Stories from Raz Godelnik
Energy
The Paris Agreement Is Failing. This Is How We Can Make It Work.
A couple of weeks ago Danny Kennedy presented on GreenBiz the Speedwell Call to Action, an effort to involve more entrepreneurs, […]
August 16, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
Why a Dashboard With Two Gauges Should Replace 80-Page CSR Reports
Going through the 84 pages of “Future at Heart”, Target’s 2018 corporate responsibility report (CSR), I had hard time understanding […]
August 2, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
It's Time to Move Away From Sustainability-As-Usual
This has been a weird summer so far, with deadly heat waves and other extreme weather events taking place around […]
July 24, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
Behavior Change Lessons from National Geographic’s Planet or Plastic? Campaign
I was very happy to hear about the June issue of National Geographic on plastics, which “looks in depth at […]
June 18, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
Jeff Bezos' Sustainability Catch-22
Jeff Bezos had an interesting tweet for Earth Day: Dog sledding above the Arctic Circle in Norway. Jim Lovell says […]
April 30, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
Beyond the BlackRock CEO Letter: Why We Need Green Barbarians At the Gate
To what extent are CEOs worried about sustainability issues? According to the latest PwC’s 21st CEO Survey, the answer in […]
January 31, 2018
Corporate Responsibility
How Harvey Weinstein Made Me Optimistic About Sustainability
This Monday, at the end of my Sustainable Business Models class, one of my students asked me if I think things […]
November 24, 2017
Corporate Responsibility
Sustainable Innovation: 5 Questions Every Company Should Ask Itself
In his book ‘The Way to Design,” Steve Vassalo quotes John Arnold, who taught a course at Stanford in the […]
September 25, 2017
Finance
What is the Value of the Sharing Economy? The Case of Lyft
A couple of weeks ago I gave a Masterclass on designing resilient organizations at the OuiShare Fest in Paris. After […]
August 2, 2017
Finance
Gett Acquires Juno: 5 Lessons For the Sharing Economy
Last week Gett, a Tel Aviv-based ride-hailing company, announced it was buying Juno for $200 million. As reported by Johana Bhuiyan of Recode, […]
May 4, 2017
Finance
Can Lyft Take Advantage of Uber's Misdeeds? Not As A 'Better Boyfriend'
Lyft doesn’t want to be a nice guy anymore. As Uber seems to be dealing with a new crisis every […]
March 31, 2017
Corporate Responsibility
Reframing Corporate Responsibility: The New Rules for the Trump Era
What makes a responsible company? How you define it? And how you differentiate a responsible company from an irresponsible one? […]
February 3, 2017
Finance
How Arrogance Pushed Uber Out of San Francisco
On Wednesday I shared here my analysis of Uber’s business model, making the case why it can explain the company’s […]
December 23, 2016
Finance
Why Uber Won't Stop Testing Autonomous Cars in San Francisco
Uber started testing the use of autonomous cars in San Francisco last week, following earlier tests that began in September in Pittsburgh. […]
December 21, 2016
Finance
Why Being Bold is Not Enough When it Comes to Sustainability
Four years ago I attended the 20th annual BSR conference in New York, which convened just before Hurricane Sandy. The conference theme […]
November 28, 2016
Finance
Can the Juno Business Model Win Over the Uber Model?
There’s a new kid on the ride-hailing block, one that promises to take on Uber and Lyft with a simple […]
October 21, 2016
Finance
Could Startups Born Out of the #AirbnbWhileBlack Outcry Succeed?
Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, wrote an op-ed piece […]
August 24, 2016
Corporate Responsibility
Can CEOs Really Make Companies More Sustainable?
Last month GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra delivered a commencement address at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. GM’s […]
July 27, 2016
Corporate Responsibility
A New Territory for Airbnb: Corporate Responsibility
As a company operating in almost every country around the world, it seemed as if there were no uncharted territories […]
June 24, 2016
Voices for Change
Should We Take Millennials' 'Rejection' of Capitalism Seriously?
Millennials keep making headlines. After the media was trying to figure out why so many of them support (or even […]
May 11, 2016
Finance
Will Uber and Lyft Make Transportation More Sustainable?
A couple of weeks ago, I was leaving a friend’s house in Park Slope, Brooklyn, late at night. The minute […]
April 13, 2016
Corporate Responsibility
Can Millennials Help Corporations Make a Positive Impact on Society?
