CSR is the part of a company that focusses on doing good. Interestingly enough, business is all about impact and effectiveness when it comes to the core of the business, but when strategies of doing good are developed and implemented there is often more concern for what sounds good than for the effectiveness and impact […]
Insights
Adventures in Materiality. Notes from the first CBS Sustainability Seminar
All we need is materiality? Materiality is arguably gaining significance in corporate approaches to CSR and sustainability. While strong narratives remain important, they do not suffice in a world filled with increasing amounts of data calling for transparency and factual assessment of corporate accomplishments, progress or decline. There can, however, be a price to pay […]
The Sustainable Development Goals: Elite Pluralism, not Democratic Governance
Was the process leading up to the SDGs really an exercise in global democratic policy making? Although broad consultation efforts shaped the process, these alone were not able to alter the power structures undergirding the political economy of aid. In the end, UN members states finalized the agenda behind closed doors and civil society organisations […]
Corporate Criminal Liability in Germany – An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Siemens, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank … and now Airbus. What is wrong with German companies? It seems that German firms are disproportionally exposed to corporate irresponsibility. Of course, this is more of a subjective assessment than a statistical fact, and to be fair Airbus SE is a European company. Corporate irresponsibility appears in all jurisdictions, for all […]
When Good CSR Intentions With Communities Go Bad
In this post I reflect on the past ten years of working as a practitioner and researcher on the issue of CSR, company – community relations and conflicts. Overall, it is striking to see the gap between the optimism held by practitioners and the pessimism of those affected in communities when it comes to the […]
Business and Open Government / Open Data – An Advocacy Role for Business?
Big excitement in the corporate world about big data is mirrored by big excitement in the NGO world about open data, the nearly worldwide move towards making data held by governments and the public sector more broadly available and usable. Big data is often described as the new oil, an essential commodity powering the economies of the near future. Quite similarly open data / and open government are celebrated as the new oil to lubricate and fuel democratic participation and accountability.
Another Inconvenient Truth: “Win-Win” Only Won’t Transform Our World
A green growth project can contribute to sustainable development, but this is by no means a given.
‘Make Feminism Radical Again’
‘Make Feminism Radical Again’ – An unlikely fashion choice in some quarters but, yes, a fellow passenger at Copenhagen airport was donning a T-shirt bearing just this slogan. ’Make Feminism Radical Again’ – An unlikely fashion choice in some quarters but, yes, a fellow passenger at Copenhagen airport was donning a T-shirt bearing just this slogan. The […]
Enjoy the silence? CSR communication & the phenomenon of “Greenhushing”
Why do some companies don’t “talk their walk”?. Especially SMEs face cost barriers to CSR communication. Scandals or reputational crises taught companies to be very careful with their CSR communication. Yet, there are reasons why firms should engage in CSR communication nevertheless… All I ever wantedAll I ever neededIs here in my armsWords are very […]
Dirty Oil or Green Energy in the Faroe Islands?
These are the stories from the two divided camps in the Faroe Islands – please give your take on this dilemma. Should the Faroese explore and produce oil in the Faroe Islands that will contribute to global energy safety and stability to an ever growing global energy demand? Or should the Faroese stop this process […]