|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |  |
|
How Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can have the opposite effect to what is intended
Written by: Michael SolomonArticle Overview: The global social and environmental issues we face appear more serious and more intractable than ever. At the same time, more and more businesses are falling over themselves in attempts to persuade us that they are green and responsible. How can this be?
 |
Free Download - How Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can have the opposite effect to what is intended By Michael Solomon |
How Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can have the opposite effect to what is intended
This Valentine's day, I enjoyed a corporate love-in. I was fortunate enough to attend my fourth annual Business in the Community (BITC) conference in six years. It is always fascinating to hear what the leaders of the world's leading corporations have to say, especially when Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the focus.
I have a deep respect for BITC and I acknowledge the need to celebrate achievements and recognise responsible business leadership. Notwithstanding, its annual event always reinforces for me how dangerous and counterproductive CSR can be. This is because there is never any acknowledgement of the deep cynicism people have towards business, especially when they claim to be responsible.
The definition of CSR provided by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development is typical. It states that CSR is 'the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large'.
The opposing view, one supported by a great deal of evidence according to many in the NGO community, is that CSR is a game that big business plays. A game by which they talk a great deal about the desires and ambitions to act ethically and responsibly, where they introduce tokenistic policies and practices for presentation purposes, but in effect, they change little and continue to maximise profit careless as to whether this is at the expense of society and the environment or not.
In a quite stunning address, one of the keynote speakers at the BITC conference supported this view in many important respects. Alain Grisay, the chief executive of F&C, a fund management firm with £100 billion of assets, spoke of the tendency of government to do the will of business, not the will of the people. He stated the governments must create better legislation to reverse this, to create conditions where companies were not rewarded for externalising costs.
The threat from CSR to social business comes from this perceived duplicity. Do you think that there are any businesses out there that would claim to take social, environmental or ethical (SEE) issues seriously but, in a stark reversal of what they say they are doing, are actually seeking only to extend their hegemony and self-interest? The worry is that any business that makes SEE claims could in fact be the cuckoo in the nest.
The huge problem we all face is that practically all the world's biggest companies now 'do CSR'. Some sound very convincing indeed. But as with all slick communications and marketing, it is often impossible to determine where the fact ends and the fantasy begins. One wonders first whether Company X can be trusted when it says it cares, then one wonders if, in fact, any business saying it cares can be trusted.
All social enterprises depend on effectively communicating how they do things differently, how their social purpose is (at least) as important as their commercial success. Having a social purpose, having their stakeholders understand and buy in to their social purpose, is what gives social enterprises their competitive advantage over mainstream businesses. Who is to say that a company that says it is a social enterprise will be regarded any differently from a company that says it does CSR? SEE Potential conducted research with Ipsos MORI in 2005 and again in 2007 to test public attitudes to business and business responsibility. Against all 10 indicators we found dramatic increases in cynicism and scepticism towards businesses and the claims they make about their SEE practices.
In being honoured as the BITC Business of the Year, BT was cited for a 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions since 1996, planting 250,000 trees, flexible working for UK employees and raising GBP6m for charity. The phrase 'is the glass half full or half empty?' was used repeatedly at the conference. Glass half empty people would say that BT's corporate donation of GBP6m is paltry when it amounts to just 0.03 per cent of total revenue. Glass half full people say GBP6m raised for charity can help a tremendous amount of people and the relative size of the donation is immaterial.
The landscape is more complex than this analogy suggests however. For me, as a BT customer for most of my life and someone who has been working in CSR for six years, I see this award winning company as part of the problem, not part of the solution. The global issues we face appear more serious and more intractable than ever. I am very worried that, in picking up gongs for being good at CSR, the world's leading corporations are making life practically untenable for social entrepreneurs, genuine innovators for public good and sustainable business pioneers.
Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility
What Is WRONG With Web 2.0
Consumers Worldwide Demand More CSR
12.0 The Entrepreneurial Firm Corporate Governance: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa
Business Casual and the Psychology of Office Attire or Who Cares What you Wear to Work as Long as you Perform?
|
About the Author: Michael Solomon RSS for Michael's articles - Visit Michael's website  Michael Solomon is the founder and managing director of SEE What You Are Buying Into, a groundbreaking labelling scheme and a nascent social movement. SEE What You Are Buying Into seeks to make the world a better place by: A. promoting transparency and accountability in business; and B. empowering people to buy from, work for and invest in Socially, Environmentally and Ethically responsible businesses. Businesses that wish carry the SEE Logo must complete the 35 question SEE Questionnaire and publish their responses on SEEWhatYouAreBuyingInto.com for public scrutiny, comment and rating. The questionnaire covers 7 broad SEE-business areas: Community Relations, Corporate Governance, Donations and Payments, Environment, Human Rights, Marketplace Ethics, and Workforce. (See the questions here.) Answering the SEE Questionnaire presents the opportunity for a business to undertake a 360 degree internal review of their Social, Environmental and Ethical practices. It promotes communication within and outside the business; it builds understanding of the particular SEE issues they face within their sector. Michael is responsible for the development of the SEE What You Are Buying Into scheme, brand and business. He has professional experience in banking and publishing as well as with a leading asylum NGO. Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts. Click here to visit Michael's website   How Corporate Social Responsibility CSR can have the opposite effect to what is intended |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Why Did You Become An Entrepreneur?
- You mean Freedom = Responsibility. Freedom and responsibility are two sides of same coin.
But I like the word choice.
Robert
personal view
- My personal view on the social networking scene is I do not believe it to be in our human nature to live globally. If that where the case we would not be working continually to-wards this goal. It would JUST BE to begin with from the beginning.
From what I can tell we are creating a new generation of people that are intolerant of the least amount of thinking involved in any application that hits the web. The TWO Button rule seems to apply to almost everything we do today. Have you taken good look around at the education system in this country?
Social networking is perhaps the worst thing to end up on the internet.
I do not believe the internet was intended to be used as such.
All the Best
Corporate Resource Speakers in Australia
- Where can we find one of the best Corporate Resource Speakers in Australia?
Re: Congratulations Topeyinka
- Congrats Topeyinka!
As Spiderman said "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"... Just kidding.. Have Fun!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts
- Hi Shri,
Thanks for posting this.
I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
by: 
Lesson #3: “Tell ‘em quick and tell ‘em often”
Searching for the Stars: How Yang and Filo Took Their Business to New Heights
Salesperson Wimp-Out: I Need Help 
February 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
Please Stop Calling it Coaching!
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.