With great power comes great responsibility

A few weeks ago I attended the Women’ in Leadership conference at UC Berkeley.  It was an amazing day.  My very first panel was: Social Impact.  It was fantastic – I was worried it may be heavily non-profit oriented, but it ended up being a good mix.   

A woman on the panel – has the job that I want – though I didn’t know it until she spoke.  Meg Garlinghouse, Head of Employment Brand and Community for Linkedin.  From her title I would have not guessed she was so invested in the social responsibility aspect, but was happy to learn so. I guess it does go hand in hand with working with brand and community.  She had some great advice, but one piece of her advice gave me pause. 

Let’s start with the good.  All the ladies in the panel agreed that you have to work past your organization.  Creating a network, helping other and other companies may end up helping you and yours.  This worked well for one woman who ran a non-profit, but even in the private sector – working with other companies creates alliances and also the ability to venture into socially responsible practices in good company.  Some companies may think “well, if we’re the only ones, either we’ll be trend setters or foolish” having a partnership will allay these fears. 

Next: storytelling.  For non-profits this may mean hearing from the people you have directly helped – making sure that you are constantly assured that your efforts are going to good use.  However, for a for-profit company – what is story telling and how is it helpful?  This may be different in the fact that the company may be doing the telling.  In forms of PR and Marketing, reminding the customers that the company has the community’s best interest at heart.  Or even just reminding the company every now and again that Sarah in Ohio really likes the fact that she can buy fair-trade coffee at your store.  Stories help keep the company on track and motivated to do more. 

The one piece of advice that concerned me was “take the professor, not the class.”  This translates to the corporate world to “work for a company you admire, not because of the job title.”  She went on to say, if you admire the company start wherever you can, and then find ways to move up or even create a social responsibility program.  I don’t know about that.  When I worked in non-profit, I saw that there was a lack of social media marketing.  I encourage the non-profit to allow me to work on a plan.  I felt a lot of resistance; I wasn’t being paid for that.  And even when I was allowed- it was for, at most, 2 hours a week.  Not a great start – I ended up doing a lot on my own time.  To go into a company with the full intention of creating a job or disliking your current position seems sneaky and troublesome.  In an ideal world, the company would be happy to hear new ideas, but the company hired you for a reason, do you expect them to let you grow your new found passion into a job, just to have to hire somebody else for the job you abandoned?   Honestly, not many companies have openings in a CSR dept. they are usually made from within, but even those seem very unlikely to create.

I definitely need to work for a company I admire – one in which I can take pride and maybe even help grow in a certain direction.  I however, don’t expect to be able to create my own job. 

The last piece of advice that I loved and why I got back into my MBA is because: “The Wal-Marts of the world can do more than any government.”  Sometimes we forget just how much power businesses have, let’s make sure they use their power for good. “With great power comes great responsibility.”  

Green Washing

I was watching the Colbert Report recently and he was talking about Wal Mart growing a conscience.  Wal Mart will stock healthier products and has aligned with Michelle Obama and her “Let's Move!” campaign.  I looked into Wal Mart for their MBA internship – even applied.  I wasn’t too surprised when I didn’t hear back from them, but I gave it a shot.   

I know that Wal Mart has a bad reputation; killing off the mom-and-pop shops and having low quality items.  I personally have never shopped at Wal Mart, but the fact is, people do.  And as long as people are going to shop there, they should have options of quality and healthy products.  I don’t know if people are aware of Wal Mart’s CSR manifesto, but those who are aware call it “green washing,” that all of Wal Mart’s efforts are only for show.  So what?  If green washing leads to better wages, unprocessed foods healthier for our country, fair trade, or higher standards for factories abroad, then let the green washing continue! the fact is, the conversation has started and the idea of change is out there.  At some point companies will be held accountable for their "green" claims - and will have to produce evidence otherwise they'll lose any credibility.  

