CSR and ESG

1
CSR and ESG in spite of the recession?

• Professor Hans De Geer,
• TI Sweden, SSERiga
• Tallinn, April 24, 2009

2
License to operate
stakeholders expectations
Savers/investors
Financial markets
Media
CG
voters
Employees customers
Politics
Business
CSR
NGOs (CSOs)
members
3
Initiatives
UN
Global compact
PRI
ISO
ILO
CAUX
Standardisation of expectations through soft
regulation
Rio
GRI
OECD
ICC
EU
4
Activity
4
Financial market actors
Media
1
CG
Political actors
Business
2
CSR
NGOs (CSOs)
3
5
Business
1

• CSR - no longer if but how
• 98 of top 150 companies in Europe addresses CSR
  on their website, 73 of top 600.
• CSR the idea that corporations have a
  responsibility for social and environmental
  issues that goes beyond their core activity,
  beyond ordinary decency and beyond regulation
• Linked to the concepts of embeddedness and
  sustainability
• Crises,close downs and lay offs makes CSR even
  more demanding!

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Arguments against CSR

• CSR is just window-dressing and blue wash!
• The business of business is business (Milton
  Friedman).
• Macroeconomic waste (Dave Henderson).
• Business first social responsibility is to be
  profitable and create jobs!
• CSR might lead to protectionism.

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Arguments for CSR

• Production has in fact negative effects that
  businesses have an obligation to take care of.
• Big corporations do have resources.
• Public sector failure.
• CSR the business case
• Risk management
• Reputation management and brand building
• Values based leadership

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Politics
2

• Financial crises Unsound managing of risk in
  structured products gtsystemic dependencies
  gtdomino effects
• Politicians take the initiative back
• Reregulation of markets towards a new Bretton
  Woods?
• Recession state intervention support of
  failing industry
• Still climate issues - high priority during
  Swedens EU presidency

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NGOs
3

• NGOs - the opaque sector lack of transparency
• From confrontation to alliances

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Financial markets
4

• Friedmans argument
• Institutional owners
• ESG issues
• Growth of SRI
• 2005 - 2007 102 in 13 European countries
  (Eurosif)
• 18 of total assets
• 2,7 quintillion
• PRI as support structure

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Issues remain
HR
Child labour increases
WR
The supply chain Lay offs here or there?
E
Climate - and water issues
C
Corruption increases Greed as a system
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and calls for

• The ethics of lay offs
• The ethics of increasing social differences
• The ethics of risk management
• The ethics of systems of remuneration
• The fight against corruption