HR Magazine reported last month on a study carried out by culture consultancy Kin&Co, revealing that “for younger employees, especially […]
March 24, 2016
Corporate Responsibility
New York Uber Drivers Rage Against the Machine
“What makes the Uber experience truly great are the people behind the wheel,” Uber writes on its website. “Our partners […]
February 6, 2016
Finance
5 Lessons My Students Taught Me About the Sharing Economy
As the end of the year quickly approaches, I started pondering what I’ve learned this year about the sharing economy. […]
December 22, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Black Friday Post Mortem: Business as Usual or End of Capitalism?
Black Friday is over. Cyber Monday is over. Even Small Business Saturday is behind us. It’s time to take a […]
December 4, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Did Airbnb Win or Lose On Prop F?
Last Tuesday was an election day in the U.S. This is of course off-election year, and therefore this day could […]
November 10, 2015
Finance
Why Startups Are Not Interested in Sustainability
Last week I attended the New York City Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator’s demo day, where the accelerator’s latest cohort of startups […]
October 12, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Is the Sharing Economy Getting the Culture Wrong?
In 2012 Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky asked Peter Thiel, who invested in the company, for the single most […]
September 15, 2015
Finance
What Malcolm Gladwell Misses with Millennials, Trust and the Sharing Economy
Last month in a keynote speech, Malcolm Gladwell presented an interesting paradox: Why are levels of trust among Millennials at all […]
August 21, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Will Amazon Dash Buttons Kill Sustainable Consumption?
Amazon announced earlier this week that its Dash buttons are available now for all of its Amazon Prime members. For […]
July 31, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Hillary Clinton vs. the Sharing Economy?
On Monday, while the world was waiting for a word from Geneva, where the negotiators were about to announce on […]
July 17, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Freedom with Benefits: Uber's Drivers as Employees
You probably won’t recognize the name Barbara Ann Berwick, but the self-employed investor and former phone-sex entrepreneur could become a key […]
June 29, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Trapped by Success: Thoughts on Sustainability in Business Following SB'15 San Diego
Few weeks ago “Mad Men” ended with Don Draper’s “om” moment followed by a 1971 Coca Cola jingle, “I’d Like […]
June 5, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
New Report Offers Advice on Selling Sustainability, But Is it Right?
Why is selling sustainability so difficult? After all “sustainable products, services and behaviors are the future. They are better for […]
May 22, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
Will Lyft Have Its Avis Moment?
The ridesharing market is probably not a winner-takes-it-all market, but can Lyft, who is no. 2 in the U.S. market, […]
May 8, 2015
Finance
Is the Public Etsy Still Part of the Sharing Economy?
Etsy’s IPO took Wall Street by storm last week. The conversation was peppered with questions about whether or not a company that […]
April 24, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
The Unsustainability of Extended Payment Terms
According to the New York Times, the major multinationals behind some of our favorite foods — like Mondelez, Mars, Kellogg, […]
April 9, 2015
Corporate Responsibility
McDonald's Needs More Than a Pay Raise to Win Over Millennials
You’ve probably heard the good news, and if you didn’t let me repeat it: McDonald’s will raise wages by more […]
April 3, 2015
Finance
Challenge for the Sharing Economy: Become Better Middlemen
The discussion around the sharing economy seems to be narrowing these days, mainly to news related to a few large […]
March 13, 2015
Finance
Is the 'Uberization' of the Economy Sustainable?
Although it’s probably too early to offer candidates for Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year, I’d like to suggest uberization as […]
February 20, 2015
Finance
My 2014 Sustainability Moment of Optimism
Looking backwards at 2014 I can find plenty of events that made me more optimistic. At the same time I […]
December 31, 2014
Finance
Why Uber is Not Part of the Sharing Economy
Last week Uber raised $1.2 billion in its latest round of funding, bringing the company’s value to about $40 billion. The […]
December 12, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
A Student Challenge Suggests Millennials Could Save Us from Black Friday
As retailers debate whether to jumpstart holiday shopping by opening on Thanksgiving, 44 of my students have a new perspective […]
November 28, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
The Value of Bike Sharing: Looking Beyond Carbon Emissions
While the sharing economy fan base continues to expand, questions rise about the true economic and social impacts of sharing. Interestingly, one part that is […]
September 2, 2014
Energy
4 Lessons from Burger King's Decision to Stop Serving Low-Calorie Fries
Last week Burger King had some news for us: The fast food chain announced it will stop serving Satisfries, its […]
August 18, 2014
Finance
Want Better Stock Returns? Invest in Employee Satisfaction
How much is a happy employee really worth? I bet many companies still ask themselves this question, wondering what the […]
August 6, 2014
Finance
Biomimicry Lessons for Business
How do we create a better future? How do we redesign our economic system to be more sustainable? Exploring these […]
July 30, 2014
Finance
More Millennials Are Living With Their Parents: Is It Hurting the Economy?
