Tag Archives: Jobs in CSR

As ICRS Launches UK’s First Professional Body for Sustainability Professionals, Questions About its Efficacy

18 Friday Jul 2014

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With the launch of its first professional body, has sustainability lost its edge? >> Interesting albeit controversial take by Guardian Sustainable Business’ Jo Confino.

Does the sustainability sector need one more professional accreditation?

As you’ll see from the comments section, the opinion on that is divided down the middle. And while we all probably have also an opinion to add depending on our background, longevity of work in the sector and where we stand on the idealism scale, the discussion reminded me of my first “CSR workshop.”

Conducted by the Center for Sustainability & Excellence [CSE] group and certified by the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment [IEMA], the workshop had all the telltale signs of a robust professional certificate curriculum.

From comparing the leaders vs. the laggards in “CSR practices,” the emerging trends in CSR reporting and the regional differences in how corporations were interpreting “corporate social responsibility,” to writing a CSR plan for my company that encompassed sustainability factors as well as social and economic goals, the curriculum was rigorous and gave me a lot of information to process and use for years to come.

It also gave me a moniker – CSR-P – that I have used over the years to indicate that I am a CSR Professional.

Did it invite curiosity? Often.

Did it help explain my credentials and experience more credibly? Sometimes.

More importantly, the workshop made me think. It made me dive into research. It taught me materiality and helped me sift between greenwashing, whitewashing and the many other labels of our sector. And it also opened up a path for me that otherwise would have remained superfluous and intangible in definition.

But back to Jo’s article: Do we need one more professional accreditation?

Probably not.

But as the sector grows, divides, integrates and subsumes within organizations, we do need groups/associations to allow sustainability professionals to learn from each other’s challenges, share best practices and grow the cadre of professionals integrating CSR and sustainability into their skill sets and mindsets.

And if this critical mass of influencers and practitioners can then influence other professionals – HR, Accounting, Technology, Finance, etc. – to shift their thinking and modus operandi to align with our mutual goal of preparing ourselves to coexist in a shared / new / circular / no waste [pick your preference]  economy, that would be a win.

Not only for the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability but for our entire sector.

Thoughts? Leave a comment or connect with me @AmanSinghCSR.

Careers in CSR: Networking Your Way To Success

17 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in CSR, Guest Author, HR

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I met PwC Canada’s James Temple at a roundtable of CSR and sustainability leaders brought together by Edelman in Minneapolis in 2011 to discuss how they planned on moving forward on their commitments and what roadblocks they saw ahead.

I was the chosen facilitator for the hour and luckily for me, I got to ask all the questions!

The conversation was busy, high level and revealed a lot about the challenges these practitioners were facing as they worked to change the systems within their multinational corporations. While the roundtable was operated under Chatham House rules, the relationships that were formed that day continue to flourish.

Longevity is a true asset in this sector – and James has continued to be a wonderful resource and a much-needed mentor for those looking to pursue a career in the CSR field – critical as generations turnover across our workforce and expectations and mindsets on corporate social responsibility shift globally. He recently also facilitated a webinar to explore some of the latest trends in building a career in CSR. I asked him to pen some highlights and top tips for readers and here’s what he had to say:

 

I recently hosted a webinar focused on exploring trends and insights about building a career in corporate responsibility as part of what’s become a semi-annual conversation between hundreds of prospective practitioners and sector trailblazers.

As practitioners in a field that continues to transform, the conversation was dominated by the importance of networking and how to best leverage relationships toward pursuing a meaningful career. Joining me for the discussion were Paul Klein, president and founder of Impakt; Jerilynn Daniels, senior manager of community investment and marketing at RBC; Alex Daprato, partnership marketing associate at TrojanOne; and PwC Canada’s Sustainability Manager Klaudia Olejnik.

After a quick review of the CSR industry, we switched to discussing our panelists’ respective careers. Specifically, how they got there, if they would recommend breaking into the field today or if integrating a CSR mindset into any role is the way to go – and what they felt some of the key capabilities were that would help set an emerging leader up for success.

We also ran a live Twitter stream to help with on-the-spot responses from across the globe. Most of the questions focused on how to transcend the passion behind the industry to a sustainable career focused on embedding and implementing a complex change management strategy.

And how do we do this in a way that facilitates breaking into an increasingly complex field?

What struck me most was a single word: enough.

Too many times we focus on trying to be everything to everyone, but how can we understand corporate cultures in a way that doesn’t become overwhelming and can be communicated effectively? Could this be a building block to create the foundation for a career in CSR?

The panelists suggested that when thinking about who to talk to and what to ask, great networkers should remember that the CSR field is broad and diverse, and that practitioner experiences will be dependent on a variety of factors, including age, maturity of the organization that they are working for, geographic location, cultural norms and industry, just to name just a few. And framing good questions will be key to helping uncover the right information to inform decisions about a career in CSR and the tools needed to succeed.

