Nike Is a Great Example in Will Marre’s New 'Who Do You Work For?' Assessment

Leadership and sustainability expert Will Marre introduces a new online assessment that asks employees to rank their enterprise according to sustainability initiatives. Based on Nike’s efforts in CSR and sustainability, Marre encourages employer and employee alike to reexamine their impact on humanity and the environment.

Nike’s social responsibility creates a sustainable business model that lengthens the distance between themselves and their competitors by being about a lot more than sports.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) November 18, 2009 -- Are the social and environmental issues that are important to you respected in your workplace? Are you proud to work for your employer? Is your company valued and respected by your employees? These are the questions leadership expert, Will Marre asks in his new assessment, “Who Do You Work For?”

Drawing on the premise of Marre’s new book, Save the World and Still Be Home For Dinner (Capital Books), the “Who Do You Work For?” assessment asks participants to closely examine their workplace for sustainable initiatives such as if their enterprise grows steadily and produces ample profits so they can reward employees well, offers meaningful work, personal growth, and invests in future opportunities that benefit their communities and improve the environment.

According to Marre, a great example of the kind of workplace he’s referring to is Nike. In his recent visit to Nike in which he conducted a leadership seminar, Marre was greatly impressed with their commitment to social responsibility as an integral part of their business model while blowing away the competition. Nike’s social responsibility initiatives are wide ranging from factory working conditions to environmental issues like Nike Grind, where they turn old sports shoes into places to play. Worn-out athletic shoes can live on in something new: a track, a basketball court, a playground. Their goal is that sports shoes, apparel and equipment will also be recycled into new Nike products. At the time of this writing, they have collected 24,531,437 pairs of shoes globally since 1990.

Nike’s community projects such as the Bowerman Track Program, Homeless Olympics, and empowering adolescent girls in developing nations through the Nike Foundation and The Girl Effect are part of their corporate social responsibility effort as well. The Girl Effect is applying the belief in the power of education to break the cycle of poverty. The greatest impact they have found they can make is in adolescent girls where they expect to unleash a powerful ripple effect and a force for good. Maria Eitel, President of the Nike Foundation states, “Research has shown time and time again the ripple effect of positive outcomes for girls and boys, communities, countries and the world when girls and young women are provided access to education and other meaningful opportunities to participate more fully in life.”

In addition, Nike also generates fierce employee loyalty by involving them in the giving process as demonstrated by their Annual Community Involvement Day that brings together more than 1500 Nike volunteers across America in 50 projects. Nike CEO Mark Parker states, "We see corporate responsibility as a catalyst for growth and innovation."

What sets Nike apart from other socially responsible companies, asserts Marre, is their unique ability to use the energy of their brand as a force for good. They use sport as a tool for social innovation and inclusion, and the idea of beating the competition to bring people together to beat out poverty, inequality, global warming, HIV, etc. Marre states, “Nike’s social responsibility creates a sustainable business model that lengthens the distance between themselves and their competitors by being about a lot more than sports.” He continues, “Nike is a powerful force for good. When they take something on, they take it on with passion just like their brand encourages us all to do.”

Through the “Who Do You Work For?” assessment Marre is gathering data directly from employees to discover how strong the linkage is between corporate social responsibility and sustainaiblity with employee engagement and business results. He also hopes that individuals will take a closer look at whether their work allows them to make a unique contribution to the world or whether they are just sustaining a bad habit. To take the assessment visit SavetheWorldBook.com.

About Will Marre:
Will is an Emmy Award-winning writer, speaker and coach. He is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and CEO of the REALeadership Alliance where he helps leaders identify, communicate and implement new socially strategic business models. Will has been a personal leadership coach and advisor to multi-billion dollar global companies such as Disney and Johnson & Johnson. For the past 10 years he has focused on making corporate social responsibility strategic. His new book, Save the World and Still Be Home For Dinner, is available now.

For more information on opportunities to have Will speak, please visit WillMarre.com, or for more information on Will's consulting practice, please visit Realeadership.com. You can also follow Will on Twitter (@WillMarre) and Facebook.

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