For most working in corporate responsibility, an economic slowdown holds more uncertainty than it does for their counterparts in other areas of business.

This is because the corporate responsibility movement, which has blossomed in recent years, has never had to deal with a full-blown recession. Even when the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, leading to an economic slowdown, the idea of big business having social and environmental goals embedded in strategy seemed far-fetched. Today corporate responsibility is not yet the norm, but sustainability commitments and programmes have certainly mushroomed in the “noughties” credit boom years.

Now the real value of those commitments is to be put to the test, as the sub-prime-fuelled credit crunch makes boards reconsider their spending plans. Department heads are nervous, as they wonder where their teams stand in the line for the chop.

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