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Foster Business Library


Social Responsibility Resources


Foster Business Library research guides are aimed at University of Washington students, faculty, and staff, highlighting resources available to them; users not currently affiliated with the university may be unable to access some of these resources.
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Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.

  • Conference Board Business Knowledge Research:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, under List of All Business Databases, at the bottom of the list of Business Databases. This searchable database of full-text research reports, published by the Conference Board, is focused on major issues in business and economics. For a 37-page PDF cumulative index to this database, click here.

    See over forty research reports under the topic Corporate Citizenship.

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under List of All Business Databases.   The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research; go to Business for three major business sources:   the Encyclopedia of American Industries (4th ed., 2005), the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2001), and the Encyclopedia of Small Business (2nd ed., 2002).

    See Social Responsibility and Organizational Ethics, in the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance.

  • Hoovers Online:   Under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. Hoovers Online offers information about 14,000 public and private companies worldwide, with links to company homepages and annual reports, charts, company capsule, competitors, divisions, earnings, financials, Fortune and Forbes rankings, history, industry information, insider trading, mission statements, news links, press releases, officers, patents, products, SEC filings, splits, subsidiaries, etc.

    As an example, see the Patagonia brand and the Company Factsheet for Lost Arrow Corporation and the link to the Company Overview; in the profile, see the "various businesses -- which included Patagonia and Chouinard Equipment -- were grouped under the Lost Arrow umbrella in 1984. That year it began donating 10% of pretax profits to environmental causes (it now gives 1% of sales if that is greater). Several years of rapid growth followed. Chouinard brought in professional managers, and Lost Arrow began offering clothes for casual buyers. But expansion was a misstep: By the end of the decade, expenses had skyrocketed and inventory piled up. The original equipment company then went into Chapter 11. (It was later sold to employees.) In 1991 Lost Arrow cut staff and drastically reduced its offerings, a move that led to regained profitability. In 1996 it began using only organic cotton (cotton crops are heavy users of pesticides). In 1998, thanks to such perks as flex time and paid leave, Patagonia marked its tenth appearance on "Working Mother"'s list of the 100 best companies for working mothers. Michael Crooke became CEO of Lost Arrow in late 1999. In early 2000 he shook up senior management, bringing in industry experts to oversee sales, marketing, and Japanese operations."

  • JSTOR:   This database may be found under List of All Business Databases. JSTOR is a subject searchable index of 360 journals, with full-text backfiles of scholarly journals, some of which date back to the 1800's. Among the collections of scholarly journals on this site are ones for Business and for Economics, encompassing 72 journals.

    A search for "Corporate Social Responsibility" produced over 580 articles.

  • Social Sciences Citation Index:   Included under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. This database "is a multidisciplinary index, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of the social sciences. It indexes more than 1,725 journals spanning 50 disciplines, as well as covering individually selected, relevant items from over 3,300 of the world's leading scientific and technical journals. It "provides access to current information and retrospective data from 1956 forward."

    A search in this database for "Corporate Social Responsibility" produced over 202 articles and references.

    Web Resources:

    Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.

  • The Aspen Institute:   "The mission of the Aspen Institute is to foster enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values." The institute includes, among its topics of study, Corporate Values, Economics/Finance, Leadership, and Nonprofit/Philanthropy. See their Business and Society Program.

  • Beyond Gray Pinstripes:   "Beyond Grey Pinstripes is a research survey and alternative ranking of business schools that spotlights innovative full-time MBA programs leading the way in the integration of issues concerning social and environmental stewardship in to the curriculum. These schools are preparing students for the reality of tomorrow's markets by equipping them with the social, environmental and economic perspectives required for business success in a competitive and fast changing world." The site also provides a "searchable database of environmental and social impact management coverage in MBA programs at 100 leading business schools around the world. The database includes information on more than 1000 courses, 800 extracurricular activities, 150 institutes and 700 articles from academic journals." It also provides rankings of MBA programs, worldwide, "that are integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research." The University of Washington is not on its list of Participating Schools (though Western Washington University and Washington State University are members). See their Global 100 ranking of MBA programs. See also their Trends and Facts.

