Most Active Companies on SocialYell.com - socially responsible and sustainable companies. Find corporate social responsibility information, news, and ratings on SocialYell.com and join the conversation/active-companies/rss.xml© 2010 SocialYell.com All Rights Reserved. SocialYell is a Trademark2/10/2012 6:56:51 AM606/17/2009 6:00:38 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/ToyotaToyota is proof that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can produce social and financial benefits simultaneously. While many companies view CSR initiatives as necessary and costly evils, Toyota realized that investing in fuel efficient vehicles would eventually provide a significant return. In the 1990s, the Japanese automaker focused on fuel efficiency and compact cars, while competitors focused on powerful engines and other features that attracted the market then. Toyota's commitment to producing more economical, efficient vehicles and hybrids has paid off as the company recently surpassed General Motors as the world's largest automaker. Consumers now opt for fuel efficient vehicles, mostly because of rising gas prices. The powerhouse vehicles so famous a decade ago are quickly losing popularity, now labeled as gas guzzlers. Toyota serves as an example of CSR done correctly. It produces vehicles that do not cause as much air pollution or consume as much gasoline as competitors. Due to notoriously high gas prices and global warming concerns, consumers now turn to Toyota. This new popularity has allowed Toyota to survive the economic recession, while General Motors and Chrysler are now bankrupt. It has benefited financially while reducing air pollution and oil consumption. Toyota's initiatives make it a social responsibility leader.corporate social responsibilityfuel efficiencyair pollutionhybridshttp://SocialYell.com/Toyota6/11/2009 6:12:34 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/WalmartI have heard a lot of negative talk about Wal-Mart's terrible treatment of employees with low wages, not providing sufficient healthcare, and supporting inhumane treatment of factory workers. What I have been hearing recently, however, is that Wal-Mart is rebranding itself as a sustainability leader - pushing its suppliers to go green or get cut, pledging to divert its waste from landfills, reducing plastic bag waste by 1/3, and doubling the efficiency of its trucking fleet with biodiesels and hybrid drivetrains. Do people on here know if their efforts are enough? sustainabilitygreenhttp://SocialYell.com/Walmart12/15/2008 4:34:42 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/AppleThis is a discussion that concerns all electronics manufacturers - especially cell phone makers. Coltan is an ore that is contains tantalum, a metal that is used in cell phones and electronics. It is commonly mined in Congo and often under terrible conditions. Much like blood diamonds, demand for this mineral is causing human exploitation and fueling conflict in war-torn areas. There are several articles that discuss this. Here is one I found to be balanced and informative: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2008/gb20081117_671426.htm To Apple's credit, they address the issue here: http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/change.html But, the demand, not just the direct purchase, makes this mineral valuable. The value and high price makes "conflict coltan" more profitable and, therefore, ensures that these human rights violations will continue and, possibly, increase.ipodiphoneCongohttp://SocialYell.com/Apple6/30/2009 2:42:16 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/General-MotorsThe new Chevy Volt is a new line of hybrid they just came out with! They are different from allthe ones int eh past becasuse they are a Series hybrid, which means power is fed directly to the motor, not the battery. It can be plugged into a household electric socket and charged fully within about six hours. Completely charged it can drive roughly 40 miles on electricity alone. According to GM, more than 75 percent of Americans live within 20 miles of where they work, meaning the Volt would get them to the office and back on 100% electricity with no direct emissions.This is great and will hopfully encourage more people to purcahse nad use hybrids! If the battery does run down, the 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gas engine acts as a generator to charge the battery and provides enough power to for up to an additional 600 miles. This is great and that is a such a long distance the amount you would save on gas is rediculous! The second significant aspect is that the gasoline-driven generator engine can easily be replaced with an engine that runs on E85, diesel, bio-diesel, pure ethanol or even a hydrogen fuel cell. People would then be able to chose their engine based on fuel availability and prices in their region. Another great and innovative option that will really appeal to the consumer where ever they are. I think this is best hybrid to date and hopfully this is just the beginning of better and greener hybrids/ electric cars to come! I guess its better late than never!hybridcorporate social responsibilityfuel efficiencyair pollutionhttp://SocialYell.com/General-Motors7/16/2009 5:44:35 AMhttp://SocialYell.com/ZipcarZipcar is a car sharing company, allowing members to rent automobiles by hour or day. Zipcar currently holds nearly half the world's car sharing market, sharing 6,000 vehicles between 275,000 customers (called "Zipsters"). Each shared car takes 12 owned car off the road, and saves Zipsters $500 a month in ownership costs. According to Zipcar.com: "After joining Zipcar, 90% of our members drove 5,500 miles or less per year. That adds up to more than 32 million gallons of crude oil left in the ground—or 219 gallons saved per Zipster." car sharingautomobileshttp://SocialYell.com/Zipcar6/10/2009 6:34:22 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/The-Home-DepotThe Home Depot is known as a “home improvement specialty retailer” with locations in every state, including DC, Puerto Rico, China, Virgin Islands, Canada and Mexico. They sell appliances, flooring, building materials, doors, windows, lighting, kitchen and