The Future of CSR: For Good or For Profit?”

Do “good” and “profit” have to be mutually exclusive, you ask? Well, that’s debatable.

By Michael Dupee, Vice President of CSR, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

In his much-lauded book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey famously encouraged us to “begin with the end in mind.”  In business, many of us try to take that encouragement to heart, engaging in visioning exercises, brainstorming adventures, long-range planning sessions, and other lesser forms of torture to help us identify the outcomes we want to see in the world as a result of our sustainability initiatives.

Nielson released a study this week showing that, among the 28,000 online respondents to a 56-country survey, socially conscious consumers care most about environmental sustainability. These great graphics show how "socially conscious consumer" is defined for the purpose of the Nielson study and how different causes ranked in terms of what these consumers think companies should support.  

(Click to enlarge)

[Editor's Note: This topic is the theme of our International Women's Day Event on March 8 at the United Nations, titled "The Role of Business in Empowering Women" (tweetchat: #CSRwomen).