CSR is often divorced from value in the way people and companies think and act. The reality is that they are intimately intertwined. This short piece discusses CSR and Value and 'beyond compliance' To keep updated on postings and events go to www.csrtraininginstitute.com and sign up for the newsletter. If interested the CSR Knowledge Centre http://bit.ly/CSRknowledge contains a series of short, pragmatic articles on CSR Strategy, Management and related areas.

1. Thoughts on CSR and Value – a curious perspective
We need more strategic, value-creating focus and less focus on
defensive, risk-mitigating compliance
Companies the world over are recognizing that there are growing societal expectations on the
social value added aspects of business of all types.
Firms everywhere are adapting and evolving, searching for ways to meet societal expectations
and meet shareholder expectations. Some are finding value-creating synergies and ways to
create more value for society and for shareholders at the same time.
Others end up in more of a zero-sum, value transfer type of approach (see the CSR Value
Continuum for more on value-transfer/value-creation).
At the same time there is a rapidly growing and evolving set of global standards, reporting
mechanisms and general compliance frameworks.
Many companies, far too many in my opinion, are paying inordinate amounts of attention to
the compliance aspect of CSR and far too little to the value-creation potential that can come
with creatively finding synergy and value-alignment.
This not only limits the value that can be created for society AND shareholders, but also serves
to position CSR in a ghettoized corner, far removed from core value-creation functions and
prone to be first in line when budget crunch happens (see CSR in Budget Crunch Times)
I just received an email from a friend who has developed a technology/system that has the
potential to be transformative in terms of rural child education in remote and impoverished
areas.
They reached out to the CSR Managers/Leaders of 500 companies working in this area to
suggest that there could be some synergy with the social license/social value.
Not one responded! Follow-up phone calls suggested that the many (they said most) saw CSR
as a defence mechanism and that strategic, creative, value-creation types of approaches are
last resorts, to be deployed in times of crisis.
Strategic, creative, value-creation types of approaches that seek to find and develop alignment
between societal and shareholder interests, and involve other stakeholders and partners, have
been proven to be doable, affordable and less difficult than most believe.
Yet so many still default to defensive, compliance-focused, value-transferring (value-draining)
sorts of approaches.

2. If interested in more along these themes you can find a number of articles in the CSR
Knowledge Centre. They are all free to read, download, print and share.
(these next sentences are going to seem like a commercial so feel free to stop reading here if
you want)
We have developed training programs and consulting services that help companies and
individuals to be more systematic and more successful at aligning societal and shareholder
interest.
Upcoming programs include:
Advanced Masterclass in CSR Strategy & Management Nov 1-6, Accra, Ghana
Register here
CSR Bootcamp for Executives & Leaders (2 days) Oct 29-30, Accra, Ghana
Register here
Companies interested in consulting support and/or a combination of consulting
and training or customized training can contact us for more information
……………………………………………
Wayne Dunn
President & Founder, CSR Training Institute
Professor of Practice in Corporate Social Responsibility, McGill University / ISID
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