The underlying thinking is that with greater transparency, consumers can take a more active role in affecting the culture of the corporate world – most notably, through their collective purchasing power. As founder Michael Mossoba notes in an article for Advertising Age, “When consumers are empowered to evaluate companies based on data rather than preconceptions, companies have a business case to compete with their peers on social responsibility.” A fact that has real implications for the ways corporations operate and ultimately, for society as a whole.

Mossoba admits that while the data is far from comprehensive, it is designed to get the conversation started and lead to further examinations of the companies and brands that we’re choosing to spend our money on.

[image via jvc]

Time reports on two such companies, “Asustek Computer, which practically invented a category of small, inexpensive notebook computers called netbooks, and HTC, which is making a surprisingly strong showing in smart phones.”  Their beginnings are much like the start-up world’s equivalent of training wheels on a bike, being able to establish their company’s infrastructure and culture within the relative security of the corporate shadow, until they were adequately prepared to go off on their own. But if it’s so easy, why don’t we see this situation happen all the time?

Despite the safety net, these companies can’t simply emerge one day without a plan and more importantly, a big idea already already in place, and  more waiting in the wings. And even this is no guarantee. Competing over the long haul with heavyweights like Apple and Microsoft requires not only something truly special, but flexibility and adaptability as well. A little help never hurts either.

To that end, Stan Shih, founder of Acer, a computer maker that “ranks behind only industry giant Hewlett-Packard in the global notebook-PC market, with a 19% share, and is poised to overtake Dell as the second largest computer seller in the world,” has created a consulting firm to help the companies like Asustek and HTC succeed. Called iD SoftCapital Group, the firm has already raised $30 million in capital to back the branding efforts of what Taiwan hopes will be the next big thing.

Exxon’s chairman and chief executive, Rex W. Tillerson, spoke about the quarterly report in the New York Times, saying “Global economic conditions continue to impact the energy industry both in the volatility of commodity prices and reduced demand for products.”  And while July is traditionally the peak season for gas prices, rates have tumbled from a year ago when prices at the pump soared to over $4 a gallon in the US. According to the NY Times, “Exxon’s report caps a week of lower earnings across the energy industry after oil prices tumbled from last year’s record levels and the global economy slowed down. Oil prices, which had reached a record closing price of $145.29 a barrel last July, recently traded around $63 a barrel.”

While some analysts have begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel, many maintain that the global recession will “reduce oil consumption around the world for a second consecutive year, the first time that has happened since the early 1980s.” As a result, “Oil companies, which are struggling to adapt to a new environment of lower prices and slower demand, have responded by slashing costs, paring down drilling activities and shutting some operations.” This does not bode well for the energy sector or the economy, as companies are forced to eliminate jobs in an effort to trim overhead.

In light of the current situation, it will be interesting to see what kind of changes emerge beyond traditional cost-cutting measures. Will companies struggle to hold onto their old methods or find new innovative strategies that will leverage new opportunities in the industry?

Not only does this recognize a healthy sense of competition (never a bad thing in responsible doses), the awards assess risk-taking and corporate skills in an industry where the term “business” makes people rather squeamish. Lyn Gardner, a theatre critic and judge for the performing arts awards, addresses this hesitance to embrace a commercial philosophy when operating a creative enterprise. She writes, “In the current climate, our need for cultural entrepreneurs is greater than ever; we have as much need of organisational energy, corporate skills, original ideas and a willingness to take risks as we do of creative energy. When funding dries up, so too does the quality and riskiness of work on our stages.”

There is only so much grant and public funding to go around, so it’s important to analyze the bottom line when it comes to cost and operating budgets so as to make the most out of an organization’s creative capital. Such leadership can only lead to necessary change in a field notorious for its financial woes.

Find out more about the YCE Awards here; winners will be announced at the end of August.

“The company had expanded to meet demand, but financially pressed customers cut back. Last year the company lost $185.1 million, slashed roughly 2,000 jobs and scrambled to find money to pay down millions in debt. Now it’s stuck with a surplus of shoes, and its auditors have wondered if it can stay afloat.”

What might be most interesting about this turn of events, is the fact that the company got so many things right along the way, but failed to understand one fundamental aspect of their business, too much quality can be a bad thing. At the same time the company was ramping up its infrastructure to meet what they saw as unlimited demand, the shoe’s popularity was reaching a plateau. Which while never a great trend, shouldn’t be quite so devastating, unless your product is constructed to last. Given the lifetime of their product. not only were they losing new customers, but return customers as well.

Choosing to forgo built-in obsolescence and create a product that lasts is admirable indeed, particularly given the state of our environment and finite resources, but failing to develop an accompanying business model that understands and anticipates this shift in thinking reflects a fatal error in judgment. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but one that is worthy of noting. Sustainability and profit don’t need to be terms that are at odds with one another, but they do need to be integrated thoughtfully.