Merging Lines of Social Enterprise and CSR

I’ve been on a bit of a Corporate Social Responsibility kick (CSR) for the past couple weeks, and as I’ve been thinking more and more about the movement and as I’ve started putting my thoughts into words, I realized that I may not have provided adequate explanation to habitual readers of this blog as to why I’m suddenly so interested in this topic.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, and an even more accessible blog posting on Thought Rocket help to illustrate my thought processes.  In a nutshell, the definition of CSR is undergoing some rapid changes lately and in some of its newer reincarnations it appears to be suspiciously similar to the concept of social enterprise.

While this isn’t really a surprise, seeing as how the two movements have always had some similar ethical foundations, it is worthwhile to note that the two movements typically start at opposite ends of the business development model.  Whereas the term social enterprise tends to refer to businesses that were launched with the concept of directing positive social change, CSR tends to imply new programs within established corporations with social or philanthropic aims.  These businesses were frequently not founded with the idea of addressing a deep rooted social problem as they were with making a profit.  As a consequence, it’s not uncommon to hear CSR initiatives discussed in a cynical light – it’s easy to see how these efforts may appear to be just marketing or greenwashing.  Indeed, as Thought Rocket puts it, the CSR ‘team’ of some companies can be that “one corporate social responsibility guy who is supposed to be the moral compass for the company, like a chaplain in an Army regiment.”

What is interesting is to see how the economic downturn in recent months is affecting CSR programs at many companies.  While many CSR initiatives in the past have relied heavily on charity, economic pressure has placed strains on these budgets, and the amount of corporate charity has declined.  What arises instead is the need for companies to contribute to efforts that advance both social goals and the longevity of the company, so called “corporate sustainability”.  Which of course is the basic tenant of a social entrepreneur to begin with.

Of course, whatever you choose to call it, the changing attitude is welcome.  Furthermore, budding social entrepreneurs may wish to take a second look at some of the new CSR initiatives, in some cases these corporate programs may be laying important groundwork, or highlighting pitfalls for new entrepreneurs interested in tackling a problem in a related area.

India’s CSR Credits? Can You Sell “Good” as a Commodity?

Last week, India’s government announced that they were considering making Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a commodity, to be traded on an open market.  The move has drawn analogies to the cap-and-trade concept of carbon credits, where the amount of greenhouse gas emissions within the country are locked in at a given level, then the rights to “pollute” are traded like any other commodity.  In the case of CSR credits, India appears to be mulling the possibility of requiring companies that are deemed to be particularly socially irresponsible to purchase CSR credits from those companies, charities, or organizations that are more socially conscientious.

The announcement has drawn ample criticism from commentators involved in CSR, and for some good reasons.  Of primary importance, it seems nearly impossible to come up with a specific numerical value for any one socially minded effort, much less to be capable of comparing the value of two different programs in absolute terms (say, shelter for the homeless and increasing accessibility of vaccines to vulnerable populations).  I personally wonder how much value a company would ascribe to a CSR credit, in the cap-and-trade system, companies are purchasing something tangible and there is a limit on the availability of that resource.  With CSR credits, it seems that one might have a nearly endless supply of potential organizations claiming to be generating CSR credit, coupled with an intangible value of owning said credits, except for bragging rights.  Which raises ironic visions in this commentator’s head of “morality” being sold on the open market for fractions of cents per share.

But skepticism aside, the announcement has at least drawn some chatter and does highlight a growing awareness of the need to innovate for new approaches to hold businesses accountable, within India and abroad.  It also highlights what some see as a growing divide between the social awareness of corporate impact in developing countries compared to some western nations.  While I won’t be holding my breath for the success of this particular plan, it does suggest that attitudes about “business as usual” are rapidly changing.

A New Web Tool for Transparency, Personalized CSR?

Zoosa is one of the latest websites to enter the social media fray, targeted towards becoming the Facebook of social impact.  Mark McGlade, founder and CEO of the Zoosa company, developed the site as a way for those involved in the social entrepreneurship movement to get connected and learn about the activities of others.

“Zoosa aggregates social enterprise resources (news, blogs, tweets, & opportunities) to create a single destination for professionals to learn about and get involved in the clean-tech, education, and nonprofit sectors.”

The site also aims to host a comprehensive list of job offerings within non-profit and socially minded businesses, as well as volunteer and internship opportunities.  The site will also be a promotion platform for these organizations to promote the work and impact that their organizations are having.  Indeed, just to set up an account, Zoosa queries the user to provide answers to a wide array of probing questions; anything from the percentage of their income they donate to charity to the number of kilowatt hours of energy they use a year.  The answers are then displayed on the front page of the user’s public profile, the sort of nitty-gritty transparency those in the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) movement frequently drool over.

Of course, just opening a personal, individual account also prompts some of the same sort of probing questions, right down to “Do you compost at home?”.  In setting up the skeleton of my own account, I alternated between feelings of embarrassment (that I was doing so poorly in this or that area), and feelings of immodesty (that I should be disclosing such private matters for just anyone).  It was an interesting exercise, to disclose the impact of my life in a manner not unlike that which the CSR movement wishes to make standard for businesses.

Of course, the website is still in Beta, and it is uncertain how much it will take off.  Furthermore, there are those who already look upon the site with a critical eye, questioning the value of a site that encourages “promoting the self-glorification of our acts of philanthropy”.  Indeed, I too share some split ambivalence in a design that actively encourages a sort of neo-hippie bragging about ones’ personal carbon footprint/volunteer activities.  It is an uncertain feeling that is not much helped by the fact that I cannot find a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Zoosa, for founder Mark McGlade!  Nor will the profiles developed on this website be of much use if there isn’t some oversight and verification of the self-provided answers on social impact, at least for the larger institutions.

Yet, on the other hand, I have a strong desire to see some sort of tool emerge that aggregates knowledge of social responsibility within different organizations and companies.  A one-stop shop to dig up the dirt, or unearth the good deeds, of a company you are uncertain about.  If this site also has the side-effect of bringing up some uncomfortable questions about how we conduct our own day-to-day existence, perhaps it is all for the better?

Gates Foundation Releases 2010 Letter

Bill Gates, perhaps one of the best known names in modern philanthropy has released a statement regarding the goals and ambitions of the Gates Foundation going into 2010.  A must read for anyone curious about some of the major philanthropic projects as we move into an uncertain future.  The statement also highlights Gate’s conviction that the way forward will require innovations – in science as well as the private industrial sector.

Coca-Cola Joins Sweet Project with Ugandan/Kenyan Farmers

A short and sweet announcement on how Coca-Cola is leveraging its considerable assets to take part in funding a project alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in order to empower farmers in one of the poorest regions of the globe.  Technoserve, the implementing partner of the project, has a long-standing history of encouraging entrepreneurship in impoverished regions, primarily by training effective techniques to start agriculturally-based businesses.  By partnering with these startups and supporting their growth, Technoserve aims to lift whole communities into a higher standard of living through entrepreneurship.

Today’s announcement outlines a joint 11.5M project designed to revitalize the mango and passion fruit agriculture within Uganda and Kenya.  Ultimately, the project aims to double the incomes of ~50,000 local farmers, while also acting as a pilot study for future ventures of Coca-Cola into foreign fruit juice markets.