By Kate McClaskey

What’s new in CSR? Here’s what we have been reading this weekend.

BP’s still not on the ball…

Chrystia Freeland from the Washington Post speculates who’s to blame for the oil spill. She says it has taught us that the heart of the relationship between business and society doesn’t lie with the charitable deeds that companies do in their off-hours, but whether they are doing their day jobs in ways that help — or hurt — the rest of us. While BP was winning plaudits for being the first oil company to accept global warming as a scientific fact, the old-school Texas oilmen at ExxonMobil were unfashionably unapologetic about their core mission: to produce oil. Chastened by the Exxon Valdez disaster, however, they also became religious about safety standards. With hindsight, that attention to safety turns out to have had much greater social value than any number of creative CSR drives.

India creates voluntary CSR guidelines

JustMeans writes how for the first time in its history, the government of India, through its Ministry of Corporate Affairs, issued a set of voluntary CSR guidelines. Their intent is to add company value, focus on long-term sustainability contributions and provide benefit to stakeholders and society.

Will colleges soon start teaching CSR in school?

Aman Singh of Forbes.com questions how job seekers and business school graduates view the rising awareness of concepts like triple bottom line, corporate responsibility, and ethical management. Turning to four MBA candidates for some answers whether recent Wall Street shortcomings were redefining MBA curriculum at their schools. Each of the candidates agreed that a complete embedding of corporate responsibility within company cultures across America would require a coordinated push from employees and job seekers as well as students.

The truth about CSR compensation

Leon Kaye writes that more professionals have become interested and passionate about sustainability, judging by the growth in related academic programs and, anecdotally, the surge in networking and other professional events that have a corporate social responsibility theme.  Idealism and the genuine desire to accomplish good, however, may conflict with the reality of paying the mortgage or rent check.

Walmart’s green strategy raises some questions

Bob Lurie explores Wal-Mart’s vow made earlier this year to eliminate 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from its supply chain over the next five years. he says it turns out the promise may be more of a form regulatory vigilantism.

By Melissa J. Anderson

Corporate giving is down for the majority of companies, yet total donation amounts are up, despite the tough economy, revealed two recently released studies.

Despite the tough economy, corporate giving was up by 5.5 percent in 2009, according to a report released by Giving USA and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University – an estimated $14.1 billion.

Although now within 1 percent of its pre-recession level, the Giving USA study revealed that the unexpected increase is more closely related to in-kind giving than cash donation, which isn’t as harshly affected by economic circumstances. At the same time, the study revealed, total US donations (including individual, foundation, and corporation) were down by 3.2 percent, adjusted for inflation.

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By Bethany Sample

From the perspective of a concerned consumer, the big oil companies response to the recent Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico leaves something to be desired. At first glance, what should’ve inspired a thorough review of their safety regulations has instead brought only reassurances of how they will clean up the mess. This concerned consumer is left wondering how such an environmental tragedy can be prevented in the future and if it is even possible for the progressive oil industry to regulate itself with internal oversight – what about the company’s people?

In his 2010 AGM speech to shareholders in London on April 15th, BP Chief Executive of Oil and Energy Tony Hayward claimed, “Safety remains our number one priority and I’m pleased to report we can see clear progress.”

What followed this claim was a reassuring percentage of company progress and a thorough account of all the ways in the which BP has grown in the past year. Except for those few sentences about safety, however, Hayward didn’t return to the subject with more detail. He finished his speech by stating “Of course the future looks challenging. It always does.” What these words reveal, on the eve of disaster, is either a general disregard for the importance of safety in favor of positive quarterly statements or a genuine ignorance of the risk to BP. Five days after Hayward’s speech, 11 people died in the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the first million gallons of crude oil began flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

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By Kate McClaskey

Being family friendly means more than just offering services to new parents. It means taking investment steps towards providing financial incentives for new parents to return to work – and stay there.

According to the May 2004 Current Population Survey, 27.5 percent of wage and salary workers had flexible work schedules. Too many companies do not realize the benefits of having such an option. A recent study from the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom found that employees with flexible schedules tend to work more intensely and have higher job satisfaction than their coworkers with more rigid hours. Those with more flexible hours also had lower stress levels and greater company loyalty.

The average unpaid maternity and paternity leave in the United States is anywhere from eight to 12 weeks. Comparatively, Swedish mothers and fathers can receive 76 weeks between them, and in the UK mothers can receive 39 weeks paid leave and fathers can receive four weeks paid leave. This is important because according to a study published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, mothers with more paid time off tend to have less health risks than mothers who don’t.

While smaller companies may not be able to afford to establish and administer family friendly policies, larger ones should realize that the benefits of adopting such practices can outweigh the costs because they can potentially reduce absenteeism, lower turnover, improve employee health and increase productivity.

An ever-increasing number of companies are finding that new moms and dads are demanding more such as longer maternity/paternity leave and flexibility after having or adopting a new child. As the corporate world changes, so does the importance of a family friendly work place. It takes more than just more time to keep moms and dads engaged and content in their new role as employee and parent.

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By Kate McClaskey

What’s new in CSR? Here’s what we have been reading this weekend.

