I saw the following five questions last weekend in an ad for the Newsprint & Newspaper Industry Environmental Action Group (http://www.nnieag.org.uk/current_adverts.html). The ad is designed to test the reader’s knowledge of recycled paper and how it is used in the newspaper industry:
1. Can paper be recycled forever? Yes No
2. Does recycled paper need new fibers? Yes No
3. How much recovered paper do newspapers contain? 100% 49% 80.6%
4. How is the raw material in your newspaper sourced? Economically Responsibly
5. What should you do with your newspapers? Burn them Recycle them
Scroll down for the answers…..
Have a good weekend
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Answers (as written in the ad):
1. No, the fibers get worn out.
2. Yes, always.
3. 80.6%.
4. Responsibly, both recovered fibers and virgin pulp.
5. Recycle them, of course!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Strategic CSR - De Beers
The article in the url below is an interview with Gareth Penny, CEO of De Beers. Penny took over as CEO of the diamond company in 2006 in the middle of the ‘conflict diamonds’ crisis (Issues: Country of Origin, p223):
“Rapper Kanye West's "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" in 2005 and the movie "Blood Diamond" in 2006 were triggering a wave of negative publicity about buying "conflict diamonds," which were sold in the 1990s by African rebels to help pay for their wars.”
The interview asks Penny about what he has done to steer De Beers through this (“One hundred percent of De Beers diamonds today are conflict free. … It is estimated that 99.8% of all diamonds in the world flow through the Kimberley Process, which is extraordinary”) and other CSR-related issues. It also delves into his perspective on De Beers’ role as a leader in the diamonds industry today:
“Today, De Beers is "in transition," says Mr. Penny, 45 years old. The company, whose sales slipped 2.8% last year to $6.84 billion, has a new business model and is trying to polish its image. And Mr. Penny now casts himself as an unofficial ambassador for Africa who can help bring businesses and jobs to the continent.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Boss Talk: De Beers Polishes Its Image --- CEO Penny Refashions Business Model to Tackle Diamond Giant's Flaws
By Vanessa O'Connell
1255 words
7 July 2008
The Wall Street Journal
B1
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121538963806131221.html
“Rapper Kanye West's "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" in 2005 and the movie "Blood Diamond" in 2006 were triggering a wave of negative publicity about buying "conflict diamonds," which were sold in the 1990s by African rebels to help pay for their wars.”
The interview asks Penny about what he has done to steer De Beers through this (“One hundred percent of De Beers diamonds today are conflict free. … It is estimated that 99.8% of all diamonds in the world flow through the Kimberley Process, which is extraordinary”) and other CSR-related issues. It also delves into his perspective on De Beers’ role as a leader in the diamonds industry today:
“Today, De Beers is "in transition," says Mr. Penny, 45 years old. The company, whose sales slipped 2.8% last year to $6.84 billion, has a new business model and is trying to polish its image. And Mr. Penny now casts himself as an unofficial ambassador for Africa who can help bring businesses and jobs to the continent.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Boss Talk: De Beers Polishes Its Image --- CEO Penny Refashions Business Model to Tackle Diamond Giant's Flaws
By Vanessa O'Connell
1255 words
7 July 2008
The Wall Street Journal
B1
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121538963806131221.html
Monday, January 26, 2009
Strategic CSR - Investors
The article in the url below poses the question: “What sort of ownership do shareholders now provide, and how should managers respond?”
In suggesting an answer, the author makes the case for the negative effect of shareholders’ short term perspective on the ability of managers to implement a meaningful strategic vision of the firm (Figure 1.4: The Shareholder Shift—From Investor to Speculator, p14):
“Building and improving a business takes time. You cannot be judged hour by hour on your performance.”
The author argues that the implications of this divergence in interests between managers and investors extend to the definitions of the boundaries of the firm:
“"How can managers get back to being in control of the companies they manage?" … Perhaps this is a futile question, based on a nostalgic view of what companies should be. Maybe business has changed for good, and companies are now barely even semi-permanent organisations, with their own ethos and identity.”
This development also speaks to the importance of instituting a stakeholder perspective that enables firms to prioritize conflicting interests and meet the needs of those they deem to be most important:
“… today there are perhaps as many as seven different types of owners that businesses may have to reckon with, all of them laying claim to assets in different ways.”
The goal should be to focus on:
“… "intrinsic" shareholders, leaving traders and "mechanical" owners to the investor relations department. In short, do not waste management time on people who do not really understand you and will never make the effort to get to know you properly.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Short-term owners who leave the C-suite bitter
Stern, Stefan
920 words
24 June 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
16
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/73110d3c-4185-11dd-9661-0000779fd2ac.html
In suggesting an answer, the author makes the case for the negative effect of shareholders’ short term perspective on the ability of managers to implement a meaningful strategic vision of the firm (Figure 1.4: The Shareholder Shift—From Investor to Speculator, p14):
“Building and improving a business takes time. You cannot be judged hour by hour on your performance.”
The author argues that the implications of this divergence in interests between managers and investors extend to the definitions of the boundaries of the firm:
“"How can managers get back to being in control of the companies they manage?" … Perhaps this is a futile question, based on a nostalgic view of what companies should be. Maybe business has changed for good, and companies are now barely even semi-permanent organisations, with their own ethos and identity.”
This development also speaks to the importance of instituting a stakeholder perspective that enables firms to prioritize conflicting interests and meet the needs of those they deem to be most important:
“… today there are perhaps as many as seven different types of owners that businesses may have to reckon with, all of them laying claim to assets in different ways.”
The goal should be to focus on:
“… "intrinsic" shareholders, leaving traders and "mechanical" owners to the investor relations department. In short, do not waste management time on people who do not really understand you and will never make the effort to get to know you properly.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Short-term owners who leave the C-suite bitter
Stern, Stefan
920 words
24 June 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
16
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/73110d3c-4185-11dd-9661-0000779fd2ac.html
Friday, January 23, 2009
Strategic CSR - Havel & Orwell
In the article in the url below, John Kay draws on the work of Vaclav Havel (The Power of the Powerless) and George Orwell (1984 and Politics and the English Language) to demonstrate both the emptiness and danger of modern-day business language (slogans, annual reports, value or mission statements, etc). Kay points out that business language can be vacuous at worst, but is too often accepted and regurgitated as “a declaration of conformity” because of “the human desire to avoid confrontation”:
“Like George Orwell, Mr Havel described "living within the lie". Both saw how the dishonesty inherent in such acquiescence ultimately corrupted all aspects of life, personal as well as political.”
