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Welcome back to the Strategic CSR Newsletter! The first newsletter of the Spring semester is below. As always, your comments and ideas are welcome.
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The other day, I was discussing with a friend the shift in public pronouncements by corporations about their equity and inclusion policies, and whether this reflected a similar shift in behavior (actions in addition to words). My sense is that many organizations are continuing as before (i.e., they are not fundamentally altering their mission and behavior), but are doing so surreptitiously. Perhaps a corollary is what is happening in the sustainability space, as explained in the article in the url below:
"Greenhushing is everywhere. While a rollback in green ambition has received a lot of attention in recent months, many speakers said companies were still pursuing their targets, just without talking about them in public. Peter Bakker, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, said that 91% of companies WBCSD surveyed globally said they are investing the same or more than they were last year in decarbonization. Similarly, Sherry Madera, CEO of the environmental disclosure nonprofit CDP, said its data shows that the majority of companies are either maintaining or increasing their climate ambition. But, she said those conversations are happening behind a closed door. "I don't think companies have the appetite to talk about this as much."
Of course, this reaction might evolve — stages of resistance and then submission, perhaps. In other words, perhaps organizations start out changing their words and labels, but continue their behavior. Then, as the pressure to change continues and new norms (and stakeholder expectations) emerge, behavior eventually follows.
To distort Warren Buffet's well-known quote about bankruptcy — change happens slowly, and then suddenly.
Take care
David
David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation (6e)
© Sage Publications, 2023
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Corporations Are Bringing Climate Talk to a Whisper
By Coco Liu
March 4, 2025
Bloomberg