A growing number of millennials are living with their parents. This is one of the findings of a Pew survey […]
July 21, 2014
Finance
Is Uber Exploitative? And What Does It Say About the Sharing Economy?
Sometimes it looks like Uber has become the world’s favorite punching bag, from taxi drivers across Europe complaining that Uber […]
July 14, 2014
Finance
Is Walgreens a Sustainable Company Given Its New Tax Avoidance Strategy?
I consider myself a regular customer at Walgreens — I shop there at least once or twice a week. For some reason […]
July 7, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Report Shows the Benefits of Cradle to Cradle Certification, But Is It Enough?
When “Cradle to Cradle” was published in 2002, it generated great hopes that it could lead to a more sustainable future. […]
June 27, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Why Tim Cook's Leadership Won't Lead Apple to the Next Phase of CSR
Three years after taking over the leadership of Apple, Tim Cook is still struggling to make his own mark in […]
June 20, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Finding a Narrative: 'Sustainability' Doesn’t Mean Anything Real to Consumers
Last week at the Sustainable Brands conference in San Diego, gDiapers CEO, Jason Graham-Nye said: “I think sustainability is like […]
June 11, 2014
Finance
Is it Time to Stop Calling Uber a Disruptive Innovation?
If I ask you to describe Uber — the ride-sharing service — in one word, what would it be? Probably words like […]
June 4, 2014
Sponsored
Building Shared Value
Can Shared Value Successfully Connect 'Davos Men' with the 'Square People'?
Earlier this month Thomas Friedman wrote on the New York Times about two very different groups trying to shape the […]
May 27, 2014
Sponsored
Sustainably Attired
How to Get Consumers to Walk the Sustainability Talk When it Comes to Fashion
Marshall McLuhan famously said: “There are no passengers on spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” While it can be applied to every sustainable […]
May 13, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Is H&M Serious About Making Fashion Sustainable?
A couple of weeks ago, H&M released its 2013 sustainability report. At the beginning of the report, CEO Karl-Johan Persson wrote […]
May 2, 2014
Sponsored
Sustainably Attired
Can Fast Fashion Really be Sustainable?
Last Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Bangladesh’s tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, where 1,129 garment workers were killed. “If a positive can […]
April 29, 2014
Finance
The Link Between Walmart, Food Stamps and CSR
In Jacob Kornbluth’s film “Inequality for All,” entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer says: “The most pro-business thing you can […]
April 22, 2014
Sponsored
Mobile Innovation
Code for America Shows How Empathy and Technology Can Improve Government
Read more in this series “We can’t do without government, but we do need it to be more effective,” Jennifer Pahlka, the […]
April 4, 2014
Technology
Partnership Between GE and Quirky Presents a 'Truly Brilliant' Air Conditioner
Summer seems so far away, especially if you live in freezing New York like I do, but we’ll get there […]
March 31, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Buying Smartphones for Longevity: Are Manufacturers (and Consumers) Ready?
Here’s a quick question: What’s your smartphone upgrade cycle? Or in other words, what’s the frequency with which you replace […]
March 25, 2014
Energy
New Gallup Survey Shows Americans are Ambivalent About Climate Change
Earlier this month, the news was filled with stories about recent studies that showed the growing, and often devastating, impacts […]
March 18, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
CSR Lessons From Mobile Industry's 'Kill Switch' Opposition
You love your cell phone and can’t spend a minute without it, right? If the answer is yes, here are […]
March 11, 2014
Energy
Will the New 'Food Porn Index' Get People to Upload More Photos of Healthy Food?
Are you into food porn? Well, you don’t have to admit right here right now, but given that there are […]
February 24, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
The Value of a Free Ride On Public Transit? Not Much, According to New Study
While the eyes of most of the world are on the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, some places are actually more […]
February 17, 2014
Energy
Redefining Fresh? Subway Removes a Chemical From Its Bread After Public Outcry
Last week one of the largest fast food companies decided to remove a chemical from its food after a public […]
February 10, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
Should We Applaud PepsiCo for Replacing "Natural" with "Simply" in Its Products?
