What Corporate Social Responsibility Means to Me as An Individual

What Corporate Social Responsibility Means to Me as an Individual

Corporate Social Responsibility, a term mentioned in a Harvard Business Review Podcast a few months back, sparked my interest in the idea of of the role of the corporation today. To me CSR means three things: 1) balancing profits and ethics, 2) thinking with intentionality, and 3) true strategic leadership. 


Balancing  Profit and Ethics

I value the idea of a company taking responsibility for their footprint on society and the ecosystem. It is the idea of shared-value across the map that appeals to me and my perception of a company. In my research it seems as though the goal in CSR is to create shared value. 

Take Colgate for example,  you know, the toothpaste folks. On their website they share their three core values as caring, global teamwork, and continuing improvement. These values resonate through their sustainability efforts to create an organizational landscape teeming with shared value worthy of the triple bottom line in CSR. 

Their website on sustainability focuses on people, performance, and planet which says

"As a company that strives to be the best truly global consumer products company, we are committed to doing business with integrity and respect for all people and for the world around us" (Colgate-Palmolive, 2013).

People focuses on making their products safe and successful. Performance focuses on a continuous commitment to the financial expectations of the organization. Planet is focused on a cleaner and healthier environment in which the Colgate products leave little imprint. This is their definition and action of the triple-bottom  line. 

This sense of diverse efforts with a unified mission demonstrates a balance of profits and ethics. Colgate demonstrates their perception of corporate responsibility for their efforts and products. 

More in depth, their 2011 to 2015 strategy to focus on people, performance, and planet include:

• Promoting Healthier lives
• Promote health and wellness to reduce employee health risks by 15%
• Achieve a 5% reduction in health costs and an improvement in early diagnosis of chronic and treatable disease
• Continuous focus on safety to achieve the goal of zero lost-time incidents.
• Contributing to the communities where we live and work
• Commit to over $300 million to increase our impact in the community
• Partner with dental professionals to improve community oral health care
• Expand 'Bright smiles, bright futures' program externally to reach one billion children by 2020
• Provide hand washing awareness to over 50 million households
• Work with 250,000 veterinarians worldwide to educate pet owners and provide over !100 million in pet food to shelters
• Continue to provide Colgate products after natural disasters
• Involve more Colgate volunteers in our community programs.
• Delivering Products that delight consumers and respect our planet
• Increase the sustainability profile in all new products we produce and in the balance of our portfolio
• Ensure that ingredients continue to meet or exceed all recognized standards for safety quality and environmental compliance and biodegradability
• Reduce the environmental impact of our products and packages by 20%, by increasing the use of sustainable materials and recycled content. 
• Make every drop of water count
• Reduct the water consumed in the manufacture of our products by 40% vs. 2005 consumption.
• Reduce the use of water associated with our products by 15%
• Work with local and global organizations to help promote access to clean water
• Promote water conservation awareness among over two billion consumers
• Reducing out impact on climate and the environment
• reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with the manufacture and distribution of our products by 20%
• Reduce waste send to landfills from our operations by 15%
• Request that all key suppliers measure and disclose climate change information. 

Throughout this plan is a consistent blend of their people, planet, and performance values along with the balance of profit and ethics. This company is demonstrating how they are moving forward with society and the environment to created shared value across the spectrum.

Thinking with Intentionality

Take McDonalds for example, under fire for years regarding their lack of interests in nutritional value on their menu. It was 2004's monumental documentaries like Super Size Me that brought to light the nutritional negligence in America's staple fast food chain. In this documentary a regular guy named Morgan Spurlock eats McDonalds food, and ONLY McDonalds food for a 30-day period. During that time he documents regular doctor visits, personal diaries and daily emotional changes, as the so-called after effects of the McDonalds food. Needless to say this documentary drew much criticism with the argument that McDonalds draws profit at the expense of nutrition. This documentary aired around the time when obesity became a significant social issue in the United States. 

Since the documentary McDonalds has attempted to change their rules in the game to offer more socially responsible menu options, such as fruit and salads as an alternative side meal. This shift of intentionality demonstrates swift social responsibility in a company wanting to add shared value to the community. McDonald's intentionality is held accountable by the Global Advisory Council (GAC) to add nutrition labeling to food. For example McDonalds has created "What I Eat, What I Do"  a well-being platform aiming to motivate children to eat more fruits and vegetables. (McDonalds, 2013). 

Soap Box Time...

