Resources + FAQ
Linked below is a list of resources related to sustainability and ethical business practices, as well as a research FAQ.
Business Sustainability FAQ
Is company X sustainable?
There exists no definitive answer. There are no international standards that independent third-parties can use to objectively measure companies. Instead, there are numerous non-profits, political, governmental, corporate, and social organizations that conduct research, raise awareness, pass legislation, hold companies accountable and, in some cases, protect company’s reputations in lieu of holding them accountable. This is important context to understand. In the absence of consistent international standards, much of the company sustainability information available is either self-reported or it is for sale by third-party data vendors. Both sources of information come with reliability concerns.
If there is no definitive answer to the question, "is company X sustainable?", then how do I research a particular company's sustainability efforts?
One effective method is to investigate the company's public track record using the business news sources in my list. Has the company been fined or sued for ethical violations(polluting, using slave labor, etc.) in a particular country? Have they been given a sustainable award or certification and if so, why? Has the company launched any sustainability projects? Is the company facing criticism from ethical business watchdog organizations?
Is there value in reading a company's self-reported sustainability information?
There is value in reading self-reported information as it provides a public record of company claims that you can attempt to verify. For example, if the company claims they started a sustainability program or operation then you can search for evidence of the effectiveness of that project. Was the project successful? Did the project continue? I recommend attempting to cross-reference a company using multiple resources on the list.
What does sustainability even mean?
I find that sustainability/CSR/ESG/Green efforts are industry-dependent. Sustainability for a coffee company is very different than for a fashion or SaaS company. Ask yourself, "What ethical challenges would a company in this industry face?". Once you understand the context of sustainability for the industry you are researching you can build a more effective search.
Databases
- Bloomberg Terminals - company ESG scores provided by Sustainalytics, NO ONLINE ACCESS, you must go to the Bloomberg Lab in 054 Dodge Hall, Boston Campus
- Mintel Academic - consumer product sustainability reports (screenshot)
- Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new windowSearch federal and state court cases, statutes and codes as well as European Union laws and regulations. Secondary sources include the American Law Reports and the American Jurisprudence encyclopedia, law reviews, journals, and newspapers.
- Tutorials: Find cases and articles in Westlaw (video) or see a PDF version
- GreenFILE (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowDrawing on the connection between the environment and disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology, GreenFILE is an informative resource containing nearly 300,000 records, with full text for selected titles, and searchable cited references with library links for more than 200 additional titles
News
Try searching for "COMPANY NAME" AND either CSR, ESG, SUSTAINABILITY (screenshot)
- ABI/Inform (Proquest) This link opens in a new windowProfessional and scholarly business and economics articles and reports. Business news and company, market, and brand information.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowJointly funded by the University Libraries and the DAmore-McKim School of Business
Includes access to text-only versions of Barron's, the Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of other international newspapers. Factiva is to be used for academic research. Using the content for analytics or text mining is prohibited. Access is limited to 5 users at a time. - Business Source Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowScholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news and information, the majority in full text. Some video.
- Access World News Research Collection (Newsbank) This link opens in a new windowOur largest general news source, with current and complete newspapers, magazines, wire services from around the world. Backfiles sometimes go back to the 1980s. Text only.
Books
World Scientific Encyclopedia of Business Sustainability, Ethics and EntrepreneurshipCulmination of many discussions, especially at the Sustainability, Ethics and Entrepreneurship (SEE) Conference, related to the growth and institutionalization of environmental and social entrepreneurship.
Measuring TomorrowHow moving beyond GDP will improve well-being and sustainability
Sustainable Investing: Revolutions in theory and practiceFinancial considerations must factor in sustainability considerations for ongoing societal success, while sustainability issues equally need to be driven by a business case.
Management Accounting Standards for Sustainable Business PracticesManagement accounting plays a key role in achieving a company's sustainability, by providing reliable, relevant, accurate, and timely information to managers.
The Handbook of Carbon ManagementEvery manager and every employee in every function can embed climate solutions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Forces for GoodDo you want your business to step up and make a meaningful difference?
Corporate Social Responsibility and SustainabilityThis volume offers a critical review of current trends around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability activities in developing and emerging economies.