Kay terms such language “the theatre of empty rhetoric”:
“In western liberal democracies, no one exhibits slogans calling on the workers to unite. But you see similar displays in reception areas of businesses and even in government offices. They urge us to pursue excellence, to delight our customers, to be wholehearted in our embrace of change.”
Importantly, Kay notes danger in the short step from language to behavior. The purpose of such language is to obfuscate, rather than convey meaning. People accept it without protest, however, because it is the easy thing to do. Over time, the failure to question, to hold organizations to account, results in the superficial or vacuous becoming reality. It is here that there is the potential for larger, damaging consequences:
“The self-deception of living within the lie is how banks fell victim to the credit crunch and the US came to be embroiled in Iraq. The greengrocer, and millions like him, perpetuated a great evil by acquiescing in a minor deceit. Dishonesty of speech quickly leads to dishonesty in behaviour because the language we use governs all we do.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
(c) Sage Publications, 2006
Weasel words have the teeth to kill great ventures
Kay, John
677 words
14 January 2009
Financial Times
Asia Ed1
09
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/89550200-e190-11dd-afa0-0000779fd2ac.html
“Like George Orwell, Mr Havel described "living within the lie". Both saw how the dishonesty inherent in such acquiescence ultimately corrupted all aspects of life, personal as well as political.”
Kay terms such language “the theatre of empty rhetoric”:
“In western liberal democracies, no one exhibits slogans calling on the workers to unite. But you see similar displays in reception areas of businesses and even in government offices. They urge us to pursue excellence, to delight our customers, to be wholehearted in our embrace of change.”
Importantly, Kay notes danger in the short step from language to behavior. The purpose of such language is to obfuscate, rather than convey meaning. People accept it without protest, however, because it is the easy thing to do. Over time, the failure to question, to hold organizations to account, results in the superficial or vacuous becoming reality. It is here that there is the potential for larger, damaging consequences:
“The self-deception of living within the lie is how banks fell victim to the credit crunch and the US came to be embroiled in Iraq. The greengrocer, and millions like him, perpetuated a great evil by acquiescing in a minor deceit. Dishonesty of speech quickly leads to dishonesty in behaviour because the language we use governs all we do.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
(c) Sage Publications, 2006
Weasel words have the teeth to kill great ventures
Kay, John
677 words
14 January 2009
Financial Times
Asia Ed1
09
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/89550200-e190-11dd-afa0-0000779fd2ac.html
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Strategic CSR - The End of Ideology?
While I would not have chosen Rick Warren as my beacon of hope, the article in the url below by David Brooks makes a compelling argument that the inauguration of Barack Obama represents a shift to a new social environment. Obama is not the beginning of the shift, Brooks argues; instead, he is the latest development in a longer process that has been occurring since the 1960s:
“… societies do mend themselves, slowly and organically. In 2002, Rick Warren wrote a phenomenally popular book called ''The Purpose Driven Life.'' The first sentence was, ''It's not about you.'' That was a sign that the age of expressive individualism was coming to an end. New community patterns and social norms were coalescing.”
In Brooks’ view, Obama both personifies this change process and also carries the potential to take it to the next level—translating the rhetoric and ideas into meaningful action:
“… folks in the Obama camp hope to create a Grand Bargain. That would mean building on a culture of cohesion and tackling the issues that require joint sacrifice -- like reducing deficits, fixing Medicare and Social Security and reforming health care. These problems were insoluble during the era of division and distrust.”
If true, it is likely that this new environment will be more conducive to an argument in favor of CSR, whether moral, rational, or economic (Chapter 1, Towards A Responsible Society, pp. 15-19).
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
The Politics Of Cohesion
By DAVID BROOKS
806 words
20 January 2009
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
33
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/opinion/20brooks.html
“… societies do mend themselves, slowly and organically. In 2002, Rick Warren wrote a phenomenally popular book called ''The Purpose Driven Life.'' The first sentence was, ''It's not about you.'' That was a sign that the age of expressive individualism was coming to an end. New community patterns and social norms were coalescing.”
In Brooks’ view, Obama both personifies this change process and also carries the potential to take it to the next level—translating the rhetoric and ideas into meaningful action:
“… folks in the Obama camp hope to create a Grand Bargain. That would mean building on a culture of cohesion and tackling the issues that require joint sacrifice -- like reducing deficits, fixing Medicare and Social Security and reforming health care. These problems were insoluble during the era of division and distrust.”
If true, it is likely that this new environment will be more conducive to an argument in favor of CSR, whether moral, rational, or economic (Chapter 1, Towards A Responsible Society, pp. 15-19).
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
The Politics Of Cohesion
By DAVID BROOKS
806 words
20 January 2009
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
33
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/opinion/20brooks.html
Monday, January 19, 2009
Strategic CSR - Welcome Back!
Welcome back to the Strategic CSR Newsletter!
The first Newsletter of this semester is below. As always, your comments and ideas are welcome.
The articles in the two urls below offer different year-end perspectives on the progress made by the CSR debate in 2008. The first article is by Bill Baue of CSRWire.com and aims to provide a summary of key CSR events in 2008. In particular, Baue highlights the intersection of the economic and environmental crises:
“The economic meltdown of 2008 mirrors the simultaneous environmental meltdown fueled by the climate calamity - both share common roots, and many in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) community believe they share a common salvation. At the most basic level, the global economy is melting down because the belief in perpetual growth, propped up by deregulation and outright fraud, has smacked up against the finite nature of reality. Likewise, our atmosphere is literally melting our ecosystems, primarily because of the growth curve of fossil fuel emissions and carbon concentrations. … The most likely savior scenario likewise entwines economy and environment: a "green" recovery promises to create good jobs and strong companies while transitioning to a low-carbon energy infrastructure powered by renewable resources such as wind and solar.”
The second article is by Mallen Baker (Foreword, pxiii) who, rather than list a series of achievements, seeks to provide insight into what these achievements mean for 2009 and beyond. Of primary importance, Baker argues, is to recognize the negative influence of the search for ‘proof’ that CSR leads to measureable profitability for firms and maximum returns for shareholders:
“First – most people, including the declared supporters of CSR, have not really bought the business case arguments that have been put out there by a range of organisations, research groups and others. … There has been a whole industry based on this line in recent years. Trying to prove cause and effect: successful business = responsible business. It's time to move the argument on. All of those attempts bought into one central assumption – that it is the primary role of business to maximise shareholder returns and therefore any CSR commitment needs to show that it delivers cash to the bottom line in a direct and predictable way. That is the biggest assumption whose future is questioned by recent events.”
