PAST: New Research Finds CSR is More Deeply Embedded in Business
Submitted by: Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College
Posted: Jan 17, 2014 – 08:00 AM EST
BOSTON, Jan. 17 /CSRwire/ - When it comes to corporate citizenship, above-average
industry performers are more likely to have a formal corporate citizenship department, a
program led at the executive level, and higher budgets for corporate citizenship and charitable
giving.
These are the findings of the Profile of the Practice 2013, a biennial signature research report
from the Carroll School of Management Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.
The Profile of the Practice 2013 explores how the environmental, social, and governance
(ESG) dimensions of business—corporate citizenship—are managed in today’s business
world, and how these practices have evolved since the last report in 2010. It is based on a
survey of 231 companies that provided data on their corporate citizenship strategies,
operational structures, and business practices.
“Corporate citizenship is managed at higher levels, corporate citizenship leaders are better
compensated, and more companies establish both board committees and official budgeted
departments to manage their programs,” said Katherine Smith, Executive Director, Boston
College Center for Corporate Citizenship. “These are all signs that CSR continues to be more
deeply embedded in business as more executives realize that positive environmental, social
and governance measures correlate to positive financial performance, improved reputation,
and solid risk management.”
Among the reports key findings:
Increased responsibility at the top
Almost 60% of companies have an executive leading corporate citizenship. This is a 74%
increase over what was reported in 2010. Close to one-third of corporate citizenship leaders
are within one level of the chief executive.
More money budgeted for corporate citizenship
Almost 100% of companies have a corporate citizen- ship budget today, while just 81%
reported being budgeted in 2010.
Leaders are more engaged
The chief executive is more involved in developing strategy, setting goals, and
communicating corporate citizenship than reported in both 2008 and 2010. More than 25%
indicate that their chief executive is highly involved in corporate citizenship program
evaluation.
Reputation enhancement is an important business goal
More than 70% of companies cited enhanced reputation among the top three business goals
they are trying to achieve through their corporate citizenship efforts. The next most
frequently cited goals are improving employee retention (45%), improving employee
recruitment (41%), attracting new customers (33%), and improving risk management (22%).
Characteristics of above-average industry performers
Above-average industry performers are more likely to have a formal corporate citizenship
department, a program led at the executive level, and higher corporate citizenship and
charitable giving budgets than average/ below-average industry performers.
See the full Profile of the Practice 2013 report to learn more about the structure of corporate
citizenship within companies, as well as the strategy, professional development, leadership
engagement, and communication of corporate citizenship efforts. Also included in the report
are examples from companies on how they are successfully managing corporate citizenship,
including Adobe, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, CenterPoint Energy, Citrix,
Hypertherm, Inc., JM Family Enterprises, Inc., UNUM, and World Wrestling Entertainment,
Inc.
The Profile of the Practice is just one example of the research conducted by the Center for
Corporate Citizenship. In 2013 the Center published the latest edition of another signature
report, the Profile of the Professionals, which examines job satisfaction, professional
development, motivations, and compensation of those working in corporate citizenship. Later
this year the Center will publish the State of Corporate Citizenship 2014, which will look at
how U.S. executives view corporate citizenship and their firms’ ESG performance in the
environmental, social, and governance dimensions of business.
FUTURE: Looking Ahead – 5 CSR Trends on the Radar for 2014
From biomimicry to climate change adaption, smart companies are looking at key
developments trending in CSR.
Posted: Dec 18, 2013 – 09:00 AM EST
By Liz Gorman and Lesley Lammers
Part of the Consumer Perspectives: Turning Insights into Action series
With the New Year almost upon us, companies may be making some resolutions to ensure
their CSR and sustainability efforts start off on the right foot in 2014. To give companies a
leg up on their planning, we’ve highlighted five CSR trends that are likely to pop up on
corporate radar screens and gain more traction in 2014.
1. The Search for New Materials
The gradual depletion of natural resources is occurring, but the impacts of a changing climate
are accelerating this process, which should be concerning to all. This reality is slowly starting
to sink in at R&D and product development labs around the world, and it’s already prompting
some trailblazing companies
to look to nature or their
innovation centers for novel alternatives to the materials currently used in their products. We
predict this trend will be more widely embraced and discussed in 2014 and beyond.
One early adopter is Nike. The company has been on the hunt for more sustainable textiles
for some time, and recently went forward with its fourth Launch Challenge. It’s collaborating
with some unlikely partners: NASA, the U.S. State Department and USAID, all in an effort to
locate the most innovative textile fabricators that could introduce the industry to new,
revolutionary materials.
Sprint has turned to biomimicry to harness the intelligence of nature when rethinking its
packaging design. It has teamed up with the San Diego Zoo Center for Bioinspiration so
species like the tortoise can be observed and studied. The company is hopeful the time spent
studying nature will reveal some unconventional solutions. Sprint isn’t alone; the Da Vinci
Index measures biomimicry’s impact in the United States and “shows an eleven-fold increase
in the incidence of biomimicry in the research pipeline since 2000.”
Our takeaway is that the future will be bright for material science, and will undoubtedly be a
growing specialty among product developers and sustainability professionals. If we were
starting college all over again, we would be well advised to head to the engineering or
chemistry departments and declare our majors in material science.
2. GMOs – The Buck for Transparency Does Not Stop Here
GMO labeling is just the latest example of consumers’ desire to know more about how their
food is produced, where it comes from and what ingredients they are putting into their bodies.
While the GMO issue is not new, it has recently gained traction with 28 states proposing
GMO legislation just this year.