Business, Power and Sustainability in a World of Global Value ChainsThe interaction of sustainability governance and global value chains has crucial implications the world over.
The Moral MarketplaceEnter the world of the social entrepreneur. A global community of doers, thinkers and leaders who mix business with grass-roots activism to make social change possible.
Silent SpringRachel Carson's Silent Spring appeared and the outcry that followed its publication forced the banning of DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water.
DDT, Silent Spring, and the Rise of EnvironmentalismNo single event played a greater role in the birth of modern environmentalism than the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and its assault on insecticides. Thomas Dunlap traces shifting attitudes toward DDT and pesticides through scientific studies and government reports, advertisements from industry journals
Sustainable Luxury and Social EntrepreneurshipSustainable luxury is about rediscovering the old meaning of luxury - a considered purchase of a beautifully crafted object with built-in social and environmental value. The social entrepreneurs documented in this book highlight the relationship between personal values and sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation in developing and marketing luxury products.
Selling Sustainability Short?Selling Sustainability Short provides a voice for coffee producers and value chain members to explain why the current system is failing in its mission to provide environmental, social, and economic co-benefits, and what changes are necessary to do better.
Greenwashing
Greenwash: The reality behind corporate environmentalism (PRINT ONLY)Call Number: HD62.4 .G72 1996Transnational corporations (TNCs) have been greenwashing their dismal environmental performance by posing as friends of the environment. This book provides an overview of TNCs in the global economy and of their impacts on the global environment.
Earth for Sale: Reclaiming ecology in the age of corporate greenwash (PRINT ONLY)Call Number: GE195 .T63 1997'Illuminating ... Earth of Sale is a fantastic primer for those looking for some historical perspectives on the environmental movement. Well-written and thoroughly researched... Earth for Sale is a clarion call for nothing short of an ecological revolution.'
The Greenwash Effect: Corporate Deception, Celebrity Environmentalists, and What Big Business Isn?t Telling You about Their Green Products and BrandsToyota would like us to think that Mother Nature drives a Prius, Ford wants us to "Join the Green Revolution," and McDonald's has painted its golden arches green. Facebook has even "friended" Greenpeace.
Beyond Greenwash: Beyond Greenwash: Explaining Credibility in Transnational Eco-LabelingHow can consumers separate greenwash from genuine attempts to address environmental challenges?
Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of EnvironmentalismWe don't have an energy crisis. We have a consumption crisis. And this book takes aim at cherished assumptions regarding energy.
Unsustainable: The History and Politics of Green EnergyThis book examines the history, politics, and economics of alternative energy.
Cleaning up Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Crime and the Crisis of CapitalismCleaning up Greenwash characterizes corporate environmental crime as an inevitable consequence of neoliberal markets and contemporary consumer culture and identifies that traditional criminal justice responses may be inadequate to deal with contemporary environmental harms.
Greenwash: Big Brands and Carbon ScamsGoing green is the new black for big business. But how real is the climate-friendly revolution that's being advertised? Are big brands and the celebrities endorsing them really as green as they claim? In Greenwash, in the tradition of Fast Food Nation and No Logo, Guy Pearse looks behind the corporate façade - and what he finds will startle you.
The Fight Against Monsanto's Roundup: The Politics of PesticidesThe Fight Against Monsanto's Roundup takes a fresh look at the politics underlying the mass use of pesticides and the challenges people around the world are making against the purveyors of poison and the governments that enable them. Forward by Vandana Shiva.
Trampled by Unicorns: Big tech's empathy problem and how to fix itAn insider's examination of Big Tech's failure to keep its foundational promises and the steps the industry can take to course-correct in order to make a positive impact on the world.
Blue Gold: The fight to stop the corporate theft of the world's waterIn this "chilling, examination of a global crisis," Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, show how, increasingly, transnational corporations are plotting to control the world's dwindling water supply.
- El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade
EL CACAO is a documentary that exposes the dark side of chocolate production in Latin America by examining the economics of Fair Trade from the point of view of the indigenous farmers as they attempt to sustain their community through the growth, harvest, and trade of cacao beans in the global market.
