The CSR Newsletters are a freely-available resource generated as a dynamic complement to the textbook, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Sustainable Value Creation.

To sign-up to receive the CSR Newsletters regularly during the fall and spring academic semesters, e-mail author David Chandler at david.chandler@ucdenver.edu.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Strategic CSR - Football

I am not sure if this counts as the level of nuanced discourse we need to be having as a society around climate change but, in terms of novelty value, the article in the url below at least caught my eye:

"When the English football club Reading F.C. takes to the field for its first home game of the season this weekend, the sleeves on its kits will look a bit different from years past. Instead of the club's traditional blue and white bands, fans will see 150 narrow stripes in varying shades of red and blue. The change isn't about aesthetics: The new sleeves are a data visualization of global warming known as climate stripes."

I am not sure how many fans in the stands will notice, given how well the design blends in with the shirt at present, but the change at least allows the club to make a statement:
 

The design comes from the idea of climate stripes, which represent periods of hotter and colder temperatures across time (e.g., https://www.climate-lab-book.ac.uk/2018/warming-stripes/):
 

This is either an indication of how far the climate debate is beginning to seep into public consciousness, or a gimmick that will be missed by almost everyone.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


An English Football Club Is Adding Global Warming Data to Its Kits
By Ira Boudway
August 6, 2022
Bloomberg Green

Posted by David Chandler at 12:50 PM

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Strategic CSR - Nickel

The article in the url below captures the complexity of the effort to make our economy more sustainable. Specifically, it tells the story of an exploratory mine in Minnesota, run by Talon Metals, that is seeking to extract nickel. One of the many reasons nickel is in demand is that it is essential for making the batteries we need to run electrical vehicles (see Strategic CSR – EVs):

"The company is proposing to build an underground mine near Tamarack that would produce nickel. … It would be a profitable venture for Talon, which has a contract to supply nickel for Tesla's car batteries, and a step forward in the country's race to develop domestic supply chains to feed the growing demand for electric vehicles."

All well and good, except for the fact that extracting nickel is a messy business:

"But mines that extract metal from sulfide ore, as this one would, have a poor environmental record in the United States, and an even more checkered footprint globally. While some in the area argue the mine could bring good jobs to a sparsely populated region, others are deeply fearful that it could spoil local lakes and streams that feed into the Mississippi River. There is also concern that it could endanger the livelihoods and culture of Ojibwe tribes whose members live just over a mile from Talon's land and have gathered wild rice here for generations."

Talon has said it will take every effort to prevent that from happening, but of course we would expect them to say that while they are still seeking permission to open the mine. Some remain suspicious, which is only natural given the track-record the extraction industries have earned for themselves:

"But some people in the community remain skeptical, including about the company's promises to respect Indigenous rights, like the tribes' authority over lands where their members hunt and gather food. Part of that mistrust stems from the fact that Talon's minority partner, Rio Tinto, provoked outrage in 2020 by blowing up a 46,000-year-old system of Aboriginal caves in Australia in a search for iron ore."

What I find interesting/frustrating about this story though is the conundrum it creates. If the only way to obtain the metals and other raw materials we need to transition from a fossil fuel economy is to raise the risk of additional environmental damage, it makes what is an extremely challenging transition that much harder. As Kelly Applegate, "the commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe" notes:

"'Talon and Rio Tinto will come and go — greatly enriched by their mining operation. But we, and the remnants of the Tamarack mine, will be here forever.'"

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Batteries to Power Electric Cars Need Nickel. A Plan to Mine It in the U.S. Faces Pushback
By Ana Swanson
September 1, 2022
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
B1, B5
 
Posted by David Chandler at 9:12 AM

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Strategic CSR - Toilets

The article in the url below is interesting because it shows the power of architecture (and design, art, and public policy) to create cities that are more pleasing;

"Toilets are usually out of sight and out of mind, until nature calls. Yet it is this universality and daily use that make restrooms a lens for examining the relationship between our cities and lifestyles, with each one telling a story about a snapshot in time. One country where toilets are appreciated and openly discussed, however, is Japan, so much so that it inspired German filmmaker Wim Wenders to make a new movie about a collection of public restrooms in the Shibuya district of Tokyo."

