Why companies engage employees in corporate responsibility and sustainability

Why do companies engage employees today in Corporate Responsibility and

Sustainability?

But first, why do they engage employees?

• Brand trust and reputation

• Increasing evidence CR major factor in recruitment, motivation and retention

• Numerous studies ‘prove’ this

• Viewed as major potential source of innovation

Typical engagement issues: Internal

• Corporate environmental performance

• Community and volunteering work

• Anti-corruption and bribery

• Codes of behaviour/conduct

• Diversity, empowerment

Typical engagement issues: External

• Climate change

• Global development

• Waste and recycling

• Biodiversity/environment

• Social exclusion/innovation

• Human rights issues

Most companies focus on internal issues…

• “Low hanging fruit”: Office recycling/greening/cycle to work etc are common issues

• Volunteering and community engagement

• Fundraising for charity

Because they can get quick wins…

• Office recycling saves money fast: e.g. centralised waste areas

• Increasing drivers for mandatory ethics/bribery training

• Fundraising looks/feels good

And volunteering/community work is expected….

• 2011 - Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy studied 184 companies with regard to community/volunteering

• These included 63 of the top 100 companies in Fortune 500

And volunteering/community work is expected….

2010: 94% of companies offered a matching-gift program (programs that match employee contributions of cash or volunteer time with a financial contribution to the employee’s charity of choice)

Donations seem to be going up…

2009 to 2010: 57% of companies increased their cash contributions to matching gift programs

2010: 89% of companies had a formal domestic employee-volunteer program

52%: International volunteering

Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility study 2009:

• Employee engagement is both a driver, as well as an outcome, of corporate social performance and sustainable value creation

• Corporate [social performance] has both a direct and indirect impact (via employee engagement) on the creation of sustainable business value

• Social intrapreneurs – who are engaged [within companies] in both [social] and commercial innovation – can improve corporate social performance and enhance sustainable business value

Conclusions

• We see very few, if any arguments AGAINST engagement with employees

• Lots of “macro” studies

• New movement to consider how CR drives innovation: Alliance Boots one example

• “Intrapreneurs” concept growing

• Traditional business case strong and growing

• Cheap and easy to do compared with say, management of CR in the supply chain