In my opinion though, I find nothing inherently wrong with McDonald's nutrition in the first place because McDonalds is an option as a place for people to eat. What happened to people taking responsibility for their own eating habits? Instead, we have free willed Americans eating too often at McDonalds and blaming McDonalds for their health issues and weight issues. I don't know about you but I was raised to be responsible for my own choices. Too much of anything is unhealthy in all reality. So why is it McDonald's fault if you are too lazy to go to the grocery store to cook healthy food at home? Why is it McDonald's fault if you have no self control and you order a Big Mac and Super Sized fries every day and you develop diabetes. That is your own fault. However, it would be a different story if all grocery stores around the country got rid of  all their food and the only option was to eat at McDonalds. Here I am talking about dependency. If we Americans were dependent on McDonalds as our source of food, then this would be an issue. Otherwise....take care of yourself and quit blaming McDonalds.

On a lighter note though it IS great that I can get a Big Mac with a salad now....I don't have to feel AS bad for eating McDonalds :) I have the personal option for health now. BUT I have self control and eat there rarely. 

Steps Off Soapbox...

Strategic Servant Leadership

Back in June I wrote my service philosophy and added the definition of service as the act of submitting to, nurturing, and passing on what will outlive the character's story. In connecting the dots between CSR and my definition I want to focus on what I wrote in my service philosophy in which I stated, "Serving is never convenient." This statement is connected to CSR because balancing profits and ethics intentionally is NOT easy. This shift in mission requires creating departments, hiring employees, conducting research, connecting with the community, which costs money. But the benefit is found within the service CSR brings to society. Corporate Social Responsibility is important because it can be utilized as a strategic form of servant leadership to join business and society together to advance the community as a whole (Porter & Kramer, 2011). In other words, while CSR may cost money to develop, it is an opportunity to create a stronger relationship with customers. 

For example, if a community is suffering high teen pregnancy rates, a corporation can create or fund-effective sex education programs for surrounding schools. Instead of focusing efforts solely on profits, a CSR cognizant organization can now focus additional efforts on stakeholders in the community. A strategic move like the one previously mentioned helps an organization serve itself and the community simultaneously. 

In my own opinion I think that CSR is an opportunity cost. We live in a time where some corporations focus on their shareholders at the expense of the stakeholders. These corporations like Fannie Maw and Freddie Mac make unethical decisions that may cause world wide controversy. The byproduct of their decisions can hold the world economic systems hostage. With the corporation of modern day holding that much power, it is comforting to know companies that promote the well-being of society with CSR programs. I believe that companies who practice CSR show themselves as a more vulnerable and transparent. Thus, I am more inclined to want to invest in their product or service. It is the strategic servant leaders who win in the end and I believe we will see this as a corporate trend in the years to follow. 

References

Bennis, W. (2004). Why servant-leadership matters. In L. Spears (Ed.), Practicing servant leadership: Succeeding through trust, bravery, and forgiveness (pp. xi-xvi). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Burke, L. & Logsdon, J. M. (1996). How corporate social responsibility pays off. Long Range Planning, 29(4), 495-502. 

Fassel, D. (1998). Lives in the balance: The challenge of servant-leaders in a workaholic society. In L. Spears (Ed.), Insights on leadership: Service, stewardship, spirit, and servant-leadership (pp. 216-229). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. 

Kincaid, M. (2012). Building corporate social responsibility through servant leadership. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 7(2), 153-171. 

International organization for standardization strategic advisory group on corporate social responsibility, preliminary working definition of organizational social responsibility, ISO/TMB AGCSR N4, 2002

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011, January). Creating shared value. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2011/01/the-big-idea-creating-shared-value

Zohar, D. (1997). Rewiring the corporate brain. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler. 

CSR: Action I Will Take in My CSR Journey

Corporate Social Responsibility: Action I will Take 

In fulfillment of the issue exploration assignment in ED 730 at Cardinal Stritch University, this post will share a project I am working on as my application of corporate social responsibility. This post will address my involvement within a beer company startup called Retro Beer Company. I will explain the back ground of the company through a service lens. Additionally, this blog entry will be periodically updated to share the progress of the company and my action to preserve CSR tenets throughout development. This blog will cover: 1) overview of Retro Beer Company, 2) my role, 3) brand image, and 4) connection to CSR. 

What is Retro Beer Company?

A few friends of mine were inspired one day to give back to the community through something they love: beer. These three individuals, Tom, Tim, and Ray, all worked together as executives at Motorola. Since their 'moto-years' they have ventured off into the world of corporate consulting with their Retro CEO consulting company, and Retro Beer Company.

Retro Beer Company exists to add value to the community through giving 100% of profits back to local causes. It is our belief that by taking something people love (beer) and giving it a philanthropic image, we can shift the purpose behind beer. Our first product is called Give-a-Shift Pilsner, which is a play on words. We believe in order to shift the purpose behind beer we need to first, give-a-shift about a cause in the community. This launch product serves as an invitation for the community to jump in on the Retro social contract of adding value to the community together. We are planning on launching this product in mid-March 2014. The charities/causes will be based on the retailer and distributor's discretion. Below is a picture of our launch product. Website is launching soon!

