In 2006 Michael Porter and Mark Kramer wrote the paper Strategy and society, the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. They outlined that most companies did not integrate their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities into their core competencies, which lead to CSR fulfilling an ad hoc role in response to issues highlighted by an external party, usually a NGO.
This resulted in a non-integrated approach that fell short of achieving its intended impact as it was sporadic and non-strategic. The author’s state that this type of CSR is a form of social insurance and retrospectively asks society for a licence to operate. In conclusion, they frame an argument urging companies to concentrate their CSR activities on their core competencies, which would have greater value for the company and society through better use of resources.
In their 2011 paper Creating Shared Value (CSV), the authors expand on this theme. They uncover strategic opportunities for the corporate world to invest in socially responsible activities. The authors draw comparisons with NGOs such as Fairtrade and TechnoServe; Fairtrade’s raison d’etre is to encourage even distribution rather than creation of value for farmers and producers, whereas TechnoServe aims to create value throughout the supply chain for all stakeholders.
What does CSV look like for companies? Companies who can create a sound business case for addressing and alleviating social issues in a profitable way will be most successful for all stakeholders. Origin Green is an excellent example of CSV, the Irish agriculture, food and drinks industry through Origin Green is encouraging the sustainable use of our natural capital and at the same time is adding value to their businesses and to society through reduction of carbon intensity throughout the value chain. In the European context, the programme also helps Ireland meet its carbon reduction requirements laid out in the EU 2020 Emissions Reduction Targets.
For more information please contact info@bordbia.ie
Source: Bord Bia – The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility to Creating Shared Value
