Read the case and answer:

What are the main aspects to consider? What is it that catches your attention? After reading it, what learnings or conclusions did you get?

Raising the CSR Bar DOING BUSINESS ON PLANET EARTH To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, Clif Bar & Co., The company itself works out of a state-of-the- a maker of organic nutrition foods and beverages, art solar-powered facility in Emeryville, CA, where gave all of its employeesmore than 250 of them, 80 percent of the waste is reused or recycled. new bicycles. It may not be the workplace perk for There's even a staff ecologist on the payroll. For everyone, but it caught the eye of Leon Kaye, a con- founder Gary Erickson, the goals of sustaining the sultant specializing in corporate social responsibility planet and sustaining his company's people are (CSR). Kaye put the company's bicycle giveaway on inseparable threads in a single fabric of socially his list of the year's "Top 10 Employee Engagement responsible leadership: "We want to sustain a busi- Strategies." ness," he says, "where people can live, not just As a matter of fact, bicycles figure prominently in make a living. We believe that if we provide mean- Clif Bar's "Cool Commute" program: Employees can ingful work as well as something beyond work, peo- take advantage of financial incentives for riding their ple will do their jobs well and lead healthier, more bicycles to work, and those who missed out on a free balanced lives." bike can still get a $500 stipend toward the purchase Clif Bar thus maintains an elaborate wellness pro- of one. Other programs provide incentives for buy- gram that encourages employees to get out and ing fuel-efficient cars and making eco-friendly home enjoy the natural environment that they're working improvements. In turn, the "Cool Commute" pro- to sustain. Employees who've been with the com- gram reflects two of Clif Bar's five core values- pany for seven years, for instance, can take six to "Sustaining Our Planet" and "Sustaining Our eight weeks of paid sabbatical, and the Emeryville People." The company is also committed to sustain- facility boasts an in-house fitness center where ing its community, business, and brands, and taken employees can get paid time off to work out under together, these five values constitute its "Five the guidance of full-time personal trainers. Aspirations." How has all of this socially responsible conduct Kit Crawford, who co-owns Clif Bar with husband affected the bottom linethat is, the bottom line Gary Erickson, stresses "the interconnectivity of the which is typically defined as how much money a com- Five Aspirations," which, as she's also quick to point pany makes? In 1992, its first year of business, Clif Bar out, serve as the company's "five bottom lines." had $700,000 in sales. That figure doubled every year "Gary and I," she says, "use these bottom lines ... as up to 1997, when sales hit $20 million. Since then, the a measurement of our return on investment," and all company has grown rapidly ("stratospherically," as five are "of equal importance" in determining how Leon Kaye would have it), achieving a remarkable well the company is using its resources to achieve its compounded annual growth rate of 23 percent in the goals. In addition, says Crawford, the five commit- 10 years from 2002 to 2011, when sales reached $340 ments ensure that "our people have a clear under- million. A year later, sales topped $500 million. standing of Clif Bar's values." By providing a clear "decision-making framework," they also guide References: Leon Kaye, "Top 10 Employment Engagement Strategies." TriplePundit (April 15, 2013), www.triplepundit.com, on July 28, 2014; Susan employees in "exploring, creating, and launching ideas that are in tune with the company's priorities." Forbes.com (December 17, 2012), www.forbes.com, on July 28, 2014; Bob Vanourek and Gregg Vanourek, "Sustainable Leadership': Interview with Kit Finally, they figure into each employee's annual Crawford," Triple Crown Leadership (October 18, 2012), www.triplecrown- review: "Our people," explains Crawford, "receive Clif Bar: How They Do It, TriplePundit (July 17, 2012), www.triplepundit. specific feedback on their contributions to each of com, on July 28, 2014; Great Place to Work, Clif Bar & Company," Great the Five Aspirations. ... These assessments deter- Rated (2014), http://us.greatrated.com, on July 28, 2014; Lauren Drell, Six Companies with Awesome Employee Perks," Mashable (August 7, 2011). mine each employee's bonus for the year." http://mashable.com, on July 28, 2014 McPherson, "The Most Dynamic Social Innovation Initiatives of 2012," leadership.com, on July 28, 2014; Robert Girling, "Good Companies Like