The next section will cover my role within the company.

What's My Role?

About a year ago, the Retro team asked me to jump on board to blog, consult on social media, and help out with marketing needs. This served as a perfect opportunity to apply all I am learning in my service year during my doctoral journey. Therefore, my role has become to also infuse what I am learning about my service issues, CSR in particular, into the heartbeat of this philanthropic product. The next section will cover a blog entry I wrote for Retro Beer Company which communicates our purpose to the community. 

What is the Retro Brand Image?

Below is our first blog entry communicating our purpose. Our goal is to communicate how we are working to preserve principles of CSR throughout the growth of our organization. 

What if beer could do more for itself? What if beer could be given a purpose in which its value outlived its taste? Is it even possible to give beer such a responsibility that it’s reach becomes meaningful even beyond pure enjoyment?

 

These are the questions that three beer loving fanatics wrestled with one night while enjoying one of their favorite craft beers.Since its infancy beer was created for the sole purpose of enjoyment, social capital, and even at times nutritional value. However, these three fanatics felt like beer deserved more than this. They dreamed of giving beer deep rooted, good 'ol retro American values such as community, generosity, and even philanthropy. These values and ideas about making beer meaningful gave birth to the beginning of a wild and nostalgic philanthropic endeavor called Retro Beer Company. 

At Retro Beer Company we are shifting the purpose behind beer because we truly believe beer has untapped potential to make a lasting impact on the community. Our first product Give-A-Shift pilsner does just that. Whats cool about our product is how we have etched Retro values of community, generosity, and philanthropy into our brand identity. We are shifting the purpose behind beer through Retro values such as:

• Generosity: We exist to provide a partnership platform with distributors, retailers, and the community in which 100% of Retro Beer profits are donated to local causes/charities.
• Philanthropy: With 100% of Retro profits going back to a local cause, we are excited to give every person the opportunity to enjoy a high quality craft beer that gives back.
• Community: We believe that with your help we are together shifting the purpose behind beer and leaving a lasting impact on your community. 

Retro Beer Company is a start-up that I have been working with some businessmen I know since the beginning of this year. My role is to serve on the marketing team with social media initiatives, marketing ventures, partnership ideas, promoting our website, and writing on our blog. Our first beer, set to launch in the Midwest in March of 2014 is called Give-a-Shift, for two reasons:

1. In order to shift the purpose behind beer you need to first give-a-shift.

2. We want to give every beer drinker the opportunity to drink a quality craft beer that makes a difference.

Let's Shift the Purpose Behind Beer Together! Get social with us!

This blog represents a call to action to welcome and invite everyday beer consumers to join a service story to give back enjoying what they love: beer, camaraderie, and doing good. The next section will cover the Retro Beer Company connection to Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Connection to CSR

Our mission, shifting the purpose behind beer, our values (community, generosity, and philanthropy), along with our partnership platform, demonstrate exactly what CSR is all about: balancing profits with ethics and supporting the stakeholders with shared value across the spectrum.

It has been up for debate what the role of today's corporations should be. Larger companies are perceived by society to thrive at the expense of the community and society at large (Porter & Kramer, 2011). This section will talk about corporate social responsibility, a strategy used by organizations to add shared value to the community and the organization simultaneously. As Kotler & Lee (2005) state, CSR is "a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources (p. 3). I believe as a member of the Retro Beer Company, we are living out this definition through our efforts, practices and organizational vision. For example, our commitment is demonstrated through our promise of 100% contribution of profits going back to important local causes. Our contribution to these local causes is aimed at improving the well-being of the community. Our current vision asserts ethical business practices as our catalyst for innovation.

Conclusion

This blog is a work in progress.I don't believe there is a conclusion just yet. I plan on updating progress on this entry in the near future. Until then !!!

References

Kotler, P. & Lee, N. (2005). Corporate social responsibility: Doing the most good for your company and your cause. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 

Apple and the Environment: Planet

My last post was basically slamming Apple, and i felt bad. So...I went ahead and did some research on areas of their company where they are remaining cognizant of corporate social responsibility initiatives - the environment

Apple and the Environment

Their website says upfront:

"From reporting out entire carbon footprint to finding ways to reduce that footprint, Apple takes a comprehensive approach to environmental responsibility. Product by product, facility by facility, we report on our progress every year. So you can see what we're doing - and what we've done - to make a difference" (http://www.apple.com/environment/).

I personally appreciate the layout of the website, which covers:

• environmental footprint 
• renewable energy
• product reports
• recycling program
• progress

Environmental Footprint

In this section Apple comes out and honestly states that in 2012 they were responsible for 30.9 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. They break this down into:

• Manufacturing 61%
• Transportation 5%
• Product use 30%
• Recycling 2%
• Facilities 2%

What Caught my Eye?

