Corporate Social Responsibility - and Beyond?
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The Corporation - from a Problem to a Solution?
I dedicate this hubpage to the issue of corporate (social) responsibility - and also pointing to thoughts and ideas for its critics as well as its advocates. I myself dub the concept of "deep sustainability" to be the vs. in comparison to CSR - if the latter stays at shallow PR and Image Making, and watering out as a marketing ploy without substance. If the talkers are walking, maybe it works. Maybe not. This Hub Page is a part of test its conceptual subtance - and sustainability (sic!).
The process of turning a corporation to be truly and deeply connected to create sustainability I refer to as "Sustainability Intrapreneurship", a profound move that almost is impossible - if you were not having sustainability in the organizational DNA from the beginning. Case studies, few, and significant. Body Shop, Ben&Jerry. And they are crumbling, since they recently got acquired by L'Oreal (with a severe track record of animal testing, that Body Shop was a counter-reaction to in the cosmetics industry) and Ben&Jerry (who also got acquired by the less-sustainable to say the least Unilever). Those coming far in transforming - and maybe even transcending soon? - is Interface Inc., the carpet making corporation.
Beyond: Deep Sustainability/Sustainability Intrapreneurship vs CSR
There is a need to move from reactive, then receptive and finally to constructive and proactive, to be a part of the solution instead of the problem, and integrating sustainability in the deeper and holistic sense, and not only as a CSR complimentary attachment.
In the worst case it just works as a smoke-screen with so-called green- or bluewash. If you want to take a provocative approach: You need to move from PR talk to PT walk - from "Public Relations" words to actions that generates Public Trust. Your premier stakeholders - employees, customers and the third party "society" - owns your brand and reputation anyways. You better live your words, otherwise you will not live to even have a word.
Business Model of the 21st Century?
Transparency > Trust > Transaction > Transfer > Transformation
There is a more and more obvious causality in the chain of Transparency > Trust > Transaction > Transfer > Transformation. Key terms and action areas related (soon with new hub pages - add RSS from "new pages by me" to your NewsAggregator to see when they are added!) are;
- B2BOP - Business to the Bottom of the Pyramid
- Cause Marketing
- Procurement with Consciousness
- Partnering and trading with emerging businesses in survival and emerging economies
- Transforming the organizational DNA
Did you know that 10 percent of annual expenditures on marketing could cover basic needs for all globally? Where do you want to head your sponsorship next?
Some linked resources:
- CSR Wire - A good source to keep track on news related to CSR.
- Sustainable Business - Another premier resource for all things related to create sustainable businesses.
- eco6 - CSR and SRI Event - This is one of the greatest events of the year for everything related to CSR and SRI. Virtual Community of Practice created as well.
More to come (e. g. Book List).
Update: A book list has almost been compiled, stand by!
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Hi Anders,
it is a good page and should move up in the ranking. I like the provocative tone. CSR has problems and there are few radical examples like Interface.
However, not everybody can be radical and will be radical. Thus it is important to acknowledge those companies that try to better than their peers, that use sustainability and proactively responsible business behaviour as a way to differentiate and create value. Many small steps also make a big one!
So let´s continue the debate - and hope that the CSR/sustainability related posts grow in popularity.
Christian
Hi, Christian,
Provocation is meant to provoke (sic!) dialogue. And also showing the deep sustainability cases like Interface (see also www.medinge.org > Brands with a Conscience, I was a part of the BwaC committee) paving the way as pioneering for the rest.
It is like any type of change to the better, if the radical ones at least can inspire the great majority to at least be incremental, I am convinced the collective effect soon will reach closer to the critical mass to actually turn what my friend Michael Pokocky calls "vertigo" - in the world and humanity at large - to an end, towards a sustainable world.
So - if you thought this post was valuable, helpful and good, give it a "YES" above :). To help the "WORD" to get out :).
You also inspired me to put a suggested definition for a "sustainable company", see insert of picture!
Peace,
Anders
Hi Anders,
Just to point your readers to my blog where I coined the phrase,"We are experiencing economic, political, social, cultural, environmental and spiritual VERTIGO." [see http://sophisticaworld.silkblogs.com the blog of http://www.sophisitcaworld.com.
Please note that on the blog your readers will see the developments for the new site for Thought Freedom for Humanity, where we are taking a new direction from Thought Pollution to Thought Freedom; from Pain & Suffering to Bliss and Rapture.
Keep up the good work Anders my friend,
Michael Pokocky
Founder
SophisticaWorld.com
Hi, Michael,
It's an honour to have you as a friend, you know that - and it was by a default opening welcome to your comment to let you introduce your own great efforts, to which I give my strongest endorsements.
Everything written and tested in this virtual thought lab called HubPages, every thought in freedom I take in print to share to the world, that I feel mature and gets updated and enough edited, I will syndicate to add to the SW site!
You keep up the great work too, Michael. See you around - to say the least :).
Peace,
Anders
Hi Anders. Interesting post. The problem with CSR seems to be in the term itself "corporate social responsibility"...since when have capitalists been enamoured of socialist philosophies! Cheers!
Dear Anders,
...finally, I am entering the the univers of the HubPages. It is thanks to you!
We have never met, but through the reading of your stuff - I know that we areon the same page. In the field of CSR I would like to address the SCandinavian word NÆRINGSLIV - nourishment for life/ nourish life - in its translated meaning.
With a deep approach to business, where we address the field of nourish the communities where we operate - and with a deep ecology approach - it would be interesting to see what kind of sustainable praxis we would end up with.
Why not do a test? Get a group to together of different Swedish companies and let them express their deepest understanding of NÆRINGSLIV and their connection to nature andhow they would dedicate their company to work for the future.
working
andersabrahamsson says:
2 years ago
It is interetsting that this hubpage is the least in my hubrank...
What does it stand for?