More government: companies are asking for it

I arrived in the US around the same time that the three giant American automakers - Ford, General Motors and Chrysler - asked US Congress for a bail out, which is basically a loan to cover operational costs now that they risking bankrupcy. The New York Times provides a detailed account of problems associated with automakers' dire situation. Probably encouraged by the legislators' generosity towards Wall Street financial institutions and banks, the Big Three figured it was a good idea and the right time to knock on the Congress' door. Politically, the automaking industry & its problems are very important here in US as it provides jobs for millions of workers either directly or through supply chains. Although the Congress is not yet satisfied with the companies' management's presentations, it is seriously considering a $25 billion aid package.

What are the big-picture-implications of such developments? Crate and Matten in their post Bail-out - Who's next?suggest that

'{...}with the bailout of the banking industry and potentially others we might witness a watershed in contemporary capitalism: a return of the government as a key player in business' so that eventually '{...}we as citizens, represented by democratic governments, regain control of a corporate world which for too long has put shareholder’s and manager’s interests ahead of many legitimate interests of wider society.'

This is indeed an interesting and refreshing perspective that is hardly vehiculated here in the liberal USA. Although the automakers' bail-out plan will most likely pass, it will have the stigma of a "necessary evil." But maybe it does not really have to be so... After all, in every problem there is an opportunity.

Getting started: finding mission-driven organizations

A couple of months before moving to New York City I researched relevant national and local CSR resources. As a result, one organization, Net Impact, was among the first I came across. It is "a global network of leaders who are changing the world through business." This membership-based organization boasts over 10,000 members and has chapters all over the world and headquarters in San Francisco, USA. So I'm happy to report that I became a member of this network, a status that entitles me to participate and contribute to this organization's many and various resources, programs and initiatives.

I have to admit that the organization's website is impressive and the brief online interaction I've had with its staffers was nice. As a result, I feel determined to get involved with the New York Professional Chapter which provides a number of accessible and straightforward ways to do just that. In addition to such a brilliant presence in the Internet, Net Impact encourages its members to join its Facebook and LinkedIn groups thus effectively leveraging several social media resources at once. After exploring its website, my guess is that Net Impact is quite successful at achieving its task of "educating, equipping and inspiring its members to make a tangible difference through business." I think that the site itself is an excellent model of community building and engagement that could inspire companies interested in becoming more responsible citizens.

Exploring CSR in New York City

If you happened to wonder why I hadn’t posted lately, it is because, after successfully completing the 2008 CSR Moldova Conference, my chairmanship of the Amcham Moldova CSR Committee and job at Eurasia Foundation, I’ve said goodbye to Moldova, relocated to New York City and married.

And New York is a totally different story. While the City is a familiar place for me – I went to graduate school here (Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy ) - it still feels like a new and unknown place. Particularly from the CSR-related perspective. Not that the Wall Street lacks media coverage or is ignored by the blogger community. In that sense, New York has been in the center of attention for weeks and weeks. Also, New York hosts at least a branch, if not the headquarters, of every important multinational corporation in the world. Nevertheless, I'm rather interested in the local, genuinely urban dimension of CSR, and I'm intent on starting to explore it right away.

Luckily for me and other CSR professionals, there are several great social media resources available that can help achieve this goal such as LinkedIn, MeetUp and Facebook. This is what I'll write about on my blog in the following months. If you have ideas/suggestions/resources that can help me in my endeavor, please don't hesitate to contact me!

CSR Moldova conference: to be continued

The 2nd edition of the local CSR conference took place in Chisinau on Friday, October 31. Its title, “Government and Business for Better Social Responsibility”, reflects the main theme of the event. Multinationals such as MOLDCELL (local company of Fintur), UNION FENOSA, AVON Cosmetics, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, regional companies such as BDR Associates, Rompetrol, BRD Groupe Societe Generale and local companies such as SunCommunications and Millenium Group participated with presentations.

Below are my key observations on this conference:

1. The attendance at the beginning part of the conference was excellent. We even had to bring in additional chairs.

2. However, almost half of these people vanished after the first 5-minute organizational break. Those who left were mostly the media. They came, took the press releases, took some shots of the Speaker of the Parliament and US Ambassador, and rushed to the next event on their agenda. This happened despite the perceived opinion that Moldovan media understand very little as to what CSR is all about.

3. The highlight of the first session was the presentation by Jean-Dominique Rugiero of Daxam Sustainability Services from Sweden. He talked about what governments can do to encourage and promote CSR. It turns out, by becoming responsible, efficient and accountable, the government – frequently the largest local employer in many countries – sets an important model for companies who are then compelled to behave likewise. The highlight of the second session was the presentation made by Flavia Kraus of Business in the Community from UK. This business association was created by the British businesses some decades ago with the main purpose of contributing effectively to the betterment of their communities. Over time, they’ve developed high-quality CSR know-how which is now exported abroad. Hopefully, Moldovan business will have an opportunity to benefit from that knowledge as well.

4. The AmCham CSR Awards were presented by myself (ex-Chair of the CSR Committee) and Cristina Pereteatcu of BAT (new Chair) to the following companies: Philantropy Award – Rompetrol Moldova (Junior Achievement Project), Partnership Award – SunCommunications (Greenhouse Project) and RED UNION FENOSA (Solidarity Day), SME Award – AVON Cosmetics (Breast Cancer Campaign). The general CSR Award went to MOLDCELL. For next year, it would be a good idea to include an award for the most responsible local company.

5. The special session designed for media was nicely performed except there was intimidating few media representatives. The reasons for these could be: 1) we don’t care about CSR; 2) we are too busy surviving as media in the first place; 3) we can’t be bothered on a Friday afternoon.

6. Finally, a few suggestions on the organization of the CSR conference in the future. In my view, having four organizations – AmCham, Eurasia Foundation, UN Global Compact and UNDP – be in charge of organizing the CSR conference is a bit too many. If the CSR Moldova conference is to become a sustainable event, one organization should assume leadership and take charge while facilitating smooth cooperation with the other stakeholders. The organizers should strive to improve the conference each year and to this end, certain lessons should be learned and current shortcomings eliminated in the future editions. Unfortunately, throughout the organization process, last year edition’s issues and challenges had not been appropriately addressed; therefore they kept emerging this year as well.

Overall, however, the 2008 CSR Moldova conference was a success, and I’d like to congratulate all organizers, partners, speakers and participants for helping CSR make a step further in this country!