I really appreciate pictures, or models that simplify ideas. Take this picture for example

It is amazing how well they communicate the reduction of product packaging and it's systematic impact on transportation. 

Summary

Corporate Social Responsibility focuses on, in simplistic terms, people, planet, profits. This even balanced approach ensures shared value across the social, environmental, and financial markets/sectors. I am impressed with how much of a focus Apple is taking on CSR, yet is still valued as the most valuable company in the world. The next couple blogs I will focus my attention on the financial and social components of their CSR movement. 

A.D.D. and CSR

I cannot focus right now for the life of me. I decided to let my A.D.D. have the better of me and write a free flowing blog on CSR. I guess you could call this a down the rabbit hole look on CSR. An unguided and randomized exploration of the topic. A choose-your-own-CSR adventure.

I came across a Harvard Business School CSR program that provided an overview...

"Increasingly, senior corporate executives must find new ways to address the social, economic, and environmental effects of doing business while balancing conflicting demands on their attention, time, and resources. Emphasizing the alignment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with business strategy in large established companies, this program helps you define priorities, integrate social responsibility throughout your business, and build social and business value. You will strengthen your ability to define and implement powerful CSR strategies that position the firm, its reputation, and its way of doing business for enduring success" 

This made me think of what companies I know who DO NOT FOLLOW THESE PRINCIPLES.

I thought of Apple and their relationship with Foxconn...the whole controversy in the Chinese factories of work conditions and much more. 

I searched for 'Apple and Foxconn' and came across an article by New York Times from January 25, 2012. The picture above caught my interest. You mean to tell me these are the working conditions of the tech giant Apple, more so their manufacturing. I mean I see Apple as...


But the reality is...

Apple has some serious gaps in their corporate social responsibility strategy (if they even have one). I haven't researched whether this has changed in the recent years, which I will for a future blog. Here is an excerpt from the NYT article that bothered me.

"More troubling, the groups say, is some suppliers’ disregard for workers’ health. Two years ago, 137 workers at an Apple supplier in eastern China were injured after they were ordered to use a poisonous chemical to clean iPhonescreens. Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning."

All of this has me thinking about Corporate Social Responsibility. Here are a few questions I have:

1. Since Apple contracts out for manufacturing, are they still responsible (in CSR) terms for the well-being and social climate of the factory workers. OR does that fall on the shoulders of Foxconn?

2. I remember hearing about Apple moving manufacturing to the US. Is this perhaps a move  towards a more CSR-ish strategy?

I will begin to explore these questions :)

Corporate Social Responsibility: YMCA and the Infamous Guest Pass

So I'm a board member at the Chandler/Gilbert YMCA here in Phoenix. Yesterday in our monthly board meeting, one of our members shared that they heard the guest pass system was eliminated from what we offer our members. There was a little bit of a scuffle on whether or not this was true. We never clarified the status of the guest passes, but I thought it a great opportunity to write on the importance of the YMCA guest pass in line with CSR and the Y mission. 

The Valley of the Sun YMCA mission is: 

For the Y, providing “every opportunity to reach farther” is a very real promise we make to 
this community. It means that your YMCA—an organization with the capacity and will to 
inspire positive and lasting social change—is pursuing a mission to do just that. So what 
does that mean for you? 

FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT…
…it means reaching farther to help children and teens reach their full potential through 
value–based programs, including child care and educational programs, sports and activities, summer day camps, overnight camps, swim programs, teen leadership programs, events, 
and clubs. Each opportunity builds skills, self-confidence, positive peer relationships—and 
unimagined successes.

FOR HEALTHY LIVING…
…it means providing every opportunity to help our members achieve their goals for peak health and well-being by offering unparalleled support, guidance, resources, and facilities. 
We know that our considerable expertise will lead hundreds to achieve their wellness goals 
and get on a path to a healthier life. 

FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY…
…it means creating a community that reaches out to give back—helping our most vulnerable and deserving neighbors achieve their dreams for better lives. The YMCA’s social service programs—including initiatives in education, health, character-building, cultural understanding, leadership, vocational training, the arts and more—inspire hope, create new opportunities for success and meaningfully change futures.

The idea of guest passes fits right into this mission perfectly. I picture family members and friends coming into the valley for the holiday and wanting to get a workout in. It is the responsibility to serve our members with a reasonable amount of guest passes so they can share the Y mission with others through the facilities, classes, and various other services. As the mission states, preserving the guest pass policy keeps a welcoming and open arms environment and culture for customers and guests so the Y can use this opportunity to "reach farther."

I will continue to blog on this case as it unfolds.