  • Business ethics: corporate social responsibility report:   This magazine is published every other month and offers some current and older articles on their homepage. The Foster Business Library does not subscribe to this publication. This magazine offers links on its website to its list of the 100 best corporate citizens; only public companies are included in these listings. They also issue annual Business Ethics Awards recipients.

  • Business for Social Responsibility:   Business for Social Responsibility "is a global organization that helps member companies achieve success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment." It is "a global nonprofit organization that helps member companies achieve commercial success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment. BSR member companies have nearly $2 trillion in combined annual revenues and employ more than six million workers around the world." See this organization's list of Resources, including their Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility. See also their list of Illustrative Members.

  • Caux Round Table:   "The Caux Round Table is a global network of senior business leaders committed to principled business leadership, who believe that business has a crucial role in developing and promoting equitable solutions to key global issues." "In 1994, the CRT published its Principles for Business, which seek to express a worldwide standard for ethical and responsible corporate behavior and is offered as a foundation for dialogue and action by business and leaders worldwide. The Financial Times stated that the Principles are "thought to be the first document of this kind to have attracted influential supporters from Europe, Japan and the United States." See their Principles for Business (English edition).

  • Center for Social Innovation:   Based in the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, this center "works with socially concerned leaders and their organizations to confront difficult challenges. The Center leverages Stanford's knowledge, expertise and networks, bringing community leaders together with our faculty, alumni and students to illuminate and address social problems." See their Publications, including the quarterly Stanford Social Innovation Review, and their articles on Corporate Social Responsibility.

  • CorpWatch:   San Francisco-based CorpWatch claims as its misssion that it "counters corporate-led globalization through education and activism. We work to foster democratic control over corporations by building grassroots globalization--a diverse movement for human rights, labor rights and environmental justice." "For the past five years San Francisco-based CorpWatch has been educating and mobilizing people through the CorpWatch.org website and various campaigns, including the Climate Justice Initiative and the UN and Corporations Project." Their site has a company search engine, news articles, an Issue Library, a company Research Guide, and a long list of Hot Links. For instance, see their Hot Links for Globalization and Environmental Justice.

  • The Global Compact:   "In an address to The World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999, United Nation Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged business leaders to join an international initiative – the Global Compact – that would bring companies together with UN agencies, labour and civil society to support nine principles in the areas of human rights, labour and the environment. The Global Compact’s operational phase was launched at UN Headquarters in New York on 26 July 2000." "Today, hundreds of companies from all regions of the world, international labour and civil society organizations are engaged in the Global Compact." Sustainability is one of the guiding principles of this compact. See their Case Studies for examples of corporate social responsibility at companies such as Volkswagen, BMW, Hewlett-Packard, etc.

  • The Global Reporting Initiative:   "The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was established in late 1997 with the mission of developing globally applicable guidelines for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social performance, initially for corporations and eventually for any business, governmental, or non-governmental organisation (NGO). Convened by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the GRI incorporates the active participation of corporations, NGOs, accountancy organisations, business associations, and other stakeholders from around the world." This organization is based in Amsterdam; its website lacks a search engine. See their 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The document itself is 104 pages long, in Adobe Acrobat PDF form; click here to go direct to the document.

  • Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility:   This institute is based in the United Kingdom. "Established in 1995, AccountAbility is the leading international non-profit institute that brings together members and partners from business, civil society and the public sector from across the world. AccountAbility is dedicated to promoting accountability for sustainable development by the development of innovative and effective accountability tools and standards, most notably the AA1000 Series; undertaking cutting-edge research that explores best practice for practitioners and policy-makers in organisational accountability; promoting accountability competencies across the professions; [and] securing an enabling environment in markets and public policies." See their Research and Resources.

  • Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility:   "For thirty years the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has been a leader of the corporate social responsibility movement. ICCR's membership is an association of 275 faith-based institutional investors, including national denominations, religious communities, pension funds, endowments, hospital corporations, economic development funds and publishing companies. ICCR and its members press companies to be socially and environmentally responsible. Each year ICCR-member religious institutional investors sponsor over 100 shareholder resolutions on major social and environmental issues. The combined portfolio value of ICCR's member organizations is estimated to be $110 billion." See their Companies, Resolutions and Status for 2001-2002, as well as their list of relevant Resources, and, in particular, those concerned with Global Corporate Accountability.

