Global Compact International Yearbook Ausgabe 2011

Agenda
Blueprint
By Dr. Elmer Lenzen
A couple of years ago CSR topics were only a “nice to have”
item on many executive floors. It was something dealt with
after hours. That has changed for good. Corporate sustainability
today is a “must have.” An Accenture survey recently
made this point: “CEOs around the world are starting to see
the shape of a new era of sustainability coming into view. In
the face of rising global competition, technological change
and the most serious economic downturn in nearly a century,
corporate commitment to the principles of sustainability remains
strong throughout the world: 93 percent of CEOs see
sustainability as important to their company’s future success.”
What is interesting regarding this development is that the boom
of corporate responsibility brings its issues into the spotlight but
sometimes also into the cross wires. The more CSR is embraced
by businesses, politicians, and nongovernmental organizations,
the more it is blamed for society´s failures. Harvard professor
Michael Porter recently pointed out this significant development
in the January edition of the Harvard Business Review.
Moving beyond short-termism
For Porter the problem lies with the companies themselves.
They are trapped, as he says, “in an outdated approach to
value creation.” Porter is referring to the well-known vicious
circle of short-termism: It cultivates a perception that blocks
many long-term perspectives. This criticism is not new, but
nonetheless correct. It is not that short-termism is preventing
long-term value creation, but rather that it ignores the complexity
of certain realities and the effect of unseen long-term
dynamics. Management systems are laid out to manage what
they can measure. But do they calculate the well-being of the
community? Do they care about extinction of species, etc.?
Too often they do not, and we can observe all over the world
a growing mistrust of corporations and a subsequent loss of
credibility. “Companies must take the lead in bringing business
and society back together,” Michael Porter therefore says
in his article. And he is right. We need an overall framework
for guiding these efforts. For him the answer is the concept of
“shared value”: This idea assumes that corporate success and
responsibility are interdependent. It acknowledges trade-offs
between profit-orientation and social or environmental goals.
“I see the ‘creating shared value’ concept as a significant step
forward,” John Elkington, who originated the term “triple
bottom line” applauds, “though at one level it’s a rebranding
by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer of long-standing concepts
in the field of sustainable business, including Jed Emerson’s
‘blended value.’”
Continuous improvement needed
And where does the United Nations Global Compact stand in
this discussion? From the perspective of the Global Compact,
these developments have led to two central findings: First,
exemplary entrepreneurial commitment can foster and create
incentives for other companies to accelerate and improve
their own path to sustainability. Secondly, the recent crises
and challenges – from the global recession to climate change
– demonstrate that even outstanding practices require continuous
improvement to persist in an increasingly complex and
volatile global economic system.
Against this background the UN Global Compact took the
advantage of the third Leaders Summit in June 2010 in New
York to present a “Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability
Leadership,” which is a detailed timetable for sustainability
in the context of the Global Compact Principles and objectives.
The Blueprint describes 50 concrete fields of action where the
“
Exemplary entrepreneurial
commitment can foster and create
incentives for other companies to
accelerate and improve their own
path to sustainability.
Global Compact can help to improve companies’ sustainability
management – from risk analysis or supply chain management
to sustainability reporting. “The platform is designed
to challenge highly engaged companies in the UN Global
Compact to reach further, to experiment, to innovate, and to
share learnings – both successes and failures.”
Reputation, resources, and respect
Standards like the concept of shared value as well as the Global
Compact Blueprint are sensitive and sophisticated. They have
the power, the outreach, and the persuasiveness to be beacons
for a more sustainable 21st century. To come to a tipping point,
it will be essential to motivate not only the leaders but also
the newcomers and novices. CSR is not a unique selling point.
If it is to be a “license to operate,” a blueprint for corporate
sustainability has to give – and will give – offers for assistance
to those who are at the beginning, or to those who have
not even taken the first step yet. It is a race to the top – the
frontrunners as well as the entry points must be identified. It
is the LEAD initiative of the Global Compact that will develop
a roadmap for CSR leaders in the race.
And what are the guidelines for beginners? They must be
attractive and simple. An approach could be the three r’s:
reputation, resources, and respect.
First, the janiform relation between reputation and risk. It
does create value. Reputation is corporate identity as defined
by others. A good reputation increases sales, attracts the best
in the class, is a safe harbor for investors, etc. A bad reputation
on the other hand is an enormous risk. The question is:
Is sustainability a main topic for reputation and risk management?
It is. If you doubt it, go and ask BP.
”
Second, resources. We live in a physically limited world. Unlimited
economic growth based on the use of non-renewable
resources therefore is not possible. It is to the credit of people
like Stephan Schmidheiny, initiator of the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development, who coined the concept
of “eco-efficiency.” They taught us that the smart use of
resources preserves the means of existence and save a lot of
money. These are compelling facts.
Finally, respect. It may sound old-fashioned, but in the words
of the German moral philosopher Immanuel Kant: “Act only
according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time,
will that it should become a universal law.” Respect does not
necessarily mean esteem – a respectful attitude will not tolerate
unscrupulous egoistic behavior. Economic history teaches
us that companies that act in this manner most of the time
will outperform those that just want to make a fast buck.
Dr. Elmer Lenzen is Chair of the
macondo Media Group and Publisher
of the Global Compact International
Yearbook.
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