We are moving beyond an era where CSR departments exist as a separate function in corporate organisations

The emerging trend is towards deep integration of CSR within organizations and true alignment of corporate responsibility with the business goals companies aim to achieve.

A tokenistic approach to sustainability and CSR is not good enough and is ultimately detrimental to the long term prospects of corporate organisations.

Corporate history is littered with the examples of companies whose extreme short sightedness has been matched by an equally rapid down fall. Enron's now infamous “house of cards” and the morally bankrupt Goldman Sachs are prime examples.

“We can’t afford it right now.”
“We don’t see a business case.”
“It’s not one of our current strategic objectives.”
“There aren’t the resources to devote to such initiatives.”

All of the above are common excuses for a failure to implement effective CSR and sustainability initiatives. A leading executive from a retail company told me off the record a key supplier’s reluctance to engage on CSR meant they lost their status as a preferential supplier.

The evidence of is now stacking up that a strong CSR program and long term business success go hand in hand. Don't take my word for it let’s look at the facts and figures.

• The US forum for sustainable and responsible investment states SRI is worth at least $3 trillion to the US investment marketplace. Social and environmental risk in your portfolio is no longer a marginal consideration.
   
• According to research by GlobeScan in January 2012, 74% of sustainability experts believe that environmental/social activism will increase significantly in the coming year. Strong NGO partnerships built on trust will be vital this year.
   
• The Dodd Frank Act, according to The US Chamber of Commerce, will affect hundreds of thousands companies, at a cost of $9 billion-$16 billion. Early and effective response guarantees lower cost of compliance.
   
• The IBM Institute for Business Value recently surveyed business leaders worldwide and found that more than two-thirds are focusing on corporate social responsibility activities to create new revenue streams. More than half of the surveyed business leaders believe that their companies’ CSR activities are already giving them an advantage over their top competitors.

In a couple of months time Ethical Corporation will host their 2nd annual New York sustainability summit. Gap Inc, Intel and Campbell Soup, recently ranked as one of the top 20 corporate citizens, will be addressing two crucial topics; How to engage an organisation's employees - its most important stakeholder and how to collaborate successfully with NGOs, industry associations and even competitors.