From the hour-long conversation that featured numerous questions from an active audience, here are three recommendations to help enhance the networking experience:

  1. Brainstorm CSR related scenarios through open-ended questions

Great networkers focus on asking strong, open-ended questions during an informational interview and look for ways to create a knowledge exchange that’s mutually beneficial. When meeting with established CSR professionals, panelists recommended spending time working through scenarios or situational examples to compare diverse perspectives and ideas.

  1. Build a rapport that highlights genuine authenticity

Use networking time to build a rapport. Try to highlight a deep understanding about social issues, examples of continuous adaptation, or the ability to synthesize complex information in a way that can be re-communicated across diverse arrays of stakeholder groups.

  1. Use a shared language and keep the conversation focused around value creation for both people

In CSR, business language can be technical and complex.

Get back to basics, keep things clear and concise and remember to talk within the confines of a person’s role. Don’t overwhelm your mentor with general questions about how to change the world – they probably don’t know how (none of us do)! Instead, share complementary ideas that allow you to learn from each other.

Remember that curiosity is the name of the game, and you’ve got to check your ego at the door: CSR is a profession, not a persona. Let good communication skills guide your networking conversations, don’t let your passion to be a change-maker get in the way, and follow-up with those you’ve met to thank them for their time.

Combined, this might sound pretty basic but it’s the art of synthesizing complexity that will set you apart – and will make sure people remember you for your tact and talent.

About James Temple:

James Temple is the Director of Corporate Responsibility for PwC Canada and has a dual role leading the PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada Foundation. In this capacity, James provides oversight to the Canadian Firm’s internal Corporate Responsibility strategy, representing the ways PwC integrates good social, environmental and economic values into its business operations.

Changing Business from the Inside Out: How to Pursue a Career in CSR and Sustainability

07 Monday Jul 2014

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What does one do to get a job in the field of corporate social responsibility? And moreover, how do you excel at something so nebulous and undefined?

I’ve spent the last eight years trying to decode these issues and report about what companies are doing to not only embrace the essential message underlining CSR but also integrate a sense of responsibility within their culture. I interviewed practitioners, researched numerous CSR reports, and conducted multiple surveys on the issue to identify what exactly translates into a “CSR career” or “CSR job”.

While feedback, comments and social media indicated that my reporting was helping raise awareness and compelling professionals to think about their choices, I realized that what we needed was a reference guide, an encyclopedia of sorts, a How-To of practical tips from executives who are embedded in large corporations and have experience influencing change, leading behavior change and staying patient when the profits vs. CSR debate rears its head.

Turns out, Changing Business from the Inside Out: A Treehugger’s Guide to Working in Corporations is the handbook I was looking for.

Written by Tim Mohin, Director of Corporate Responsibility at AMD, the book offers critical pieces of advice and practical tips for current and aspiring professionals who believe they can make a difference through their careers.

Tim_MohinAnd that is the segment that Mohin wants to target. He told me a couple of years ago that he wanted to write a book aimed at people who “want to change the world through business.” Then, jobs were  few and we were struggling as an economy. Occupy Wall Street was yet to take shape.  And corporations were focused on surviving a deep recession not worrying about their social responsibility quotient.

But as we know today, this recession has not only furthered the divide between consumers, employees and corporations on a whole host of social, environmental and economic issues, but also pointed the finger to each and every one of us. Where does the blame lie? How did we get here?

In this vacuum of trust in the marketplace, Mohin’s book is a much-needed antidote for professionals and students who want to restore our economy, while protecting the environment and benefitting society, but lack the practical advice.

Changing Business from the Inside Out: A Treehugger’s Guide to Working in Corporations

We sat down for a heart to heart about the book, his tips, his journey at AMD and much more.

“The book is meant for people who want to use their careers to change the world. I want to enable the next generation to create the change they want to see happen,” he began. For Mohin, a vocal co-supporter of student-led organization Net Impact whose conferences attract thousands of job seekers, students and professionals each year, the field isn’t as “rosy as it looks.” [Note: Net Impact members get a discount!]

“Increasingly I felt that people who wanted to have a meaningful career didn’t understand what the field involves. There are certain sets of skills that need to be acquired,” he added.

The CSR field is growing. And companies are starting to respond to what was primarily a movement driven by activists, students and academia, by creating CSR departments and integrating corporate citizenship into business strategy.

Each of these points of integration, implementation and planning however, requires specific skill sets. And as more job opportunities emerge, Mohin believes it is up to the incumbents to educate and mentor an “army of professionals who can work in CSR and sustainability.”

Should Companies Create CSR Departments?

He likened the evolution of CSR to the quality movement in the 1980s when every company responded by starting a quality department. “Today, large companies realize that they must have someone in charge of CSR. It’s not a new department per se but builds upon the community, public affairs or environmental teams and adds on other parts of corporate citizenship,” he said.