What is so interesting about these toilets?

"The toilets examined in the film are part of The Tokyo Toilet art project, which employed 16 world-famous designers to revamp 17 public restrooms in the capital. The project's goal is to eliminate negative stereotypes about public toilets with innovative designs, modern equipment and careful upkeep, which at the same time evoke qualities such as cleanliness, meticulousness and quirkiness typically associated with Japan."

For more on the project and a list of all the toilet designs (with photos), see: https://tokyotoilet.jp/en/. The Japanese take their toilets seriously:

"In the bubble era of the 1980s, toilet maker Toto introduced the electronic Washlet, a refined version of an American-made bidet for hospital patients with hemorrhoids that the company had been importing. The Washlet is now almost synonymous with Japanese culture and is being exported all around the world, as more people come to desire the comfort and cleanliness of the product, particularly during Covid. Today, 80.3% of Japanese households contain a Washlet-type toilet, according to a Cabinet Office survey, and they are also ubiquitous in hotels, restaurants, department stores and even public restrooms like the Tokyo Toilet."

Photos of many of the toilets in the project are also displayed in the article, below.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


These Toilets in Japan Are About to Get Their Own Movie
By Max Zimmerman
May 26, 2022
Bloomberg Businessweek
 
Posted by David Chandler at 1:53 PM

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Strategic CSR - ESG

The article in the url below demonstrates the challenge for investing in inserting altruistic or ideological motivations in place of market mechanisms. The danger is that the returns are diminished and that only a certain percentage of the market is willing to compromise their return on investment. This has been playing out with ESG funds for some time now, but reality appears to be catching up. As investigations by regulators into, first, Deutsche Bank (in Germany) and, soon after, Goldman Sachs (in the U.S.) were announced over the summer, the reality of the ESG façade has become increasingly apparent. Ultimately, it cannot be solved until we first agree on what needs to be measured (the E, S, and G), and then develop effective metrics of those constructs (many of which do not currently exist). For now, it should be painfully apparent that the majority of the ESG (or SRI) investment craze is not moving us any closer to a more sustainable economy and, in fact, might be doing more harm than good if it lulls us into the belief that we are actually making progress. At present, of course, all progress on tackling climate change appears to be put on hold as we deal with the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine:

"So far in 2022, the S&P 500 is down more than 13 percent, and it briefly dipped more than 20 percent below its peak, putting stocks in bear market territory. Dismal as the stock market may be, the situation looks even worse if you are worried about the future of the planet. The fact is that only one broad stock sector has provided consistent returns over the last year: old-fashioned fossil fuel, and the companies that extract, refine, sell and service it."

More specifically:

"In fact, when I looked at a performance table of the top companies in the S&P 500 for 2022, I found that 19 of the top 20 spots belonged to companies connected, in one way or another, with fossil fuel. The best performer was Occidental Petroleum, with a gain of 142 percent."

And, what is worrying is that this trend looks set to continue:

"Russia's assault on Ukraine and the mounting Western sanctions are improving prospects for fossil fuel, Bank of America noted in a report to clients on Thursday. 'Our commodity strategists expect that a sharp contraction in Russian oil exports could trigger a full-blown 1980s-style oil crisis,' with energy prices rising much higher, the report said. 'Not owning energy is becoming more costly,' it said. 'With China reopening, peak driving season and favorable positioning/valuations, we see more upside' for energy prices."

The whole point about strategic CSR is that a firm's self-interest is determined by its stakeholders. Thus, creating value for those stakeholders is what makes the firm successful. The moral challenge of that reality (the framework is descriptive, not normative) is when the stakeholders (i.e., all of us) want something that is not necessarily 'good' for us.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Fossil-Fuel Shares Lead the Stock Market. How Awkward
By Roxane Gay
June 5, 2022
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
BU3
 
Posted by David Chandler at 5:49 PM

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Strategic CSR - Markets

The article in the url below injects some reality into the frothy reception that the recently passed climate bill in Washington has been receiving. In particular, it contrasts that piece of good news, with the breakdown in climate negotiations between the U.S. and China, which happened the same weekend (due to disagreements about Taiwan):

"This month's biggest climate milestones happened over one weekend. On Sunday, the US Senate approved hundreds of billions of dollars in climate and clean-energy spending. Just two days before, climate cooperation between the US and China — the world's largest economies and emitters — came to an abrupt halt."