Happy New Year!
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
CSRwire Reports Top Corporate Social Responsibility News of 2008
Questions remain for CSR in 2009
A "green" recovery from economic and environmental meltdowns; the advent of Shareholder Activism 2.0 with binding resolutions at TARP banks; CSR adopts Web 2.0 strategies for sustainability reporting; is Wal-Mart really green? and much more...
Press release from: CSRwire
by Bill Baue
http://www.csrwire.com/News/14244.html
CSR: So what did we learn in 2008 that we can use in 2009?
Mallen Baker
January 7, 2009
Let's lose the sloppy thinking about CSR and bottom line benefits to start with, argues Mallen Baker
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=6275
Friday, December 5, 2008
Strategic CSR - 2nd Edition!
This will be the last CSR Newsletter for the Fall semester.
Have a great holiday season and I will see you in January!
The purpose of the Newsletter today is to ask for your assistance in shaping the second edition of the textbook that this Newsletter is intended to support: Strategic CSR: Stakeholders in a Global Environment.
Sage has decided to publish a second edition and Bill and I thought it would be a good idea to ask for your thoughts in terms of what you like and do not like about the first edition.
In general, we intend to keep the overall structure of the current edition, but will:
• Add two new chapters to Part I
• Update the Issues in Part II (removing the less effective ones and adding some that are more relevant to the CSR debate today), and
• Add a selection of 50 past Newsletters as a new Part III.
None of the current material will be lost, however, as Sage plans to set-up an interactive website on which we can store:
• Information in the current edition, but not included in the second edition
• The Instructor’s CD, and, perhaps,
• Additional material posted by adopters.
We would appreciate it very much if you could make any suggestions you have with these proposed changes in mind (particularly those of you who are using the book in the classroom). Please, also, if you have any additional ideas that are not included in this brief outline, please let us know as we are open to your suggestions.
In the past I have solicited thoughts from some of you on the book, so, if you have already sent me your ideas and have nothing more to add, thank you and rest assured your comments will be taken into account.
Many thanks again for your input into this process and continuing support for the textbook. We are excited to try and improve the book for its second edition. We will keep you updated on the release date for the second edition when it is finalized and as it gets nearer.
Happy Holidays!
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Strategic CSR - Teaching CSR
The article in the url below questions the ambitions of students from prestigious U.S. colleges (Harvard in particular) who automatically pursue high-paying careers in the financial or consulting industries:
“As Adam M. Guren, a new Harvard graduate who will be pursuing his doctorate in economics, put it, ''A lot of students have been asking the question: 'We came to Harvard as freshmen to change the world, and we're leaving to become investment bankers -- why is this?'”
The article outlines the pressures students feel to enter such careers, while talking to those who are trying to stimulate a debate about the true value of these sought-after educations (Issues: Ethics, p227):
“Is this what a Harvard education is for?'' … ''Are Ivy League schools simply becoming selecting mechanisms for Wall Street?”
The universities are also engaging in this debate, sponsoring “reflection seminars” at Harvard and reducing the financial cost of attending these universities as a way of removing the need/incentive to pursue a high salary on graduation:
“This year, Tufts announced that it would pay off college loans for graduates who chose public service jobs. And officials at Harvard, Penn, Amherst and a number of other colleges say one reason they have begun emphasizing grants instead of loans in financial aid is so students do not feel pressured by their debts to pursue lucrative careers.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
“As Adam M. Guren, a new Harvard graduate who will be pursuing his doctorate in economics, put it, ''A lot of students have been asking the question: 'We came to Harvard as freshmen to change the world, and we're leaving to become investment bankers -- why is this?'”
The article outlines the pressures students feel to enter such careers, while talking to those who are trying to stimulate a debate about the true value of these sought-after educations (Issues: Ethics, p227):
“Is this what a Harvard education is for?'' … ''Are Ivy League schools simply becoming selecting mechanisms for Wall Street?”
The universities are also engaging in this debate, sponsoring “reflection seminars” at Harvard and reducing the financial cost of attending these universities as a way of removing the need/incentive to pursue a high salary on graduation:
“This year, Tufts announced that it would pay off college loans for graduates who chose public service jobs. And officials at Harvard, Penn, Amherst and a number of other colleges say one reason they have begun emphasizing grants instead of loans in financial aid is so students do not feel pressured by their debts to pursue lucrative careers.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Monday, December 1, 2008
Strategic CSR - Carbon Offsets
The article in the first url below demonstrates the size of the market for carbon credits:
http://sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AL151A_carbo_20080411191616.gif
It also demonstrates the market’s fragile nature and the potential for abuse:
“The United Nations is the main global policeman in an effort by wealthy nations to reduce the impact of their own pollution by paying for cleanups in the developing world. The program, known as the Clean Development Mechanism, is one of the most important coordinated efforts to attack global warming. In recent months, however, U.N. regulators who administer the program have objected to dozens of these developing-world projects, ranging from hydroelectric plants to wind farms, questioning whether the projects would produce a real environmental payoff.”
The article in the second url below profiles the fate of the largest of the agencies/auditors that identify and certify projects, EcoSecurities. Following certification, the projects are then submitted to the UN for final approval under the scheme. Following UN approval, then the agencies can begin trading the credits:
“EcoSecurities Ltd., helps companies in the industrialized world meet their obligations to pollute less by selling them "credits" that fund clean-air projects in poorer nations. Last year, some $9.4 billion in these credits were traded, up from almost none four years earlier.”
The articles report that during the early years of the scheme, set-up following the Kyoto Protocol, UN oversight was lax and agencies like EcoSecurities were allowed to submit projects that had not been properly vetted. Now, however, the UN is moving to improve its oversight and tighten the overall system of approval:
“EcoSecurities' rise coincided with a permissive U.N. board. In 2004 and 2005, the board automatically approved 95% of the projects proposed to it, according to U.N. statistics. … Last year, the U.N. board gave automatic approval to only 57% of proposed projects, down from 95% in 2004 and 2005. Overall, it rejected 9% of proposed projects last year, more than double its rejection rate in 2006.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
(c) Sage Publications, 2006
U.N. Effort To Curtail Emissions In Turmoil
By Jeffrey Ball
1463 words
12 April 2008
The Wall Street Journal
A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120796372237309757.html
Up In Smoke: Two Carbon-Market Millionaires Take a Hit as U.N. Clamps Down --- EcoSecurities Sees Shares Slide 70%; 'In the Gray Zone'
By Jeffrey Ball
2317 words
14 April 2008
The Wall Street Journal
A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813542203111705.html
http://sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AL151A_carbo_20080411191616.gif
It also demonstrates the market’s fragile nature and the potential for abuse:
“The United Nations is the main global policeman in an effort by wealthy nations to reduce the impact of their own pollution by paying for cleanups in the developing world. The program, known as the Clean Development Mechanism, is one of the most important coordinated efforts to attack global warming. In recent months, however, U.N. regulators who administer the program have objected to dozens of these developing-world projects, ranging from hydroelectric plants to wind farms, questioning whether the projects would produce a real environmental payoff.”