Now, the question of having CSR departments has always triggered opposing reactions among professionals, executives and job seekers. Should CSR be a separate department? Or an integrated element of everyone’s job description? Or a C-suite led initiative?

For Mohin there is no debate, contrary to what several of his peers in corporate America have told me.

“I do think we need a department: it should be senior, small and strategic. Fundamentally, what that department is doing is setting direction, vision and key performance indicators [KPIs]. But the real work is being done by traditional line management functions.”

“For example, most companies need to have a CR council and together we work through top-level  goals to meet our vision, execution and measurement. When you look at CSR, it’s too broad for any one manager to manage. By nature, it’s a cross cutting service group that works with others to get the job done,” he emphasized.Tim_Mohin_Book

“But if there is no one in charge, it gets lost and nothing gets done.”

Preparing for a Career in CSR

But many of the skills, programs and business processes are transferable outside the CSR function, as I discover every time I interviewed a CSR executive and analyze their career’s trajectory. Mohin concurs. “Remember that most CSR functions simply report the news,” he told me, adding, “The news, though, is created in line management and mainstream corporate roles like procurement, HR, legal, and supply chain.”

Mohin’s advice hits home. For years, I have advised students and professionals that to forge a career in CSR, they must first develop a sector expertise, a specific skill set and then decide which element of CSR they can fit into. Using “I want to work in CSR” is never a good starting point.

For the author, it comes down to “Skills, Processes and Programs.”

“In chapter one, I identify how CSR has evolved at companies and how organizational structure affects the practice. Use this to figure out where you fit. Then turn to chapter two, where I list out the skills necessary for a successful career in CSR,” he said.

Once you’ve identified where you fit, chapter three and four offer a crash course in CSR strategy and how to respond to emerging issues. The rest of the book focuses on the many different programs under the umbrella of CSR. “So pick the one that applies to your skills and passion and then understand how to excel in that particular field,” he explained.

Apple, Gap & Nike: Supply Chain Crucial Area for CSR Jobseekers

For example, supply chain is an area that Mohin has devoted part of his career to while at Apple. But his emphasis – two long chapters – on the area of supply chain has more to it than passion or experience. “For me, this area is the No. 1 growth area in corporate responsibility. When you see the trend starting back a few years ago with Nike and Gap’s supply chain woes, and now Apple in the electronics industry, the critical importance of supplier responsibility becomes clear,” he said.

“Now it’s becoming embedded in companies more so than ever before because of outsourcing. Companies have found outsourcing to be cheaper and strategically more efficient for them. But accompanying that, we need a supplier responsibility program, therefore the growing demand for professionals who can understand all the nuances of both supply chain and social responsibility,” he said.

Another important reason that there are jobs in this area: Supplier responsibility is a big, complicated task. “One that requires quite a large team of skilled professionals. At Apple, it started with just me and I quickly hired a small ream but if you compare to Gap, I believe they have about 70 people in labor standards. Disney has even more,” he said, adding, “Now, imagine the scope and scale of managing all social responsibility for suppliers of all the Fortune 500 companies.”

Running a Data-Driven Program: Leading Through Influence

In order to drive a CSR program, however, whether it is supplier responsibility or environmental impact, every project requires a robust method set in place for the collection and analysis of relevant  data that can feed strategy and project the achievability of goals.

And that’s where Mohin places his bets for success.

A common thread at every company he has worked for, including Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Apple, is managing data-driven programs. The ability to set quantifiable goals and measure progress has been a crucial aspect of his career in corporate responsibility. “[Data] has been a hallmark of my career,” he said.

So much so that Mohin has devoted an entire chapter on the need for establishing meaningful goals and knowing what to measure. In the book – chapter four – he uses the examples of Intel, Coca-Cola and Starbucks to exemplify his emphasis. In our conversation, he referred to lessons from his tenure at Intel.

“When I was the environmental manager at Intel, the first thing I did was establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) so that we could start measuring our global environmental performance and forecasting the future. As soon as we figured it out, senior management wanted to know. And because we were focused on the data, we were quickly able to identify the process changes and reductions that decreased our emissions even while production was increasing,” he recalled.

His advice?

“[You] need to be able to understand what’s important for your business and your stakeholders and how you can quantify progress in these areas to be successful. These metrics together become a dashboard seen by senior management regularly so they track the success measures and identify areas to improve. Running your program this way ensures that you will get the engagement and buy-in needed for a successful corporate responsibility strategy,” he said.

“Once you start to measure what’s important to your business and your stakeholders, you start to see alignment.”

Finally, I asked him to list the top skills he believes anyone aspiring to excel in CSR and sustainability must have. [Buy the Book]

In Mohin’s words, you must be:

1. A Lifelong Learner

“In corporate responsibility, you have to be flexible and curious. You’re often working in areas that are not your strong suit but if you’re open to new experiences and unafraid to be the dumbest kid in the class, this field is for you. Not everyone has that kind of personality. You have to be comfortable in your skin. And, it helps to have a thick skin.”

