Morgan O’Donnell continues her account of her quest to obtain a sustainable occupation. In part two, she shares her experience encountering “employers” who seemed to be ethically challenged.

If business wants to regain the public’s trust, they’re going to have to be trustworthy, and employees are the key. Here are three basic steps to engage your employees, build social capital, and win stakeholder trust.

There’s been a lot of discussion about elevating corporate responsibility to become a strategic driver of your business. Most companies would like to benefit from their ethical efforts in the form of increased customer attraction and loyalty, yet few have figured out how to do it successfully. When marketing and PR are relied on, it can often backfire in accusations of greenwashing. The secret is to apply brand-strategy principles to build your ethical reputation.

In order to stand out from the competition and be successful in the 21st century, companies must establish themselves as progressive, forward-thinking entities that are ready to take on today’s complex challenges. As a result, conducting business in a sustainable and socially-conscious manner, as well as diversity in the workplace are now recognized as key drivers of bottom-line growth and corporate reputation. With this in mind, Tory Clarke and Larry Griffin, founding partners of Bridge Partners LLC, an executive search firm developed CSR Insights, a network and knowledge-base related to social responsibility leadership.