  • One Percent for the Planet:   "1% For The Planet was started in 2001 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of the clothing company Patagonia, Inc., and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. Patagonia has contributed 1percent of its annual sales, or 10 percent of net profits whichever is larger, to grassroots environmental organizations for 15 consecutive years. See their list of Members, by industry.

  • Social Accountability International:   This organization is a "charitable human rights organization dedicated to improving workplaces and communities by developing and implementing socially responsible standards. The first standard to be fully operational is Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000), a workplace standard that covers all key labor rights and certifies compliance through independent, accredited auditors." See their SA8000 Standard (a read-only, eight-page Word document).

  • Social Ventures Network:   "Founded in 1987 by some of the nation's most visionary leaders in socially responsible entrepreneurship and investment, Social Venture Network (SVN) is a nonprofit network committed to building a just and sustainable world through business." Patagonia is not a member though its founder has been a speaker at one of its conferences. This site has a search engine. See its web links. See their 1999 Standards of Corporate Responsibility (a 75-page Adobe Acrobat PDF document).

  • Sustainability Reporting Guidelines:   The Global Reporting Initiative "was established in late 1997 with the mission of developing globally applicable guidelines for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social performance, initially for corporations and eventually for any business, governmental, or non-governmental organisation (NGO). Convened by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the GRI incorporates the active participation of corporations, NGOs, accountancy organisations, business associations, and other stakeholders from around the world." See their Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for 2002.

  • United Nations and Business:   The United Nations' Partners Program is aimed at "building relationships with civil society and business." See their Global Issues on the UN Agenda index, which include the Environment and Social Development.

  • Wikipedia: Corporate Social Responsibility:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia, Wikipedia, can be a good starting point for a brief orientation to a topic. For this topic, Wikipedia offers sections on development and analysis, reporting, critical points of view, the ethical company, other sources, and external links.

  • Working Mother Magazine:   "Working Mother Media includes Working Mother and Executive Female magazines, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), WMM Business Advisory Services, and a conference division that produces the 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress, the Best Companies for Women of Color Conference, and the NAFE Women @ Work: Meaning, Money, and Making Connections National Conference." The magazine maintains annual lists of companies best for working women and for women of color. The site does not include a search engine. See their list of the 100 Best Companies For Working Mothers, List 2002.

  • The World Business Council for Sustainable Development:   "The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a coalition of 160 international companies united by a shared commitment to sustainable development via the three pillars of economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. Our members are drawn from more than 30 countries and 20 major industrial sectors. We also benefit from a Global Network of 40 national and regional business councils and partner organizations involving some 1000 business leaders globally. The WBCSD was formed in January 1995 through a merger between the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) in Geneva and the World Industry Council for the Environment (WICE) in Paris." This organization is based in Geneva. See their long list of Case Studies and their council project on Corporate Social Responsibility.

    Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

    The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.

  • Global, Inc.: an atlas of the multinational corporation.
    This large heavily-illustrated, map-rich paperback covers the foundations of globalization, the history of multinational corporations, global corporations by industry, the impacts of multinational corporations on employment and wages, taxes, technology, capital, culture, environment, and standards, and the governance of multinational corporations.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: G1046 .Q1 .G3 2003.

  • The Blackwell encyclopedic dictionary of business ethics.
    Arranged alphabetically by topic from Accounting Ethics to Worker Safety, with an extensive index at the back of this 700-page book. Each of about 300 topics in business ethics is explained in a page or two, with a bibliography at the end of every topic. Interestingly, this volume in the twelve-volume Blackwell encyclopedia of management is the thickest.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .B455 1995 v. 11

    See Business and Society on pages 48 to 50; Business Associations for Social Responsibility on pages 50 to 51; Corporate Social Performance on pages 154 to 155; Environment and Environmental Ethics on pages 205 to 208; and Social Responsibility on pages 593 to 595.

  • Business: the ultimate resource.
    This 2,200-page single volume is "designed to offer a wide range of insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management" via 2.5 million words of text from 200 contributors, with 700 illustrations and 150 maps, in seven major sections including best practice, a management library, business thinkers and management giants, a business dictionary, a world business almanac, and a guide to business sources.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD38.15 .B878 2002.

