As CSR becomes mainstream, consumers' role in the responsibility equation continues to evolve. Our newest research study, the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study, found that consumer attitudes and behaviors around CSR vary not just by geography, but by demographic and psychographic factors as well. The study's Global Consumer Responsibility Segmentation shines a light on how global consumers view their role in addressing social and environmental issues through their purchasing and reveals four distinct personalities: the Old Guard, the Happy-Go-Lucky, the Bleeding Heart and the Ringleader.

Today, we are thrilled to launch the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study, a follow-up to our 2011 global survey of consumer attitudes, perceptions and behaviors around CSR. Conducted in partnership with Echo Research, this year’s study reflects the sentiments of more than 10,000 citizens in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., Germany, France, Russia, China, India and Japan, as well as CSR thought-leaders in each country studied. 

This week, CSR and sustainability professionals around the world are anxiously awaiting the launch of the G4 Guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the leading global CSR and sustainability reporting framework. The G4 Guidelines – the latest iteration since GRI released the G3.1 version in 2010 – will be announced on Wednesday at GRI’s Global Conference on Sustainability and Reporting in Amsterdam and is expected to change the landscape of reporting in a meaningful way.

In today's continuously connected world, companies might find it difficult to keep their CSR "dirty laundry" secret for very long. Technology is making it even easier to find out what's really behind the products we buy and with 78 percent of Americans willing to stop buying products with misleading environmental claims, the stakes for companies to not only behave responsibly, but communicate transparently, have never been higher.

Even for the most sophisticated CSR leader, some issues are just too big to solve alone. Companies are leveraging co-creation, partnerships and stakeholders to attack some of the most pressing social and environmental issues, but the newest approach takes problem-solving out of big business and into the world of bootstrapping, elevator pitches and seed rounds.

There's no doubt that social media has made a huge impact on the nonprofit world. From "tweetaconda" to pink and red drenched Facebook profiles to raise awareness for marriage equality, nonprofits have employed myriad tactics to increase awareness and recruit prospective donors. But one nonprofit is coming out and saying that a tweet is sometimes not enough – especially when there is a life at stake.

Monday marked 43 years since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring sparked the world's first-ever Earth Day and changed the way companies and stakeholders thought about the environment. The holiday has grown into a day (or even month) during which brands join together with consumers and NGOs to share environmental commitments and hopefully inspire a little "green" action at the same time. Here are a few campaigns that caught our eye:

Click "READ MORE" to see the full 2013 Cone Communications Green Gap Trend Tracker Infographic.

“Right on Hereford, left on Boylston” isn’t just the route of the epic Boston Marathon. For many of us at Cone Communications, it’s the path we walk every day into the office. And so the cruel and senseless events of Marathon Monday hit incredibly close to home. 

As the situation continues to unfold today in Boston and in surrounding communities, it is with heavy hearts that we think of the people who lost their lives. We think of the injured, many facing long roads to recovery. We think of our city, perhaps forever changed but always Boston Strong.