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CSR Directory
CSR FAQ
CSRwire FAQ
Seach Help & Tips
CSR FAQ
What are the main drivers for the CSR in the USA? I think that an obvious driver is the reaction to public corporate scandals that have occurred in the recent past. Corporate communications departments are making sure that if their organization is engaged in some CSR activities, that they publicize them. In many ways, this is just another form of risk management; the more the company discloses about its activities, both positive and negative, the greater there level of transparency and amount of information available to stakeholders. In effect, this is part of a reputation management strategy. Additionally, stakeholders are beginning to demand more accountability from Corporations and consumers are weighing corporate CSR commitments when making purchasing decisions. Also, CSR educational programs in the US at prominent institutions such as Harvard and Yale have been yielding graduates who are evaluating prospective employers' commitment to CSR when choosing a place to work.
Is there any important public policy to stimulate the CSR? From an environmental standpoint, there are certainly public policy initiatives to reduce pollution and increase the amount of renewable energy usage as a percentage of total energy consumption, among other things. Other requirements such as compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley are causing publicly traded companies to be held to a higher level of disclosure and transparency mostly as it relates to their financials, However, I am not aware of any currently no mandated US requirements for a company to implement specific CSR initiatives.
What are the main categories for CSR? Is Corporate Governance is one of them? The main categories for CSR initiatives are:
What are the most responsible industry sectors in the economy? I am not sure that there is a specific industry or sector that is the most socially responsible. There is a growing focus on healthy living which includes organic food production and clothing manufacturing with natural materials with strict attention paid to humane working conditions. Also, with some of the corruption that has been exposed in the financial markets and insurance industry, we are beginning to see a greater level of disclosure on their part related to commissions, fee structures and governance. Also, the general public seems more aware of environmental issues than say, corporate governance or community development initiatives, so we tend to hear a lot more about responsible environmental practices as part of a company's communication strategy.
Could we talk about Philanthropy as a part of the CSR? Philanthropy or corporate giving is certainly one of the topics included in CSR. This includes not just grants or financial donations given by organizations, but also includes the volunteer time that an organization encourages (and maybe even requires) their employees to perform. Home Depot is a perfect example of this. Last year Home Depot employees provided more than 2 million hours of community service and their CEO is actively promoting this type of corporate giving to other large companies and organizations.
CSRwire FAQ
What are the main differences between the US CSR and the Europe CSR? Many countries and Europe and elsewhere have demonstrated a stronger commitment to their Stakeholders with regard to CSR than most US companies. Non-financial reporting including global citizenship reports, sustainability reports and other CSR reports is much more prevalent outside of the US. Take a look at www.corporateregister.com. These reports include information such as employee satisfaction, employment turnover, confidence in management, diversity statistics, community development initiatives and environmental impacts. In many cases, the information highlights areas of weakness or failure on the company's part and acknowledges a need to improve. Although more US companies are beginning to embrace such voluntary reporting initiatives, there is currently no real pressure for them to do so and many companies still view this as a risk through unnecessary disclosure.
What is Triple Bottom Line Investing? Triple Bottom Line Investing is an investment designed to generate a financial, social and environmental return. I believe that the value that needs to be conveyed to your clients is that the focus and impact of the social and environmental component of the ROI will be given more attention and 'weight' when evaluated by CSRwire readers and our distribution network. It's possible that the social and environmental ROI may not be fully recognized or appreciated by traditional newswire readers that tend to be financially focused. Presumably, our clients that are focused on TBL want to make sure the appropriate, most impactful readers are aware of their efforts and the returns they are generating.
Who is reading CSRwire at corporations and at what level are they? As you know, the number of people that subscribe to the newsletter is a very small percentage of our monthly readership. There are many more analysts, journalists, investors and academics who read our news on our site or our syndication partner's sites than get our newsletter. I can tell you that our readers (and subscribers) include CEOs, Corp. Governance Officers, Ethics Officers and more and more CSR officers as companies have been increasingly appointing them. As you can imagine, we have plenty of VPs of communication.
When making a pitch to a client like State Street Corp., what are some of the outcomes they would expect from adding CSRwire. I understand who the CSR audience might be...but what are the expected results? The first result is that the company has an immediate association with Corporate Social Responsibility in the eyes of analysts, journalists, investors, academics and activists. Their news will reach this constituency via our weekly news alert of over 10,000 recipients and thru our 30 (and growing) syndication partners who distribute the news to over 400,000 interested parties. The second result is fairly common for newswire services, the company may get contacted by a CSR or SRI publication or organization seeking more information about their activities. The company would in turn become part of the 'data base' of CSR company contacts. For State Street Bank specifically, as with all banks, certain CSR activities automatically qualify for Community Reinvestment Act points which impact their ratings for FDIC and FSLIC insurance. State Street should take a look at Key Bank, one of our most active clients. Our syndication partners distribute your news to a much wider audience, inclusive of retail consumers. Studies have shown that consumers are influenced by a company's behavior and become loyal customers. The academic community and students of CSR review CSRwire. Academics have a history of including CSR 'case studies' in their curriculum and the students become attracted to 'good corporate citizens' thereby attracting talent for the company.
I'm not sure if I fully understand the benefit to a company. Is it to increase investors who only invest in CSR-type companies? If a company does not have a formal CSR program or social initiative, they are automatically precluded from a host of investor profiles such as socially responsible mutual funds, pension funds, foundations and endowments that have restrictions, religious organizations and community investment financiers that 'screen' their investments for social initiatives. The more specific a company's social initiative is, the more specific attention and investment they will attract. For example, a company focused on the environment will be closely watched by investors, analysts and journalists who focus on the environment. The same holds true for other CSR initiatives such community investment, fair trade, organic food, alternative health and renewable energy.
Seach Help & Tips
TD Banknorth said that issuing on CSR felt like it would open up a can of worms. They are concerned that not every piece of the corporation could be held to CSR scrutiny and he didn't see the benefit to that risk. Any sophisticated CSR practitioner accepts that CSR is a process and an intention, not a "thing" that a company either has or does not have. No company is pure. An impactful example is Nike. A recent report from Nike identified the names and locations of factories (that produce their products) that have human rights violations. This level of transparency is another form of risk management. How can they be attacked for something they've disclosed and are addressing?
What are some CSRwire buzzwords? Business ethics, Community development, Corporate finance, Corporate governance, Diversity, Environment, Philanthropic activities, Human rights, Workplace issues.
Who does CSRwire reach and what kind of 'pick-up' can we expect? Just as with other newswires, we can't guarantee that a journalist will write a story about the release. Also, even if a journalist doesn't phone you about this release, he or she may file the release and contact you at a later date if they write an article related to your story. We do guarantee that the news is delivered to our syndication network - CSR organizations, SRI organizations, thought-leaders and influencers* in the CSR field - and to key contacts at mainstream media outlets, business media, CSR publications, mainstream financial institutions, and investor research companies.
How do the corporations mainly operate or work? Do they work through third parties (like NGOs, churches, social local groups, etc), or do they have their own corporate foundations like Ford? This happens in many ways. As you pointed out, some company's form their own foundations or philanthropic organizations. Other partner with an organization such as an NGO, religious or charitable organization. A study by APCO worldwide (link below with graphs and data) shows that organizations that engage a third party for verification of their CSR initiatives have greater credibility than those who communicate their CSR initiative directly. |