    See Corporate Social Responsibility on pages 291 and 292; Social Responsibility of Management, on pages 2115 to 2117; and Environmental Management, on pages 113 and 114.

  • The job seeker's guide to socially responsible companies.
    This older book, published in 1995, provides on page profiles on the 1,000 best companies in America in terms of their socially responsible activities. The book includes employer listings, an industry index, a geographic index and a master index. There were 17 Washington state companies on this list in 1995.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5382.75 .U6 .J36 1995.

  • Business ethics: a reference handbook.
    Over 400 pages of information about business ethics and their application to consumers, advertising, corporations, employees, the environment; also includes information about codes of ethics, a business ethics glossary, and relevant cases, statutes and agencies.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .D54 1998
    (also in Foster Business General Stacks, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .D54 1998)

    See Corporate Social Responsibility on pages 115 to 122 and the chapter on the Environment on pages 267 to 324.

  • Encyclopedia of business ethics and society.
    This five-volume reference work includes 900 essays by scholars, arranged alphabetically by topic, on all aspects of business ethics.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .E53 2008.

    See Corporate Social Responsibility in volume one, on pages 508 to 517.

  • The 100 best companies to work for in America.
    This older book, published in 1993, profiles the best workplaces in America, based on surveys over a ten year period. Companies are ranked on pay and benefits, opportunities, job security, pride in work and company, openness and fairness, and camaraderie and friendliness.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5549.2 .U5 .L38 1993.
    (Also available, in its latest form, online)

    Foster Business Library Books:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

    To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

    If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

    The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

    See books in the Foster Business Library on the subject Social Responsibility of Business, with over 160 titles in the Foster Business Library, including:

    Repeating this search in Summit produced a much longer list of over 700 records.

    See also the new Brookings Institution title on this subject:

    For case studies, see the subject Social Responsibility Of Business -- Case Studies, including:

    See also the annual Research in corporate social performance and policy in the Foster Business Library General Stacks, call number HD60 .R475; the 1998 edition is the most recent in the collection.

    On the environmental side, see books with such subjects as:

    Foster Business Library Corporate Annual Reports:

    The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of several thousand annual reports for hundreds of U.S. and foreign companies. These reports are filed in lateral filing cabinets near the Foster Reference desk under the sign Corporate Annual Reports. Annual reports for companies in an industry can be a valuable source of information about the industry itself. For a list of all the companies in the collection, see the library's Corporate Annual Reports Collection. For an index to corporate annual reports in the collection by industry sector, see the Annual Reports Industry Sector Index. For an index to companies in the collection with headquarters outside the U.S., see Corporate Annual Reports Headquarters Index.

    Some companies detail their activities in the area of social and environmental responsibility in their annual reports--or issue separate annual reports on those topics.

    Foster Business Library Periodicals:

    Foster Business Library Articles:

    Articles in academic journals, magazines, trade periodicals, and newspapers are one of the best sources for any kind of research. While the Foster Business Library offers a large periodicals print collection, comprising over 800 titles, articles are most easily accessed online, 24/7, in such fulltext article databases as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases are available in the library or from off-campus, and provide access to over 10,000 periodicals and millions of articles.

    Library access to most ProQuest databases will terminate at the end of spring quarter 2008, except for ProQuest NewsStand, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Historical New York Times, and the Historical Wall Street Journal. For more about this change, see UW Libraries Providing New Databases. After this change, comprehensive article searches should be performed in EBSCO Business Source Premier, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest NewsStand. Also, after this change, links to the articles below will be broken.

    ProQuest Databases:

    This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide.

    Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article.

    A search in this database for SUB(Social Responsibility) retrieved over 27,000 articles, including over 3,000 articles in scholarly journals, over 2,000 magazine articles, over 5,000 articles in trade and industry publications, and 16,000 newspaper articles.

    This large article set can be reduced by adding subject headings, such as SUB(Social Responsibility) and SUB(Corporate Responsibility), producing just over 1,000 articles, or SUB(Social Responsibility) and SUB(Corporate Responsibility), producing just over 1,000 articles, or SUB(Social Responsibility) and SUB(Case Studies), producing just over 300 articles.

    Examples of such articles include:

    Help:
    6 January 2003; updated 29 May 2008.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu