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Corporate social responsibility

The Four Principles of Sustainability

OK quick survey: who here’s an Elvis fan?  Really? Wow, that’s more than I expected!

Still, you’ll notice my hand didn’t go up.  That’s because I’m not a fan .. not that I dislike the music, it’s just not me.  However I came across an interesting sustainability blog which brought Elvis to mind the other day.

The blog is about sustainability in the meetings industry, and is called Less Conversation, More Action.  Yes, rather witty that, and I do like the turtle-and-rocket image they use.

However what really grabbed me about the blog was a post about the four sustainability principles of the Sweden based organisation The Natural Step.

So off I scurried to The Natural Step’s website, and this is what I found…

[Read more…] about The Four Principles of Sustainability

The Beautification of CSR | Renewing CSR 1/3

To borrow from The Goons, “listeners who are listening…” will know that I get a little wound up about the phrase “ethical business”.  Ethics, I say, shouldn’t come into it because that’s a cultural issue and business is all about the technical management of money.

Hence my preference for sustainability: it simply widens the scope of technical accounting from money to other things.  Academically this is also a moral stance, but then so I guess is the expectation that a business should generate profits.

However, here’s a third strand of how business should address their impacts, courtesy of the National Trust and renowned professor of philosophy at the University of London, AC Grayling.

[Read more…] about The Beautification of CSR | Renewing CSR 1/3

Sainsbury’s Values, CR Reports & the Corporate Website

supermarket-shopping
What is your approach to supermarket shopping?

Some people go in with a list, and stick to it; others prefer to wander around the aisles to see what takes their fancy. For some, the supermarket run is an event, and they try out all the tastings, look for new items, and pick up leaflets; for others, it’s a chore, to be done as quickly as possible. I’m convinced that for a few, it is seen as a challenge: beating your personal best, whether this is time taken to complete your shopping, or price at the checkout.

But how many people pay attention to the corporate messaging which that supermarket run inevitably includes – and, in particular, to the messages about corporate responsibility?

Though we all see these corporate messages, how many of us really notice them? It isn’t always easy to communicate corporate messages in a retail arena, where people are naturally very product focused.

Ben EavisPaul Nixon (CEO at Corporate Eye) recently interviewed Ben Eavis, who heads up Corporate Responsibility (CR) for Sainsbury’s (one of the biggest supermarket chains here in the UK), and I’m delighted to be able to share this interview with you.

It’s fascinating – and wide-ranging, as they cover not only the changes in Sainsbury’s CR reporting, and how that affects the corporate website, but also social media, engaging influential CR bloggers, Fairtrade, the Ethical Trading Initiative, carbon-footprinting for dairy farmers and more…

You’ll also hear Thomas Knorpp, Digital Media Manager at Sainsbury’s, who tweets as @jsainsbury, and who is responsible for the corporate website, talking about how Sainsbury’s are using social media channels. The volume levels on Thomas’ voice were very low, so I’ve amplified those sections, and tried to cut out some of the noise. It’s not perfect, because I’m no sound engineer, but it is well worth listening to.

The references to Lucy? That’s me: coincidentally, in my domestic life, I’m one of the bloggers found by Sainsbury’s blogger outreach programmes.

I’ve broken the interview into smaller chunks, to make it easier for you to listen to the parts you’re most interested in – but the whole interview is also available, so you can listen to Paul and Ben discussing CR while you’re out running, or while you’re warming up those last few mince pies.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy it: it’s full of detail about Sainsbury’s approach to corporate responsibility and reporting. Thanks to Ben and Thomas for taking the time to share so much information with us.

Part 1: Communicating Corporate Values

Ben explains how their corporate values fit with Sainsbury’s retail business, and discusses the key communication challenges that supermarkets face and the prioritisation of communication channels.

Surprise point: there are potentially 300 sustainability touch-points for Sainsbury’s to consider. That’s a wide range of CR issues to consider: everything from the amount of salt and sugar in foods, to carbon footprinting, to working with farmers, to the impact on the local communities.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-1.mp3]

Length: 4:45

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 1

Part 2: CR Reporting and the Corporate Website

Just how do you approach integrating your corporate social responsibility reporting and the corporate website? Often the CR section on the corporate site ‘is’ the CR report.

Sainsbury’s have a new approach to reporting: this section of the interview covers CR reporting, the issues around having both a retail and a corporate website, and ways to invite people arriving on the retail site – or on a social media site – back to the CR section to find out more detail.

Surprise point: Sainsbury’s provide their CR report in A6 format – pocket size – and give a copy to all their staff.

Listen for: Thomas explaining how he uses social media to connect the corporate values with the retail products

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-2.mp3]

Length: 5:04

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 2

Part 3: Getting Traffic to the CR Site

Ben talks about how they’ve increased traffic to their corporate CR site by adding interactivity, and by using Facebook, Twitter and their partners and advocates in other organisations to drive traffic. Also discussed: meeting the different needs of different audiences.

Listen for: Ben explaining how the change in frequency and style of CR reporting is boosting web traffic

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-3.mp3]

Length: 5:07

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 3

Part 4: Social Media and CR

Just how much time does social media take? And what about social media governance?

Paul and Ben discuss the benefits and potential difficulties in engaging with social media, building a CR community, identifying influencers and engaging with them both on and offline.

Listen for: Ben talking about the support network around Thomas as he engages in social media, and the significance of the corporate values.

