A Question of Responsibility
Last night I attended Gerry Acher’s inaugural lecture at the RSA. Gerry, Chair of the RSA is involved in CSR in a number of different ways, not least as Chair of Heart of the City and a member of the Final Judging Panel for the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards.
The lecture, entitled ‘Corporate Responsibility: thrive, die or be sidelined through the quest for profit’ could not have been better timed in terms of the current economic climate. The key points looked at how CSR started, where we are today, the effect of the current economic climate and where Gerry sees its future.
To me, the main question that the lecture raised was that of responsibility. Gerry cited three stages of Corporate Responsibility (CR) that companies worked through in their development: 1. Philanthropy - be it in cash, in-kind support or volunteers’ time. 2. Risk Management - including the management of reputation and the avoidance of ‘own goals’. 3. The whole-hearted embedding of CR into a business - operating with trust and transparency, and ultimately reaping business advantages in the process. This reminded me of another talk I had been too which discussed similar stages, except there were four - a new and much more basic stage 1, that of a business acting in a responsible way - paying taxes, making returns to shareholders etc.
Hold that thought, while I introduce you to another interesting insight of Gerry’s. He talked about how many companies currently look at CR in a ‘pick ‘n’ mix’ fashion. In other words, that from some angles they will look very passionate about CR and in others shy away from it completely. One example he used was Starbucks, who have done fantastic work in championing transparency and openness in their supply chains, a good example of a strong CR policy. On the other hand, they continue to open stores in small towns and villages, what is often too detrimental effect to local business.
Thinking about the pick ‘n’ mix attitude, and the various stage of CR, it occurred to me that recently we have seen this in striking terms in the banking sector. Many (if not all) the large banks, it can be claimed have acted in a way that is completely irresponsible. They could not claim to even pass the first stage in CR. However, a number of them have exceptional corporate community involvement schemes that are leading the way in this field. This to me, seems like the ultimate pick ‘n’ mix.
Dwelling on this further, I also realised that as a CR professional it can be hard. Although many banks employ a Head of CR or CR Manager, none of these roles cover the responsible commercial actions of a business. I am sure no CR manager would have dreamed it within their remit to suggest, for example, an end to short selling of shares by their employer. Yet, without this sort of responsibility, surely we are all failing at the first stage?
I know that there is always a lot of debate about the language of CR. Pretty much every talk I have ever been to on the subject starts by looking at the many different terms that can be used. Maybe the time has come for businesses to look at the term ‘responsibility’ seriously.
Tags: CSR, economic climate, Gerry Archer, lecture, shareholders