The article in the second url below profiles the fate of the largest of the agencies/auditors that identify and certify projects, EcoSecurities. Following certification, the projects are then submitted to the UN for final approval under the scheme. Following UN approval, then the agencies can begin trading the credits:
“EcoSecurities Ltd., helps companies in the industrialized world meet their obligations to pollute less by selling them "credits" that fund clean-air projects in poorer nations. Last year, some $9.4 billion in these credits were traded, up from almost none four years earlier.”
The articles report that during the early years of the scheme, set-up following the Kyoto Protocol, UN oversight was lax and agencies like EcoSecurities were allowed to submit projects that had not been properly vetted. Now, however, the UN is moving to improve its oversight and tighten the overall system of approval:
“EcoSecurities' rise coincided with a permissive U.N. board. In 2004 and 2005, the board automatically approved 95% of the projects proposed to it, according to U.N. statistics. … Last year, the U.N. board gave automatic approval to only 57% of proposed projects, down from 95% in 2004 and 2005. Overall, it rejected 9% of proposed projects last year, more than double its rejection rate in 2006.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
(c) Sage Publications, 2006
U.N. Effort To Curtail Emissions In Turmoil
By Jeffrey Ball
1463 words
12 April 2008
The Wall Street Journal
A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120796372237309757.html
Up In Smoke: Two Carbon-Market Millionaires Take a Hit as U.N. Clamps Down --- EcoSecurities Sees Shares Slide 70%; 'In the Gray Zone'
By Jeffrey Ball
2317 words
14 April 2008
The Wall Street Journal
A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813542203111705.html
Friday, November 28, 2008
Strategic CSR - Qik
The article in the url below demonstrates further how evolving communications technology in an online world raises the profile for CSR for firms (Issues: Internet, p237; Media, p249):
“Qik's attraction is that it takes a feed from the viewfinder of a camera phone and streams the images live over the internet to a web page. Viewers can type comments and questions on to the screen, which the phone user can then see and answer.”
The Qik software enables anyone with a cell phone to upload live video and distribute it globally in real time. The article discusses the implications of this for media outlets (news, in particular), but I think the real danger lies for the entities who are the potential news stories. While this has broader political and social implications, therefore, Qik also further jeopardizes firms’ reputations, which can be quickly damaged by anyone with a cell phone and internet connection:
“"What if there had been Qik-enabled cell phones during the Burma protests a few months ago? Snap your fingers and it's there on whatever channel," says [Carla Thompson, an analyst with the Guidewire Group].”
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Qik broadcasts shine light on workings of the world: A small piece of mobile software is proving useful for capturing live images in every corner of life
By Chris Nuttall in San Francisco
912 words
1 August 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
12
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58e9f0ae-5f62-11dd-91c0-000077b07658.html
or without registration at:
http://www.ftchinese.com/story.php?lang=en&storyid=001021144
“Qik's attraction is that it takes a feed from the viewfinder of a camera phone and streams the images live over the internet to a web page. Viewers can type comments and questions on to the screen, which the phone user can then see and answer.”
The Qik software enables anyone with a cell phone to upload live video and distribute it globally in real time. The article discusses the implications of this for media outlets (news, in particular), but I think the real danger lies for the entities who are the potential news stories. While this has broader political and social implications, therefore, Qik also further jeopardizes firms’ reputations, which can be quickly damaged by anyone with a cell phone and internet connection:
“"What if there had been Qik-enabled cell phones during the Burma protests a few months ago? Snap your fingers and it's there on whatever channel," says [Carla Thompson, an analyst with the Guidewire Group].”
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Qik broadcasts shine light on workings of the world: A small piece of mobile software is proving useful for capturing live images in every corner of life
By Chris Nuttall in San Francisco
912 words
1 August 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
12
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58e9f0ae-5f62-11dd-91c0-000077b07658.html
or without registration at:
http://www.ftchinese.com/story.php?lang=en&storyid=001021144
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Strategic CSR - Ethical consumers?
The article in the link below questions the assumption of many CSR advocates that consumers care sufficiently about business ethics and CSR to sustain a fundamental shift in economic model (Issues: Ethics, p227). In essence, consumers will say one thing in response to survey questions about CSR, then turnaround and make their purchase decisions based on different principles:
“For most people to choose an “ethical” product over a regular product, that product must not cost any more than an ordinary one, it must come from a reputed brand, require no special effort to buy or use, and it must be at least as good as its alternative.”
In spite of a rise in availability of ethical products and producers willing to sell them:
“For the majority of consumers, cheap products of decent quality remain the popular choice.”
If true, then:
“… what incentives do businesses have in maintaining responsible or ethical standards?”
While the article addresses the issue of reputation risk for firms, it is at its most convincing in arguing that the threat of regulation represents the strongest incentive for firms to reform ahead of consumer demands that they do so (Chapter 1: The Rational Argument for CSR, p17). Because consumers are unlikely to voluntarily sacrifice their current standard of living for a future, uncertain benefit (the article argues), governments will eventually be forced to act on their behalf:
“… because the future will have to be one in which governments and regulators will have to take a much tougher line on the way externalities are priced by business.”
It is not the most forceful (or uplifting) argument for sustainable change, but it might be the best one that we have got!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Ethical consumers – Cop-out at the checkout
Consumers have shown that they will not push companies to be responsible
Chandran Nair
September 8, 2008
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=6074
“For most people to choose an “ethical” product over a regular product, that product must not cost any more than an ordinary one, it must come from a reputed brand, require no special effort to buy or use, and it must be at least as good as its alternative.”
In spite of a rise in availability of ethical products and producers willing to sell them:
“For the majority of consumers, cheap products of decent quality remain the popular choice.”
If true, then:
“… what incentives do businesses have in maintaining responsible or ethical standards?”
