The Wall Street Journal has reignited a debate about the value of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Does it add value to a business, or is it an unnecessary drain of resources away from shareholders?
CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no longer just a matter of charity. In an age when much of society is defined and engineered around value-creation, corporations can no longer afford to design business models that are dissociated from environmental and social responsibility. The failure to reconcile business activity with society's wellness is no longer free of consequences.
As Harvard's corporate strategy guru Michael Porter points out, over the past century the boundaries between business and social issues have undergone dramatic changes. One hundred years ago, a large business enterprise might have been the social patron, providing housing, education or other forms of welfare for its company town residents. But over time the scope of corporate responsibility retreated.
In her recently released book, Disrupting Philanthropy - co-authored with Edward Skloot and Barry Varela, Dr. Lucy Bernholz explores the immediate and longer-term implications of networked digital technologies for philanthropy. 10 years ago the landscape of philanthropy was relatively simple. "There were foundations - private, community, and corporate - that awarded grants to non-profits. Givers gathered information about non-profits mainly through word-of-mouth. Commercial investment firms were relatively small players on the philanthropic landscape." In 2010 the landscape is very different.
"New communication technologies tend to strengthen democracy", mentions an article in last week’s The Economist. Interestingly, the particular claim was also evident during a conference I attended on CSR and Social Media held recently at the Sheraton in Toronto.
Social media is democratizing information, and in light of this, organizations will be well-served if they are able to utilize social media tools towards achieving their CSR goals. The conference was packed full of learning and interesting speakers, and below is a summary of some key takeaways from the event.
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