Jonathan J. Halperin
Jonathan J. Halperin
Designing Our Future. Together.

Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

The challenge is often posed as,”what is the business case for sustainability?” The deeper question asks what is the purpose of business if not to consistently generate value over time.

Thursday, March 31, 2016
Five years ago today, as the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown were still emerging, The New York Times published my letter observing that “trust comes not from repeated and paternalistic proclamations of success, but rather from the humble admission of mistakes followed by demonstrable changes in behavior and attitude.”
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Across the American presidential campaign landscape, change might look like a neo-fascist with a toupee, a scrappy septuagenarian democratic socialist, or the familiar face of a woman who might become our first female president. Quite a spectacle we present to the world.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
"If Chipotle is going to continue to provide an alternative model to processed, industrial food, it needs to also be at the forefront of creating systems to support that new approach, such as offering its employees paid sick days. Chipotle and its customers are now paying the price for leadership not having made that connection for 20-years before offering paid sick-leave in 2015.” - Jonathan J. Halperin quoted in Forbes (January 6, 2016)
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Pondering the categories and labels that we come to accept as fixed and true.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Chipotle lost about one-third of its pork supply early in 2015 and signs popped-up in roughly 500 restaurants announcing that “carnitas” was unavailable. From the corporate HQ, PR Director Chris Arnold positioned his company’s handling of this supply shortfall as evidence that it stands behind its brand that promises “food with integrity.” Indeed, Chipotle did the right thing in deciding to curtail purchases from a supplier that violated its animal welfare pledges and in refusing to substitute substandard product to make up for that shortfall. But...
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The words we use reflect the extent to which our thinking is clear or muddled. Speaker after speaker at The New York Times conference at Stone Barns on Food for Tomorrow spoke to the issue of words and meaning.
Friday, May 16, 2014
I really like sugar. I know too much sugar is bad for me. FedUp, the new movie, is very sobering.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
In 2012, a little bakery just north of New York City became the first business licensed in New York State as a Benefit Corporation. (External Blog, The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation)
Friday, May 9, 2014
This year’s CERES conference in Boston was provocative and challenging -- as it should be in celebration of 25 years of creative, innovative, and collaborative advocacy to bring greater openness and accountability to corporate behavior. And it is behavior, of course, that needs to change; openness and accountability are only the tools of the trade in modifying corporate practices.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Since participating recently in the UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk, and in preparing for the Sustainable Land & Water Program Expert Workshop in Amsterdam on Friday, I’ve been thinking more about risk as fundamental conceptual framework for making meaningful comparisons and connections.

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Jerusalem

When I began to unhook from SustainAbility in 2008, after 20+ years, to co-found Volans, Jonathan was working with the US end of SustainAbility — and sent the London end of the Volans team a large cardboard box of multi-colored felt rocks, which initially I couldn't make head nor tail of. I thought he was mad, or overly American.

But I have to say that, over time, those felt rocks have become a central feature of the Volans culture, thrown by team members at other team members (or guests) on the slightest provocation. That aside, he's a consummate professional, creative collaborator, skilled communicator, and keen intellect—and I am delighted both to have had Jonathan as a colleague and to now count him as a friend.

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