While the article addresses the issue of reputation risk for firms, it is at its most convincing in arguing that the threat of regulation represents the strongest incentive for firms to reform ahead of consumer demands that they do so (Chapter 1: The Rational Argument for CSR, p17). Because consumers are unlikely to voluntarily sacrifice their current standard of living for a future, uncertain benefit (the article argues), governments will eventually be forced to act on their behalf:
“… because the future will have to be one in which governments and regulators will have to take a much tougher line on the way externalities are priced by business.”
It is not the most forceful (or uplifting) argument for sustainable change, but it might be the best one that we have got!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Ethical consumers – Cop-out at the checkout
Consumers have shown that they will not push companies to be responsible
Chandran Nair
September 8, 2008
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=6074
Monday, November 24, 2008
Strategic CSR - Finance
The article in the url below by Martin Wolf of the FT offers two important comments on the recent credit crisis and the self-inflicted wounds of the financial industry (Issues: Finance, p180; Investing, p184). First, is the idea that industries that fail to regulate themselves and consistently overstep the bounds of acceptability set by society face regulation (Chapter 1; A Rational Argument for CSR, p17):
“More regulation is on its way. After frightening politicians and policymakers so badly, even the most optimistic banker must realise this. The question is whether the additional regulation will do any good.”
Second, Wolf offers a stinging rebuke to an industry that should expect an even stronger social backlash because of its poor performance relative to standards in other industries:
“Yet why, I ask, should this industry have apparently failed to improve its standards of performance over the past century? After all, almost every other industry has done so. Consider how confident we are that the food we buy will not poison us. Yet adulterated food was once a threat. … [The banking industry’s] purely operational performance is now impressive. But competition does not work well in finance. The "product" of the financial industry is promises for an uncertain future, marketed as dreams that can readily become nightmares. Customers are readily swept away by exaggerated promises, irrational beliefs, misplaced trust and sheer skulduggery. So, too, are practitioners: basing risk management on limited data and inadequate models is a good example. Emotions count wherever uncertainties loom. Boeing would not survive if the aircraft it built fell out of the sky. Yet in the financial industry, huge blunders are also almost always made in common. If everybody is in the dance nobody is to blame and, in any case, governments, horrified by the consequences of a collapsing financial system, will come to the rescue.”
Wolf, however, is pessimistic that anything will change. Regulators, he argues, are likely to focus on correcting past mistakes, rather than preventing future ones, and firms and individuals are unlikely to feel sufficient “pain” to deter future recklessness.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Why financial regulation is both difficult and essential
By Martin Wolf
1,035 words
April 15 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
Page 11
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041520081354588929
“More regulation is on its way. After frightening politicians and policymakers so badly, even the most optimistic banker must realise this. The question is whether the additional regulation will do any good.”
Second, Wolf offers a stinging rebuke to an industry that should expect an even stronger social backlash because of its poor performance relative to standards in other industries:
“Yet why, I ask, should this industry have apparently failed to improve its standards of performance over the past century? After all, almost every other industry has done so. Consider how confident we are that the food we buy will not poison us. Yet adulterated food was once a threat. … [The banking industry’s] purely operational performance is now impressive. But competition does not work well in finance. The "product" of the financial industry is promises for an uncertain future, marketed as dreams that can readily become nightmares. Customers are readily swept away by exaggerated promises, irrational beliefs, misplaced trust and sheer skulduggery. So, too, are practitioners: basing risk management on limited data and inadequate models is a good example. Emotions count wherever uncertainties loom. Boeing would not survive if the aircraft it built fell out of the sky. Yet in the financial industry, huge blunders are also almost always made in common. If everybody is in the dance nobody is to blame and, in any case, governments, horrified by the consequences of a collapsing financial system, will come to the rescue.”
Wolf, however, is pessimistic that anything will change. Regulators, he argues, are likely to focus on correcting past mistakes, rather than preventing future ones, and firms and individuals are unlikely to feel sufficient “pain” to deter future recklessness.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Why financial regulation is both difficult and essential
By Martin Wolf
1,035 words
April 15 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
Page 11
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto041520081354588929
Friday, November 21, 2008
Strategic CSR - Nike
It is characteristic of the media that good news takes a back seat to scandal, but the article in the url below is worth highlighting as an example of how far Nike has come regarding CSR (Issues: Cultural Conflict, p160). The article, buried deep in the sports pages of my local paper, reports Nike’s voluntary disclosure of the mistreatment of workers at the factory of a Nike sub-contractor in Malaysia:
“… including squalid living conditions, garnished wages and withheld passports of foreign workers.”
Nike’s response, I think, is impressive:
“Nike said all workers are being transferred to Nike-inspected and approved housing … All workers will be reimbursed for any fees and going forward, the fees will be paid by the factory. All workers will have immediate access to their passports and any worker who wishes to return home will be provided return airfare.”
Those executives that remain unconvinced of the value of CSR, however, are likely to remain skeptical as long as such proactive behavior remains unrecognized, while the slightest transgression is plastered all over the front pages.
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Nike finds major violations at Malaysian factory
By SARAH SKIDMORE
AP Business Writer
415 words
1 August 2008
02:04 PM
Associated Press Newswires
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/01/1713691-nike-finds-major-violations-at-malaysian-factory
“… including squalid living conditions, garnished wages and withheld passports of foreign workers.”
Nike’s response, I think, is impressive:
“Nike said all workers are being transferred to Nike-inspected and approved housing … All workers will be reimbursed for any fees and going forward, the fees will be paid by the factory. All workers will have immediate access to their passports and any worker who wishes to return home will be provided return airfare.”
Those executives that remain unconvinced of the value of CSR, however, are likely to remain skeptical as long as such proactive behavior remains unrecognized, while the slightest transgression is plastered all over the front pages.
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Nike finds major violations at Malaysian factory
By SARAH SKIDMORE
AP Business Writer
415 words
1 August 2008
02:04 PM
Associated Press Newswires
http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/01/1713691-nike-finds-major-violations-at-malaysian-factory
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Strategic CSR - Dr. Hauschka
The article in the url below profiles the parent (WALA Heilmittel) of the natural cosmetics firm, Dr. Hauschka:
“… the company's roots are in herbal medicine. WALA was founded in 1935 by Rudolf Hauschka, a Viennese chemist who sought to develop remedies using only natural ingredients. In 1967, it added the skin care line, named after the founder, who died two years later.”
