tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193110888000243108.post8557547226554343194..comments2024-02-29T18:20:22.736+00:00Comments on Press 2.0: How Responsible is Corporate Social Responsibility?Haydenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01294002314572089407noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193110888000243108.post-51549332338667379552008-10-01T14:15:00.000+01:002008-10-01T14:15:00.000+01:00Hayden,You make an interesting point about shopper...Hayden,<BR/><BR/>You make an interesting point about shoppers not being willing to pay more for ethical products.<BR/><BR/>About three months ago, I did a considerable amount of research on the relationship between corporate ethics and consumer purchasing behavior for a blog post.<BR/><BR/>Publicly available evidence relating to actual purchasing behavior is difficult to find. However, the evidence I was able to find did suggest that indeed, ethical considerations do not appear to have a large impact on actual consumer purchasing behavior.<BR/><BR/>In England, for example, the Co-Operative Bank estimates purchases of 'ethical products' account for just five per cent of total household expenditure.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, researchers such as David Vogel and Timothy Devinney believe that the relationship between ethical considerations and consumer purchasing is not strong. According to the latter, "Fair Trade" products rarely account for more than two per cent of market share in markets in which they operate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193110888000243108.post-41244346284812457812008-10-01T09:56:00.000+01:002008-10-01T09:56:00.000+01:00ElaineA great response, thanks for taking the time...Elaine<BR/><BR/>A great response, thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts on this.<BR/><BR/>I agree that any CSR initiatives should take the company values as their foundation, indeed this is what Tesco’s does by including theirs within the Community element of their ‘Steering Wheel’ of values. Its also really relevant that you mention Vodafone, who in their 2008 CR ‘One Strategy’ report, state how its responsibility and business objectives are *inseparable*. Here, like most things they do, they go into significant detail of why they believe they are doing what they can, whilst being fully transparent about their policies:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.vodafone.com/start/responsibility/our_approach/policies.html" REL="nofollow">http://www.vodafone.com/start/responsibility/our_approach/policies.html</A> <BR/><BR/>However, whilst I agree that no person or company can always be 100% ethical, there is a significant difference between those companies that try to do just enough to give the perception that they are responsible and those ethically-driven companies who occasionally slip-up.Hayden Sutherlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05856244651310633376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193110888000243108.post-25827233449290118922008-10-01T06:23:00.000+01:002008-10-01T06:23:00.000+01:00hello haydenSocial responsibility of businesses SH...hello hayden<BR/><BR/>Social responsibility of businesses SHOULD be good for business. It's not just about contributing to society (philanthropy) or protecting the environment (regulatory). Its about intertwining social and environmental considerations into the business strategy. The business should aim to benefit. As a minimum, csr is a kind of insurance policy, a risk management approach. At best, its a way to identify new business opportunities. That way, the business continues to be sustainable and contributes to a sustainable world. Of course, CSR often rests on a bed of values (doing well by doing good)which are important in their own right. <BR/><BR/>When CSr reports contain a list of "good" things that companies are doing, then they do tend to be PR blurb. csr reports must disclose a company's performance on the core issues which impact stakeholders as a result of its business activities, good or bad. <BR/><BR/>CSr is voluntary though now kinda maintsteam voluntary. Some businesses are more slick at it (Vodafone and Marks and Spencer are two of my best examples) .<BR/><BR/>Finally, you cant measure csr on a % scale. Its a continuum ... you cant say that businesses are totally 100% ethical, just as individuals are never 100% law-abiding or ethical - never tell a white lie ? never break a traffic rule ? never insulted anyone ?<BR/><BR/>The important thing is to gauge a business's foundation of principles and values and the integrity it displays in meeting its commitments to generating positive impacts. Even in an economic downturn, if businesses contribute a little less to charitable causes, this does not make them less ethical. Those who maintain their social programs however, may be the ones who have learnt to be more sustainable. <BR/><BR/>elaine<BR/>(i am a csr consultant, just for the record!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193110888000243108.post-10733155244331191372008-09-30T12:54:00.000+01:002008-09-30T12:54:00.000+01:00Does it matter that some decisions which promote c...Does it matter that some decisions which promote corporate social responsibility are also good for business? As long as they actually 'doing some good' in environmental/development terms as well, I'd have thought that any added incentive for businesses to follow this path can only be a good thing...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com