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If I Had a Crystal Ball: The Top 10 CSR priorities for 2013 - Part 1

Every year in December, a select group of CSR experts and I receive a request from the editor of Stakeholders, a CSR magazine in Peru, to provide a list of 10 emerging topics for the next year’s issues.  This year will be a busy one in the CSR field, so we had no problem coming up with a list of key topic for 2013. Here below is a list of items 1-5. Items 6-10 will be featured in the February blog.

1-Sustainable Cities

We are going to hear a lot more about sustainable cities in the years to come. According to John Elkington, cities account for 80 % of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and they produce most of the toxins that stress the biosphere. This picture is not going to get better  - the prediction is that by 2050, 70 % of the world population will be living in cities compared to 50 % today. However there is hope; city mayors working together and in collaboration with companies can shape a region’s approach to climate change and sustainable living. A good example is the recently created “Network of Intelligent Cities” (La Red Espanola de Ciudades Inteligentes RECI) in Spain that has 24 members.  Two companies there, Fundatec and Telefonica are helping shape the projects and provide technological support.

2-The Green and Blue Economies and How to Move Companies to These New Economic Models

We inherited an economic system developed over 100 years ago, based on high carbon resources, continuous production, waste creation and consumer dependency.  We know now that this system is unsustainable. In a few years, we will run out of non-renewable resources like oil and gas, and if we are not careful the same will happen with renewable resources like water, biodiversity and ecosystems.  The waste created by this archaic system is contaminating the planet and taking up space in landfills that are full to capacity.

We are going to hear a lot more about the green and the blue economies. Both economic models improve human well-being and reduce environmental and ecological risks. The green or low-carbon economy model is based on the use of renewable energy, green building, clean transportation, water management, waste management and land conservation.  The blue economy model stands for a new way of designing business, where the waste of one product becomes the raw material for another one. Businesses are already moving to these new economic systems, but changing the current economy to a green and/or blue economy will also require action from the government corporate sector, with a sustained government commitment and incentives to innovation.

3-How to Change Consumer Behavior so They Buy Less

In December 2012 Globescan, Sustainability and BBMG released the results of “The Regeneration Consumer Study,” an in-depth on-line survey of consumer attitudes, motivation and sustainable consumption among over 6000 respondents in six countries.  The study found that 76% of consumers in developing markets and 56 % of consumers in developed markets believe that they need to consume less to improve the environment for future generations. But rarely do we see an environmental and/or socially responsible product that outsells its competitors, so it is clear that there is a gap between consumer intentions and behavior.  How do we close the gap? The study included practical advice for brands A) let consumers share their ideas to help with the development of better products B)focus the engagement efforts on consumers that seek to reconcile a tendency towards materialism and protecting the earth.

There is another issue that is starting to get attention related to consumers’ insatiable need to consume.

People spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need to create impressions that won’t last. This definition of prosperity complements today’s unsustainable economic model. A new definition of prosperity is needed, one that encourages people to rent, reuse, and share instead of buying. How can companies help with this? Patagonia, the California apparel company is doing something different; it is asking its customers to buy less.  Patagonia offers to repair its clothes for a reasonable fee or customers can sell them at Patagonia.com or via EBay. In 2013, we hope to see more companies like Patagonia that are trying to show customers a new way to consume.

4-The Change Agents Within Companies: Intrapreneurs

Embedding CSR into the company culture implies an organizational change that takes years to complete. We are finding that this laborious and long process can be accelerated by the efforts of people within the company who have an entrepreneurial mindset. They are called “intrapreneurs.” They help drive innovation when obstacles emerge and they are good at engaging their peers in problem-solving.  Companies that inspire their people to come up with new sustainable ideas in their work and provide resources and incentives will be able to foster intrapreneurship.   Hilton Worldwide has done this; a tool used to calculate the hotels’ environmental impact was developed by intrapreneurs.  The tool resulted in reduced use of energy and water use, and generated over $147 million dollars in savings. This is a new trend that will grow in 2013.

5-Engaging Employees with the CSR Agenda

Companies understand that greening their products and operations is a source of value for employees and that in order to reach the company’s sustainability goals everyone has to be involved.  Many companies are still busy trying to embed sustainability in their culture. Engaging employees in corporate sustainability initiatives has seen a recent explosion of interest and activity. To address this emerging interest, companies are creating innovative tools for employee engagement through education, green teams, social media, volunteerism, incentives and awards.  Stonyfield Farm empowers employees to take action at work, as well as at home and in their communities, resulting in reductions in company energy use. At JCPenney, corporate social responsibility and human resources managers collaborate to embed sustainability into the corporate culture through resource teams, new employee orientation and training. In the future, we will see more collaboration between the Human Resources personnel and the Sustainability experts.