More questions than answers
There were certainly more questions than answers at the Feb. 5th TSSS event, and the three panelists offered different insights. When moderator Dr. Feltmate asked whether it might be valuable to develop a way of measuring progress of a company in the sustainability realm over time, with a quantifiable index that presents an annual summary score calculation, McPherson answered that this would be important to the corporation for understanding trending, but might not be of interest to the capital markets. (To read Part I of the event summary please click here)
TSSS Event Feb. 5, 2015 – CSR and the Capital Markets with expert panel; Blair Feltmate (moderator) Julie Desjardins, Ian McPherson and Martin Grosskopf.
Failing to innovate can not only hurt your business, it can shut you right down – just ask Kodak.
When you think about the different ways that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) transpires throughout daily life, examples seen at retail will often come to mind. Such examples include the sale of green products, responsible ingredients and manufacturing claims (i.e. Fair Trade), or re-usable bags for purchase. More often than not, there is also some form of fund-raising effort present at retail to support a cause or charity. In recent years, these examples have become so ubiquitous in presence and predictable in their communication approach. So much so, that sadly they have become relatively ineffective at inspiring broader public support for the very CSR principles and causes they strive to represent. Such passive forms of corporate support for social and environmental issues are often just more information and promotional advertising. What is often missing is the added effort to actually communicate and connect with people in ways that provide an enriching experience and inspire further interest. This is where the adoption of a retail perspective and way of thinking can help.
