Corporate Social Responsibility and
the Mineral Resource Industry
St-Andrews – Dundee Workshop
26 September 2008
A Few Introductory Remarks:
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Ambitions and rules of engagement
The personal element of comment
The extant CSR literature
Towards critique?
Systems and sustainability
Relationships and accountability
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Preamble
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Rules of engagement?
 Despite the literature – CSR remains open question
 Recognise importance of debating CSR
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voluminous literature
vast and unsubstantiated claims by corporations
Pursue critique: no moral high ground; watch cliches
The personal bit
 accountant; systems; relationships; accountability;
 personal voyages through the literature
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terribly slippy and no closure
parochial?
business schools and `warranty’
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why uncritically pro-business? Intellectual freedom?
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Who says what…?
“A corporate executive .. Has a direct responsibility .. To conduct the business ..
To make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of
society…”
Friedman M. (1970)
“Philanthropy does little or nothing to help companies make profits, while all
CSR activities are linked to improving a company's bottom line.”
MHCi Monthly Feature (pdf/e-journal) April 2004 (p2)
Social Responsibility “is a concept whereby companies integrate social and
environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions
with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. Being socially responsible
means not only fulfilling legal expectations, but also going beyond
compliance and investing “more” into human capital, the environment and
relations with stakeholders”
Commission of European Communities (2001)
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A brief (!) review of extant literature
The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility
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40 years of effort:
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Inconclusive
Circular
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Philanthropic
responsibilities:
Be a good c orporate
c itizen ,
Contribute to quality of
life
Ethical responsibilities
Be ethic al
Frederick: CSR 1, 2, 3
CSR 4: Rhetoric?
Do what is right, just, fair,
Avoid harm
Recent paper claims
otherwise
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Legal responsibilities
Obey the law
Play by the rules of the game
Review 3 models
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Economic responsibilities
Be profitable
all use Economics,
Legal, Ethical and
Philanthropy
The foundation upon whic h all others rest
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Adapted from
Carroll A.B. (1991) "The pyramid of corporate social responsibilty:
Towards the moral management of organizational stakeholders"
Business Horizons July-August p42
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Some of the remaining issues…
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Organisation as moral agent
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Individual responsibility within organisations
 difference between individuals and individuals
Economics
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Changes relationships (helping old ladies for money)
Financial markets
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corporation as individual, judged as a person?
Reduces discretion; usually ignore in literature
Evidence: “it pays to be good”
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Very powerful; probably tautological
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Towards critique?
Systemic Issues?
Doing well that which we shouldn’t be doing at all (Lowe and McInnes)
Presuppositions in debate:
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e.g. is extant activity taken for granted?
Capitalism
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Friedman’s views + influence on “rules”?
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Size + Growth
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Can capitalism deliver “responsibility”?
distance/closeness of ownership, control, responsibility
ubiquity in international markets
dominance of neo-liberal values in LDCs and elsewhere
Sustainability
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Responsible Sustainability?
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“The performance of companies implementing sustainability principles
is superior because sustainability is a catalyst for enlightened and
disciplined management...”
Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes Report Quarterly 3/9
“Sustainability pays off…..Companies favouring the concept of
sustainability outperform the broad market”
Oberndorfer (WBCSD), 2004: cover and p3
“all CSR activities are linked to improving a company's bottom line.”
MHCi MONTHLY FEATURE (pdf/e-journal) April 2004 (p. 2)
“By working sustainably, we can increase financial capital. Sustainable
development aims to improve the quality of life for everyone. ……”
United Utilities, 2004, pp 1+ 3
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Relationships and Accountability
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Systems view of the world
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Responsibility
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= a function of society’s expectations
≠ a function of what corporation would lie it to be
Accountability
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individual – organisation – organisation – societyenvironment- planet – etc
an accounting of responsibility
of extent to which expectations are met
Parkinson:
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Money Talks
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