Buiness puts its money where its heart is

You don't have to schedule a meeting with the CEO to make positive changes in your workplace. Start by looking at your own work and asking yourself if you could make it more socially responsible. Environmental initiatives, like starting up a recycling program, can be a good place to begin. Besides being the right thing to do, they usually save money -- a fact that is likely to be well received by your boss. The Aussie website ecooffice.socialchange.net.au will help you start brainstorming about other ways to make an impact. Green@work magazine (www.greenatworkmag.com) offers articles and tips with a can-do attitude about corporate social responsibility. The organization Business for Social Responsibility (www.bsr.org) offers consulting and other resources to companies embracing progressive values. Another route to social change in the workplace is unionization: not for the timid, as the cards are stacked in favor of your boss. You can find a comprehensive guide to the organizing process at www.iww.org. Finally, entrepreneurs are leading the way to greener, more responsible workplaces. If it's time to start your own business, check out In Business magazine (www.jgpress.com), which offers resources and articles for socially minded entrepreneurs, and consider joining the Social Venture Network (www.svn.org), a membership group of socially responsible businesses.