from trespassmag.com
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)… Why is it that seemingly harmless words or phrases are somewhat tainted nowadays? In an ideal world a commitment to CSR would focus on all aspects of your business- from how you source and manufacture your product, to how you sell it. In reality CSR can many times mean a corporation continues to do exactly what it wants to do to improve the bottom line while dedicating a small amount of time to a charitable commitment.
What if we had the power to influence a company’s behaviour?
The fact is that CSR isn’t that far removed from personal social responsibility. Many of us like the lives we lead. Or maybe we are just reluctant to change. It may not improve our bottom line all the time but sometimes we do things to make life as easy as possible. We drive to work (no time to organize a car pool or take the bus), we buy our lattes in the disposable cups (forgot the reuseable one at home again, thank god they are now recycling), we shop to alleviate stress (it’s good for the economy right?) and from time to time we support a charitable cause (that just happened to tug at our heart strings). We lead busy lives and our priorities may conflict with doing the right thing all the time.
So where does that leave us?
Not much better off than before. Life is a little like those shopping sprees we love. We feel good for a little while, but eventually in the not to distant future (probably long before the credit card bill arrives) we start to feel a bit bummed again. And likely a bit guilty. And the cycle starts again.
So how do we alleviate this cycle?
We need to change… come on folks just a little bit. It really isn’t that difficult.
First, we have to recognize that our actions have consequences and these consequences can have global implications. The good news is that for some of us that have the privilege of not living dollar to dollar, we have the ability to make choices that go beyond the bottom line. The very coffee that we bought this morning is a great example. How you choose your coffee can impact the lives of people half way around the world. And I am not just talking about remembering your reuseable coffee mug! I am talking about how the workers are treated and paid, what chemicals are used as pesticides, and how far the coffee has to travel.
In a world where we often choose quantity over quality, this decision making process is more important than ever. We love to buy, and we love a great deal. But someone always pays the price eventually for your 50c a pound broccoli or $20 jeans.
So how do I tie this back to CSR?
Well, the crazy thing is if we start to think about how we spend our money… And we recognize that our decision making has consequences… Then quite naturally we will support those companies that are socially responsible.
And maybe, just maybe we will look past superficial corporate charitable partnerships and start to ask the questions that really matter. Like, where do you produce the goods you sell? And how are the workers treated? What is the impact on the environment?
Funny how when you put money where your mouth is you can actually affect change.
*This blog is a contribution the The Aid Blog Forum. More details can be found on Tales From the Hood.
Hello – coffee is an interesting thing to pitch into the discussion. It seems to me that there are two ways to look at much ‘ethical’ coffee. On the one hand, many companies loudly broadcast their ethics and the badges they’ve been awarded. On the other, it is hard to get solid information about the tangible effect that these initiatives have on producers, and even where that information exists outside of the organisations trying to sell the idea, the effects are often very small. So you are left wondering whether it is really worth the effort.
And although I’d say ‘choosing’ an ethical sourcing route (as we conventionally understand it) isn’t exactly CSR it does bring into sharp contrast the whole CSR mentality. Business ethics are only worth doing if a) it makes you sound like an NGO b) it gives you a moral platform c) it enables you to ‘educate’ the consumer with largely faulty information – which gives them enough encouragement to swap one consumer product to another but dissuades them from asking searching questions about the whole stinking supply chain.
The there is the question about the way benefits are shared, the ‘poverty porn’ aspect of ethical product marketing (associated with the way that the extra consumer spending is distributed) and what to do if there is an increase in raw material prices so that the ‘ethical’ product attracts a consumer premium but no premium to the farmer.
Thoughts?
I agree with you in theory, and personally I try to make decisions in keeping with the values you describe here. However, I also am too suspicious to believe that that’s what really works. For example, there is a whole new rash of criticisms coming out about Fair Trade: in many places it seems that it’s the cooperatives who are actually profiting and not the farmers. I live “ethically” because I want to remember the importance of paying attention to ethics, not because I really think the ethics could make a difference. Corporations who claim my loyalty because of their ethical practices may be worthy of my loyalty. Or they may just be good publicists. If the corporations don’t see a healthy bottom line in the practices themselves (not just in attracting ‘ethically-minded’ clients), then yeah, I’m suspicious. Am I too jaded?
Thanks for your comments. A great discussion point I think. Joe, if you take awards and accreditations at face value then for sure you are not digging deep enough. But if you take a little time to find out more about a company then I would hope you are actually asking those important questions. I never suggested you simply buy “fair trade.” In fact, I agree entirely that it is the process of asking questions where you hopefully unearth the answers you are looking for.
Is it a foolproof process? Not at all. And is right and wrong necessarily laid out in black and white? I certainly don’t think so. But is it an excuse to just go back to buying the cheapest option and giving up? I don’t think so. We all decide what level of effort we want to put into this decision making process. Hopefully those of us that are really passionate about it will push the accreditation process to be more authentic. Or alternatively find other ways to share information on good companies.
I understand your feelings Kati. I just got back from Guatemala where there is a long messy history of sleazy foreign companies manipulating the system to get the cheapest product on the (their) market. Many of these practices have not changed. I also learned about some great companies (primarily coffee) doing good work. This trip was a reminder that its worth doing some digging to try to get enough information as possible. And it was an extra push to look for products that are being ethically produced.