Communicating CSR: Corporate reports, videos and leaders

Early this week, the growing New York Corporate Social Responsibility Group got together for another montly meetup - May CSR Social at our favorite Honey Bar and Lounge in Chelsea. In addition to being the only regular informal after-work place to network with other corporate social responsibility and sustainability professionals in the City, the New York CSR Meetup offers an increasingly engaging, diverse and thought-provoking forum for discussing the hottest topics in this field.

The topic of May CSR Social was Communicating CSR: Option, law or strategy? We started out by aknowledging the currently ongoing debate around the most effective means of communicating corporate responsibility practices. Many think CSR reports are the best means, others think genuine corporate leadership voices are increasingly influential in bringing about change. Yet others believe that the future of CSR communications is in telling the story in video format. The discussion was extremely interesting and here are some highlights I want to share with you:

1. CSR reporting is very much alive and rapidly evolving. The more tailored the report to its target audiences, the better. The more focus on core issues, the better. The more evidence of actual work/process/results, the better. The shorter, concise and straightforward, the better.

2. Regulated CSR reporting is unlikely in the US. Shareholders, employees and customers should be able to require the most appropriate form of CSR communication. Whatever the format, CSR communicaiton should address the real issues facing the company and would ensure a two-way communication process. Of 14 group members, only 2 would were in favor of mandatory CSR reporting.

3. Effective communication is a two-way road. Companies should learn to listen to and act upon stakeholders' perceptions, including complaints and criticism from local communities and various segments of customers. Shareholders should use their right to issue resolutions more often. If none of these works, government will eventually impose stricter rules such as the latest automobile emission and mileage standards.

4. Finally, an open-ended question that you are welcome to answer as well: Why Citi's and Barclays' reports are so different in their scope and focus in the same global context? While Citi's report provides a comprehensive coverage of everything except its approach to mitigate the adverse impact of the financial crisis on its customers, Barclays' report - which is in a much better shape than Citi - is all about that.

Greening New York City Bike-by-Bike

Happy to share with you an article I wrote for the Green Edge Collaborative NYC's first Leaflet. The article is about a great non-profit that is successfully promoting bike culture and sustainability in New York City.

The spring is back in the New York City and so are the bikers! You will find them all along the Hudson River Greenway, an amazing bike route that stretches from Battery Park all the way to Washington Fort Park, with little secrets such as the Cherry Walk. You, too, can explore this route if you rent or buy a bike. One place we suggest you do this is Recycle-A-Bicycle, an organization that, in addition to operating two bike shops in East Village and Dumbo, is helping the City to become greener, more bicycle-friendly, and is teaching young people to do the same.

Recycle-A-Bicycle promotes everyday bicycle use by recycling used bikes. New Yorkers donate about 1200 old bikes every year which are then refurbished by Recycle-A-Bicycle’s mechanics and volunteers. About half of these bikes are re-sold, and the rest are either used for parts or transformed into jewelry, crafts, or art installations through RAB’s recycled arts program. The revenues are used to fund Recycle-A-Bicycle’s youth programs, such as professional training, bike-maintenance courses offered in partnership with New York City schools, after-school programs, and chaperoned group rides for younger kids.

Recycle-A-Bicycle shares a powerful vision with many of us, that of a sustainable New York City. It is doing an excellent job at realizing this vision by promoting bike culture throughout the boroughs among children, parents and educators. Through initiatives such as the Earn-A-Bike program, teenagers get a direct and integrated educational experience. For example, when a student volunteers 18 hours on bike repair, they earn their own bicycle frame, which they can build and ride for themselves. Through bicycle riding, students learn first-hand about the importance of being fit and active and also learn to respect their immediate environment by not polluting it. The hope is that the children of today will continue to promote positive bicycle culture as they grow and become influential in their communities. Recycle-A-Bicycle estimates that they work with about 1,000 young people a year and ride about 500 miles during this time. In the fifteen years they’ve been around, this amounts to direct outreach to thousands of New York City youth!

Recycle-A-Bicycle has helped New York City become a much more bike-rider-friendly city than it used to be by encouraging bicycle riding. “We introduce a lot of people to cycling for the first time, young people and adults alike. Being a community-based bike shop we want to get people riding bicycles. It is not uncommon for people to come to our shops to buy the first bike that they’ve had in years – something we very much support,” says Pasqualina Azzarello, Executive Director of Recycle-A-Bicycle.