2. Able to Lead & Influence Without Being the Decision Maker

“You must be able to lead and influence when you’re not making all the decisions leading up to the end goal. You must be able to understand the system well – such as identifying and building relationships with those who have the budget and the authority to get things done – and be able to work with them and influence across a broad spectrum of people and groups to work toward a common goal.”

3. Able to Communicate Well

“It is one thing to know your business and another to describe it to someone else who may not know your business as well. It’s like talking to your mother about CSR. To be able to do this job, you have to be a good communicator. It’s a critical skill in many fields but absolutely essential in CSR. CSR leaders are like the ‘de-coder ring’ in many companies because they have to understand the inner workings of many business groups and explain it to others.”

4. Social Media Savvy

“The world of communications has changed in fundamental ways and the future will be very different too. We need to stay on top of were communication is headed – and right now, that’s social media.”

“What I learned from social media is that I get more out of it than I put in. I learn something new every day through social media. Communication is happening in real-time with real content and being social media savvy is an essential element to be effective in many fields.”

5. Able to Understand the Importance of Stakeholder Relations

“Remember that the field of CSR is new, it’s evolving. But also remember that social media and hyper transparency are becoming the new normal, which makes stakeholder engagement not just a priority, but essential.”

“The world is watching and CSR is about our behavior as a company. If you’re not asking people ‘how you are doing?’ and ‘how you can get better?’ then you’re flying blind.”

Originally written for and published on CSRwire’s Commentary section Talkback on August 16, 2012.

The Power of Hiring Right: A Value Proposition that Most Recruiters Continue to Ignore

03 Thursday Jul 2014

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Sustainability isn’t the most favorable of topics with recruiters. But ask them about the sustainability of their hires and you’ll instantly hear a litany of complaints and frustrations.

Yesterday, Vault kicked off a series of seminars on this very important, if not the most popular, topic for the recruitment sector: The increasing role of CSR and sustainability in recruitment.

Sponsored by Madrid’s IE Business School, these seminars have been planned exclusively for recruiters and HR managers and align well with the School’s overarching commitment to sustainability (they have a master’s program dedicated to environmental change), social entrepreneurship, and CSR.

But what makes sense on college campuses doesn’t necessarily align with recruiters whose objective is much more linear: To hire the best talent based on a specific list of behavioral and technical skills, with the hope that they will stick around for at least a few years.

Retention? That’s an HR function.

This disconnect became the focus of my planning when I was approached by Vault to design the seminars. I came up with three distinct objectives:

  • Demonstrate how a growing consciousness about corporate social responsibility is changing expectations among prospective job candidates and employees;
  • Question whether recruitment teams are responding to this change in CSR awareness by modifying their outreach and strategy; and
  • Offer examples – and best practices – of how recruiters can best illustrate their company’s corporate citizenship before the candidate comes aboard.

In all my years at Vault (I left in July to start Singh Solutions, a research and advisory firm offering CSR communications and social media strategy services – and continue to write for CSRwire and Forbes), I have always put a premium on the efficacy of a responsible and innovative culture in attracting candidates. But when you bring in terms like CSR, sustainability, inclusion, things begin to get murky.

While no one can argue that a business’ corporate and social behavior is a POWERFUL tool in attracting talent, especially in the current recession, how do you convey as much in a job interview?

This is where the real disconnect then emerges, indicated amply by a series of interviews I conducted last year with four MBA candidates committed to pursuing work that aligned with their sense of corporate social responsibility: Boston University MBA Candidate Ashley Jablow, Geet Singh, Whit Tice and Larry Furman.

Jablow told me then:

“I have chosen to go to business school so that I can create change and be an ethical and responsible contributor to business.”

But who’s responding? Not a lot of companies, I found. As Tice put it:

“Without awareness, there is no sense of urgency.”

This lack of urgency became the underlying theme of session number one on Tuesday. Joined by PwC’s HR and Administrative Leader for Florida Kimberly Jones and Guillermo Montes, Managing Director for South US, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean region for IE Business School, I offered the audience an alternative view: A reality where recruiters are not only responsible for hiring the most skilled talent but also the best fit based on their values.

“Retention after all is half the battle. Getting the candidate in is hard but retention becomes equally challenging if we don’t invest in aligning the candidate’s personality to the company’s core values,” said Jones. For PwC, this has meant organizing initiatives like Project Belize and Project New Orleans, where summer interns get to participate in community building exercises, and the team hopes, get a real close look at the firm’s culture.

“The average age of a PwC employee is 26 years old. So demands and expectations are quite different from older generations,” she emphasized, adding that a brand that not only commits to CSR but also makes it a priority becomes an increasingly valuable ally in attracting candidates.

