"Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is like teenage sex. Everyone says they are doing it, but only half are really doing it, and of the half.... only half are doing it the right way." Sarita Bahl (consultant to government, NGOs, the private sector, and multinational corporations in the fields of communications, crisis management, training and advocacy for over 22 years) passed these words of wisdom to me last year, and from the literature on corporate sustainability/citizenship/responsibility, I think it poignantly summarizes the current state of corporate presence in our global community.
While there are still many companies paying lip-service to sustainability/corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility (CSR), others are in the progressing stages of learning how to do it the right way. Then there are quite a few that have emerged as role models in developing the kind of sophisticated CSR platform that leads to meaningful triple bottom line impact.
Unfortunately, many of these examples fall outside of the U.S. In 2009 Gjolberg found that corporate America fell in the bottom five (out of 20 countries studied) in terms of results-oriented, meaningful, and impactful CSR initiatives, and yet Grayson's study in 2008 had identified American consumers as being the most interested of six western countries in socially and environmentally reputable corporations. Therefore, there is much to be gained by studying the global corporations who have figured out how to develop the sophisticated CSR platform, herein after called itCSR, and even more opportunity for American companies.
While there are still many companies paying lip-service to sustainability/corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility (CSR), others are in the progressing stages of learning how to do it the right way. Then there are quite a few that have emerged as role models in developing the kind of sophisticated CSR platform that leads to meaningful triple bottom line impact.
Unfortunately, many of these examples fall outside of the U.S. In 2009 Gjolberg found that corporate America fell in the bottom five (out of 20 countries studied) in terms of results-oriented, meaningful, and impactful CSR initiatives, and yet Grayson's study in 2008 had identified American consumers as being the most interested of six western countries in socially and environmentally reputable corporations. Therefore, there is much to be gained by studying the global corporations who have figured out how to develop the sophisticated CSR platform, herein after called itCSR, and even more opportunity for American companies.
As a result, my research focused on systematically identifying which U.S. Fortune 500 global corporations are doing CSR the right way and learning from them why they do it and how they do it.
Interested in learning more? Go to the "ItCSR Development" page at the top right of this blog to read my dissertation abstract and follow me at www.deniseberger.com.
Image from ayushveda.com
From this research, I have developed a case for a new organizational development model.
Interested in learning more? Go to the "ItCSR Development" page at the top right of this blog to read my dissertation abstract and follow me at www.deniseberger.com.
Image from ayushveda.com
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