Nice short video with some interesting thoughts on measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Duration : 0:2:37
Sep
28
Sep
24
Over the recent few days Indian newspapers have been reporting on various state government initiates around corporate social responsibility. Jobs in the area of CSR could increase dramatically if the government initiatives being discussed, particularly in the state of Karnataka take hold. More on the Karnataka state policy later in another post.
First lets look at the announcement of a draft document prepared by the Gujarat state government to be presented to the Gujarat Global Investors’ conference in January 2009. A quote from the document goes as follows, “By and large, corporates undertake CSR activities. The efforts are, however, scattered and dispersed, because of which the outcome is not visible to the public at large. Hence, there is a need to synergise CSR activities with government initiatives for better visibility, sustainability and outcome.” In particular, it seems the policy is aimed at making sure government funds are supplemented with corporate funds for projects.
This idea of a central body (in this case the government) giving direction to companies on where to direct there CSR initiatives and money around common and coordinated goals is an interesting one. Can more “greater good” be achieved by pooling efforts and monies into collective efforts, rather than having corporations going off on their own and often separate directions in terms of what they support and fund? The government may provide an overarching blueprint for corporate social responsibility, coordinating the effort, and for example allocating certain districts or areas to particular companies.
The idea has a lot of merit, not just in India but for corporate social responsibility worldwide. As CSR becomes more widely adopted by businesses, the idea that government (or some other body that can provide central coordination of effort), would be particularly useful in cases where companies want to donate not just money to an existing charity, but wish to provide some other type of support to society. For example, donating some of their employees time to help local community causes. In these instances it may be beneficial to have an impartial body that can allocate these resources to the areas of most need. This could provide a way to stop companies supporting what may be seen as popular or more marketable charities or causes rather than those in more need, so to speak.
Sep
22
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Another Corporate Social Responsibility Jobs senior position has been created. This time at Timex Group, the company known mostly for producing fantastic watches and other accessories. Kathleen Walas who in the past was the first corporate social responsibility officer for Avon, will be undertaking the new role which includes looking after the area of corporate communications as well as corporate social responsibility for Timex. The the new position is titled: Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility. Ms Walas moved from Jaks Cove Inc, a consulting company she founded that concentrated on corporate social responsibility and corporate communications.
Sep
20
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Placing an added emphasis on corporate social responsibility and ensuring it is at the core of a business’ strategy can yield financial benefits, according to a study from IBM. The survey, “Attaining Sustainable Growth Through Corporate Social Responsibility,” indicates many companies now view CSR as a growth opportunity and not just a regulatory compliance. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed say they are using CSR activities to help generate revenue. In addition, many companies also view these types of initiatives as a way to gain a competitive advantage and access new business opportunities. Increased awareness by consumers on issues from climate change to product safety is, in part, driving corporate concern for these issues, according to the survey. In turn, the increased visibility of corporate behavior is influencing consumers’ decisions on what to buy and who to buy from, who to work for, who to partner with and where to invest. The survey is based on responses from top executives at more than 250 companies worldwide.
Duration : 0:6:59
Sep
12
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An article titled “Social Responsibility: Doing the Right Thing” that has just gone up on the CIO Insight website looks at corporate social responsibility with particular focus on information technology departments and professionals.
Chair of the computer science and information systems department, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, Donald Amoroso says that research into this area is just ramping up and that new corporate social responsibility jobs such as “vice presidents of relationship management” could become a more common feature of businesses.
A new subject “Information Technology and Social Responsibility” is being introduced at Baruch College of the City University of New York covering “the ethics of information sharing and the ins and outs of new media.”
The article also includes analysis of recent survey data conducted on the topic. Haven’t seen too much of this type of data around so a couple of interesting take aways are:
- - 82% of participates believe that the stress and other negative effects brought about by IT should be addressed by IT departments (I question whether this should rest solely with the IT department)
- - Survey participates feel that IT Volunteerism (that is having corporate IT employees work out in the community as part of corporate social responsibility initiatives) benefits the company (via Good Will and Favourable PR) more than the employees themselves (via motivation and building leadership skills)
The article is located here -> Social Responsibility: Doing the Right Thing
Sep
6
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An IBM Global CEO Study released today “The Enterprise of the Future”, demonstrates that corporate social responsibility is becoming an increasingly important facter in CEOs minds.
And its not just talk, in a section entitled “Genuine, Not Just Generous” the report explains that CEOs intend to increase their investments in CSR activities by 34% over the next 3 years.
But more interestingly is that this figure is higher than some other more traditionally strategic areas of company investment. “Environmental issues are becoming more important every day,” one respondent commented.
The full report is here -> IBM Global CEO Study
Sep
4
David P. Stangis,
Vice President – Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
(Photo: Business Wire)
Not long after writing the introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility Jobs and stating that pursuing a career in this area was a real option, here is a report about the creation and appointment of a very senior position at the Campbell Soup Company dedicated to corporate social responsibility.
The position titled: Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, will be filled by Mr David P. Stangis who was formerly charged with the role of Global Director of Corporate Responsibility at computer chip maker Intel for 8 years.
Significantly, in the recently release results of the 2008 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (which become effective on 22 September), Intel was listed as the Technology Supersector Leader and the only United States based company to be listed as a Supersector Leader (the index contains 19 Supersectors). It is the eighth year in a row Intel has been the Technology Supersector Leader, and Mr Stangis was at the CSR helm for most of them.
Which begs the question, can he do the same for Campbell? Just may be…Mr Stangis is quoted in the Business Wire press release saying “Campbell is an iconic company with all the ingredients to become a global benchmark in CSR. I look forward to taking on that challenge for the company.”
Check out some of Mr Stangis‘ thoughts while he was at Intel -> Intel’s CSR Blog
The full press release can be found here -> Business Wire
