CSR Communication: How to talk to your customers about your good work

You’re one of the good ones.  You’ve decided that you are going to conduct business in a socially responsible way.  You’ve begun taking steps to become a better company and you even started an official corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.  Good job, you won’t regret it.  Now that you’ve launched your CSR program, it’s time to share your good work and vision with the world.  But how exactly are you to do that?

CSR Communication is Not a One-Time Thing

Communicating your CSR work effectively requires more than a static website or an annual press release. Blogs, message boards, and social media tools like Twitter and Facebook are the best tools for ongoing discussions about your company. By engaging your community with these tools, you offer them a sense of ownership in the good work you’re doing.

Read more >>

Prevention before Treatment? How Biomarkers are Changing Health Care

One of BusinessEarth’s goals is to prove that socially and environmentally responsible business is possible and profitable. When we find a company that embodies these principles, we highlight their achievements and challenges so you can apply their lessons to your business. Rich Martin, CFO of Biophysical, discusses biomarkers and preventive health care as well as the role companies can play the well-being of their employees.

BE Profiles Biophysical: Health & Wellness from the Inside-Out

Does prevention hold the key to America’s health crisis? If you’re like most people, you only visit the doctor when you’re ill. But what if there was a way to identify risk factors before they turned into chronic health problems?

Biomarker Screening and Health Care

“Years before you become diabetic, there are other changes happening in your body,” says Martin. “Before glucose becomes a problem, your body will experience a spike in insulin levels as it compensates for insulin’s diminishing strength.”

By identifying these precursors early with medical screening, you can start exercise and diet programs to reverse the path toward chronic disease. “It’s easier and cheaper to prevent illnesses like diabetes than it is to manage them once they manifest themselves,” says Martin. Read more >>

Electric Vehicles and You: Making Sense of EVs vs. PHEVs

Over the next five years, manufacturers will unveil more than 20 models of electric vehicles that look and drive similar to your regular car. However, there is one key difference that will determine how well they fit your lifestyle: whether they are pure electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

Pure Electric Vehicles (EVs): Meet the Nissan Leaf

Pure electric vehicles are powered solely by batteries. Their frames and bodies are often made from super light alloys specially designed to maximize performance. While EVs have been around since the early 1900s, the Nissan Leaf is the first mainstream EV to hit the U.S. market in this latest electric car renaissance.

Pros: Zero emissions from tail pipe, fewer moving parts than normal vehicles.
Cons: ‘Range anxiety’ from lack of high-capacity charging network. When the battery loses its charge, the car has no back-up power.
Est. Cost: $32,780/ $25,280 (before tax credits/after tax credits)
Electric Range: 100 miles
Total Range: 100 miles Read more >>