Meanwhile, many companies, even some large marketers of consumer products, still do not publish corporate responsibility reports. Company leaders tell me that they "do not want to attract attention" to their practices in these areas, because "once you do, 'they' either want more and more" or "'they' keep looking for where you fall short, and attack you all the more."

"They" of course, are NGOs, activists, and Socially Responsible Investment funds.

This may have been a plausible argument a decade ago. But the landscape has changed. Companies are defined by outsiders no matter what. In this environment, management has a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders to help define the company's reputation. Corporate responsibility reports and speeches like Boeing CEO Jim McNerny's at The Conference Board are ideas worthy of serious consideration.

Dow CEO Andrew Liveris, in his recent speech to The Conference Board, described Dow's journey to broader engagement as "the five Ds."

Discovery--when the company learned that reputation mattered even when they thought they were doing the right thing.

Defense--when they tried to defend themselves from criticism, using sound science.

Debate--when they engaged critics in discussion of key issues.

Discussion--when they "actually began to incorporate many of the ideas of critics" in how they operate.

Doing--when they began to set specific goals and metrics, and made progress toward them public.

What stage is your company on?