How does an organization not only promote green and sustainable products but also conduct business in a socially responsible way? As part of Stanford's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, leaders of three pioneering enterprises talk about how they integrate fair trade, sustainable design, green purchasing, and public/private partnerships into every aspect of their business. They offer advice for other organizations, and share how they are working to promote social responsibility in their respective industries.

The Gap monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries, and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually to make sure its suppliers are operating according to ethical guidelines. In this talk, part of Stanford's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, the executive who oversees this inspection process, as well as the company's community investment and environmental affairs efforts, outlines the Gap's corporate responsibility programs--highlighting progress, challenges, and where the organization hopes to be in the future.

Not a week goes by without a product safety incident splashed across the headlines. As companies face increasing layers of suppliers, the task of monitoring the many links in the chain becomes a formidable challenge. The situation is particularly troubling for social entrepreneurs, who are especially vulnerable. In this panel, part of Stanford University's Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, executives who have experienced product safety challenges share what they have done to address these challenges head on.

Companies can indeed make money while operating in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. It just takes what supply chain expert Hau Lee calls the Triple-A approach--having agility, adaptability, and alignment. As part of the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference, Lee describes how small to mid-sized companies in China, India, and Israel boosted profits while shrinking waste and pollution and providing a fair workplace for employees.

With crude oil over $100 a barrel and continuing to rise, concerns about increased prices at the pump and at home -- intensified by political unrest in other parts of the world -- have put energy issues into heightened focus for the American public. From a plenary session at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival, Jim Lehrer conducts "A Conversation About Oil" with Chevron's Peter J. Robertson.

Timberland, the footwear and apparel company headquartered in New Hampshire, is putting good old New England values to work to integrate socially responsible management practices throughout the value chain. At the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Gary Smith, Timberland's president, proves in the more than 35 countries where his firm has a business presence, that doing good does not have to be at odds with doing well.

With energy costs on the rise and the U.S. government expected to push for reduced carbon emissions, environmental responsibility has become a market imperative. Hewlett-Packard is working to reduce its environmental footprint throughout the product life cycle. Tony Prophet, HP senior vice president, spoke at the "Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains: Making the Business Case" conference, cosponsored by the Global Supply Chain Management Forum and the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Nike has taken pains to clean up its act since the media brought public attention to human rights violations in its supplier factories in the 1990s. Through the Nike Foundation, the sports and fitness giant is taking a proactive approach to some of the world's most challenging social problems. Sponsored by the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford, Maria Eitel, Nike Foundation president, talks about how the organization is focusing on creating economic opportunities for adolescent girls around the world as a means of alleviating poverty.

Starbucks has developed guidelines for creating and maintaining a sustainable supply chain, which it calls Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. These coffee-buying guidelines help the company establish equitable relationships with farmers, workers, and communities. In this opening keynote of the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Willard (Dub) Hay explores what's making C.A.F.E. Practices successful.

The electronics industry is on the forefront of the movement to improve socially and environmentally responsible performance across manufacturing and supply chains. What is the business case for such collaboration? What are the challenges? Why has the electronics industry been particularly successful in this regard? Executives share some key learnings at the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference held at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.