CSR built into the business model

Particant productions present an intriguing example of how CSR is built into the business model. From Fastcompany

Participant Productions is the first film company to be founded on a mission of social impact through storytelling. But it's no charity. It's a pro-social commercial operation, a hybrid emblematic of the social-entrepreneurship movement. "Ultimately, the goal here is to build a brand around social relevance in media," Skoll says. He staked the company $100 million for its first three years; every script is evaluated equally on its creative and commercial potential and its ability to boost awareness of one of six issues: the environment, health, human rights, institutional responsibility, peace and tolerance, and social and economic equity. For each project, Participant execs with nonprofit backgrounds reach out to public-sector partners, from the ACLU to the Sierra Club, for their opinions. If those partners don't think they can build an effective action campaign around the film, it's a no-go. At the same time, "It can't be good-for-you spinach, or it's not going to work," says Participant's president, Ricky Strauss, a former production and advertising exec at Columbia and Sony Pictures Entertainment. "The more mainstream the story, the more opportunity to make an impact."