Listen for: Thomas talking about just how much time he spends on social media, and how they spot influencers – not just on retail matters, but on corporate matters too, such as CR.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-4.mp3]

Length: 13:00

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 4

Part 5: CR Issues, Initiatives and the Corporate Website

How does a company select which of the many possible CR issues and initiatives to target?

Paul and Ben talk about the process of identifying the issues that matter most to the corporate stakeholders, and about how to ensure that, once started, initiatives continue to be reported on via the corporate website.

Surprise point: your Nectar card isn’t just for points and targeted vouchers; it’s also used in stakeholder engagement.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-5.mp3]

Length: 4:35

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 5

Part 6: Industry-wide CR Issues and Communication

Retail, like so many other industries, is highly competitive. How should one company react when another in the same industry has a crisis? And what about industry-wide issues?

Listen for: Ben talking about how the corporate value-set can help Sainsbury’s avoid potential issues.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-6.mp3]

Length: 5:27

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 6

Part 7: CR Initiatives and Product Labelling

Paul and Ben talk about how Sainsbury’s helps farmers to become more efficient, by providing them with data about their own farm and about those of their peer group, and why Sainsbury’s believe that translating that kind of information into CR labelling (e.g airmiles, carbon footprint) doesn’t help consumers.

Listen for: Ben talking about working with their supply chain in partnership to address CR concerns.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/sainsburys-part-7.mp3]

Length: 9:00

Download: Sainsbury’s Part 7

Interview in full

The whole interview is available too, and we’ve also provided a transcript for those of you who prefer to read.

[audio:https://www.corporate-eye.com/main/audio/interview-ben-eavis-sainsbury-full.mp3]

Length: 47:30

Download: Sainsbury’s Interview in full

Download transcript: Sainsbury’s Interview transcript

Who were we talking to?

Ben Eavis – Head of Corporate Responsibility, Sainsbury’s

Ben joined Sainsbury’s at the end of 2009 as the Head of Corporate Responsibility and Ethical Trading, to lead Sainsbury’s strategies in these areas. Ben previously worked at Burberry, where he was Director of Corporate Responsibility. Prior to Burberry, Ben worked as Group Social Policy Manager at spirit and wine company Allied Domecq and as the Commercial Manager for Glastonbury Festival. Ben has an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath and a BA honours degree in Geography from Sheffield University.

Thomas Knorpp – Digital Media Manager, Sainsbury’s

As Digital Media Manager at Sainsbury’s, Thomas manages the supermarket’s digital corporate communications strategy, focusing on digital media relations via the Sainsbury’s corporate website as well as blog, social networking and multimedia sharing platforms. Thomas joined Sainsbury’s in March 2010 from AOL, where he most recently headed up corporate communications for AOL Germany. Thomas holds a BA in Media and Cultural Studies from Macquarie University in Sydney and an MA in Media Administration from the Freie Universität Berlin.

WANTED: Environmental management for SMEs

It’s like some kind of spoof yet serious Wild West movie…  The Man With No Name walks into a bar, tips his hat, but it’s not Clint Eastwood but Gene Wilder.  Bizarre, but true.

For many a year, down at the old drinking saloon in Sustainability City the small business community have got together and complained about how there’s no real standard for them to follow.  I mean, sure there’s GRI and AA1000 but you need real resources to be able to do these heavyweight things.

And so they chew the cud and slurp their orange juices, mumbling to one another about the injustice of it all.  Then, one day, the silence is broken by a loud p-touwng of tobacco juice hitting the bottom of a spittoon and a grizzled old chap at the end of the bar stands up and offers his help.

You, ask the assembled SMEs .. and just who are you?

I, he replies thumping his chest proudly, am EMAS .. the Eco Management and Audit Scheme.  I’ve been around since before you lot were born (1995 to be precise) and I can truly help you.  Listen…

And he draws up a chair, orders orange juices all round and explains just what he’s all about.

[Read more…] about WANTED: Environmental management for SMEs

Sustainability Reporting in the EU

A couple of weeks ago the EU published the 173 page report “The state of play in sustainability reporting in the European Union“. 

It really is, as Bill & Ted might say, a most excellent, triumphant and bodacious report.

Although it has no Socrates, Genghis Khan (who “enjoys Twinkies because of the excellent sugar rush”) or Napoleon (“a short dead dude”), it is thorough, comprehensive and in depth.

It’s also (unlike Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) down to earth and realistic. [Read more…] about Sustainability Reporting in the EU

Accounting for Sustainability | A Lost Jewel?

What does December 6th 2006 mean to you?  Is it that it’s the anniversary of the independence of Finland from Russia, or Eire from the UK? Or is it some event which happened on that specific date: NASA declaring that it had evidence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, or the election of Joseph Kabila as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Or is it just the day for giving presents to children: St Nicholas’ Day or Christkindl, depending upon your Christian denomination?

Or maybe, just maybe, you were one of 200 lucky people who were at St James’ Palace, attending the launch of The Prince of Wales’ “Accounting for Sustainability” (A4S).

You have to feel a little sorry for the Prince of Wales.  His heart is obviously passionate about so many things yet because of his constitutional position he can’t really follow through fully on some of his projects.

I’m not going to knife and fork the organisation’s output but the diagram above and the key elements from A4S’s 2007 report (PDF) are worth highlighting.

[Read more…] about Accounting for Sustainability | A Lost Jewel?