by Michael Hopkins, originally posted by CSRWire, Dec. 16, 2015
New movements have emerged, often rooted in religious or ethnic identity. This shift is linked to the wider decline of progressive social movements, the loss of faith in universalist values, and the replacement of ideological politics with the politics of identity[1].
CSR and sustainability issues have travelled from the margins of society and business in the early 1990s to the mainstream today. So have my own interests in those issues. Let me explain—
My path was significantly shaped by the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. My main interest at the time was in socio-economic issues. I had been working for the United Nations and was worried about two problems. First, that the UN was doing great work with many highly skilled people, yet had failed to make a major impact on the big issues of our time. (I note that the great achievement to reach the Millennium Development Goals this year was mainly to do with the huge reduction of poverty in China—that, it is fair to say, had little or nothing to do with the UN). Second, my fear was that communism had fallen; good riddance to its harsh implementation in Russia and its satellite states, but what was to replace it? Was it really Communism 0, Capitalism 1? We needed unadulterated capitalism—itself having many tendencies similar to communism surprising as that may seem—as much as we needed a sore head with its concomitant exploitation of workers, its quest for profit at any cost, its use of power and corruption to override democratic processes and, as Marx had indeed warned, the eventual collapse of capitalism, too!
Thus we needed a third way, an alternative that expressed the hopes of humankind with strong social and economic safety nets for the ill, poor, disadvantaged and so on while preserving the magic of the market. The relative failure of governments, NGOs and the UN led me to look at the private sector in ways that I had not thought of before – as a genuine force for good and sustainable development. In my attempt to rank the Fortune 500 companies from 1 to 500 in terms of their social contribution, I was foiled due to the lack of data. At the same time, I stumbled across a conceptual framework called CSR that led to my first book on the subject, CSR Comes of Age: The Planetary Bargain, where I spelled out how CSR could become a powerful force for good and led to what I now call the Hopkins CSR Model (http://mhcinternational.com/hopkinscsrmodel). The elements of that model in my first book led me to rank the top 100 companies in the UK in terms of their social responsibility (at that time, 1997, Guinness came out on top!).
I thought at the time that CSR was obvious – what’s wrong with treating your stakeholders such as your customers responsibly? Now, twenty years, later I have discovered that the basic concepts behind CSR (or whatever it is labelled or will be labelled in the future) are powerful concepts to create a third way to develop our societies. “Corporate” means to me today any collection of bodies that form a recognisable group. I have since applied that notion by asking such questions as ‘Was the FIFA World Cup Socially Responsible?’, ‘Is the UK Royal Family Socially Responsible’, ‘Do the tools of CSR help us understand terrorism?’ and, of course ‘Is your company socially responsible?’ (www.mhcinternational.com ).
Over the period 2007 to 2013, I developed the concept of CSR through founding and directing a graduate course on CSR and Sustainability at the University of Geneva. That work, along with some of my lectures, allowed me to create my new book with both a consistent model and with the theme of CSR and Sustainability – From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Text Book.
The sub-title of my new book, From the Margins to the Mainstream, comes from a paper with the same title that was applied to environmental issues by Jim MacNeil and Bob Munro written in the 1980s. Jim, supported by Bob and others, subsequently became Secretary General of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) and lead author of its landmark report Our Common Future. That report had a huge impact on environmental issues, bringing them from the margins to the mainstream. The two authors kindly suggested and allowed me to use their title in my own work and my textbook with that title as, indeed, CSR and Sustainability issues have come from the margins in the early 1990s to the mainstream today.
CEO, MHC International Ltd, London, Geneva, Mauritius (CSR & Employment Research and Advisory Services)
CEO, CSR & Financial Institute, ‘socially responsible financially smart’ workshops
Founder CSR Meetups (London, Geneva, Washington DC, New York, Amsterdam, Athens, Mauritius, Boston, Accra, Mumbai)
Video on Michael’s New Book – CSR/Sustainability: From the Margins to the Mainstream – Book available on Amazon.com
What is CSR? Video?
Praise for the book
Dr Thomas Osburg, Former Head CSR, Intel Corp.
I was simply fascinated about this book. The moment I saw it, I started reading and could not stop until the evening. This book is both necessary and timely, as it enriches the European discussion on CSR that somehow got a little out of hand. It puts things back in perspective and by the contribution of world class authors, all experts in their fields, Michael has put together a very readable and understandable textbook that will remain a source of inspiration for academics, business and politicians alike for many years. Not everyone might agree with everything, but that is even more a sign of quality and forward thinking that few people are capable of, like Michael can. I can only recommend this book to all involved in CSR and Sustainability to continue shaping the debate.
Archie B Carroll, Professor Emeritus, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia
“As you would expect from the expert author, this textbook on CSR contains both breadth and depth in terms of concepts and practice. It is essential reading both for newcomers to the field as well as seasoned practitioners and academics. This book will serve well as both a textbook and a reference book. The selection of contributors is impressive and represents a diverse spectrum of viewpoints and experiences that will augment the current and future research and practice of CSR.”And “I am so impressed reading about how you are advancing CSR THINKING! Keep it up!”
Ed Freeman, Professor, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
“A terrific book with state of the art thinking about corporate social responsibility.”
