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Blogging on Sustainability topics is not as easy as it might sound. I am calling myself a blogger but I can honestly say that writing high quality blog posts is an art by itself.

Todays post is another recommended website category post about one person that really knows how to write excellent Sustainability related blog posts and more. His name is Paul Smith and run the blog called the “GreenSmith Consulting Blog”.

Paul has been around in the Sustainability blogging field for a long time and in my opinion is one of the most interest and engaging bloggers in the Sustainability field at the moment. Next to his own blog Paul writes for Triple Pundit on a regular basis and is a guest writer for the Elephant Journal.

This is how Paul describes his blog:
“The GreenSmith Consulting blog is an exploration of the best of what’s happening in sustainable business, and what’s to come. Startups of note are frequently featured, as are tools and technology to make doing the important work you do, be done more easily. Guest contributors have taken on a variety of subjects, from greenwashing to localization.”

Next to being a great writer Paul is also a really nice guy (which is a very nice combination).

So why not visit his blog today or connect with him via some other channels. Here are some to choose from:

• Paul on Twitter: http://twitter.com/greensmith
• Paul on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaulArthurSmith
• Paul on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/presidiomba

This weeks recommended website is David Connors blog called: David Coethica’s blog. This is the URL: http://davidcoethica.wordpress.com

I first got came across David while looking for people interested in Sustainability and CSR on Twitter back in the spring of 2009. Since then I have had countless moments where his updates on Twitter and posts on his blog lead me to find some great information on Sustainability and CSR. When he is not on Twitter and writing blog entries David runs a company called Coethica.

But lets give David the chance to describe his blog and what the intention is:
“After spending years engrossed in the formal world of CSR I began to notice something was blatantly missing from the room – smaller businesses. Whilst the corporate world was beginning to take the agenda much more seriously there appeared to be a defeatist attitude that small & medium enterprises (SMEs) were too small, too many and working too hard just to survive.

The blog was set up after I was pushed into writing about Coethica’s journey to help SMEs by a local marketing company to raise our profile as the experts we had become. The main objective is to fight for CSR as a essential business ethos regardless of the size or nature of a business.

In addition to being able to post my own interpretation of wider CSR topics, I want to encourage mainstream entrepreneurs to listen by presenting ‘not-so-Corporate’ Social Responsibility as an exciting opportunity to gain a competitive advantage whilst at the same time benefiting many important environmental & social issues.

2010 will see even more smaller business focused content with case studies, tips, opinion, news and of course the occasional sport related post to remind me of my previous life in football!”

Some of his recent posts include:

• Google takes a stand against China
• Small business, Low Carbon: High Potential
• Responsible Business Traige

So if you are looking for great content on Sustainability and CSR you need to subscribe to Davids Blog: http://davidcoethica.wordpress.com

Here are some other places where to find David on the web:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/davidcoethica
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/coethica

This is the third post in our Recommended Websites category where I am presenting blogs and websites I feel stand out and deliver excellent Sustainability related content.

The website I am recommending this week is the blog from Chris and his partner Angela called:

Realizing Your Worth: http://realizedworth.blogspot.com

I was very fortunate to finally meet Chris and Angela last month in the States and I am impressed with their knowledge in the CSR and specifically Corporate Volunteering field. I have already followed their blog for a while but when they explained what their aim with the blog was I thought it would be an ideal blog to include in the recommended websites category as soon as possible.

This is how Chris and Angela describe their blog:
“In the world of Corporate Social Responsibility we have an obsessive and singular focus on corporate volunteering. We believe that engaging employees in corporately supported volunteering is necessary for all credible CSR programs.
This blog is our commitment to help you design and implement an outstanding Employee Volunteer Program. We will present examples and practices which posses qualities of both sustainability and growth. We’ll show you how to create essential value for the company and important benefit for your community.
For the past 20 years we’ve been working with Nonprofits across North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Our goal is to enable communities, companies and Nonprofits to elevate volunteerism from a task-oriented activity to a transformative experience.
Volunteering holds the promise of realizing the worth of what each of us has to offer the other.”

If you want to read excellent posts on CSR and more specifically Corporate Volunteering then you need to visit and bookmark this blog. And I have heard that they are planning even more posts in the future. So stay tuned for me of the good stuff!

Our recommended website this week:
Realizing Your Worth: http://realizedworth.blogspot.com

These are some other places where to find Chris and Angela:

Twitter

• Chris
• Angela

Facebook

• Realized Worth Fan Page

LinkedIn

• Chris Jarvis

This is the second post in the new category called “Recommended Websites”. This weeks recommended website is the ChristineArena.com written by Christine Arena. I am usually giving the blog owner the opportunity to present their blog instead of me trying to explain it the best way possible.

This is how Christine describes her blog “Case in Point”:
“Now more than ever before, the public needs to understand the importance of investing in, buying from and otherwise supporting corporations that authentically embrace sustainable business models. People also need to know which companies to avoid, which industries are failing to meet stakeholder demands, and how to tell the difference between true and false corporate responsibility.
Christine Arena’s “Case In Point” blog raises awareness of these key issues and also encourages a higher level of transparency from some of the world’s largest corporations, including Shell, Dole, Nestlé Water Corporation and many others.”

I am a big fan of Christine’s blog and if you are really looking for extensively researched blog entries, insightful commentary and great writing you need to visit this blog.

These are some of here latest posts and the blog RSS feed:

• Non-toxic Toyland
• New Yorks Green Giant
• Q&A with Jeffrey Hollender
• Banking Industry Lessons Learned
• RSS Feed

Christine is can also be found in other places on the Web. Here are two more places where to connect with Christine other then visiting her blog:
http://twitter.com/christinearena
http://www.linkedin.com/in/christinearena

Todays post is the first post part of a new topic category here on my blog. The new category will be called “Recommended Websites”.

The reason for me introducing this new category is that there are a lot of interesting and not so interesting websites out there on Sustainability and CSR. And it is extremely time consuming to identify the good and useful ones.

I have spend a lot of time and effort over the past few years to try to find most interesting and useful websites which I would like to share them with you in this upcoming series. I will not only provide you with the link but also a direct quote from the author(s) where possible as well as their social networking details if they have them.

Elaine Cohen’s CSR Reporting Blog
The first blog I would like to recommend in the CSR Reporting blog by Elaine Cohen. This is the direct URL: http://csr-reporting.blogspot.com/

This is how Elaine, the author of the blog describes her blog:
“The CSR Reporting Blog is a window to the world of Sustainability Reporting and CSR best, and worst, practices. Over 3,000 sustainability reports are published each year, but many say that reporting is not useful or effective and that no one reads these reports. The CSR Reporting blog begs to differ, and presents insights on reporting as an essential tool for transparency, accountability and CSR performance management.

The Blog provides authoritative updates, analyses, critical commentary and sometimes a good laugh about Sustainability Reporting,  guidance on the value of the reporting process,  how to read, write and use reports, and how to read what is not written.”

Where to find Elaine Cohen on the web:

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/elainecohen
• Her business website: http://www.b-yond.biz/en/