In a globalized economy where work can be outsourced at a click of a button and entrepreneurship is emerging as a serious alternative for many graduates, organizations have it tough, even if they don’t recognize it just yet. While recruiters might erroneously believe that the market is to their advantage, the fight for top talent remains fierce. This is where your organization’s culture, values, and social and environmental commitments can emerge as key differentiators for a generation that is demanding fairness, ethical behavior and responsibility from business.

While the debate was spirited and the conversation heated at times, it was clear that the panel had been well received. We ran over time with questions pouring in. Examples include the impact of globalization on recruitment, how companies are dealing with an increasingly age diverse candidate pool, and whether we should expect reformulation of job profiles and descriptions in coming years.

Suffice it to say, we together – the panel and the audience – shared something powerful this Tuesday: We experienced a crowd-sourced change in mentality. We made a commitment. Together. To bring back some of the equilibrium lost in recent years between business, society and the environment by focusing on a company’s most powerful assets: It’s human resources.

Are you ready to have a real conversation?

Originally written for and published on CSRwire’s Commentary section Talkback on September 29, 2011.

The Makings of a CSR Program: In Conversation with Avon, LinkedIn & Jones Lang LaSalle

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

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That was the focus of one of the panels at Net Impact 2011 featuring Avon’s VP of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Tod Arbogast; LinkedIn’s Head of Employment, Branding and Community, Meg Garlinghouse; and Jones Lang LaSalle’s SVP of Sustainability Strategy, Michael Jordan.

Representing companies that are often called out for their out of the box thinking on social responsibility and sustainability, the speakers discussed a range of topics including the always debatable definition of corporate social responsiblity, measuring employee engagement as well as the skill sets that go into the makings of a CSR director.

Main highlights:

CSR: Burden or Boon?

“CSR should die as a term. CSR departments tend to take away from possible impact. Just like ‘global’ is part of everything we do at LinkedIn, so is CSR,” Garlinghouse emphasized, noting, “Employee engagement is key for CSR, not separate departments.”

Jordan picked up where Garlinghouse left off adding that businesses must leverage engaged employees and identify champions early on for successful CSR programs.

“CSR has a direct tie-in with our business. After you’ve built the business case and identified regional champions, work together on identifying and building in efficiencies,” he advised.

“Build friendships, be seen as pragmatic and capture early wins. Then leverage those to go further and faster,” Arbogast said.

Measuring Employee Engagement

But how do you measure the efficacy of employee engagement?

A survey I conducted a few months ago with Smartbrief on Sustainability asked whether companies were measuring employee engagement on CSR. With over 70 percent of respondents saying they did not measure employee engagement, how were these panelists identifying wins and scale?

Once again, there was a healthy difference of opinion across the panel. While Garlinghouse emphasized company mission, the other two focused on operational procedures and policies.

“We recruit on the notion of social impact. These conversations happen during the interview process,” Garlinghouse alluded, noting LinkedIn’s entire modus operandi is based on “creating economic opportunities.” LinkedIn also offers employees the opportunity to do whatever they feel passionate about one Friday a month. “They have to come to work but they can pursue whatever they are interested in,” she said.

“For us, measuring the progress of your platform from awareness to implementation to operational strategy has always been key,” added Jordan.

Defining CSR With Strong Stakeholders

Responding to an audience question about resourcing for CSR initiatives, Jordan emphasized that most of Jones Lang LaSalle’s sustainability activities have been client-driven. “There is a clear business case because our clients are demanding sustainability strategies,” he said.

For Garlinghouse, employees have been the most forthcoming about corporate social responsibility initiatives. “Our CEO is very involved. Also, our employees are really committed to our company mission,” she said.

Skill Sets for a CSR Officer

Arbogast, who joined Avon in late 2009 after successfully leading Dell’s Giving program for a number of years, is a well-sought after speaker at the Net Impact conference each year. This year too, he was asked what aspiring professionals could do to become effective CSR officers. He laid out three crucial skills sets:

  1. People’s Person: Know how to communicate with people from all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives.
  2. Conflict Resolution: You must be a skilled mediator. Know that business cases will vary from group to group and you must be willing and diplomatic enough to finesse the tension lines and bring about resolution.
  3. Business Pragmatism: You must be a realist and know the business inside out. For CSR and sustainability programs to be effective, you need to understand what drives decisions and action.

Originally written for and published on CSRwire’s Commentary section Talkback on November 9, 2011.

PepsiCo’s Sustainability Communications Manager: “Want to Work in CSR? Focus on Service”

08 Tuesday Nov 2011

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Earlier this year I had the pleasure of joining a variety of leaders in CSR for a roundtable luncheon. Aman Singh chaired the conversation and people from Edelman, Best Buy, Humana, Boeing and Northern Trust discussed some of the CSR issues our companies face today.

But this blog is not about the roundtable. It’s about the question Singh asked at the end of our lunch: What advice would I give to aspiring students and professionals who want to work in CSR?