Dr. Hauschka is experiencing success today as consumers increasingly seek out socially and environmentally friendly products:
“Sales of WALA Heilmittel, the maker of Dr. Hauschka, have more than doubled in the last five years, to nearly $150 million, about 8 percent of that from the United States, where it also sells herbal remedies. The 73-year-old company, which labored for decades in obscurity, now finds itself in the sweet spot of a booming market for green cosmetics.”
The firm’s level of social responsibility extends far beyond its product line, however, appearing to have successfully integrated a CSR perspective throughout all aspects of operations. The company is run:
“… almost as a collective, with all the profits either plowed back into operations or handed out to the 700 workers.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Garden Is a Seedbed For Green Cosmetics
By MARK LANDLER
1307 words
28 June 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
3
“… the company's roots are in herbal medicine. WALA was founded in 1935 by Rudolf Hauschka, a Viennese chemist who sought to develop remedies using only natural ingredients. In 1967, it added the skin care line, named after the founder, who died two years later.”
Dr. Hauschka is experiencing success today as consumers increasingly seek out socially and environmentally friendly products:
“Sales of WALA Heilmittel, the maker of Dr. Hauschka, have more than doubled in the last five years, to nearly $150 million, about 8 percent of that from the United States, where it also sells herbal remedies. The 73-year-old company, which labored for decades in obscurity, now finds itself in the sweet spot of a booming market for green cosmetics.”
The firm’s level of social responsibility extends far beyond its product line, however, appearing to have successfully integrated a CSR perspective throughout all aspects of operations. The company is run:
“… almost as a collective, with all the profits either plowed back into operations or handed out to the 700 workers.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Garden Is a Seedbed For Green Cosmetics
By MARK LANDLER
1307 words
28 June 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
3
Monday, November 17, 2008
Strategic CSR - Green Noise
The article in the url below introduces the concept of “green noise”:
“green noise” -- static caused by urgent, sometimes vexing or even contradictory information [about the environment] played at too high a volume for too long.”
The idea of “green noise” adds value to the debate. While terms like “greenwashing” describe the conduct of firms, “green noise” presents a consumer perspective on the exponential growth in information on issues related to the environment and climate change that is often contradictory. The overall effect is to obfuscate, rather than clarify, whether deliberately or with good intentions:
“An environmentally conscientious consumer is left to wonder: are low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs better than standard incandescents, even if they contain traces of mercury? Which salad is more earth-friendly, the one made with organic mixed greens trucked from thousands of miles away, or the one with lettuce raised on nearby industrial farms? Should they support nuclear power as a clean alternative to coal?”
In outlining the concept of “green noise” the article also highlights the effect of this information overload on consumer behavior:
“… consumers surveyed in 2007 were between 22 and 55 percent less likely to buy a wide range of green products than in 2006. The slipping economy had an effect, but message overload appeared to be a major factor as well.”
There is an interesting relationship between the amount of information and effective decision making—the idea that more information is better, but too much leads to paralysis and, consequently, bad or non decisions:
“Diane Tompkins, a founder of the Curious Company, a market research firm based in San Francisco … has conducted focus groups to investigate the psychological barriers to taking action for the sake of the environment. The activist groups ''believe that, surely, if I just gave them one more reason why they should do it, then they would,'' she said. ''But the fact is, people are not motivated by more facts. That can just reinforce their feeling of helplessness.''”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
That Buzz In Your Ear May Be Green Noise
By ALEX WILLIAMS
1540 words
15 June 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/fashion/15green.html
“green noise” -- static caused by urgent, sometimes vexing or even contradictory information [about the environment] played at too high a volume for too long.”
The idea of “green noise” adds value to the debate. While terms like “greenwashing” describe the conduct of firms, “green noise” presents a consumer perspective on the exponential growth in information on issues related to the environment and climate change that is often contradictory. The overall effect is to obfuscate, rather than clarify, whether deliberately or with good intentions:
“An environmentally conscientious consumer is left to wonder: are low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs better than standard incandescents, even if they contain traces of mercury? Which salad is more earth-friendly, the one made with organic mixed greens trucked from thousands of miles away, or the one with lettuce raised on nearby industrial farms? Should they support nuclear power as a clean alternative to coal?”
In outlining the concept of “green noise” the article also highlights the effect of this information overload on consumer behavior:
“… consumers surveyed in 2007 were between 22 and 55 percent less likely to buy a wide range of green products than in 2006. The slipping economy had an effect, but message overload appeared to be a major factor as well.”
There is an interesting relationship between the amount of information and effective decision making—the idea that more information is better, but too much leads to paralysis and, consequently, bad or non decisions:
“Diane Tompkins, a founder of the Curious Company, a market research firm based in San Francisco … has conducted focus groups to investigate the psychological barriers to taking action for the sake of the environment. The activist groups ''believe that, surely, if I just gave them one more reason why they should do it, then they would,'' she said. ''But the fact is, people are not motivated by more facts. That can just reinforce their feeling of helplessness.''”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
That Buzz In Your Ear May Be Green Noise
By ALEX WILLIAMS
1540 words
15 June 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/fashion/15green.html
Friday, November 14, 2008
Strategic CSR - Google
The two articles in the urls below demonstrate the power of the internet to re-shape the way information is communicated around the globe (Chapter 1: Globalization and the Free Flow of Information, p20; Issues: Internet, p237). This phenomenon will continue to evolve in ways that we have not yet even begun to imagine (at least, those of us who do not work for Google):
“You can Google to get a hotel, find a flight and buy a book. Now you may be able to use Google to avoid the flu.”
The philanthropic arm of the internet search company (http://www.google.org/) has released a new service (http://www.google.org/flutrends/) that will track internet search terms related to the flu nationally (e.g., “cough” or “fever”) and use this information to help identify potential outbreaks of the illness:
“It displays the results on a map of the U.S. and shows a chart of changes in flu activity around the country. The data is meaningful because the Google arm that created Flu Trends found a strong correlation between the number of Internet searches related to the flu and the number of people reporting flu symptoms.”
This information is powerful because of the speed with which it identifies early trends to which government agencies and health providers can then react:
“Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company's philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
I believe that firms are just beginning to appreciate the ways in which these communication tools will affect their operations and reputations. What seems apparent, however, is that the affect will be dramatic and that firms that are not transparent and accountable to their stakeholders will suffer as a result.
