United Technologies Corporation 2008 Annual and Corporate Responsibility Report PDF

Yesterday I guest blogged for www.buildingctgreen.com from the CSR Performance Summit in New York City. Click here to find out how leading companies are stretching their corporate responsibility budgets further in these tough economic times.

$3.00 for every dollar invested.

That’s the bottom line for corporate citizenship at IBM, according to Stanley Litow, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs.

Stan’s keynote address at yesterday’s Better Business Bureau Forum: Restoring Transparency and Trust in Business in New York City covered a lot of familiar ground. He emphasized how strategic management of corporate citizenship leads to greater innovations capabilities, deeper engagement with employees, growth in brand value and increased public relations exposure, and an unparalleled “attraction” and “retention” opportunity.

But that ROI number is what really stuck in my head. If IBM’s internal analysis has revealed a 3:1 return, then it’s hard to argue that citizenship programs should be cut back, even in the depths of a recession.

It also highlights how more-advanced companies are using sustainability management—today, not in some distant future— as a lever to maximize rewards. Can you count yourself among them?

In this edition, we discuss the challenge of making the monumental shifts needed to transition to a sustainable society. We also highlight the achievements of two of our clients: Symantec and Seventh Generation. Both companies were recently honored with Ceres-ACCA North American Reporting awards. PDF