Here’s what I said:

I believe students should not focus so much on getting the right job in CSR right away; rather they should focus on getting diverse experiences that will serve them well should they go into business later.

It’s these diverse experiences that bring fresh perspective and will help exponentially in defining and driving CSR, sustainability and corporate citizenship in the future.

My answer stems from personal experience.

After college, I joined the Peace Corps and worked on providing water, sanitation and heath care in Ghana.

Then, it didn’t seem like living without electricity, bathing in river water, and building schools and rain catchment systems would lead to much of a career in business.

But today as a senior manager for sustainability communications at PepsiCo, I work with partners like water.org and recently attended World Water Week in Stockholm, where PepsiCo launched a report on positive water impact with The Nature Conservancy. I believe coming to a job via a less traveled route, and having learned about important global issues makes one more effective within their company.

There are lots of people in politics, media and business who have benefited from the perspectives only a service program can provide.

In fact, one of my favorite quotes is from Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix who was a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 80’s in Swaziland. He said:

Once you’ve hitchhiked across Africa with 10 bucks in your pocket, starting a business doesn’t seem too intimidating.

While I am most familiar with Peace Corps, there are many other service programs like Teach for America and Americorps that provide the same depth of realistic perspective. I am a believer in service, but there are other options too – work for an NGO, travel, teach — just get out there so you can bring something new to the discussion.

— By Daniel Pellegrom

Occupy Wall Street: The Average Joe Interprets Corporate Social Responsibility

19 Wednesday Oct 2011

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Earlier this week I was at the annual PRSA conference in humid and beautiful Orlando, Florida. Before you think that I have switched tracks from journalism to PR, stop right there! I was on site to speak on an interestingly personal topic: Sustainability: Walking the Walk.

Sustainability: Walking the Walk with CSRWire & Ethical Markets

Joining me on the panel were CEO of CSRwire Joe Sibilia and Executive Director of Ethical Markets Rosalinda Sanquiche. Sibilia started off the panel by talking about Occupy Wall Street. Not because he wanted a room full of dissent but because for Sibilia, as he emphasized on a recent Fox Business show, OWS goes to the heart of corporate social responsibility: A responsible capitalist system that takes into account a business’ social, economic and environmental stakeholders.

From a room of roughly 45 attendees, almost everyone raised their hands. However, when he followed up by asking how many understood what the protestors are demanding, the hands fell to a single digits. So, before I go any further, here’s a two-part question for you:

And:

Here’s the thing: Because so many continued to disagree with the holier-than-thou voice of CSR, claiming it is another cost business doesn’t need, a burden, not a business priority, so on and so forth, Michael Porter gave us an easier concept to embrace: Creating Shared Value.

You Don’t Get CSR? How About “Shared Value”?

Many more understood the economical efficacy offered by shared value than the tardy, accusatory and undefined acronym of CSR. But CSR as well as creating shared value are concepts spearheaded by economists, business leaders, researchers and activists.

Now we are all being forced to recognize and acknowledge a movement created by the average Joe (no pun intended!) demanding business to be more responsible, equal and just.

They want to be able to work, to have a home, a family. They want the right to live comfortably.

In other words, corporate social responsibility.

Yes, it’s one and the same thing, except now it’s not the activists or the bloggers taking up the case but an undefined mass of people who come from different backgrounds, experiences and age but are commonly united on one front: Fairness.

Regardless of whether you physically join the Occupy Wall Street protestors, it is far more important that you understand their message and recognize that this is your one chance to make things right.

Yes, You the Average Employee Can Make a Difference

So, go ahead: Nudge your boss to offer job sharing opportunities to candidates.

As a job candidate, question the recruiter on the company’s mission, values, priorities. As a student, ask your faculty to discuss business cases in context of economic recessions, environmental degradation and social upheaval.

Ask the tough questions, the right questions. As Michigan’s Ross School of Business Professor Aneel Karnani recently said, “You get the kind of government you vote for.” We as professionals and students get the kind of corporation we choose to work for.

This is your chance to influence business as an employee, a manager, and as a prospective candidate. For the longest time we have been told to vote with our dollars. Now it is time to vote with our expertise and professional skills.

Question is, are you up for it?

Revisiting the PR Take on CSR: “Corporate Responsibility is Not Public Relations”

30 Tuesday Aug 2011

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Last year, the Better Business Bureau hosted an event titled Good Business 2010, where the day-long agenda was to analyze the increasing confluence of public relations (PR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Here’s what I wrote then on Vault’s CSR blog:

A Belief System For Your Company

Edelman’s EVP for CSR-New York, Michael Holland while highlighting his firm’s approach, emphasized that corporate responsibility was emerging increasingly as an indelible part of brand management for companies, although North American companies, while initially slow to embrace it, were quickly getting on board.

Defining CR as “A belief system for a company” he broke its significance for companies into three segments: 1) the social and legal aspect; 2) its immersion into the operational model; and 3) how to leverage it for competitive share in the marketplace.