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Sniffly Surfing: Google Unveils Flu-Bug Tracker
By Robert A. Guth
1070 words
12 November 2008
The Wall Street Journal
D1
http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB122644309498518615.html
Aches, a Sneeze, a Google Search
By MIGUEL HELFT
1267 words
12 November 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html
“You can Google to get a hotel, find a flight and buy a book. Now you may be able to use Google to avoid the flu.”
The philanthropic arm of the internet search company (http://www.google.org/) has released a new service (http://www.google.org/flutrends/) that will track internet search terms related to the flu nationally (e.g., “cough” or “fever”) and use this information to help identify potential outbreaks of the illness:
“It displays the results on a map of the U.S. and shows a chart of changes in flu activity around the country. The data is meaningful because the Google arm that created Flu Trends found a strong correlation between the number of Internet searches related to the flu and the number of people reporting flu symptoms.”
This information is powerful because of the speed with which it identifies early trends to which government agencies and health providers can then react:
“Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company's philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
I believe that firms are just beginning to appreciate the ways in which these communication tools will affect their operations and reputations. What seems apparent, however, is that the affect will be dramatic and that firms that are not transparent and accountable to their stakeholders will suffer as a result.
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Sniffly Surfing: Google Unveils Flu-Bug Tracker
By Robert A. Guth
1070 words
12 November 2008
The Wall Street Journal
D1
http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB122644309498518615.html
Aches, a Sneeze, a Google Search
By MIGUEL HELFT
1267 words
12 November 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Strategic CSR - Labor Laws in China
The article in the url below charts the improving labor laws in China (Issues: Cultural Conflict, p160; Wages, p204). In spite of a new Labor Contract Law (introduced in January 2008), however, formal protest and workers’ rights are still sensitive issues in China and reform is slow:
“While China's rising number of middle-class malcontents are quick to protest one-off threats to their relatively comfortable existences - such as a nuclear plant or rail project nearby - they are otherwise coddled by government policies. Workers' grievances, by contrast, range from exploitation by employers to administrative discrimination against migrants who have moved to coastal factory towns from poor provinces in the interior. … They also have a lot less to lose than China's professional classes, making any independent labour movement forged outside the official All China Federation of Trade Unions one of the greatest potential threats to the Communist party's grip on power.”
Although union organization is still strongly discouraged by authorities, there is room for organizations (such as Chunfeng, featured in the article) to advise workers on their legal rights:
“Despite the restrictions, Chunfeng has never been busier. "Before this year, we handled about 10 cases a month," says Mr Zhang, who turns 34 this year. "Now it's up to about 30."”
This issue gained increased prominence over the summer with the story that Wal-Mart has finally agreed to collectively-bargained wage rises for all employees at its stores in China.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
China's factory workers gain recognition for grievances
By Tom Mitchell in Shenzhen
1110 words
30 July 2008
Financial Times
Asia Ed1
07
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/03fc6bc2-5d9f-11dd-8129-000077b07658.html
“While China's rising number of middle-class malcontents are quick to protest one-off threats to their relatively comfortable existences - such as a nuclear plant or rail project nearby - they are otherwise coddled by government policies. Workers' grievances, by contrast, range from exploitation by employers to administrative discrimination against migrants who have moved to coastal factory towns from poor provinces in the interior. … They also have a lot less to lose than China's professional classes, making any independent labour movement forged outside the official All China Federation of Trade Unions one of the greatest potential threats to the Communist party's grip on power.”
Although union organization is still strongly discouraged by authorities, there is room for organizations (such as Chunfeng, featured in the article) to advise workers on their legal rights:
“Despite the restrictions, Chunfeng has never been busier. "Before this year, we handled about 10 cases a month," says Mr Zhang, who turns 34 this year. "Now it's up to about 30."”
This issue gained increased prominence over the summer with the story that Wal-Mart has finally agreed to collectively-bargained wage rises for all employees at its stores in China.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
China's factory workers gain recognition for grievances
By Tom Mitchell in Shenzhen
1110 words
30 July 2008
Financial Times
Asia Ed1
07
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/03fc6bc2-5d9f-11dd-8129-000077b07658.html
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Strategic CSR - Home Depot
In the absence of regulated standards in many areas of CSR-related products, the article in the url link below describes the steps firms are taking to ensure their progress on this issue is not lost on their customers (Issues: Advertising, p151; Brands, p153):
“It's all part of a new trend spinning out from the current wave of eco-chic. Perhaps taking a cue from the U.S. Agriculture Dept.'s eye-catching, consumer-friendly, official labels for organic food, increasing numbers of non-food related stores and brands are introducing official-looking symbols and signs to promote their products. Their strategy is clear: To market their eco-friendliness, and to quickly and effectively communicate how socially responsible they are.”
Home Depot’s new “earth-friendly products” icon is below as an example:
http://images.businessweek.com/story/07/popup/0501_green_labeling_1.jpg
“Already, the label is associated with more than 2,500 products, ranging from compact fluorescent light bulbs to organic plants in biodegradable pots. Many, but not all, are verified by Scientific Certification Systems, an independent standards development and certification company.”
The sudden increase in various forms of environmental and social responsibility-type labels is designed to benefit from a growing consumer market:
“Each of these companies are looking to tap the growing numbers of socially responsible consumers. They have realized the power that the nearly five-year-old, USDA organic label wields among customers (products bearing the "organic" label represented a healthy $14.6 billion in total annual U.S. sales in 2005, the latest figures available from industry group Organic Trade Assn., up 17% from the year before).”
The problem, of course, is that the increased variety of symbols, marks, and icons, not to mention the huge variance in standards that underpin what is deemed to be ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical,’ or ‘responsible,’ leads to further confusion. More important is the potential for abuse of consumer interest in CSR and products that support a responsible and sustainable business model, and also the dilution of meaning of what official labels (where they exist) mean over time:
“… while graphic designers, brand strategists, and consumer advocates alike agree that a proliferation of socially responsible corporations is healthy news for the environment, they're also cautioning that shoppers be wary or at least well-informed of the claims that each new, brand-specific eco-label conveys.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Business Week Online
Insider Newsletter
Saturday, May 5, 2007
********************
READING THE NEW ECO LABELS
Retailers and manufacturers of non-food items are creating their own seals of approval for earth-friendly goods
by Reena Jana
Marketing May 2, 2007
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-05-02/reading-the-new-eco-labelsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
“It's all part of a new trend spinning out from the current wave of eco-chic. Perhaps taking a cue from the U.S. Agriculture Dept.'s eye-catching, consumer-friendly, official labels for organic food, increasing numbers of non-food related stores and brands are introducing official-looking symbols and signs to promote their products. Their strategy is clear: To market their eco-friendliness, and to quickly and effectively communicate how socially responsible they are.”