New York City is witnessing a shift in the public consciousness which is becoming more open to different forms of transportation and lifestyles. The numbers of bike-lanes and bike-riders are increasing. Recycle-A-Bicycle works in support of Transportation Alternatives, who advocates for more bike lanes and helps to introduce bicycle safety issues to the main stream. In addition, Recycle-A-Bicycle helps many people get fit and comfortable with riding the streets of New York City by offering Bike Maintenance classes in partnership with Bike New York. “The presence of more riders on the streets of New York really helps to encourage our local government to want to accommodate that. If people weren’t riding, then bike lanes would be a good idea in an abstract way,” says Azzarello.

Bike Month in New York City

I enjoy biking a lot. So imagine my satisfaction when I learned that May was the official Bike Month in New York City. That means a great variety of biking activities organized throughout the five boroughs. Last Thursday, May 14, was the National Bike to Work Day.

This WABC Bike to Work video features the main groups promoting the bike culture in New York, and they are doing a great job in increasing bike ridership, biking safety and amenities. Tomorrow I'll post an article on this topic I wrote for the the first newsletter of GreenEdgeCollaborative, a social network of sustainability enthusiasts in NYC.

Clinton Global Initiative: creating value for business and society

An interesting CSR event happened in New York City on Monday, May 11. The Clinton Global Initiative together with The Economist convened the meeting Global Challenges, Corporate Solutions: Creating Value for Business and Society, the aim of which was to discuss ways to help the world’s leading companies identify profitable and sustainable approaches to the world’s most urgent social and environmental challenges.

Check out who participated and what was discussed. I attended the Developing Human Development session which is a cross-cutting theme throughout four action areas where CGI helps companies utilize their core business expertise when addressing the major global challenges: climate change, education, health and poverty.

CGI provides a leadership forum where partnerships between governments, companies and non-profit organizations are nurtured and supported. Once a year, representatives from across these sectors from all over the world gather for the annual meeting to discuss progress and welcome new commitments. CGI members join with a two-year project which - because organically embedded into the company's culture - continue beyond this timeframe. For example, the HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care program of Levi Strauss & Co. goes back decades ago when the disease didn't even have a name and grew into a global program with significant influence in improving the social and economic life of vulnerable populations such as people with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

And, finally, a nice video from CGI Commitments to Action from Clinton Global Initiative on Vimeo.

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Richard Edelman: A stakeholder society considers the views of NGOs, employees and consumers

At an event I attended a couple of weeks ago, I took note of what Richard Edelman said regarding the importance of effective, multi-pronged communication in today’s marketplace. Because effective communication is a big part of corporate social responsibility and because Edelman is one of the world’s leading independent PR firms, I asked Richard Edelman, President & CEO, to offer us his view on the importance of communications in the realm of corporate responsibility. I invite you to read the interview below and check out Richard's latest blog on this topic.

Why is it important that companies communicate their commitment to CSR?

First, employees are usually interested in working for companies that are not just interested in making money but also in improving our society. Therefore, if companies want to get the best people, they need to communicate well what they do and how they do it. Second, smart consumers are now demanding companies have a purpose. For example, they will buy a product if they see it as having a sustainable supply chain or appropriate packaging, even if more expensive. Third and most importantly, we’ve moved now from a shareholder society to a stakeholder society, in which the views of NGOs, employees and consumers are being considered.

What are the most effective means of communicating CSR?

It is a combination of speeches by top executives, employees’ blogs that tell their stories and mainstream media. However, telling the story only through words is not enough. Companies need to show what they are doing in video, too.

What are the most common shortcomings in CSR communications?

Just talking about CSR is not enough. Setting specific guidelines and performance measures is key. Everyone is expecting companies to make a commitment and then prove they follow through. It’s one thing to make a promise and another to keep it. In communicating CSR companies have to be quantitative.

What is the one thing that companies need to remember when communicating CSR initiatives?

First, companies should acknowledge where they are and show where they want to go. Even if they are not perfect today, they should be willing to be open and quantitative on their human rights policies, supply chain, etc. Also, companies should strive to be part of the broader solution. For instance, if a firm is trying to fix its supply chain in China, it should educate its suppliers to make them better. One should consider the broader solution, not just the immediate narrow little world.

How will communicating CSR change in the near future?

The expectation is that CSR become part of normal business and not a philanthropic act. CSR is becoming necessary - or what I call the ‘table stakes’ - required to play the game. Smart companies will accept this, make a virtue of it and talk about it as benefit. The one thing that’s going to change in communications is that you will need to show, not just tell, your story. This means taking people to where you are doing your business, making a video and becoming accountable in a visual sense as well.