What is the ROI for corporate responsibility?

Citing a recent survey conducted by McKinsey, Holland said that the business case for corporate responsibility had never been clearer for companies. “Companies that paid attention to CSR in the last three years reported an increase in their share price of 43% against a 12% increase for those who didn’t.” At the same time, profits for the first segment of companies increased by 16% versus 7%. I’ve often noted that metrics and numbers speak louder than words. These then, need no further explanation. See more results from the McKinsey survey.

Noting that the pressure for accountability was no longer the voice of a few dedicated advocates and had shifted to mainstream demands from all stakeholders for a company, Holland stressed that the tipping point was already here: “CR cannot be ignored any longer. Shareholders, employees and clients are demanding it.”

What is corporate responsibility all about?

Holland, interestingly, chose to answer this by focusing on the key misconceptions about corporate responsibility. Funnily enough his counter-intuitive tactic worked, bringing up several questions from the audience. He put it like this:

CSR ≠ Green
CSR ≠ Strategic Philanthropy
CSR ≠ Public Relations

CSR isn’t PR, it’s About Your Business Strategy

I have discussed in the past the huge difference between conducting brand management and reputation-building and immersing CR as a culture of change into your company’s strategy. I asked Holland how he advises clients to walk that fine line.

“First of all, it needs to start from the top. Secondly, it needs to part of a company’s communication strategy. And finally you need to define what it means to track the progress of your corporate responsibility. The problem is that the marketplace believes that CSR is cause marketing and philanthropy. Our task is to overrule that and teach them that actually it’s about business strategy.”

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Now, with several communications firms announcing CSR practices, where are we headed with the confluence of PR, brand management and CSR? I turned to the latest entrant in the field, Ruder Finn. Take a read.

Behind Every Responsible Company Is a PR Agency? A Closer Look @ Ruder Finn’s New CSR Practice

30 Tuesday Aug 2011

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They say, behind every successful brand, is a PR agency.

How about: Behind every responsible brand, is a PR agency?

Now, what is the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear that a public relations agency has decided to roll its “CSR experience” into a new division offering clients the opportunity to use their PR capabilities and budget more responsibly, more strategically?

  1. You condemn them as a reactionary, out-to-make-money business;
  2. You think: CSR is not PR, how many times do we have to say it?
  3. Wonder how long this will last.
  4. That’s interesting. Yet another way we can help businesses create shared value

That last statement was the main driver behind Ruder Finn’s new CSR practice, which officially launched two months ago, according to Senior Vice President Sarah Coles. “We had already been doing CSR work with clients like Novartis and Gerber. It felt like a natural next step [for the firm],” she says.

The communications industry is abuzz with the notion of creating shared value and the professional services sector especially, is in the center of all the activity.

Of course, Ruder Finn is not the first PR company to offer CSR strategy and solutions. Edelman has a robust CSR and sustainability solutions practice, as do Burson-Marsteller, Ketchum, Golin Harris, Cone, and many others.

http://www.ruderfinnasia.com/files/csr-index-fmcg-and-auto-in-china-appendix.pdf

In fact, a quick search revealed that CRO Magazine even released a Top 10 list of “Corporate Responsibility PR firms” back in 2008, that placed Ruder Finn at No. 5. But how do you decipher such a ranking? If Ruder Finn was already being lauded for “CSR PR (?)” in 2008, what propelled them to create a new division now three years later?

And the big question: What is the differentiator in this burgeoning industry? 

I turned to Coles who will be leading the new practice and has spent 13 years in PR with the last seven at Ruder Finn, for some answers.

Sarah Coles, SVP, Ruder Finn

“When I started working with clients on CSR strategy, it wasn’t called CSR. Many were doing this without realizing it was called CSR. For example, at Novartis, we didn’t see our work in malaria treatment as CSR per se. It was part of their core mission, part of everyday business.”

“My first contact with CSR was when I started working with Gerber on childhood nutrition and later with Novartis. In the five years that followed, I got the chance to really see the effects of giving back to your community. I got to meet some of the patients and really saw firsthand the challenges that we in the western world would otherwise never understand. The whole experience really changed my impression of what needs to get done.”

The Case For CSR: What were the main motivations behind setting up a new practice focusing on CSR?

“There is a demand today to put together more strategic CSR programs; programs that are distinguished, unique to the company, and meaningful.”

“Consumers are pretty smart these days: They can see when something is reactionary and when it has been a longterm commitment. They trust brands that have longterm missions and whose programs are in sync with brand value.”

“A great example is the latest Tide for Hope campaign. It’s a perfect example of how core competencies can help provide value. This builds way more trust than something thrown together in a short-term cycle.”

“Ruder Finn also strongly believes that this is not only an opportunity to grow our practice but also to help define what the industry means by CSR and educate companies the issue to ensure that it continues to build as a best practice.”