• BP has proven that it is no corporate citizenThe Associated Press examines how this time, BP can’t hide behind the green and yellow sunburst on the corporate logo, not when the evidence shows the company neglected safety and fought regulation to boost profits. Being socially responsible, it turns out, was just a marketing gimmick.

• The Democratization of Corporate Philanthropy

  James Epstein-Reeves discusses the different campaigns companies use for their corporate giving programs and what they mean for us.

• Banking with a Heart

  The Manila Standard looks at outgoing HSBC president Mark Watkinson, who announced that three nongovernment organizations would get over $118,000 in funding from the bank. These include the Future First Program, to improve the lives of Filipino street children who works with SOS Children’s Villages whose goal is to provide education, health care, counseling and shelter.

• The Carbon Disclosure ProjectJustMeans strives to look at CDP and define what it really is, a way to “accelerate solutions to climate change by putting relevant information at the heart of business, policy and investment decisions.”

• Green is no longer just a color but a corporate way of thinkingMargaret Harris writes that “companies need to start paying more attention to how they affect the environment as corporate governance rules become clearer and tougher.” Because green concerns aren’t going away and businesses need to start implementing them into their projects and corporate mindset.

By Kate McClaskey

More than 1,000 companies convened last week in New York City for the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit. Business, civil and government leaders joined together for the tenth anniversary summit where among the topics discussed was the Global Compact Management Model, a recently launched management tool designed to assist companies in their endeavors to follow the principles set out by the compact.

The Global Compact was launched in 2000 with only 44 businesses which came together voluntarily to make a commitment to incorporate universal human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption principles into their operations. The number of signatories now involved in the compact has grown to over 6,000, making it the world’s largest corporate responsibility initiative.

However there has not been a universal approach for companies to implement the principles.

Some choose to apply them at the beginning of their sustainability efforts while others must insert them into their current operations. Due to every signatory’s unique sustainability standing, a hodge podge of different approaches has emerged. In an effort to solve this problem, the UN in partnership with Deloitte & Touche created the Management Model, to provide a framework for companies implementing the standards and putting the principles into practice.

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By Melissa J. Anderson

What’s new in CSR? Here’s what we’ve been reading this weekend.

• CSR May Help Build a Good Reputation, But Can’t Salvage a Brutal One
  TriplePundit examines a University of Florida study that revealed that “corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs can only serve as part of a company’s effort to build a good reputation—and in turn only reap cynicism when a firm already has a poor reputation among the public.”
• Is it cheating to call energy efficiency savings CSR?
  JustMeans asks “is there really any problem with a company bragging about its energy savings? This is where the perennial greenwash debate comes into play.”
• Catalyzing Change At Time, Inc.: “CSR Isn’t Just Moral, It’s About Survival”
  Aman Singh writes “a company’s human capital is an equally important component of CR, although it often doesn’t get recognized as such by many companies.”
• Corporate sustainability: Are we really cruising in fifth gear?
  The Guardian discusses a new study from Accenture and the UN Global Compact that says, “93% of CEOs see sustainability issues as important to their companies’ future success.”
• The Economy: Can Sustainability Survive the Recession?
  Newsweek looks at the same survey and surmises, “Rather, at its root, sustainability is about the ultimate corporate goal: efficiency.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

Readers of Evolved Employer know the importance of nurturing an inclusive culture at your company. Tomorrow’s employees want more than a paycheck – they want to work for a company which embraces the same values they do.

A February Pew report on the Millennials (individuals 18-29) and shows that they are the most tolerant generation.

According to the report:

“They are also the only generation to favor the legalization of gay marriage —they do so by a 50% to 36% margin, with the remainder undecided. When it comes to the other generations, support for gay marriage declines in a fairly straight progression from young to old: 43% of Gen Xers, 32% of Baby Boomers and 24% of Silents favor legalizing gay marriage.”

As more Millennial enter the professional workforce, they will begin to expect a company reflecting their values toward GLBT individuals – such as same-sex benefits, recognition and acceptance of GLBT workers, and a tolerant workplace. What is your company doing to respond to this business imperative?

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Following last month’s oil leak in the Gulf, there has been an intense focus on BP, owner of the exploded rig, as well as on the environmental ramifications of deep sea drilling. Should the company be unable to stop the leak, says Secretary of the Interior Mark Salazar, “There are scenarios that it could be worse than the Exxon Valdez.”

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil near the Alaska coastline, destroying the wetland habitat. In many ways, this spill was a wake-up call for corporations, that their behavior could have a major effect on the planet. Six months after the accident, a small group of individuals formed Ceres, a non-profit aimed at bringing “investors, environmental groups and other stakeholders together to encourage companies and capital markets to incorporate environmental and social challenges into their day-to-day decision-making.”

Membership in the group comes with a strict set of requirements including executive level commitment toward improving environmental and social performance, public disclosure of performance “in a sustainability report, Global Reporting Initiative report, annual report, environment and/or community report,” continuous improvement, and an “annual fee scaled to reflect corporate revenues, ranging from $2,000 to $40,000.” Companies must also be responsive to Ceres stakeholders’ questions and concerns regarding environmental and social performance.

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