Corporate Social Responsibility is for life, not just a news cycle

2020 was something of a trauma. It was a year that just kept on unfurling surprises and setbacks, one after the other, with such a flair for the dramatic that scriptwriters everywhere should have made notes. Conspiracy theories, race riots, and election fever brought the US to the brink of political madness, climate disaster kept on hitting and, of course, Covid-19.

Amid all this, many other goings-on in the world almost became eclipsed by the overriding necessity to deal with the pandemic. Which, while understandable, led to a situation where events that would normally be big news, did not receive the coverage that they may have otherwise. But it doesn’t mean that they slipped by unnoticed.

One such event came in May in Western Australia when Rio Tinto expanded an iron ore mine, and in doing so destroyed the Juukan Gorge, a 46,000-year-old site sacred to the local indigenous population. The blast proved to be a catalyst, causing outrage in the media. Subsequent revelations emerged, secret meetings were leaked, accusations that the company had baffled indigenous elders with jargon when attaining permission, ultimately led to the resignation of CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques.

Read more: Rio Tinto names finance chief as new CEO

There was a time, not that long ago, when incidents like that in Juukan Gorge could have gone largely unnoticed, perhaps remaining confined to the mid-sections of a left-leaning broadsheet. But the lesson that the mining giant should have learned is that those times are over. The torrent of negative publicity and the amount of public compassion for the continued plight of Australia’s indigenous communities serve to illustrate that.

The point is not to name and shame Rio Tinto per se. The company is certainly not the only multi-national accused of threatening heritage sites, causing environmental destruction and damaging local communities. The point is that public tolerance for such behaviour is wearing thin and with each of these incidents, mistrust of corporations, industry and capitalism grows. We only need to look at Qanon and the storming of the Capitol building to see that such mistrust can take us to some dark places.

In 2021, public values and priorities are changing as the world becomes more connected and information is disseminated faster and farther. Something occurring in a remote Australian mountain range can quickly make waves on the other side of the world. Incidents like Juukan Gorge do not go unnoticed any longer, even when the bulk of the media is distracted by a pandemic.

As the post-war boomers settle into retirement, a new generation is emerging and making its voice heard, not just through protest, social media, or outright hacktivism but also through investment.

This new breed of investors are the entrepreneurs of the interconnected age, who put their money where their values are. The global investment community knows that the tide is turning, and its piqued interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues is reaching a tipping point. Investment firms have already begun applying pressure on industry and business leaders to make sustainable practices a priority for the sake of both their companies’ bottom lines.

Simply paying lip service to social injustices or environmental destruction also doesn’t cut it anymore either. The public are getting wise to it now, and if an investment is perceived as insincere, it loses credibility – and can even backfire.

Take BAE Systems’ sponsorship of Pride events in the UK and US. While it is undeniably a sign that society has come a long way on the issue of LGBTQ+ rights and wider acceptance, it did not go unnoticed that the arms company draping itself in the rainbow flag in Britain and the US, was simultaneously and silently exporting billions of dollars of weapons to countries like Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is punishable by death.

On one hand, it’s good PR at home, and great for employee morale. However, it can also appear disingenuous. Critics of the BAE sponsorship said the money would have been better spent on donations to NGOs and charities working directly with LGBTQ+ people in Saudi itself, where it is far more urgently needed. Because, if the oppressed people whom a company is claiming to stand with are not benefitting from such action, then who is?

It doesn’t stop at the end of the rainbow either. Last November, Geneva-based commodity trader Trafigura announced in self-congratulatory tones the signing of a deal with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to improve conditions for those working at “informal” or “artisanal” mining sites.

For years, human rights groups have been documenting widespread and severe human rights issues in mining operations in the DRC including child labour, fatal accidents, and regular clashes between miners and mining company security staff. Trafigura is to invest in strictly-controlled, safe mining zones in exchange for supplies of cobalt – a precious metal vital in the manufacture of laptops, smartphone and EV batteries.

Also read: 5 tech giants sued over use of child labour in Congolese cobalt mines

This development was received with hefty cynicism by many Congolese, who are acutely aware of how companies like Trafigura created the problem in the first place. Presently, 70% of the world's cobalt is produced in the country, between 15 and 30% of that coming from artisanal mines.

From a Congolese perspective, the news might look like this: “In a country ravaged by poverty, war and still suffering the effects of Belgian misrule, the boom in demand for cobalt in developing countries has created a situation where some of the worlds poorest are scrabbling through the earth in search of a metal to be used in a product that they cannot afford. Enter Trafigura, a white saviour atop a white stallion, offering such wild, decadent luxuries as basic working conditions and increased worker safety – in exchange for cobalt, of course.”

As an analogy, it is like someone bulldozing your house down, then handing you a tent to sleep in and expecting you to be grateful, whilst still nipping back to pull the copper wiring out of the rubble.

The old response to negative publicity was to weather the storm and wait until it blows over. In a way, this is still true, but it doesn’t account for the cumulative effect that the continued trickle of such stories has on the public's confidence in industry as a force for good in the world.

Also read: Method, Not Madness – Partnering For A True Zero Waste Factory

In November 2019, Industry Europe was given a tour of the Method soap factory in Chicago. At the vanguard of progressive industry, company management have gone to genuine and demonstrable lengths to make the facility as environmentally and socially responsible as possible, tweaking and adjusting the smallest details constantly. Their efforts paid off when the US Green Building Council made it the world's first (and only) double LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum soap factory, and a shining example of what the new industry standard should be. 

Progressive businesses that are looking to make it to the other side of the energy transition need to follow Method's example and demonstrate that they are in step with changing public attitudes by delivering on their promises. Using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, rainbow flagging a corporate logo, or bandying around words like “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, or “environmentally-conscious” are not enough on their own. If multinationals and businesses wish to regain public trust, these words must be backed up with actions and be free from any malodorous whiffs of hypocrisy.

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