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CSR is a waste of time, and may even do more harm than good, according
to one of the most vociferous non-governmental organizations in the
field.
Corporate Watch, which monitors corporate behaviour worldwide, has declared ‘CSR is a problem, not a solution’, on the grounds that the voluntary efforts it encourages are ‘a vehicle for companies to thwart attempts to control corporate power’. In a new paper, What’s wrong with corporate social responsibility, the group argues that ‘CSR has ulterior motives’ largely aimed at improving brand image and avoiding regulation. It dismisses most programmes as ‘greenwash’, and adds: ‘The problem isn’t simply that companies aren’t practising CSR very well. It’s that the corporate structure is not capable of social responsibility.’
Although not in the top rank of NGOs, the UK-based organization has influential supporters, such as the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, which gives it funding, and the new paper has attracted media attention in the UK.
Despite the trenchant views, industry specialists have reacted in restrained fashion. ‘Where I agree with Corporate Watch is that often companies want to trade a token bit of good behaviour for the freedom to behave as they like,’ said Hilary Sutcliffe, senior partner at the Acona consultancy. ‘On the other hand I don’t think the motives of “improving brand image” and so on are actually “ulterior” at all. They are called the business case.’
Corporate Watch, which monitors corporate behaviour worldwide, has declared ‘CSR is a problem, not a solution’, on the grounds that the voluntary efforts it encourages are ‘a vehicle for companies to thwart attempts to control corporate power’. In a new paper, What’s wrong with corporate social responsibility, the group argues that ‘CSR has ulterior motives’ largely aimed at improving brand image and avoiding regulation. It dismisses most programmes as ‘greenwash’, and adds: ‘The problem isn’t simply that companies aren’t practising CSR very well. It’s that the corporate structure is not capable of social responsibility.’
Although not in the top rank of NGOs, the UK-based organization has influential supporters, such as the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, which gives it funding, and the new paper has attracted media attention in the UK.
Despite the trenchant views, industry specialists have reacted in restrained fashion. ‘Where I agree with Corporate Watch is that often companies want to trade a token bit of good behaviour for the freedom to behave as they like,’ said Hilary Sutcliffe, senior partner at the Acona consultancy. ‘On the other hand I don’t think the motives of “improving brand image” and so on are actually “ulterior” at all. They are called the business case.’
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