The Nature of PR: Aren’t most programs reactionary in nature at first contact?

“It’s certainly a mix. Some companies who have been doing this for a long time are doing well and CSR contributes to that reputation. They build trust. Others are more reactionary but won’t be sustained or provide strategic value in the long run.”

“There is a real business case for CSR and companies are beginning to see that. Companies that have longterm Initiatives don’t have to resort to crisis management and there is value in that.”

Strategizing CSR: What then is the underlining ethos of the new practice?

“We learned a lot from working with PepsiCo on their Dream Machine recycling program. Today, we see a real opportunity in helping clients with cause marketing initiatives that reinforce their business practices and core competencies.”

“We counsel clients to do corporate social responsibility strategically. To build something that looks inside the company…dig around and see what they are already doing, what they stand for, what their core values are, and then create a campaign that captures all of that.”

Implementing CSR: How is implementing a CSR strategy going to differ from PR campaigns?

“We’re moving into pure strategy now. It’s not about short-term projects anymore. CSR is more about what makes sense for the business. How can I create something that my company stands for and does good for our community at the same time?”

“These programs go to the root of what CSR is all about: Good business sense that also provides value.”

Comments? Thoughts? Leave a comment or connect with me @AmanSinghCSR.

How to Pursue a Career in CSR

01 Monday Aug 2011

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At a recent workshop on how to pursue a career in CSR, I asked students at the University of Minnesota how they define CSR. Some of their answers:

“Weaving sustainability, community responsibility, and diversity in any business role.”

“Considering all stakeholders (customer, employees, community) when making a business decision.”

“I define [it] as how the company does college student become a CSR practitioner?

While the essential job search in itself is undoubtedly important, identifying how you define CSR is more important for two reasons: 1) CSR jobs — or jobs with the specific title of CSR/sustainability — are scarce; and 2) The continuing lack of standardized scope and skills attributed with these jobs doesn’t make for a very structured job search.

This dual combination then makes it even more crucial that you understand which thread of CSR really interests you, because there are several.

Nancy Lublin from doSomething.org made an obtuse reference to this at the recent UN Social Innovation Summit, noting that most of the panelists with her were founders of something. “Everyone cannot be a founder,” she said. “It’s okay to join stuff.”

While Lublin was referring to social innovation, her comment applies to all of us: We don’t need to reinvent the wheel on responsible and ethical behavior—you just need to have a clear idea of where you stand on it, and how you can apply that to your job search.

Seriously.

So, how does a college student become a CSR practitioner? Here’s my two cents:

1. Define CSR: What does that mean to you — and your career?

If you are a great communicator and enjoy writing, then marketing would be a good fit. But if research, analysis and data are your passions, then working on CSR reporting would be a better fit.

And if working with people or organizing things is your deal, then HR or even community relations could prove to be better fits.

You get the idea.

2. Identify required skills

Now that you know what you would enjoy doing, evaluate your bucket of skills. Continuing with one of the examples above, if data gathering and analysis is your forte, here’s a few things that should be on your Skills Checklist:

  • • Understanding of what kind of data is used by companies in CSR reporting
  • • How this data is collected
  • • Industry standards
  • • Thorough knowledge of the structure and organization of CSR reports
  • • Certifications: One that instantly comes to mind is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, which many more companies — and universities — are starting to adopt.

3. It’s time to think: Brand Awareness

Start building your personal brand. Blog: write about your passion, why you want to work in the field, your motivations, etc. (It might be for free but you’ll get a better-than-decent ROI if you’re seen by the right people.) Write for publications and websites, both mainstream and niche. Meet with like-minded students who are pursuing similar interests. Join your local Net Impact chapter. Arrange informational interviews with the faculty.

These conversations will go a long way towards helping you decide whether to pursue what you are passionate or change course: Either way, a huge benefit.

4. Get practical experience

Internships: Incredibly important. Pursue as many as possible in your four years at college because that’s the time when you have the least to lose.

Internships will give you the hands-on experience that no number of years spent in college can provide. But use these opportunities responsibly because there aren’t many out there. Network, approach each day as a new lap you need to complete, seek out projects, volunteer, focus on demonstrating your skills, and share your opinion.

And learn to fail.

When you do (not if), pick up the pieces and continue on, or start over—both are perfectly okay. Failures later in life will sting a lot more, so fail early and learn well.

5. Social Media: Learn to be a bystander and listen

Another skill that I just cannot overstate the importance of. While you build your personal brand–whether through blogging, research papers, tweeting, commentary on Facebook or the college newspaper—be sure to share it with others. And demand feedback: the good and the bad.

Listen to what is being written about the subject, who the prominent speakers are, the movers, the exemplified, the ridiculed (you’ll learn from both, trust me), the practitioners.

In the end, use your skills to guide your job search. Once at a company, let your passion guide you in creating the change you want to see happen. We can no longer afford to stand outside and point fingers.