CSR Experts: Should We Get Rid of CSR?

Kevin T. Jackson opened the CSR debate

With some trepidation, last week I went to Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management to attend the provocatively-titled ‘Should We Get Rid of CSR?’ event, wondering whether it would make me reassess my entire career. 

Greenwashing always backfires in the end

Credit: newclearvision.com

This blog often comments on developments in sustainability communications and there have been a number of interesting developments recently.

In principle, we all agree that Sustainability Reporting combines information about an organisation’s economic, environmental and social performance.  It gets more tricky when we try to agree on the definition of terms and come to a consensus on reporting standards.  GRI standards are treated as the norm in industry but until now, no governmental or EU standards are in place.

Guidance for Responsible Communications

European Bioplastics, the trade association for the European bioplastics industry, has published a guide for environmental communications about the false or misleading communication of environmental product properties.  

The brochure outlines general, ISO-compliant guidelines for environmental communications and provides recommendations on how to make credible claims for bioplastics such as biobased, biodegradable, compostable or CO₂ neutral.

Responsible Communications Needed in Development Arena Too

Source Oxfam

We hear a lot about responsible and credible communications in the environment and sustainability sectors but development organisations need to work on their communications credibility too, according to a new report by the LSE. 

What’s in a brand and does it matter?

That’s the million-dollar question Forbes set out to answer in a recent study to understand consumer’s impressions of 100 top corporate brands in the US.  Showing how important sustainability and CSR is in the business world today, Forbes asked consumers to rank brands based on 12 attributes including “is honest and trustworthy”, “has ethical leadership”, “leverages business success and expertise to make a positive contribution to society” and “upholds transparent communication practices”.