Journals
- Journal of Cleaner ProductionThe Journal of Cleaner Production is an international, transdisciplinary journal focusing on Cleaner Production, Environmental, and Sustainability research and practice. Through our published articles, we aim at helping societies become more sustainable.
- The Journal for Sustainable Finance & InvestmentJournal that specifically focuses on environmental, developmental, social and governance principles as formulated in the financial markets, managed investment, banking, micro-finance, project finance and philanthropy
CSR Web Resources
- Corporate RegisterOnline repository of self-reported company CSR reports that . Must create a free account to access reports
- Fair Trade FoundationUK non-profit that works with farmers and workers so they can improve their living standards, invest in their communities and businesses, and protect our shared environment
- Global Reporting Initiative(GRI)International independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development(WBCSD)CEO-led community of over 200 of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net zero, nature positive, and more equitable future
- Carbon Disclosure Project(CDP)Non-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.
- The Global Development Research Center(GDRC)Independent policy think tank that carries out initiatives in education, research and practice, in the spheres of environment, urban, community and information
- ESGBookOpen-source ESG data platform companies can use ESG Book at no cost to disclose, manage and keep ownership of their ESG data in real-time. The data is then available to users for free, with a charge for analysis of the data, such as temperature scores
- B LabNon-profit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet..B Corps are certified to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
- BSRBSR is a sustainable business network and consultancy focused on creating a world in which all people can thrive on a healthy planet.
- MIT Sloan Management School Sustainability InitiativeBusiness sustainability research
- Greenhouse Gas ProtocolGHG Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions
- Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency(DSIRE)DSIRE is the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewable energy and energy efficiency in the United States
- American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy(ACEEE)Provides technical and policy assessments to businesses and organizations.
- International Energy Association(IEA)Provides research, statistics and analysis
- The Handbook of Sustainability LiteracyIn this book leading sustainability educators are joined by literary critics, permaculturalists, ecologists, artists, journalists, engineers, mathematicians and philosophers in a deep reflection on the skills people need to survive and thrive in the challenging conditions of the 21st century
- Environmental Marketing - Federal Trade CommissionCompanies are offering consumers an ever-growing assortment of “green” options. But whether your environmental claims are about the product or the packaging, you'll need competent and reliable scientific evidence to support what you say. Find out more by consulting the FTC’s revised Green Guides. Have you spotted what you think might be a deceptive claim or practice? File a complaint.
- National Environmental Policy Act - Small Business Association (SBA)This SOP sets forth SBA procedures in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
- Sustainable Marketplace: Greener Products and Services - environmental Protection Agency (EPA)The EPA sets/mandates specific environmental standards. Search the main EPA site for more research and tools.
Anti-Slavery Web Resources
- Anti-Slavery internationalHuman rights organization working to eliminate all forms of slavery and slavery like practices throughout the world
- Free The SlavesNon-profit dedicated to alerting the world about slavery’s global comeback and to catalyze a resurgence of the abolition movement
- Refuge for WomenNon-profit, faith based organization providing specialized long-term housing and emergency housing for women who have escaped human trafficking or sexual exploitation
- Survivor MadeMarketplace of handicrafts made by survivors of sex trafficking while a resident at Refuge for Women
- Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking(CAST)Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization that is working to put an end to modern slavery and human trafficking
- End Slavery NOWAnti-slavery non-profit based in Washington DC
- Modern Slavery Act 2015UK law that requires companies to write annual modern slavery statements and comply with regulations
- SedexPrivate company that provides a data platform that helps client companies create more socially and environmentally sustainable businesses and supply chains
- Corporate Justice CoalitionUK business corporate governance reform organization
- The Responsible and Ethical Private Sector Coalition against Trafficking (RESPECT)Swiss anti-slavery NGO
- Walk FreeInternational human rights group focused on the eradication of modern slavery
- Ethical Trading InitiativeOrganisation of UK companies, NGOs and trade union organisations who believed in the power of collective action to make a difference to the lives of workers in companies' supply chains
Certifications
- OEKO-TEXOEKO-TEX® consists of independent textile and leather testing institutes in Europe and Japan, with offices in more than 70 countries. We work together to develop test methods and define limit values
- Non-GMO ProjectThe Non-GMO Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to building and preserving the non-GMO food supply for all.
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