In 1999, William Ford Jr. angered Ford Motor Co. executives and investors when he wrote that “there are very real conflicts between Ford’s current business practices, consumer choices and emerging views of (environmental) sustainability.” In his company citizenship report, the grandson of Henry Ford, then the automaker’s nonexecutive chairman, even appeared to endorse a Sierra Club statement declaring that “the gas-guzzling SUV is a rolling monument to environmental destruction.”

Bill Ford has had to moderate his strongest environmental beliefs since assuming the company’s CEO position in October 2001, just after the Firestone tire scandal. Nevertheless, while he has strived to improve Ford’s financial performance and restore trust among its diverse stakeholders, he remains strongly committed to corporate responsibility and environmental protection. In his words, “A good company delivers excellent products and services, and a great company does all that and strives to make the world a better place.”1

Today, Ford is a leader in producing vehicles that run on alternative sources of fuel, and it is performing as well as any of its major North American rivals, all of whom are involved in intense global competition. The new CEO is successfully pursuing a strategy that is producing improved financial performance, increased confidence in the brand and clear evidence that the car company is committed to contributing more broadly to society. Among Ford’s more notable outreach efforts are an innovative HIV/AIDS initiative in South Africa, which is now expanding to India, China and Thailand;2 a partnership with the U.S. National Parks Foundation to provide environmentally friendly transportation for park visitors;3 and significant support for the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities.4

Ford’s actions are emblematic of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of many leading companies today. Corporate-supported social initiatives are now a given. For some time now, many Fortune 500 corporations have been creating senior management positions dedicated to helping their organizations “give back” more effectively. CSR is now almost universally embraced by top managers as an integral component of their executive roles, whether motivated by self-interest, altruism, strategic advantage or political gain.5 Their outreach is usually plain to see on the companies’ corporate Web sites.

Corporate social responsibility is high on the agenda at major executive gatherings such as the World Economic Forum. It is very much in evidence during times of tragedy — as seen in the corporate responses to the