On Wednesday I was invited to talk at a conference here in Denmark for the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency, the theme being CSR inspired innovation.
I knew that some of the other speakers would be presenting very analytical information so what I tried to do was give as many tangible examples as possible were companies have used this kind of innovation in practice.
An observation one could make is that although the speakers were from very different backgrounds, there were some recurring themes:
Companies who see CSR as an opportunity rather than a responsibility seem to be benefiting from it. Companies that are ahead of the game and have managed to be assertive in this area instead of waiting for legislation or market forces change the way they do business seem to have an advantage.
Their seem to be an ocean of companies who have given CSR some very serious thought but not many of them manage to translate this into something they can use proactively.
Actually, I think we're seeing a shift. The way a company behaves in relation to it's stakeholders has become much more central part of brand communication. In many compaines and organisations the CSR department and the marketing department seem to be converging. It makes perfect sense.
As I've mentioned before here, we are seeing the emergency of a new expression which popped up again several times. Corporate Social Opportunity. I like it. Not because it's the latest buzz-word, which it undoubtably is but because it points to the fact that there's something more significant happening here.
Anyway, it's evocative and I'm going to use it whenever I can. (the more observant readers among you will notice it's appearance on my catagories list)
Long-live the CSO.
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