Target recently launched Simply Balanced, a product line that plans to be GMO-free by 2014.
Chipotle is the first fast food chain to voluntarily label GMO ingredients in all 1,450
restaurants, while Whole Foods is the first grocery chain to commit to labeling products with
GMOs by 2018.
Robin O'Brien calls this a consumer-driven “food awakening,” and those first to market will
see the profit. She notes food giants like Kraft or Kellogg would kill for the kind of rise in
share price that Annie’s stock has experienced, which may be partly due to meeting consumer
demand for transparent products with real ingredients.
While GMOs are the current rage, we believe this cry for transparency is just the tip of the
iceberg. Consumers, we predict, will be pressing for more disclosure on food labels –
whether it be the labeling of certain allergens not yet on the FDA’s top 10 list, or disclosing
what ingredients of concern are in food products that, while technically
legal, are perceived to be unsafe for consumption.
Progressive companies will push the envelope on the transparency front and share more facts
with consumers about what’s in their food. This could have a ripple effect, placing added
pressure on conventional food companies to open up their kimonos and provide consumers
with more transparency about what’s in their food.
3. Employee Engagement 2.0 – It's All About Choice
Employee engagement around CSR is evolving and some companies have started turning to
gamification or micro-volunteerism to make engagement easy, fun and personalized. More
importantly, companies that give employees some choice in how they participate or the
ability to influence their company’s CSR efforts may discover they have “improved retention
and ultimately, positive bottom line results,” according to Sustainable Brands. It points to two
campaigns that give employees options for how to make a personal difference and/or
determine the beneficiaries: Eileen Fisher’s participation in ClimateRide and AT&T’s Do
One Thing.
Gamification, or engaging employees through the use of game design, has quickly become a
popular human resource tool. Practically Green's whole business model is based on this
concept, using interactive tools, game mechanics and social networks to change employee
behavior in order to improve the bottom line and reduce environmental impact.
But we see employee engagement around CSR as still in its infancy. Companies already
know they need to find more contemporary and scalable approaches that can reach the
employee across a spectrum of functions – from the manufacturing plant and distribution
center, to the office environment or retail store. But old school approaches aren’t working
anymore as there isn’t a one-size-fits-all-employees approach to engaging them in the
company’s CSR. In today’s workplace, the need for employee engagement has never been
greater.
Look for a stronger emphasis on this in 2014, and some new breakthrough programs designed
around flexibility, personalization and choice, that are able to deliver higher levels of
employee engagement then we’ve seen in the past.
4. The Rise of Social Entrepreneurs
Corporations would be wise to pay attention to the little guys whose social start-ups are
stealing some of the best young talent from the pool of graduating MBAs and millennials – a
talent pool that isn’t finding their dream jobs in traditional companies and instead are
gravitating to social enterprises.
The research provides evidence that a paycheck is no longer enough for this generation of
workers; they want meaningful work with a purpose. Business schools are increasingly
incorporating social entrepreneurship into programs, says Harvard Business School, because
they know students are attracted to social enterprises that use a business model to deliver a
positive societal impact. Just look at the Hult Prize, the start-up accelerator for social
entrepreneurship, which received more than 11,000 applicants this year, compared to 1,000
applicants four years earlier.
Corporate executives may want to consider acquiring social enterprises, assuming they can be
bought, as they often act as non-traditional R&D centers and change-catalysts that are
increasingly reshaping the marketplace. Companies may also want to rethink their old models
for innovation and incorporate a social intra-preneurial approach that can unleash a whole
new paradigm for creating products that are sustainable, marketable and profitable while
delivering an added benefit
5. More Focus on Climate Change Adaptation
to society.
While it’s now standard practice for companies to address the environmental and carbon
impacts resulting from their operations and products, the time has come for companies to take
a hard look at how climate change could impact the company from the outside in and across
their entire supply chain. A few companies are already on this and incorporating climate
resiliency plans into future business strategies.
Issues like water scarcity, extreme storm systems, floods and wildfires have already caused
disruptions for some companies, including their ability to source raw materials reliably and
sustainably. This inconvenience should be prompting all companies to assess their climate
risks now so they can reinforce systems and infrastructure in preparation for future climaterelated uncertainties and realities.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) have been
urging companies to report on their climate change risks and opportunities, while groups like
BSR are putting out new guides like this one to help companies plan for climate adaptation.
One client we work with, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, has a strong focus on supply
chain resiliency, which includes efforts to address climate-related impacts on its coffee
supply. For instance, one climate impact is the spread of a disease known as coffee rust or “la
roya,” which affects the viability of coffee trees. The company was ahead of the curve to
recognize the longer-term effect this issue may have on farmers’ livelihoods and assurance of
its own supply.
The five trends outlined above are just a few that we spotted as gaining traction. There are
undoubtedly other emerging trends and issues you believe companies should be paying
attention to and communicating about in 2014. We’d love to hear what you think. This is
what CSRwire Talkback is all about – so please, we invite you to share your perspective and
"talk back."
Methinks
1. Emerging markets going gung-ho for CSR..India especially
2. New directions for CSR do include social entrepreneurship (whatever that means) but also
3.
4.
5.
6.
through sport, new materials,
The big companies are getting quite serious eg Wal-Mart...but developing new codes like
Marine Stewardship Council alternative etc
All getting fed up with new demands on reporting GRI, UNGC, OECD..and welcoming
integrated reporting
Academia increasingly including CSR and related in their courses
Multi-stakeholder view accepted but still not easy to identify stakeholders