The Corporate Responsibility Initiative (CRI) is a multi-disciplinary program that seeks to study and enhance the public contributions of private enterprise.
The program focuses on Governance & Accountability and Business & International Development to connect theory and practice, build leadership skills, and support constructive dialogue and collaboration between business, government, civil society and academics.
Our work
The Corporate Responsibility Initiative (CRI) engages with and draws upon the expertise of Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, the Harvard Law School, and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Initiative also works with other leading Corporate Responsibility, Citizenship and Sustainability organizations, government bodies, non-governmental organizations and companies to leverage innovative policy research and examples of good practice in this field.
Corporate Responsibility and Citizenship Hub
The Corporate Responsibility and Citizenship Resource Hub is an online resource for inter-disciplinary research and commentary produced at Harvard University which speak to issues in corporate responsibility and citizenship, as well as elements of sustainability, ESG and corporate governance
Featured reports & publications
Since its founding in 2004, CRI has worked on several programs and initiatives, including:
- Governance and Accountability Program
- Business and International Development Program
- Non-Resident Fellow Program
- Scholars & Practitioners Network
CRI publishes original research on promising approaches to solving complex public problems. See a full list of our research and publications, written by faculty, fellows, staff members, and affiliated scholars and practitioners.
CRI has worked closely with Harvard Kennedy School’s Business and Government Policy Interest Council to plan events for students and the wider community. View a list of past events from 2014-2017, including links to video recordings and lists of visiting practitioners.
Program team
Jane Nelson
Founding Director, Corporate Responsibility Initiative
John Ruggie, the Berthold Beitz Research Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs and previous faculty chair of CRI, passed away on September 16, 2021. He was the architect of an authoritative global standard on business and human rights. He worked to implement a policy framework he pioneered to strengthen the human rights performance of the business sector worldwide. Learn more about John Ruggie’s work and publications.
CRI was founded in 2004 as a collaborative effort of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, the Center for Public Leadership, and The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations (now The Hauser Institute for Civil Society) and with the support of Walter H. Shorenstein, Chevron Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company, and General Motors.
Over the past two decades, in addition to ongoing support from its initial four donors, the initiative has received funding from other companies, foundations and government or intergovernmental agencies.
Contact Us
Corporate Responsibility Initiative
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Harvard Kennedy School, Box 83
Cambridge, MA 02138