There are ways to make information pay, and many of them have nothing to do with profit.

It’s a generally accepted principle of business today that social responsibility enhances a company’s brand reputation. At Thursday’s annual “Making Information Pay” conference in New York presented by the Book Industry Study Group, publishers heard that good corporate citizenship can improve operational efficiency, increase innovation, and encourage staff loyalty, among other benefits.

The day’s sessions explored community outreach, content accessibility, customer data security, and diversity as they impact corporate social responsibility. Ashley Gordon, Mockingbird Publishing founder, moderated a discussion on the commercial rewards of social enterprise and cause marketing for publishers with guests including Lavanya Narasimhan, Associate National Accounts Manager for Penguin Random House, and Rana Diorio, founder and CEO, Little Pickle Press.

“Cause Marketing is one way that publishers can benefit by aligning themselves around an issue, while 'the cause' benefits from the publicity that's generated,” said Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.

For the closing BISG Diversity Town Hall., Publishers Weekly’s Calvin Reid and Brian O'Leary of Magellan Media Partners were featured speakers.