bathroom counters and cabinets, paint, tools and outdoor materials. Everybody talks about wanting to help the environment, which includes preserving the forests. We try to use recycled paper and products, but what do we do when we need to build or construct something out of wood? At the Home Depot, the lumber sold is from forests managed in such a way that ensure its protection, along with the protection of its inhabitants. It takes almost 64 trees to create all the wood products found in the typical kitchen. That’s a lot of trees considering every household has a kitchen, so why wouldn’t someone want to buy FSC certified lumber, and make that eco-friendly effort. The Home Depot is also the place for all your energy saving needs with an extensive collection of solar and energy efficient products which help save money on utility bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Home Depot also supplies paint that reduces emissions and improves air quality for earth but especially for your home and family. Freshaire Choice paint, only available at the Home Depot, is the first and only paint tinted paint to contain no Volatile Organic Compounds, which are harsh chemicals in paint that give it that paint smell. Although building or remodeling may not be a very environmentally sound activity, society will continue to build houses, make wood kitchen cabinets, paint walls and use electricity, so why not be as eco-friendly as possible. The Home Depot is an ideal place to go for those eco-friendly products. energyconstructionlumberhttp://SocialYell.com/The-Home-Depot6/19/2009 10:24:11 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/GEOn its website, General Electric (GE) boasts of "ecomagination," a term it coined approximately four years ago to describe its efforts to reduce its environmental impact and create green collar jobs. GE claims that its green initiatives also make it more profitable and allow it to expand. In turn, its high profit margins allow it to invest more heavily in new technologies that continue benefiting the environment. In its 2008 Ecomagination Report, GE promised to increase its overall investment in research and development to $1.5 billion by the end of 2010. The company is very outspoken about its environmental activism and even advertised its green initiative at the 2009 Super Bowl. Despite its claims, GE critics are quick to challenge its efforts and often label it as a greenwasher. GE ranks sixth on the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) list of most toxic companies, even though it launched the ecomagination initiative in 2005. It also continues to generate millions of pounds of waste. Clearly, GE is not the lean, green machine that it claims to be. Its efforts to become more environmentally-friendly are good, but it needs to produce better results. Until then, we cannot classify GE as a socially responsible company.greenwashingecomaginationresearch and developmentgreen collar jobshttp://SocialYell.com/GE7/30/2009 6:04:20 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/GoogleGoogle uses its astronomical profits from web-based advertising to provide myriad online services for absolutely no cost to web-surfers: mail, browser, online file sharing, Paypal, media sharing, maps with street-view, news, and the list goes on. Check out Google Labs and you see hundreds of other projects they worked on for internet users that never made it mainstream. Besides being the "best company to work for" they have set a very noble goal for themselves: collect and streamline all the world's data. Their technology is fresh, and new, so the security for it isn't perfect. They've recently had (overpublicized) data security scares with their gmail service, but you can bet that kinks will be worked out. They hire the best and brightest (relentless recruitment), and they are determined to make their web-based operating system an attractive alternative to Windows and Mac. Setbacks in the beginning are to be expected, and they will undoubtedly make the email as secure as possible by the time they try to get everyone to move on to a system that attaches all your personal data directly to the internet. internetinformationweb-basedhttp://SocialYell.com/Google6/3/2009 10:58:10 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/Project-Better-PlaceShai Agassi, the founder of Project Better Place, has conceived of a model where communities can quickly make the transition from combustion engine cars to fully electric automobiles that have absolutely no detrimental effect on the environment. He has teamed up with Renault-Nissan to supply electric cars that will run on electric grids powered by solar and wind. To solve the problem of range anxiety he plans to build a network of battery switching stations and battery recharging meters. So far, Israel, Denmark, California, Australia, Hawaii, and Ontario have signed up to be beta users of the network, and will soon reap the benefits of a completely zero emissions transportation network. sustainabilityelectric carhttp://SocialYell.com/Project-Better-Place7/1/2009 6:06:20 AMhttp://SocialYell.com/Tesla-MotorsElon Musk, Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning expected the Big Three to use their financial capital and market position to advance electric cars in the United States. When it became obvious they weren't about to take charge these three got together and formed a business plan to do just that. Believing the best entry point in the all-electric car market would be with a top-of-the-line, flashy, expensive model they started working on the Roadster - a $100,000 car they compare to Porsches and Ferraris. In the coming years Tesla plans on rolling out a $50,000 sedan and $30,000 electric car for the average consumer. greenelectric carshttp://SocialYell.com/Tesla-Motors7/13/2009 9:08:53 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/Amazon-comAmazon.com is the largest online retailer in the United States by a long shot, and with their massive scale of distribution any efficiency changes they make have considerable ripple effect. They have documented numerous "Earth Kaizens," or changes for good, in their business practices on their website: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=578084 