Will there come to an end the phenomenon of CSR? Will it be perhaps frozen until better times? The crisis is among us. Under pressure to reduce costs, CEOs discussed the desirability of keeping the costs associated with Social Responsibility.
So, do come to an end the phenomenon of CSR? Will it be perhaps frozen until better times?
This article is intended to reflect on the basic phenomenon of corporate social responsibility, and the danger they see cornered on the ropes in an unequal battle against the effects of this crisis.
is not an exercise in pessimism ("Let the pessimism for better times," recently wrote the philosopher José Antonio Marina) but put on the table some facts and trends.
Broadly speaking, one can distinguish between three stages of social responsibility, philanthropic, and strategic communication.
These three approaches differ in the kind of linkage between CSR programs with business objectives and the degree of formality with which they face.
The End of Social Responsibility philanthropic
philanthropic
Social Responsibility is informal, unstructured, or managerial orientation.
In times of crisis like the present, initiatives or informal preferential orientation programs have little chance of continuity and are often trimmed "to hack" budgets.
A proof of this assertion lies in the collapse of income experienced by many social-oriented NGOs, which are seeing reduced the aid they receive from companies and individuals.
Global Crisis, An Opportunity for CSR of higher quality?
While it is true that in the midst of uncertainty, many companies already are freezing their investments in CSR, others are rushing in "homework" to accelerate its transition from philanthropy to the certifications.
Before abandoning the effort in recent years, many believe it is more advantageous to "escape forward" in a mad dash to the 3P (Profits, People & Planet) to tie the core business.
There is a growing awareness that CSR could help these companies overcome the current crisis acting as a resistance factor (or should we say "resilience"?).
The large number of press releases and articles about "business case" that appear in the popular press and economically in recent weeks, is part of this trend.
This phenomenon leads us to think it's too late for Social Responsibility is a fad or a premature victim of the current economic situation.
The critical mass of companies that have addressed this change is too heavy in the international context.
now is figure out how to keep alive the flame of Responsibility, rationally distributing a limited budget, placing greater emphasis on some issues (which less expensive) are deferred while those offering more investment.
What will happen to the environment Social Responsibility?
generally amnbiental type actions that require large investments in equipment will not be favored.
The actual implementation of some environmental regulations as the derivative of solvent emissions in the European Union, not being strictly what it would have been a few years ago.
The business world sees this relaxation of controls and know that no government dare to risk even one job in an environment of job losses as dramatic as the current.
However, it is also true of initiatives focused on sustainable development remain among the most valued by a growing part of society.
In some sectors such as automotive, despite the enormous difficulties and layoffs are continuing to see a strong emphasis on the P of "planet" that can stretch more strongly to companies providing first and second level.
In these areas, and not enough with the ISO 14001, but other more stringent controls added in the Supply Chain.
The external dimension of CSR
We observed that the "external dimension" of CSR will be affected by the crisis.
often social action is related to company profits. And, as they plummet, assistance programs, communication to society and customers will be cut in most of the signatures.
This will affect, without doubt, the activities of the departments of Marketing and Communication.
In times of crisis, communication way with the "stakeholders" becomes less credible than ever. It takes more ... A style of relationships and close dialogue with all concerned.
However, in a scenario of collapse in sales, marketing departments of many companies have very different priorities will be difficult to achieve this challenge.
The internal dimension of CSR
CSR also has an "internal dimension" which involves issues that occur behind closed doors, such as reflection and rethinking of Social Responsibility by the Directorate, people management, waste minimization, resource optimization, etc.
As we have seen, investments related to environmental improvements, but fall into the "internal dimension" will be affected by the current credit restrictions and the easing of government control policies.
On the contrary, it is likely that other internal CSR practices are strengthened because they assume more reflection investment.
1) The role of the Human Resources Department
hit by the crisis notably Social Responsibility policies related to Human Resources.
In a context of massive layoffs and cost reduction, business decisions are scrutinized by many of the employees. Managers will have to face to colleagues as never before. And that requires real leadership.
On the other hand, even in the midst of a severe crisis, nobody will give up some gains as advances in equality of women and reconciling work and family life.
For this reason, many companies are shifting the "center of mass" of CSR to their departments HR. And probably will continue to see this trend in the near future.
2) Corporate Governance
Last but not least, will likely see significant progress in good governance practices, taking CSR in a tangible way the Senior Management.
This is possible only through a more responsive management style, where the benefit to shareholders is more of a "consequence" that a "purpose."
As Peter Drucker said more than 30 years, companies must not only to audit their accounts, but his performance against the corporate mission and values.
is unlikely that this change comes from the hand of regulations or standards ISO style.
Rather, it appears that the transformation will be marked by the success of some leading companies in CSR that are also showing strong economic performance, even in times of crisis.
Similarly, the growing awareness that the current crisis is largely due to a total financial irresponsibility in the financial sector originated and extended by other operators, marks a clear path to start solutions.