If you’re a fan, just like me, of Natural Quaker Granola you might be surprised to find that your beloved […]
January 31, 2014
Finance
Ceres and UN Call for $1 Trillion in Clean Energy Investments by 2030 – Is It Feasible?
Sometimes all you need is just the right framework to keep moving forward and reach your goals. This might also […]
January 24, 2014
Technology
Google Buys Nest – But Sustainable Design Not a Factor
Earlier this week Google announced its latest acquisition – Nest, which designs and manufactures smart devices like thermostats and smoke […]
January 17, 2014
Corporate Responsibility
4 Lessons in Sustainable Business from Nike's New Waterless Dye Technology
Today’s story is about Nike’s latest innovation – ColorDry technology which eliminating the use of water and process chemicals from […]
December 31, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
5 Reasons to Be Optimistic about Sustainability in 2014
This is the time of the year when you see endless summaries of 2013. The ones about sustainability can usually be […]
December 25, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Drones or Babies? Amazon and Unilever Offer Competing Future Narratives
A couple of weeks ago two major companies presented us with their vision for the future. Unilever launched Project Sunlight, […]
December 20, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Interview: Shannon Schuyler on PwC's Best Employee Engagement Program, Project Belize
Two months ago I wrote about IBM’s triple-benefit employee engagement programs. I thought it would be difficult to find a […]
December 16, 2013
Voices for Change
Microsoft's Stress-Detecting Bra Attempts to Curb Emotional Eating
You might think that the most interesting news coming from Microsoft these days is about who will be the next […]
December 12, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
4 Sustainability Lessons from Planet Money's T-shirt
Three years ago Adam Davidson, Planet Money’s co-founder, had an idea: let’s make a T-shirt. His idea wasn’t to diversify […]
December 11, 2013
Technology
Why Sustainable MBAs Should Work for ExxonMobil and JP Morgan
MBA students want to work for responsible companies. According to Net Impact’s 2013 Business as UNusual report, 67 percent of […]
December 6, 2013
Finance
Forget Sustainable Consumption. Focus on Sustainable Citizenship
On Sunday, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to limit executives’ pay to no more than 12 times the lowest-paid workers in […]
November 26, 2013
Finance
Environment, Society & Governance – Value Rises, but the Language is Still Lacking
Earlier this week Jo Confino talked at the Sustainable Brands conference about the need to develop a new narrative for […]
November 22, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Black Friday: News Articles about Early Openings Miss the Point
Some of you are probably already getting ready for Thanksgiving, reviewing Melissa Clark’s recipe for simple roast turkey, while others […]
November 20, 2013
Book Review: Jonathon Porritt Sends Us Postcards from 2050
Last month I mentioned the challenge we have envisioning what a more sustainable world looks like. While many have tried to […]
November 15, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Sustainability Needs a Broccoli-Style Extreme Makeover
Last weekend Michael Moss wrote in the New York Times’ Sunday Magazine about a challenge he made to ad agency […]
November 8, 2013
Finance
Four Lessons from BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Survey
Just in time for the BSR conference running this week in San Francisco, BSR and GlobeScan published their fifth annual State of […]
November 6, 2013
5 Reasons Why Johnson & Johnson's Tumblr Recycling Campaign is Likely to Fail
Houston we have a problem: while 7 out of 10 Americans say they always or almost always recycle, only 1 […]
November 1, 2013
Finance
The Future of Employee Engagement: IBM's Triple-Benefit Programs
Currently, I am working with a group of MBA students on developing an employee engagement strategy focusing on sustainability for […]
October 25, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Toys "R" Us Presents: An Unsustainable Toy Story for the Holiday Season
Nathan Shedroff, the Chair of the MBA in Design Strategy at California College of the Arts explains that one of […]
October 23, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Sustainable Business Leaders Call on Obama to Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline
Last August, Andrew Winston wrote a piece in The Guardian about the strategies American companies need to adopt in order to […]
October 18, 2013
Energy
Would 69% of Americans Turn Down a Job Due to a Company's Poor Reputation?
Let’s say you are looking for a new job. You apply for a position that seems like a good fit […]
October 14, 2013
Voices for Change
What Will Get Athletes to Stop Endorsing Unhealthy Foods and Beverages?
Athletes and commercial endorsements go hand in hand and probably have since the dawn of advertising. It’s a win-win, right? […]
October 11, 2013
Corporate Responsibility
Can Aspirationals' Idea of Sustainable Consumption Bring a Better Future?
If you feel a little bit down lately with the U.S. government shutdown, the latest IPPC report, the end of […]
October 7, 2013