CSR and Diversity Panel Remarks World Diversity Leadership Summit

Deirdre Golden, ORC Worldwide
CSR and Diversity Panel Remarks
World Diversity Leadership Summit
Vienna , 12th March 2010

Introduction

I would like to share my thoughts on CSR and its relationship to D&I

And my perspective on this topic is shaped by what I can see happening in the activities and practices of organisations ORC works with through its equality and diversity networks.

A definition of CSR
There is no single definition of CSR, but this is the definition I work with....

• It is an organisation’s engagement with Civil Society and its stakeholders
• It is about contributing to the economic, environmental and social sustainability of communities and societies impacted by company activities

At this point in time, D&I and CSR are, in the main, separate functions, but we are seeing a trend amongst our members of closer collaboration between the functions, either through reporting structures, or though shared activities.

The link between D&I and CR:
I would suggest that the principles underpinning CSR are the same as those in D&I BUT the actions are different

They are both trying to achieve similar things:

• The engagement of stakeholders
• Creating a culture of value and inclusiveness (valuing people internal to the organisation; valuing people/communities/societies in the external environment)and
  • Where everyone (employees/communities/societies) is valued and their contribution counts
  • Where everyone (employees/communities/societies) can achieve their potential
• Creating long-term sustainability

The actions to achieve this are different:

D&I primary focus is on internal policies and processes to effect culture change (moving to a diverse and inclusive culture), but part of that process involves reaching out to the external environment (communities, individuals and groups) as a potential employer; and service provider

CR primary focus is on engagement with external stakeholders; public reporting of company activities that impact the external environment (environmental; social; economic)

However both CR and D&I have many points of contact, with the potential to develop others

Through our work with our members we have identified the following points of synergy:

• Communications (organisations partnering on communications efforts) and branding (as an employer of choice, and as an organisation of choice – good to do business with)
• Creating traction for each other through cross referencing (CR and D&I) and reinforcing messages
• Sharing resources: staff; budget (for community programmes; staff costs)
• Creating and sharing more relevant data on internal and external communities (metrics)
• Supporting mutual engagement activities, for example through the strategic use of employee networks /Employee Resource Groups
• By working more closely together there is less chance of either doing something that undermines the other e.g. when organisations are working with indigenous peoples- this can meet the objectives of both CR and D&I
• In 2006 the European Commission said that work life reconciliation should be part of an organisation’s CSR agenda

However there are other potential areas where the two functions could work more effectively with each other:

The supply chain/supplier diversity/labour standards

The integrity and diversity of the supply chain is very important to CSR, this is a growing area for D&I in Europe, and is well established in the US.

A key area of focus for CSR might be concerns around child labour; slave labour; rights of indigenous peoples; migrant’s rights etc; D&I also focuses on some of these areas as well as ensuring access for small minority (BME/Women/Disabled business owners) owned businesses getting a fair slice of the cake.

Human Rights and the convergence of the global and local agenda
We see a growing intersection between human rights and diversity. Consider the development of GLBT rights; women’s rights etc; which are core equality strands for D&I practitioners in the developed world, but in parts of the world where attitudes and behaviours do not support individual rights, these issues currently sit within the human rights context, we can see this focus starting to merge.

CR and D&I activities reflect the local agenda in the global environment e.g. some companies with well developed D&I global strategy choose to work closely with the CR team, for example in remote locations, or in relation to their work with indigenous people e.g. in Australia; Canada

Looking to the future: How might this develop over the next 10 years or so?

• I would say that the past 10/15 years, and certainly the first decade of this Century has seen us learning about the global world, about new markets, how to do business in a different way.
• I think the next decade will be about learning how to be a good global citizen, and I think this is where D&I and CSR can work more effectively together.

Overwhelmingly the organisations we work with (and many who responded to our survey) said they expect CR to become more important to the D&I business case in the next 10 years – two companies I spoke to said they mesh D&I and CSR under a broader branding – such as Every Employee/Community Counts;

CR is increasingly important to the employer brand, and anecdotally we know that this is very important to the younger generation (millennials) now entering the workforce. A 20008 survey by Hill and Knowlton found that 40% of MBAs said that CSR is a very or extremely important, company reputation marker! Given that MBAs are the cream of talent, this is hugely important to employers.

Diversity and CSR objectives are similar: A great example of this is the London Olympics. The platform for the Olympics is diversity - and this evidenced through:

• Engagement with a multitude of different stakeholders;
• Regeneration of communities;
• Legacy/ sustainability – building something solid to leave for next generations

CR &D&I is increasingly forming a key part of business proposal and tenders, it is a differentiator from other organisations, and represents long term commitment – as a result of sharper focus on governance and impact (social/economic as well as environmental) as a result of the recession and the activities of the financial institutions, we can expect to see more of this.

Some organisations see CR as a way of helping the D&I function gain credibility (aligning the strategies) – this is only true for organisations that have not been successful in getting alignment with the business objectives, so CSR might be the vehicle to move this forward

Deirdre Golden
March 2010