Social Responsibility, Business & Transformation

Hello!

Jessica here.

I know you are all busy with your Gaia Gathering planning, and I promise I'll be updating about that soon ;) but, I wanted to take a moment and share my thoughts about the ever-growing revolutionary connection between business and social change, because it really inspires me and we are all part of it.

We’re living in such an amazing time. We’re seeing conscious capitalism and the ethics of socially responsible business truly take root in our society. One company that reminds me of this is Microsoft and it’s recent i’m initiative, as in i'm making a difference.

They’re a sponsor of Gaia, so there's a good chance know about them already. It’s simple, they donate money when you use your Windows Live Messenger to talk to your friends. All you have to do is sign-up, pick a cause and chat! We get to be altruistic just by talking online, adding a little more meaning to daily activities and giving us more reason to connect to each other in a meaningful way and nourish our deep human desire to contribute to others.

I love that. I love how they’ve created a tool that can help us remember our highest values, even when we are doing something mundane.

The i'm campaign works in partnership with a beautiful variety of inspiring organizations. You pick the cause you believe in, and the choices are fantastic. You can help refugee children with NineMillion.org, protect the Earth and it creatures with the Sierra Club and the Humane Society or aid in disaster relief with the Red Cross. Once you register and choose your cause, Microsoft donates a portion of their ad revenue.

This campaign is another example of conscious behavior sneaking into the marketplace. We all know it’s advantageous for Microsoft to care about their bottom line, but it’s also advantageous for them to care about the world. Clearly, they know it too. Businesses like Microsoft are creating socially responsible initiatives and beginning to use their economic power and cultural reach to give back to the world. Of course, there are always ways to improve, but nonetheless, we’re seeing more and more of these projects from mainstream companies and I find that to be deeply encouraging.

To me, it indicates that our cultural values have shifted enough that they are effecting the marketplace. People are asking more of business, including the people within the businesses themselves.

Corporations are tapping into the growing cultural value of social responsibility and then fostering projects that can make a difference, consumers and other companies take a cue, participating in more positive projects. It becomes an upward spiral. These kinds of campaigns show business is changing, but more importantly, they show society and culture are changing. And, that's us. WE are changing.

I must say, it leaves me with quite an optimistic feeling, though I am realist and understand there is always more to be done. I'm thrilled to see this upward trend and imagine where this kind of thinking and doing can take us into the future...