The article is interesting, I think, because it presents the negotiations these two (largest polluting) countries had been having since COP26, in a competitive light. More specifically, it made the argument that competition between these two giant economies as to who could 'out-green' the other as essential to the planet's climate goals:

"Having the US and China feel like they're competing to do more on climate change in order to write the new global order is the strongest position the world could be in," said [Taiya Smith, a senior associate … at the environmental think tank E3G]."

To me, this reinforces the strength of market forces in propelling progress and identifying optimal outcomes (given all the usual qualifiers about imperfect markets that are required when making such a statement).

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


The US-China Rift Moves Climate Politics Into an Era of Competition
By Akshat Rathi
August 9, 2022
Bloomberg Green
 
Posted by David Chandler at 1:18 PM

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Strategic CSR - Democracy

The article in the url below is a fun story that, unfortunately, reflects how far democracy has fallen in the eyes of the public. Specifically, the article reports on a contest for children (aged 13-18 who live in the county) to create the design for the 'I voted' sticker in a county in New York state. The plan is that these stickers will be given to voters after they have voted in the next political election:

"Ashley Dittus, an election official in Ulster County, N.Y., vividly remembers her excitement when the first submission for this year's countywide youth 'I voted' sticker design contest appeared in her email this spring. The entry, from Hudson Rowan, 14, was an electric concoction of colors: a pink and purple and turquoise creature with a wild bloodshot stare, a toothy neon grin and spiderlike legs. To the right, scrawled in red letters: I VOTED. Ms. Dittus, the county's Democratic commissioner of elections, immediately printed out the design and started showing it to people in her office. Everyone's reaction was the same, she said: It made them smile."

It is easy to see why people like Hudson's design; it is also easy to see why people think it makes a statement about the current state of democracy in the West:


Hudson's revealing comment:

"'Politics right now in the world is all kinds of crazy, … and I feel like the creature that I drew kind of resembles the craziness of politics and the world right now.'"

While the contest was intended to raise civic awareness among children living in the NY county, the contest and Hudson's popular design have morphed into a much broader discussion about politics today. The trouble with such discussions, as they grow and evolve, however, is that they continue to spread the rot. I always used to think the same about Jon Stewart's Daily Show (and other satirical commentators). Although the observations he was making were accurate and insightful (and funny), by pointing them out he was also spreading awareness of how bad things have become. That is the difference, I think, between a critique (however accurate and insightful) and a proposed solution. The idea, I guess, is that, by identifying the scale of the problem, it shocks people into action. The trouble is that, if things have deteriorated beyond a certain point, the way out of the hole is such a challenge that people are more demoralized than motivated.

None of this is Hudson's fault, of course. He has just submitted a cool design to a contest that normally would not have attracted any attention:

"Since voting for the winning entry began in July, Hudson's entry has received more than 158,500 votes, out of the about 169,500 total votes cast — completely overtaking last year's roughly 2,200 votes. The county has a population of about 180,000 people and about 122,000 active registered voters, but the contest is not limited to county residents."

The key, of course, is what reaction does his comment on the state of our democracy elicit – we could certainly do with a functioning democracy, given the scale of the problems we face. More details on this story are in the article in the second url below.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


What Has 6 Legs, 2 Eyes and Over 158,000 Votes? An 'I Voted' Sticker
By Hurubie Meko
July 13, 2022
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A14

Why a 'spider crab' is crawling to the top of a US 'I voted' sticker contest
By Sam Levine
July 14, 2022
The Guardian

Posted by David Chandler at 11:11 AM

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Strategic CSR - Eco-activism

The article in the url below highlights a growing trend among environmental activists who are frustrated that their largely peaceful protests to date have had next to no impact on the pace and scale of greenhouse gas emissions. In response, some are concluding that peaceful protests are ineffective, and are raising the stakes of their engagement:

"You walk out of your house on a sunny weekend morning, eager to drive your gasoline-powered sports utility vehicle to the local beach. You're about to turn on the engine and hit the road, when you notice a flier stuck underneath the windshield wiper. 'We have deflated one or more of your tires,' it reads. 'You'll be angry, but don't take it personally. It's not you, it's your car…'"

This direct action is being committed by a group that calls itself (not very imaginatively, I might add) Tyre Extinguishers (see https://twitter.com/T_Extinguishers):

"Since March, the group has deflated the tires of nearly 6,500 SUVs in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US. Their goal? Drawing attention to gas-guzzling vehicles' impact on climate change and air pollution. If SUVs were an individual country, they would have ranked sixth in the world for emissions last year, accounting for more than 900 million metric tons of CO₂."