Home Depot’s new “earth-friendly products” icon is below as an example:
http://images.businessweek.com/story/07/popup/0501_green_labeling_1.jpg
“Already, the label is associated with more than 2,500 products, ranging from compact fluorescent light bulbs to organic plants in biodegradable pots. Many, but not all, are verified by Scientific Certification Systems, an independent standards development and certification company.”
The sudden increase in various forms of environmental and social responsibility-type labels is designed to benefit from a growing consumer market:
“Each of these companies are looking to tap the growing numbers of socially responsible consumers. They have realized the power that the nearly five-year-old, USDA organic label wields among customers (products bearing the "organic" label represented a healthy $14.6 billion in total annual U.S. sales in 2005, the latest figures available from industry group Organic Trade Assn., up 17% from the year before).”
The problem, of course, is that the increased variety of symbols, marks, and icons, not to mention the huge variance in standards that underpin what is deemed to be ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical,’ or ‘responsible,’ leads to further confusion. More important is the potential for abuse of consumer interest in CSR and products that support a responsible and sustainable business model, and also the dilution of meaning of what official labels (where they exist) mean over time:
“… while graphic designers, brand strategists, and consumer advocates alike agree that a proliferation of socially responsible corporations is healthy news for the environment, they're also cautioning that shoppers be wary or at least well-informed of the claims that each new, brand-specific eco-label conveys.”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Business Week Online
Insider Newsletter
Saturday, May 5, 2007
********************
READING THE NEW ECO LABELS
Retailers and manufacturers of non-food items are creating their own seals of approval for earth-friendly goods
by Reena Jana
Marketing May 2, 2007
http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-05-02/reading-the-new-eco-labelsbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
Monday, November 10, 2008
Strategic CSR - Union Carbide
The article in the url below describes how the gas leak that occurred in Bhopal, India almost 25 years ago has still not been cleared up. As a result, the disaster continues to generate negative headlines for Union Carbide (and Dow Chemicals, which bought Union Carbide in 2001) on the front page of the NYT (Issues: Human Rights, p234):
“Hundreds of tons of waste still languish inside a tin-roofed warehouse in a corner of the old grounds of the Union Carbide pesticide factory here, nearly a quarter-century after a poison gas leak killed thousands and turned this ancient city into a notorious symbol of industrial disaster.”
Putting aside any arguments of moral responsibility, it is amazing that a firm like Dow does not just pay what it takes to make this problem go away (Chapter 1: A Rational Argument for CSR, p17):
“The toxic remains have yet to be carted away. No one has examined to what extent, over more than two decades, they have seeped into the soil and water … Nor has anyone bothered to address the concerns of those who have drunk that water and tended kitchen gardens on this soil and who now present a wide range of ailments, including cleft palates and mental retardation, among their children as evidence of a second generation of Bhopal victims.”
Over the summer, the Supreme Court delivered a decision on the 1989 Exxon Valdez case. Both that case and the Bhopal disaster reflect poorly (to say the least) on the strategic decisions taken by the executives of both companies. At least, however, Exxon has accepted some degree of responsibility for its role in the Valdez oil spill.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
1858 words
7 July 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/world/asia/07bhopal.html
“Hundreds of tons of waste still languish inside a tin-roofed warehouse in a corner of the old grounds of the Union Carbide pesticide factory here, nearly a quarter-century after a poison gas leak killed thousands and turned this ancient city into a notorious symbol of industrial disaster.”
Putting aside any arguments of moral responsibility, it is amazing that a firm like Dow does not just pay what it takes to make this problem go away (Chapter 1: A Rational Argument for CSR, p17):
“The toxic remains have yet to be carted away. No one has examined to what extent, over more than two decades, they have seeped into the soil and water … Nor has anyone bothered to address the concerns of those who have drunk that water and tended kitchen gardens on this soil and who now present a wide range of ailments, including cleft palates and mental retardation, among their children as evidence of a second generation of Bhopal victims.”
Over the summer, the Supreme Court delivered a decision on the 1989 Exxon Valdez case. Both that case and the Bhopal disaster reflect poorly (to say the least) on the strategic decisions taken by the executives of both companies. At least, however, Exxon has accepted some degree of responsibility for its role in the Valdez oil spill.
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
1858 words
7 July 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/world/asia/07bhopal.html
Friday, November 7, 2008
Strategic CSR - Mobile phones
The article in the url below outlines the steps mobile phone companies are taking to develop products that appeal to consumers at the bottom-of-the-pyramid (Issues: Profit, p200):
“A study by Gartner, a technology research group, of related security issues estimated mobile phone payment systems could be available to 15 per cent of the world's 3bn unbanked people by the end of this year.”
The availability of mobile phones and the level of current technology make banking and financial services particularly amenable to the needs of BOP consumers. Often, consumers in this target market do not have bank accounts, but need to take out a loan, pay bills, or send money to friends and relatives, all of which can be done using their mobile phone:
“Mobile technology has the potential to offer cheap no-frills banking, at low risk, because transactions are monitored in real-time, on widely-used, high-quality infrastructure.”
This article came from a supplement in the FT on Sustainable Banking. Other articles in the same supplement can be found at:
http://www.ft.com/reports/sustainablebanking2008
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
FT REPORT - SUSTAINABLE BANKING 2008
Mobile phone operators revolutionise cash transfers
Tieman, Ross
739 words
3 June 2008
Financial Times
Surveys SBA1
04
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto060220081321472830
“A study by Gartner, a technology research group, of related security issues estimated mobile phone payment systems could be available to 15 per cent of the world's 3bn unbanked people by the end of this year.”
The availability of mobile phones and the level of current technology make banking and financial services particularly amenable to the needs of BOP consumers. Often, consumers in this target market do not have bank accounts, but need to take out a loan, pay bills, or send money to friends and relatives, all of which can be done using their mobile phone:
“Mobile technology has the potential to offer cheap no-frills banking, at low risk, because transactions are monitored in real-time, on widely-used, high-quality infrastructure.”
This article came from a supplement in the FT on Sustainable Banking. Other articles in the same supplement can be found at:
http://www.ft.com/reports/sustainablebanking2008
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
FT REPORT - SUSTAINABLE BANKING 2008
Mobile phone operators revolutionise cash transfers
Tieman, Ross
739 words
3 June 2008
Financial Times
Surveys SBA1
04
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto060220081321472830
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