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Corporate social responsibility

Employee participation, European Companies and CSR


Last month I was reviewing the latest events in EU corporate reform when I came across the concept of a European Company, or SE, and how it embraces employee participation in management decision making.

Making a mental note to come back and investigate I moved on.

So here we are .. investigating.

One of the principal commercial drivers of the European Union is to create an open market where national borders dissolve as barriers to the free trade of goods and services.

There is, though, one big problem with this: company law.  Company law requires that a business must have a registered office in one particular country and conduct operations from there.

However if a business wants to move its base between countries, open a subsidiary in another country or merge with a business in another country, it has to jump through all the different legal hoops and regulations each country demands.

This flies in the face of “free movement of capital, goods and services”, so the concept of an SE was created.

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Green Advertising : Top Five Traps To Avoid 2/2

no evilThis is Part 2 of the Green Advertising : Feeling The Pressure post a few weeks ago.  Apologies if you’ve been on tenterhooks waiting for it!

The concept of Greenwashing has been around, it seems, for ages.  The trouble is, with the public, NGOs and various other bodies keeping a sharp look out, a company can easily fall into the greenwash trap without meaning to.

This is especially true on websites where content tends to be scrutinised much less before publication than, say, broadcast advertisements or print op-ed pieces.

Here then are top five traps to avoid on your websites and in all advertising in general. [Read more…] about Green Advertising : Top Five Traps To Avoid 2/2

Collaborating with Activists: Catalyst for Change

The Corporate Responsibility and Reporting conference wound up with a session from a panel of activism experts talking about how companies should respond to defuse a potential crisis before it blows up.

The description of the activist strategy was fascinating. Having identified a potential issue, and done their research to establish the scale and detail of the problem, they will target brands that they see as a catalyst for change: either the market leader, where potentially the most publicity is available, or the laggards, where potentially the most change is possible.

The first approach will be a fishing letter raising the problem; the purpose of this is to establish what your likely response will be – will you call in the legal team, pass the letter to PR, or hide the letter at the bottom of your inbox?

If a respected organisation such as Greenpeace have sent you a letter like this, it is because there is a problem… hiding won’t help, and may trigger an active campaign.

The activists advise:

  • don’t ignore the letter
  • do acknowledge receipt
  • do investigate the claim
  • and call them to organise a meeting with as senior a member of management as possible.

Interestingly, they say:

  • talk directly to the activists
  • don’t send a lawyer or your PR company, as doing this is likely to confirm to the activist group that there is indeed a serious problem and that you have something to hide.

Better by far is to work with the activist group, visiting the field with them to see the problem. Then establish an action plan and communicate your progress against these targets. Not only to the activist group, but also – to aid transparency – publicly.

Best of all would be to have established a good working relationship with the activist organisation in advance – and if CSR is ‘in the DNA’ of the organisation, then they would have such relationships in place.

Transparency about the challenges an organisation or industry faces would deflate any potential campaign in the future; and, just as in the case of blogger outreach, relationships with respected organisations might mean they come to your support if you are criticised unfairly by other – perhaps less respectable – activist organisations in the future.

7 Sections for a CSR Website | Part 1 of 2

A recent article by Amita Joseph on the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS) looked at how increasing globalisation is affecting society and the environment within India.

In it she highlights seven aspects of a business where companies should take action to demonstrate their responsibility and sustainability, and goes on to say:

India can be seen as a test case for the adoption of globalized capitalism … If companies are able to learn from the experience of India’s last two decades, the result will be a better economic model in India and elsewhere. Companies must aspire to be responsible corporate citizens and avoid losing reputation and goodwill.

Not all of these are typical items for CSR.  However, as has been long argued, CSR is not a slice of the business but the foundation of responsible and sustainable business practices.  It should therefore be welcomed into all aspects of corporate life.

This article will take the NBS aspects one at a time, quote the article and look at them in greater detail with a website example which addresses the demand to demonstrate the aspect and is not intended to detail all the sections a CSR website should have.
[Read more…] about 7 Sections for a CSR Website | Part 1 of 2