And, apparently, they are not alone:

"As politicians dither on climate policy that matches what the science demands, some citizens are going beyond peaceful protests to make themselves heard. In July, activists with the group Just Stop Oil glued themselves to frames of paintings in art galleries in the UK, and breached the track on the first lap of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. Also in July, the French group Derniere Renovation interrupted the Tour de France cycling race. Last year, the group Insulate Britain disrupted traffic across cities and highways in the UK."

Such groups are styling themselves on the activities (and successes) of Extinction Rebellion (https://rebellion.global/), which was founded in the UK in 2018 and has since inspired many others:

"These activist outfits are all building on tactics popularized by Extinction Rebellion (XR), which … now acts as an umbrella organization for a variety of global groups. In July, members of the group Doctors for XR broke glass at the London office of finance giant JP Morgan Chase & Co. In April, activists of Scientist Rebellion chained themselves to the doors of JP Morgan Chase's office in Los Angeles."

As for Tyre Extinguishers, expect them to come to a parking garage near you, shortly:

"Tyre Extinguishers say they currently have 50 groups worldwide, to whom they provide 'inspiration' on their website in the form of images to identify SUVs, a video on how to deflate tires and the 'It's your car' leaflet in 10 languages. The group's ultimate aim is 'to see bans on SUVs in urban areas, pollution levies to tax SUVs out of existence, and massive investment in free, comprehensive public transport,' it says. 'But until politicians make this a reality, Tyre Extinguishers action will continue.'"

The article in the second url below explains how this group has spread to New York City and also more about how they operate (see also, here, for a recent update on their progress):

"The Tyre Extinguishers, as they call themselves, furtively hand around bags of lentils ahead of their raid (the legumes are jammed into a tire valve to release its air slowly overnight) and size up their quarry. … One of the group kneels down, unscrews the tire valve cap, stuffs a lentil inside and puts the cap back on. The tire immediately lets out a startled 'pfft' noise, a leaflet is slapped on to the windshield and the group melts back into the night."

For a related example, see the article in the third url below, "written by youth activists involved in End Fossil: Occupy!" (https://endfossil.com/).

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


As Politicians Dither on Climate, Activists 'Fight Back' by Deflating SUVs
By Akshat Rathi
July 26, 2022
Bloomberg Green

'Like a public shaming': A night with the eco-activists deflating SUV tires
By Oliver Milman
July 27, 2022
The Guardian

We're occupying schools across the world to protest climate inaction
By End Fossil: Occupy!
July 26, 2022
The Guardian
 
Posted by David Chandler at 8:09 PM

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Strategic CSR - Roe v. Wade

As you will all no doubt remember, the U.S. Supreme Court was busy over the summer, in particular overturning Roe v. Wade – the 1973 decision that had allowed abortion to be legal across the whole country. This newsletter is not about that, as I am sure you all have firmly set views on the topic; instead, this newsletter is about the article in the url below that reports Patagonia's reaction to the decision. Understandably, it was emotional and demonstrates the firm's progressive views and its support for its employees (e.g., see also Strategic CSR – Patagonia):

"Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia said on Friday that it would post bail for any employees arrested at abortion protests. The company will provide 'training and bail for those who peacefully protest for reproductive justice,' it said on LinkedIn. The perk applies to both full-time and part-time workers, Patagonia said."

Apparently (and quite surprisingly, I think), this is not a new thing for the firm:

"The company offers protest training and has a policy of bailing out employees arrested at peaceful protests, according to Bloomberg."

