The View from the Boardroom - UNDP Trinidad and Tobago

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The View from the Boardroom - CEO Study on Corporate Social Responsibility in Trinidad and TobagoCHAPTER 2Government, Consumers and Employees – The Drivers of CSRand Tobago than in other countries.“Business and earning money through businessimpacts heavily on ethics. I think the governmentalso plays a role in that they can create theenvironment to motivate the business community tobehave in a certain way. I personally looked at theGlobal Compact and decided let’s make this partof our corporate strategy. But most business peoplehaven’t reached that point, they need to be educated,they need to be informed and for them, you haveto create that kind of enabling environment thatdoesn’t tolerate corruption, that forbids pollutingthe environment, that doesn’t tolerate unfair labourpractices and inspires them to make a contributionbecause it is in their interest and in the country’sinterest to behave like that. If you leave the privatesector alone like that it is like asking a child to writean exam at the university level.”Dave RamkissoonCEO EIL Group of CompaniesThe skepticism of CEOs about the‘driving qualities’ of consumers inTrinidad and Tobago with regards toCSR is further reflected in the factthat only 48.6% of them believe thatconsumers’ purchasing decisionsare increasingly determined by acompany’s social reputation while51.4% did not think that such socialprestige featured prominently inthe decision-making process ofindividuals.Would you agree with the assertion that consumer’spurchasing decisions in Trinidad and Tobago areincreasingly determined by a company’s socialreputation?51.4%48.6%Do you think it is true that companies areincreasingly expected to take over parts ofsocial service delivery previously reserved forgovernments?31.4%68.6%YesNodimension with consumers’ desires,preferences, expectations andrejections leading to a range ofbehavioural and attitude-specificconsequences from purchasing goodsthat have a perceivably high ethical‘value’ to boycotting companies whoseproducts and services do not meetthe ethical standards of a demandingpublic. Based on the findings of thissurvey, such consumer pressure inTrinidad and Tobago seems to beconsiderably lower and less of a ‘gamechanger’than in foreign markets.While only 11.4% of all CEOs namedconsumer and customer demand as adriver for them to take action on CSRissues, an overwhelming 85.3% of allrespondents agreed with the assertionthat social and environmentalconcerns influenced consumerbehaviour to a lesser extent in Trinidad68.6%YesNoThere is little or no evidence tosuggest that Caribbean consumersare prepared to pay a premium onproducts with ethical attributes and toreward exemplary corporate behaviourand ethical leadership because of theirenlightened self-interest As far as the‘punishment’ dimension of consumerpressure is concerned, Trinidad andTobago has never experienced aconsumer boycott or any other formof an effective public promotionscampaign that used the purchasingpower of ‘consumer citizens’ to coerceprivate businesses to choose or abstain26 Johannes Brinkmann, Ken Peattie, ‘Consumer Ethics Research: Reframing the Debate about Consumption for Good’, Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, Vol.13, No.1(2008), p.40
The View from the Boardroom - CEO Study on Corporate Social Responsibility in Trinidad and TobagoCHAPTER 2Government, Consumers and Employees – The Drivers of CSRWould you say that social and environmentalconcerns influence consumer behaviour to alesser extent in Trinidad and Tobago than in othercountries?14.7%85.3%YesNoyour employees satisfied primarilywith their jobs and secondarily withtheir lives. That in the end means thatyou have happy employees and whenyou have happy employees you havegood production and when you havegood production you make money.If they all feel that the company iscommitted to them, there is so muchmore you will get in return”. Lookingat the drivers of CSR through theindividual lenses of senior managers,the findings suggest a strong focusof CEOs on employees in makingCSR-related decisions with 71.4% ofall respondents naming employeeengagement as their main driver fortaking action.What would be the main drivers for you as CEO to take action on CSR issues?from certain forms of corporatebehaviour. 26In addition to government andconsumers as external stakeholders,company employees are seen byCEOs as an internal stakeholdergroup that effectively drives CSRwithin the Private Sector. Employeescan be both direct beneficiaries ofgood corporate practices as well asexecutioners of CSR projects such ascommunity development activitiesand campaigns to raise awarenessabout environmental sustainabilityissues. 65.7% of CEOs nameemployees as the most importantdrivers for CSR leaving government(51.4%), communities (40%) andBoard of Directors (40%) to trail insecond, third and fourth place. Evenmore impressively, 71.4% of CEOsresponded to the question of whatwould be the main driver for them intheir professional role to take actionon CSR issues by naming employees.Stanley Tempro, Managing Director ofBonsal Caribbean suggests that “CSRis trying to do a better job in getting90.0%80.0%70.0%60.0%50.0%40.0%30.0%20.0%10.0%0.0%82.9%Brand, trust andreputation20.0%Potential forrevenuegrowth/costreduction34.3%Personalmotivation11.4%Consumer/customerdemand71.4%Employeeengagement“What we have tried to do within our own organisationis to make a better life for our employees by workingwith us. So instead of working for us they are workingwith us, we are working together for this hand in hand.We can’t affect everybody’s quality of life in the countrybut if we can positively affect the quality of life for ourstaff, I think we are achieving something.”John Sabga, Managing DirectorTrotters Restaurant41
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