Here's news for skeptics who say it's too hard to measure the business value of social responsibility: Business schools are turning out socially conscious leaders as companies realize the economic benefits of adopting CSR principles.

An article from globeandmail.com interviews several business school leaders and graduate students who are taking CSR seriously.

At the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, for instance, MBA students must weigh the options of a major Canadian energy firm opening resource-extraction operations in the oil-rich, but war-torn, nation of Kurdistan.

"As businesses explore socially conscious options, MBA programs across the country are following as they strive to prepare the next generation of corporate leaders," the article says. "It's the reason most business schools now include CSR-focused courses in their curriculum, or actively integrate CSR elements into existing programs."

"I want the next captains of industry to know how to deal with (CSR) themselves rather than having to hire in a specialist," Rod Lohin, executive director of Rotman's AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship, told globeandmail.

The story also cites research that makes it easier for CEOs to make the business case for investments in CSR. For instance, a 2009 study by Toronto-based GlobeScan found that 57 percent of Canadian consumers claimed they had punished companies they regarded as socially irresponsible by taking their business elsewhere.

A 2009 Edelman Goodpurpose survey conducted in 10 nations found that 71 percent felt brands and companies spend too much on advertising and marketing and should put more into good causes, an increase of nearly 10 percent from 2008. Sixty-seven percent said they would switch to a different brand if it supported a good cause.

Read the story at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/.