Mallen Baker reviews his columns over the past 12 years – and how much, or little, things have changed

After 12 years of writing this column for Ethical Corporation, I’ve told the editor it’s time for me to focus more on the web design and online video business I’m building. So the fact that this is my last column in this esteemed journal prompted me to look back through some of the pieces I’ve written over the years.

I saw that I once mischievously started such a column by announcing that HSBC was to take over the UK’s Co-operative Bank (it was an article about ethical niche companies that were taken over by mainstream corporates and whether this necessarily meant an abandonment of principles). It was designed to shock with its outlandish proposition. But it’s not so far from where the Co-operative has actually ended up. Oops.

But the thing that seemed most remarkable from looking at those early articles is just how little seems to have changed in the past decade. For instance, the first time I wrote about tax as a social responsibility issue was in 2005 but it is one of the issues of the moment today.

In 2006 we were reflecting on whether a company could successfully argue for its customers to actually consume less. It’s a question that has been toyed with by firms such as Patagonia, has been seriously pondered by companies such as Interface and Kingfisher, but remains one of those “beyond the horizon” questions when it comes to a mainstream business model.

I commented in 2006 that one of the key challenges was the difficult dialogue between CSR teams and their marketing colleagues – and that remains a difficult divide, with precious few companies demonstrating the value of joined-up approaches.

In 2004 I defended the Olympics sponsors against the attacks by campaigners for imagined transgressions against the world. And again in 2008. Oh, and in 2012. It seems that one of the things that never changes is that big sporting events will attract campaigners hoping to feed off the worldwide public awareness by attacking the companies whose sponsorship helps make international sport possible. Expect more on this in 2016.

Other themes have included the need for corporate leadership on climate change in the absence of political leadership. Every now and then across the decade individual business leaders, or associations of businesses, have spoken up in a rather general way. But the leadership gap is still some way from being fully addressed and closed.

Reporting rigour

The best approach for corporate responsibility reporting has been a constant theme as well. I was an early critic of the Global Reporting Initiative because, although it claimed to be a “guidance standard” I argued that it would become the level that legislators looked to when making ill-advised moves to legislate to require reporting – and this would stifle innovation in a communication form that is not yet mature. And indeed, only a few days ago the GRI produced a press release outlining its ambition to become exactly that – the standard setter that public legislators would use to force companies to report.

On the other hand, a few things have certainly changed. Back in 2002 I was speculating on the existence of a socially responsible tobacco company that would one day disrupt the tobacco market with reduced harm products. It may not have come to pass through the leadership of a tobacco company – but the development and growing popularity of e-cigarettes has shown beyond doubt the role of innovation in finding a solution to a socially difficult product.

More interestingly, even though we were talking about embedding sustainability across businesses from the start, we now have better examples of companies that have demonstrated just how ambitious such programmes can be. The likes of Unilever, Marks & Spencer and Kingfisher have shown that so-called “big hairy audacious goals” can focus on mainstream sustainability just as much as market positioning.

Although the number of companies joining them in that ambition may still be limited, that is encouraging progress.

And it’s worth noting that these inspiring examples have come about in spite of all the sniping at the concept of corporate responsibility that has taken place over the years. From time to time new critics have emerged from both the campaigners on the anti-corporate wing and the pro-business right wingers. They have written their books and articles and made their speeches, and these attacks have caused little ripples of concern.

Mallen Baker is managing director of Daisy Wheel Interactive.

CR Strategy  csr development 

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