Corporations and the Public Interest

In this era of rampant corporate greed, abuse of power, and dwindling governmental regulations of corporate practices, Steven Lydenberg shows how government can use the marketplace itself to make corporations act more responsibly.

Detailing a comprehensive plan for disclosure, analysis, and debate by corporations, investors, consumers, and government, Lydenberg argues that we can focus corporations on creating real long-term wealth for all instead of plundering natural resources, dumping costs on society, and diverting assets to exorbitant executive payouts and other ethically questionable uses. Most importantly, he describes practical ways of rewarding those companies that succeed in creating long-term wealth for society, and punishing those that fail.Preface
Introduction

PART ONE: In Whose Interest? The Markets, Government, and the Public
1 The Current Dilemma
2 What Is Long-Term Wealth?
Defining Long-Term Wealth
Five Examples of Long-Term WealthCreation
Encouraging and Assessing Wealth Creation
Relative Roles of Government and the Marketplace
3 Guiding the Corporation
The Business Case
Values-Driven Models
Systems of Measurement and Rewards

PART TWO: Transforming the Marketplace
4 The First Step: Data and Disclosure
How Disclosure Has Grown Since the 1970s
International Standards for Disclosure
Nationally Mandated Disclosure
Disaggregated Data
Voluntary Individualized Company Disclosure
5 The Second Step: Analysis and Debate
Processing and Rating the Data
Demystiying and Debating the Data
6 The Last Step: Consequences in the Marketplace
Targeted Engagement
Asset Reallocation
Public Discourse
7 Government's Role and the Road Ahead
Notes
Index
About the Author"Steve Lydenberg is a seasoned pro in the Corporate Social Responsibility information business, and one of the wisest minds out there. There is a lifetime of wisdom in this gem of a book."
—Marjorie Kelly, co-founder and editor, Business Ethics magazine, and author of The Divine Right of CapitalSteven Lydenberg has spent thirty years in the social investment field. For eleven years, he was Director of Research with KLD Research & Analytics. He is currently Chief Investment Officer for Domini Social Investments LLC. He is the coauthor of Investing for Good: Making Money While Being Socially Responsible and Rating America’s Corporate Conscience: A Provocative Guide to the Companies Behind the Products You Buy Every Day, and was co-editor of The Social Investment Almanac: A Comprehensive Guide to Socially Responsible Investing.