Green washing or not, Wal Mart has made changes in energy efficiency, healthier food, less packaging, and caring about where their products come from. I don’t shop at Wal Mart, I like my local groceries and trust Whole Foods more than a “super store.”  I also buy non-food items from small mom-and-pop shops – support local.  But there are those in our country who cannot afford to do so.    And for them – Wal Mart may be a viable choice.   And for those of us looking at internships, just know they probably only hire from Harvard – but don’t rule the company out.  Most companies – even Wal Mart has somewhat of a conscience.  And if they don’t maybe you can be a positive influence?  

Talking Trash!

I am so proud of my Net Impact chapter!  Our team is fantastic!  Our Director of Campus Greening has really stepped up to the plate and created a bunch of fantastic events for this upcoming semester.
Coming up we have "trash talking with Anthony."  We need this at USF.  Even I need this - so many times I wonder - did I just throw away something that could have been recycled?  or, did I just recycle something that wasn't supposed to go in there?  Then I feel guilty for the rest of the day!!

The city of Santa Monica offers free classes teaching its residents about reusing, reducing, and recycling.  My friend decided to take this 6-week course last summer.  I remember the day he went to the city recycling center to pick up his worm-composting bin.  Or the day he put a bucket in his shower in order to catch excess water which he then used to water his plants.   The coolest thing though, was the week he weighed his trash.  Yes, sounds as weird as the others – but every morning he weighed his trash against his recycling.  Since most of Santa Monica’s retailers and restaurants use recyclable or compostable materials, it was cool to realize that most of what we thought was trash – really wasn’t.  It’s just like dieting – you know that you can eat less, or in this case: waste less, but until you make a conscious effort – it is easy to get off track. 

I used to work for a non-profit that supported an aquarium.  Marine education and conservation was part of our every day life.  We were aware of the garbage patch in the Pacific long before Captain Charles Moore went on the Colbert Report.  There is a serious problem out there- and I am excited that we are shining light on the problem

Gap's CSR Dilemma

There are many internships out there.  Which will you choose?  Whichever you can get?  Or one with a company that you truly admire? I myself would love to work for a socially responsible company, but I also just want a summer job.  One with pay.  I looked at Gap – but here’s my issue. 

I really like Gap.  My closet is full of Banana Republic clothes, a few things from Old Navy and Gap.  Gap, Inc. is a smart company.  They have a brand and product for everybody – from their Athleta line to their Piperlime shoes.  Not to mention Gap Body, Baby, men’s, women’s, etc. 

I liked Gap even more when I learned about their CSR efforts.  I was researching them for a summer internship and found their CSR page.  According to http://www2.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/ER_Our_Focus.shtml  Gap focuses on 4 areas: Supply Chain (from factories to farms to the stores, Gap treats their people with respect and dignity), Environment (reducing waste, saving energy), Employees (supporting their goals and passion), Community investment (support volunteering)

So this is all fantastic, of course I would have never known that Gap had these efforts unless I had already been researching the company.  Why don’t companies spend time and money to market these points?  In fact, some of Gap’s marketing would suggest the opposite.  Now the following example is not that big of a deal, but it was a big deal to me.  Last semester I walked past the Gap in union square often. There’s the Gap regular and then the Gap Body, which was promoting its athletic wear.  All three large windows had empty plastic 1-liter bottles lining the bottom.  It bothered me that their attempt to cut down waste did not include their window dressing.  The images and photos of beautiful girls working out behind these water bottles also included girls with plastic water bottles.  A simple solution to cutting down waste, staying true to their CSR efforts, and a way to make money would be to start selling reusable water bottles.  Gap Body could then line its windows with said bottles and use them in their ads (the additional revenue wouldn’t hurt).  Unless they really don’t care, but Gap will soon be accused of green washing.   I believe the company does good things: project red and reforming its factories - but isn’t it easier to start small?  Hopefully some day the CSR effort will reach the window dressers, marketing team, and buyers.  Maybe, I can help them get there?