January 8th, 2010

Sustainability & CSR in 2010: Some Predictions

By Perry Goldschein

We’re only a week into the new year, but already I’ve seen a number of indications of where the year will go.  Here are some predictions — please enjoy with a large grain of salt (as you should with all predictions):

• Less green washing – it got so bad from 2007 through 2009, it actually made some people ill, as well as confused.  Companies are starting to get the message it will do them more harm than good.  Anyway, The Publicis Groupe, one of the largest advertising conglomerates in the world, just released a policy last month forbidding it among any of its companies — so, we’re safe for now.  ; )

• Greater stakeholder engagement – companies and increasing numbers of stakeholders see the value in engagement, and in helping companies take a greater role in solving our most pressing problems. A sizable number of companies are making real strides, but can’t do it alone.  More than a couple of the companies we work with or talk to specifically see engaging employees as a critical area to make greater strides.

• Continued Social Media Evolution – okay, so you don’t have to be psychic to predict this one.  At it’s heart, social media isn’t about specific websites or technologies, but the ability going forward for nearly everyone one of us to reach and interact with large audiences through various media types — text, graphic, video and audio — that wasn’t possible only a decade ago.  In communications, this truly changes everything, increasing transparency exponentially and shifting power not only to customers, but to all stakeholders; which greatly enhances stakeholder engagement.

• Breakout year for CSR – with corporate social responsibility surviving nicely through the great recession, and getting firm footing at the highest corporate levels (boards and c-suites), we predict a break-out year.  CSR will continue to mature, and still has a long way to go in standards and best practices,  but by the end of 2010 we’ll see it start to hit full stride, assuming the economy continues to improve.