Want to Improve CSR Communications? Improve How You Uncover Value

I read a post recently that made me nod my head just as much as it made me shake it. Wayne Dunn, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practitioner and consultant, put it on the (LinkedIn) wall for all to see in a piece entitled “Let’s be Honest: Internal CSR Communications Suck”.

The article itself had much more depth in that it claimed, rightly so, that if a CSR team isn't creating value to begin with then it will have a difficult time communicating it across the organization (hence, the suckiness of communications). If it cannot communicate its value well, Mr. Dunn goes on to say, then it will be perpetually relegated to “an irrelevant sandbox away from core business activities and decisions.”

That CSR is still struggling with this is unfortunate, but not surprising.

And it’s definitely no wonder then why CSR continues to lament its lack of a “seat at the table”.

Mr. Dunn made it easy for me to nod my head as I read and for a couple of reasons.

One, I've found that CSR communications do tend to present fairly poorly. It seems this is true on two levels - an internal, business-relevant one - [Fortune 500 oil producing company employee] asking what the latest newsletter “feature article” about helping a local non-profit educate children has to do with producing oil in a challenging economic environment - and a superficial one (i.e., Why are we supporting soccer teams instead of baseball teams…?).

Two, I agree with the underlying notion that these lacklustre communications keep CSR on the fringe of the business. The sandbox becomes quick sand: producing more of the same will only make the problem worse. I think structure has a lot to do with it. Too often CSR is lumped in with public relations, corporate sponsorship and marketing. These surroundings practically guarantee that what CSR puts in front of its colleagues ends up more "spin" than value (which annoys and insults more than it informs).

What made me shake my head was how, as the the fact that this article was written shows, we continue to miss real, business-improving opportunities despite them being so close at hand. These seemingly hidden opportunities are ones that can create positive loops - they lend themselves to adding value in a way the unit or division can understand while also propelling a core business agenda item, such as sustainability. As Green Standards’ model shows, oftentimes companies only have to look in their own backyards to identify the types of opportunities I’m talking about.

Take corporate waste for example.

What has for years been seen mainly as a liability (and remains largely a “taboo” topic) is being brought to light as an opportunity to achieve a number of sustainability and corporate responsibility objectives, if not also to help with bottom line reporting. An entire business division – corporate real estate – can now meet real, meaningful metrics around sustainability as well as integrate them into standard performance management. It also can give a boost to employee engagement, community benefit and engagement and positive PR; all of which are well-established as being good for business.

Seizing such an opportunity translates into real value that's worth communicating.

While Mr. Dunn is likely right that CSR teams need to think hard about how they communicate value, I'd add that how well this is done is a direct result of being able to spot opportunities and playing a role in bringing them to fruition. In other words, don't just communicate value, learn how to create it. It’s an exciting thought. And who knows, it could very well be that they've been sitting on it all along.