There is no contradiction between being responsible and having great ideas. Being responsible need not be boring - it should be fun and exciting. And acting responsibly can enhance profitability, competitiveness and create economic value - because it creates trust. And trust is very valuable.

Think about it: if you can close a deal with a handshake because you trust your business partner it can save you thousands of dollars or €uros in legal fees. There will be less paperwork, reduced bureaucracy, i.e. overall lower transaction costs.

Similarly, if your customers trust you they will be less price sensitive. Because they know that being happy with a product or service is of significant value. If a cheap products breaks after a short time all of a sudden it isn´t that cheap any more. And certainly not good value. The same applies for a high quality service vs one that doesn´t hold what it promises. Trust in quality and price/value is what brands are traditionally built on. And the price premium of brands vs. no-names is or at least used to be the trust bonus.

The challenge for brands today is: how to find new sources of trust, now that many "no name" products have significantly improved their quality and successfully challenge the price/value proposition of brands.

Responsibility can be one road to building trust to new levels and create differentiation. It can be done by becoming more transparent and credible as a company behind the brand. Identity driven marketing is becoming a new buzz words and companies like Unilever are jumping on the bandwagon, putting their logo on all the products nobody used to know where made by this corporate giant. It can also be achieved by being innovative and creating sustainable supply chain solutions for everyday products, going down the route of "Product Social Responsibility" - like Chiquita and their partnership with the Rainforest alliance. Or Nespresso with its AAA Quality approach to sustainable coffee production.

Key is to find not just technical solutions but executing them in a way that is attractive and engaging for customers - whether they are consumers or business partners. There needs to be an emotional, relational component. If it exists, trust is built and in ideal cases even something resembling love.

Responsibility and sustainability need not be boring subjects for defensive "issues management". Coupled with responsibility they can be wonderful sources of differentiation, value creation and contribute to a better world, not just factually but also emotionally.