I took part in a panel dsicussion a few weeks ago on "CSR in a Recession: Doing Well By Doing Good in Not-So-Good Times". (Here's the video).
Produced by Pat Reilly and crew at The Good Business Network, the panel included:
- Nick Aster, Founder, Triple Pundit
- Joel Bashevkin, Executive Director, West Coast, Taproot Foundation
- Christopher Esposito, VP, Recruiting and Sales, Magley and Associates
- Sid Espinosa, City Councilman, City of Palo Alto; Former Director of Global Social Investment Programs, Hewlett-Packard Company
- Gil Friend, President and CEO, Natural Logic, Inc. and author of The Truth About Green Business
- Mike Hannigan, President and Co-Founder, Give Something Back
- Marcy Scott Lynn, Director of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, Sun Microsystems
- Amy Skeeters-Behrens, Head of Marketing Operations, Global Citizenship Team, eBay, Inc.
Here's the summary:
While panelists echoed national sentiments about unemployment and the down economy, they also expressed optimism about the future of corporate social responsibility and prospects for Bay Area business growth, especially in areas like green/clean technology, stem cell research, and healthcare, where the region is leading the way.
The full video of the discussion is now available at the Good Business Network web site. (1 hour 21 minutes - and worth every moment. ;-)
(PS: Remind me some time to tell you what I really think about "CSR" -- and why it usually misses the boat.)