George Njenga, Dean and Vice Chancellor (Research), Strathmore Business School
“Michael has edited and published an invaluable treatise on Corporate Social Responsibility that will be a classic for a long time. He has clearly and boldly embedded a comprehensive and thought-provoking framework for asserting CSR in every institution in society.”
John Redwood, Businessman, Former Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit and MP, UK
“It has always made business sense to listen to customers and to be a good neighbour. This book charts the way in which the Corporate Social Responsibility movement has helped businesses understand what is needed, measure what is achieved, and talk about their wider role. It is a good resume of a large and complex field of activity.”
Yoginder Alagh, Chancellor of the Central University of Gujarat and former Director of Tata Chemicals
“This book on CSR is a functional and business-like guide on CSR operational strategies. As an independent Director on various companies in a country where CSR is statutorily mandated, I find its practical outlines extremely helpful. It’s a Must Read.”
Jerome Champagne, Candidate Presidency and Former Under-Secretary General , FIFA
I am a great supporter of social responsibility in football and am happy to see that Michael has developed a strategy for social responsibility. Not only does the book provide a roadmap for CSR but it also shows how CSR could be applied to football.
In the wider context, football is watched by an estimated 3.5 billion or half the world’s population. Football bodies such as FIFA are increasingly aware of the role of its social responsibility in and through football, especially because young people take as role models not only the players but all those involved in the game.
As such, football, and FIFA in particular, can be a strong player in bringing improvement to our societies. Michael looks at all stakeholders of football and they include both internal – management, coaches, owners and players – as well as external ones such as fans, local communities, media and Government. Football crosses all boundaries and spectators can see the rainbow coalition of the players in many of the world’s top clubs and nations, thereby giving a platform for increasing diversity and anti-racism in society. In a globalized world, where roots and identities are getting dissolved, football and sport offer a unique vehicle to be proud of who we are while connecting with the others at the same time.
We saw, too, in the 2014 Brazil World Cup that ruling bodies such as FIFA cannot ignore social issues such as widespread poverty, corruption and impunity when building luxury stadiums for a few that then stay as monuments and sometimes disused once the games are over. The stakeholder model that Michael has developed, and that can be applied to football institutions, provides a powerful basis to address not only issues within the game of football but also wider issues in our societies themselves.
Maga Ramasamy, Manager – CSR/Sustainability Unit, Air Mauritius
It’s indeed a Great piece of work, presenting the CSR concept in the right way and helping CEOs and company Board members in the Airline industry to make good use of this knowledge asset.
Alex Mejia, Director, Manager of UNITAR’s Decentralized Cooperation Programme and former Vice Minister of Economy for the Republic of Ecuador The United Nations has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Dr Michael Hopkins and in particular, we at UNITAR, have developed a success’ul partnership that allows us to train thousands of beneficiaries around the world on the state-of-the-art of CSR and its linkages to sustainable development. I am especially pleased to recommend to every decision-maker in private or public life this outstanding book as a holistic work that will enhance our understanding of the responsibility –as well as the opportunities- that corporations have as part of our global society. I have admiration for Michael and the other authors for a unique achievement and our sincere appreciation for their contributions towards a better understanding of shared responsibilities towards the future. The maxim “CSR is always good business for a corporation” is certainly true and the UN encourages academia to plant that seed as early as possible in someone’s career. Michael will definitely galvanize many people in the classroom and in the boardrooms, as well as in the Cabinet rooms of many nations.
Adrian Payne, Former Head and Prize Winning Director of CSR, British American Tobacco
I congratulate Michael for having overseen the compilation of a text-book that, given the comprehensive and very readable way in which the subject is treated, will take the appreciation and understanding of CSR to a new level. This is well illustrated by the numerous “proof of principle” examples that run throughout the text which will give readers a “hands-on” experience as to how CSR theory can be reduced to practice in the real-world. As such, it has been my pleasure to contribute by way of co-authoring a chapter which I hope readers will find useful when faced with the challenge of implementing a strategic CSR programme which adds both corporate and societal value.
Judge Mervyn King, former President of GRI, President of the Integrated Reporting Council
“Business is at the junction of the economy, society and the environment. The impacts of how a company makes its money and products on society and the environment should be included in the strategy of the company. Positive impacts create value, negative impacts destroy value. To sustain value creation, the strategy has to address the impact of the company’s business model and its product, financially, socially and environmentally.”
Professor Abby Ghobadian, Dean of Research, Henley Business School
In the era of social media, where we can connect stakeholders across the globe with a few key strokes, 24 hour news, and regulations, the question is no longer whether corporate responsibility is a source of competitive advantage but whether you can do business without corporate responsibility. Increasingly corporate responsibility is becoming a qualifier, a necessity to do business, and it is present throughout the organization. Michael, through a holistic examination of corporate responsibility, has created an invaluable resource for both students of CSR and practicing managers.
Deborah Leipziger, Author of The Corporate Responsibility Code Book and Senior Fellow, Lewis Institute, Babson.
“Michael Hopkins has provided a valuable template for teaching CSR. All of us teaching the business leaders of tomorrow should celebrate the arrival of this important work. It is an honor to be one of the authors included in this pivotal book.”
[1] ‘Why do Islamist groups in particular seem so much more sadistic, even evil?’ Written just after the November 2015 attacks by Kenan Malik The Observer, London, UK, Nov 22 2015