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to the life of the company in the long term.

      In addition to CSR, another term being used by business community is Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). This refers to the three main areas of concern that have developed as the central factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a company or business. Whether a company is concerned about CSR or ESG, how does it know whether it is meeting its goals and objectives? And how does the investment community know which companies are achieving the CSR and ESG objectives?

      The best way to really understand if your organization is meeting any goals and objectives is to take appropriate measurements of the key performance indicators (KPIs). But it is important to measure both the environmental/social indicators and the financial indicators because a balanced scorecard is important. In other words, the balanced scorecard consists of financial and non-financial indicators.

Illustration of a triangle depicting the triple bottom line to consider the environmental, social, and economic aspects of the company. A more realistic depiction of the realistic triple bottom line depicting the environment as a large circle, the society as a smaller circle, dependent on the economy.

      Although the term CSR is used today, concepts analogous to social responsibility have existed for centuries. The idea that those in an advantageous position, either in terms of money or power, should conduct in a socially responsible way can be traced back to classical Athens of 500 BC.

      Aristotle's “magnificent man,” who bestows collective benefits upon his community out of his own wealth, is depicting the exact definition of “euergetism” in ancient Greece. The nobles, who because of their birth and wealth controlled access to all essential services, were expected to provide various services to their cities in exchange for the public bestowal of honor from the inhabitants. In the Art of Rhetoric, Aristotle states that true wealth consists in doing good; that is, in monetary handouts, giving of scarce and costly gifts, and helping others to maintain an existence [7].

      A last notion connecting CSR and ancient Greece is that of heroism. Nowadays, the term “hero” has many different meanings. It addresses to people whose work is extremely risky like firemen, or to people whose work is challenging like teachers. “Hero” originates from the Greek word hêrôs. Although in ancient Greece this word was referring only to warriors, later on it was introduced for the people who have offered in favor to the local community but they are now dead. In order for someone to obtain the heroic status, he should deal with local sponsorship. There were no exact rules that someone had to follow in order to attain a heroic status. Someone who was involved in the matters of public interest and his goal was the welfare of his community could be characterized as a hero.

      1 1. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our Common Future. Oxford University Press; 1987. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission.

      2 2. Kusz JP, Nassos GP. Roundtable Discussion to Introduce the Center for Sustainable Enterprise. Chicago, IL: Illinois Institute of Technology; 2000.

      3 3. Bob Langert, Private conversation with Bob Langert, Sr. V.P. CSR and Sustainability. Oak Brook, IL: McDonald's Corporation; 2007.

      4 4. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament. A renewed EU strategy 2011–2014 for Corporate Social Responsibility, https://www.employment.gov.sk/files/slovensky/ministerstvo/spolocenska-zodpovednost/new-communication-on-csr-2011-2014.pdf.

      5 5. Elkington J. Cannibals with Forks. Mankato, MN: Capstone Publishers; 1997.

      6 6. Andrews A. Greek Society. London, UK: Penguin Group; 1967.

      7 7. Joint Association of Classical Teachers. The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture; Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1992.

PART II SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES

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