Amazon also catalogs their best green products on www.amazon.com/green to make it easier to pick out the most eco-friendly products. They are a massive electronics distributor, and have recently lowered the price of their Kindle (an electronic book) to $299 to capture a larger market of bookworms and advance paperless literature. technologyonline retaildistributiondigitalhttp://SocialYell.com/Amazon-com7/15/2009 5:42:00 AMhttp://SocialYell.com/UPSThe United Parcel Service is the world's largest package delivery company - they deliver 15 million packages a day to over 6 million customers worldwide. Of their 94,500 vehicles in operation, approximately 250 are hybrids and 1,100 are run by compressed natural gas. The other 90,000 plus are massive producers of tailpipe emissions, emitting an undocumented amount (I'm sure in the billions of tons) of CO2 and SO2. And for some reason the EPA gave them a Clean Air Excellence Award for their alternative fuel program... what does this award even mean when they received a 39 out of 100 by the Climate Counts Group for their efforts to reduce harmful environmental impact. Is 39 out of 100 an excellent score in any measure? This award must be a pat on the back for getting off the couch and doing *something*, metaphorically speaking. This entire company's business model has been based on driving high-polluting trucks around the country (and now world) since its inception in 1907. shippingpackage deliverytruckinghttp://SocialYell.com/UPS12/8/2008 11:58:14 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/Whole-Foods-MarketWhole Foods Market is a leader in organic and natural food and strives to provide the highest quality products while sticking to their mission of "Whole Foods- Whole People- Whole Planet." They are large supporters of organic farming and sustainable agriculture and try to recycle and reduce waste as much as they can.foodorganicnaturalsustainable agriculturegrocerieshttp://SocialYell.com/Whole-Foods-Market4/15/2009 1:21:04 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/TimberlandThe earth keepers shoe is a good start to sustainability. It isn't like TOMS, where the mission is so focused on social/environmental good, but for a popular brand, Timberland is doing a pretty good job. Their shoes have an ingredient list so consumers can be informed about what goes into the product. Plus, the boots do seem to last forever, so that is pretty good for the environment. shoesbootsrecycled materialshttp://SocialYell.com/Timberland12/9/2008 5:22:04 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/StarbucksI see college students continue to invest in coffee from Starbucks and other cafes. It makes me wonder, where is all this money coming from if our economy is in decline? Should our money go to more important causes rather than a coffee addiction?Money Wastehttp://SocialYell.com/Starbucks7/16/2009 4:27:40 AMhttp://SocialYell.com/Neuton-MowersNeuton Mowers is the largest seller of battery-powered lawnmowers in the world. They have established a strong reputation for producing reliable, simple, rechargable battery-powered mowers and lawn equipment. As part of their "Clean Air Initiative," they subsidize the purchase of their electric mowers in exchange for gas mowers. There is absolutely no pollution for the end user, and if your electricity provider uses reusable energy mowing your lawn will be pollution-free. environmentgreenlawnmowershttp://SocialYell.com/Neuton-Mowers7/24/2009 5:29:49 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/Benjamin-Moore-PaintsBenjamin Moore Paints has been setting the bar in removing harmful chemicals from and the eco-friendliness of its products for decades. The company removed lead from its formulas over a decade before the EPA mandated it, and stopped using mercury more than two decades before the EPA banned mercury in paints. Today, long after lead and mercury have been removed from paint products many kinds still contain large quantities of VOCs (volatile organic compounds). All Benjamin Moore Paints are either low-VOC or no-VOC, and contain levels far below levels federal regulations allow. One of Benjamin Moore's leading paint lines is the Aura, which contains 50 g per liter of VOCs, while federal regulations allow for up to 250 grams for flat and 380 grams for non-flat paint. Benjanin Moore's tinting uses waterborne colorants which add no additional VOCs; on the other hand, most other companies' low-VOC paints add an additional level of low-VOC chemicals with the tint. greeneco-friendlypainthttp://SocialYell.com/Benjamin-Moore-Paints5/20/2010 8:17:51 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/BPenergyOilGashttp://SocialYell.com/BP7/9/2009 1:55:14 PMhttp://SocialYell.com/American-AirlinesHave a problem with American Airlines? Well, the ticketing representatives at any of the general phone numbers can't help you. AND they don't have a phone number for customer service. They tell you "oh, Customer Service deals with that", but the joke is on you - you can't call Customer Service. Don't worry, though, you can fax them. Seriously, that's how you have to get in touch with them. Crazy. travelairlinehttp://SocialYell.com/American-Airlines7/22/2009 6:28:23 AMhttp://SocialYell.com/FedExFederal Express is a logistics services company that provides businesses and consumers with package and information delivery services through its global network of complementary, integrated operating companies. Federal Express currently employees nearly 300,000 people worldwide, and is consistently rated one of the best 100 companies to work for by Forbes. FedEx prides itself on being an industry leader in engaging in sustainable business practices; through its philanthropic activities and constant efforts to reduce its environmental impact. By optimizing delivery air routes, replacing aircraft with smaller and more efficient models, using recycled packaging, retrofitting facilities with superefficient lighting systems, and utilizing the largest fleet of hybrid trucks in North America, FedEx has established itself one of the hardest pushing green movers in the country.environmentsustainableshippingpackage deliverycourierhttp://SocialYell.com/FedEx