I just wonder, as a stranger to the corporate world – CR or CSR; reporting on a triple bottom line – how much does it really matter to companies? Especially in these tougher times.
Make no mistake, over the course of the last twelve or so years I’ve been involved in raising a great deal of money for charitable causes and in the course of that time I have met many, many individuals and groups who undoubtedly care about the outcomes for those less fortunate than themselves. Dedicated people who work extraordinarily hard and with great generosity on behalf of those they perceive to be less fortunate than themselves.
But CORPORATE Responsibility; how does that work exactly? I can see how individuals feel responsibility – they give because they feel they should – they feel better for knowing they have put something back. It is easy enough to argue that these are qualities of our humanity. But a CORPORATION doesn’t feel responsibility, or feel better or guilty. So how do these things become manifest reality in a company? Does it come from the top or the bottom? Are companies REALLY better off if they are seen to be charitable?
