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John Elkington

John Elkington

A world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

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Six steps to create true Shared Value

John Elkington · 8 July 2014 · Leave a Comment

Some years back, I had what I recall as a particularly stimulating 3-hour breakfast in New York with Niels Christiansen, the man who in 2005 had coined the term ‘Creating Shared Value’ (CSV) for Nestlé. We were both in the city for one of a series of Nestlé CSV Forums.

The company’s original mapping of the CSV agenda is shown below:
CSVDiagram_538x184The CSV concept had been pushed into the mainstream by a 2011 article in the Harvard Business Review by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, but the former had triggered a fairly animated debate by insisting that Shared Value would replace both the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability agendas.

Though I enormously respect Porter and Kramer, I disagreed – see here and here. And now Niels has plunged back into the debate, concluding that CSV has been “lost in translation” and proposing 6 steps for those who want to create true shared value in their businesses. Recommended: well worth reading.

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Introduction

I began this blog with an entry reporting on a visit to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, on 30 September 2003. The blog element of the website has gone through several iterations since, with much of the older material still available.

Like so many things in my life, blog entries blur the boundaries between the personal and the professional. As explained on this site’s Home Page, the website and the blog are part platform for ongoing projects, part autobiography, and part accountability mechanism.

In addition, my blogs have appeared on many sites such as: Chinadialogue, CSRWire, Fast Company, GreenBiz, Guardian Sustainable Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

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About

John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently Founding Partner and Executive Chairman of Volans, a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements.

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john@johnelkington.com  |  +44 203 701 7550 | Twitter: @volansjohn

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