What I was wondering as I read through the article is how this response would be received by the CSR community. My guess is it would largely be welcomed (and I certainly liked it), but that then made me wonder whether it is always ok for companies to encourage behavior that gets people arrested. The company softens it a bit by adding the "peaceful protest" qualifier but, after all, they are anticipating employees will be arrested, which is the only reason they would need bail. Specifically, I wondered what I would think if I saw a headline saying that Exxon was willing to bail out any employees caught protesting against a UN COP conference? Or, what if Black Rifle Coffee Company had offered to pay the court costs of any of its employees caught at the January 6 insurrection?

As long as my reaction would have been the same (i.e., similarly supportive), then I am being consistent in my views. But, if I liked the Patagonia response, but would have objected to a similar policy by Exxon or BRCC, then I am being hypocritical. Values are values, and it is hard to argue that one person's values are any less valid than someone else's. I might disagree with them and think the world would be much better off if everyone shared my values, but that is not how life works. And, this decision by the Supreme Court seems like a good issue on which to make the point.

If we want businesses to be values-based, then we have to recognize there will be some that advocate for causes with which we disagree. The battle comes in trying to 'win' the day on the issues about which we care the most. If we lose those arguments, it is not because the other side is 'evil,' it is because we disagree about something fundamental (however ill-informed you think the other side's position is).

So, my sense is that we should only be happy to see Patagonia inciting its employees to act lawlessly, if we are perfectly ok with Exxon, or BRCC, or Chick-fil-A, or whomever else doing the same. If acting based on our values and principles is objectively a good thing, then that applies to all the values and principles, not just the ones we support. In terms of strategic CSR, being "socially responsible" does not mean only firms doing things that we think are acceptable; it means creating value for the firm's stakeholders, according to their values and perceived self-interest (see Strategic CSR – Self-interest), even if that looks like something we oppose. In other words, just because we don't like something does not mean it is not socially responsible.

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Patagonia will post bail for any employees arrested at abortion protests
By Tim Levin
June 24, 2022
Business Insider
 
Posted by David Chandler at 10:56 AM

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Strategic CSR - Amazon

If there was ever a pragmatic argument for treating your employees with care and respect, the article in the url below suggests that Amazon may have just stumbled onto it (by mistake, of course):

"Is Amazon about to run out of workers? According to a leaked internal memo, the retail logistics company fears so. 'If we continue business as usual, Amazon will deplete the available labor supply in the US network by 2024,' the research, first reported by Recode, stated."

Of course, if you are going to churn through employees without any concern for their health or wellbeing, the logical extrapolation of that approach as an employer is that, eventually, you will run out (as long as you exceed the replacement rate). The scale at which Amazon operates (and the ambition it has to expand) just means that it happens sooner to Amazon than it would anyone else:

"Amazon is right to be worried – its staff turnover rate is astronomical. Before the pandemic, Amazon was losing about 3% of its workforce weekly, or 150% annually. By contrast the annual average turnover in transportation, warehousing and utilities was 49% in 2021 and in retail it was 64.6%, less than half of Amazon's turnover."

If so, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy:

"Even Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, is worried. Bezos originally welcomed high turnover, fearing long-term employees would slack off and cause a 'march to mediocrity.'"

Even while there seems to have been a more recent change of heart:

"But in his final letter to shareholders as chief executive last year, Bezos said the company had to 'do a better job' for its employees. Amazon will commit to being 'earth's best employer and earth's safest place to work,' he wrote. In part, Bezos's change of heart is down to a wave of unionization efforts at the company's warehouses. But Amazon also faces a problem of scale. As the US's second largest private employer, it is now struggling to replace all the workers it loses."

It is central to Strategic CSR that any firm that does not consider its employees to be its primary stakeholder (all else equal) is dysfunctional in some way. Amazon has a long way to go. Hopefully this research will cause them to reconsider their business model:

"Workers and labor groups have long decried Amazon's working conditions and high employee turnover amid high injury rates."

Take care
David

David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2020

Instructor Teaching and Student Study Site: https://study.sagepub.com/chandler5e 
Strategic CSR Simulation: http://www.strategiccsrsim.com/
The library of CSR Newsletters are archived at: https://strategiccsr-sage.blogspot.com/


Amazon could run out of workers in US in two years, internal memo suggests
By Michael Sainato
June 22, 2022
The Guardian
 
Posted by David Chandler at 11:53 PM
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