Great Moments in Sustainability History, Part I

Fortune magazine polled businessmen about their responsibilities beyond the balance sheet. The questions are more charming and verbose than most posed by contemporary pollsters. They also offer a nice snapshot of how business media tackled what we now call "sustainability":

A few years ago it was frequently said that businessmen ought to acquire a 'social consciousness.' What was usually meant was that businessmen were responsible for the consequences of their actions in a sphere somewhat wider than that covered by their profit-and-loss statements. Do you think that businessmen should recognize such responsibilities and do their best to fulfill them?

• Yes: 95.5 percent
• No: 1.6 percent
• Depends: 4.7 percent
• Don't Know: 0.2 percent

About what proportion of the businessmen you know would you rate as having a 'social consciousness' of this sort?

• None: 0.4 percent
• Less than 10%: 11.8 percent
• About a Quarter: 22.2 percent
• About a Half: 29.2 percent
• About Three-Quarters: 26.7 percent
• All: 3 percent
• Don't Know: 6.7 percent

This Sustainability Moment occurred in March 1946.

Source: Bowen, Howard. The Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, p. 44.

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