How much water does that strawberry cost?

How much water does a strawberry cost?

Do you care?  Should you care?  Maybe it is kind of important to think about how much water, or clean air, or healthy ecosystem, things cost. 

Water is valuable.  It is important to make conscious choices about how we spend it.

Before you read further – if you are reading this to get an answer to that question you should stop now.  You won’t get it.  If you want to (maybe) get pushed to thinking about it a bit differently, then you might enjoy the next 500 words…

But, you won’t get an answer…  You may find a new way of thinking about cost though.

What do you think when you hear How much water does a strawberry cost?  Does it sound weird?

Wait, think about it.  Water is one of the most important things on this planet.  It is finite.  Shouldn’t we want to know how much water it takes to produce something?

If you think this irrelevant go to California’s Central Valley, indeed all of California and watch the struggles for the declining amount of available water. Almonds, strawberries, people, lawns, fish (yes, fish) and many more interests all ‘need’ water.  Some will get much less than they ‘need’.

Suddenly, strawberries that cost less water will have a competitive advantage, and consumers may become interested in how much water a strawberry costs.

It isn’t just water.  Our planet has a finite amount of a lot of things that our lives depend on.  And a finite amount of ecosystems and other resources that make our planet able to support so many billions of us.

We’ve proven remarkably incapable of managing them prudently.  Far beyond the California water situation.  Check out what Berkeley based Global Footprint has to say. 

Do we fit on the planet?

Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the resources we use and to absorb our waste. This means it now takes the Earth one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year. http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/

Not good management, especially if you think some of the other creatures on the planet deserve something too.

So, what does that all have to do with How much water does that strawberry cost?  If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

If you don’t pay for it you won’t manage it?

So, maybe we should know how much water something costs? 

How much water does your designer jacket cost?  How much carbon?

Your iPhone?  Your Xbox?  Your favourite TV show?

What about education?  How much water does a degree cost?   The list goes on.

Even to How much water does that beer cost?   Beer can cost a lot of water.  But, some companies are taking big steps to manage it.  Some aren’t.  Would you like to know How much water your beer costs?

Some companies are measuring things like this.  I was pleasantly surprised this week, while reading the sustainability report of Eldorado Gold, a Canadian gold mining company that is not recognized as a sustainability leader.  Yet, they tracked water usage around gold production, and have made impressive steps at managing it.

I’m sure other companies are doing similar, with water and other important natural capital inputs.

Wait, what is natural capital?  There are a few definitions that people use.  I like to think of natural capital as those resources the planet provides for us and which people and industry are not really paying the full price to use (or abuse).

Things like water, like clean air, like ecosystems.  For the most part we use and abuse water and air and such at the cost of acquiring them.  As water gets more scares it costs more to acquire but is the price really a market price?  Are we paying the full ecosystem cost of taking that water from nature?

Same with abusing air.  Industry (and individuals, for those of us who occasionally want to point at others as the problem) are starting to pay some cost for managing how much we mess up the air and the atmosphere.  But, not nearly the true cost.

This is a long debate and we won’t try to resolve it here, even though it is important.

Back to how much water that strawberry costs…

Do you think we should know how much?  Or should we even care?

Do you think it important to know how much of our earth’s ecosystem resource are used by the different things in your life?

Do you trust industry and governments to manage these resources without measuring them in relation to outputs?

If you answered these questions like I do then you may want to ask How much water does that strawberry cost?   

And keep asking until it becomes not weird to ask because everyone knows that we should know how much of our planet’s ecosystem is used for the products and services that we buy.

How many planets do we have?

…remember… How much water does that strawberry cost?   

Who? Me? Responsible for CSR?

Shared Value requires Shared Responsibility:  Whose Responsibility is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Watching some of the discussion on corporate social responsibility it sometimes seems like governments, communities, NGOs and everyone else expects to sit back and have somebody (aka business) deliver CSR to them on a silver platter.

WRONG!!

Corporate Social Responsibility is not something a company does to or for communities, governments or others. 

To be successful and sustainable it takes a shared and collective responsibility with all stakeholders.  How could it be any other way?

Yet, far too often we see major stakeholders, governments, communities, NGOs and others, placing all the responsibility on companies, almost as if they expected them to play the role of Government (or Santa Claus). 

Sometimes too, we see companies sitting back and trying to leave the responsibility to other stakeholders, including often other companies or industries.

Neither approach will work very well.

All partners are in the same boat.

If the boat floats all will benefit.  If it sinks everyone gets wet.

Those communities and organizations that are pro-active in organizing and planning CSR activities and sharing in the responsibility with companies, will find that they simply get more value at the end of the day.  And, they will gain more capacity as well, and more ownership over their destiny.

Those companies that take the lead AND have projects where ALL stakeholders take appropriate responsibility will find that more value is created for stakeholders and shareholders.

If CSR is about aligning interests so that more benefits can flow to more stakeholders (including shareholders) how does it make sense that all responsibility should be on the company or other partner to organize and do.

Surely Shared Responsibility is where everyone should be trying to get to.

Let’s assume that through a collaborative consultation process a mining company and local community identified that improvements in education and health were priorities.

• What is the role and responsibility of the community and local organizations?What is the role and responsibility of local government?
• What is the role and responsibility of the Sector Ministries (Education & Health)?
• What is the role and responsibility of the company?
• What is the role and responsibility of NGOs and other development actors with an interest in education and healthcare?

Think about what the roles and responsibilities should be.  Then think about how the project would normally play out.

This way works:  In successful examples the various stakeholders will all play a proactive part in the overall project, exhibiting leadership, collaboration and initiative as required. 

The project is truly made up of partners, working together and through their collaboration and collective responsibility helping to achieve results that none of them could achieve on their own.

This way, not so much:  In other cases one partner (often business, but not always) is looked at to lead and take the bulk of the responsibility.  Other stakeholders sit back and expect benefits to come to them.  

Regardless of which partner, or partners are left with the bulk of the responsibility, the project won’t succeed nearly as well as if there was a collective sharing of responsibility.

Do your CSR projects sometimes end up looking like this?

Ironically, in projects where the bulk of the responsibility is left to one or two partners, they are the ones that get blamed if things don’t work perfectly. 

Is it any wonder that some get frustrated and, if they keep going, end up frustrated and cynical.

So, Whose Responsibility is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Look at any CSR projects that you are involved in. Is there a collective responsibility?

If not, why not?

And, what will you do to change that and facilitate collective responsibility.

Blaming the partners who have been carrying the responsibility probably isn’t the most productive response.  Training and encouraging all partners to accept a fair share of responsibility is a far better way to go.

 

Sharing responsibility across partners and stakeholders can drive project success and make the work more fun

 

 CSR can be an effective mechanism for creating value for society and shareholders.  But, it doesn’t work well for anyone if responsibility and ‘ownership’ is not shared amongst all stakeholders.

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To read other CSR Articles and Thoughtpieces by Wayne Dunn click here>>>

Tweets, posts and thoughts from the past weeks

 A collection of Tweets and Posts from the past weeks.  Some interesting (I hope!).  Some not so much.  Excuse the formatting.  Blogger doesn't seem to like cut and paste.

Global perspectives on CSR in mining. Slides from keynote to BC Mining Forum 2015 http://bit.ly/1GrzAKT

Mining schools hi-tech on social value creation! Mining industry’s painful lessons and the progress they’ve made learning them have lots to offer to hi tech as society’s expectations evolve  http://linkd.in/1D0Lpdm

Drink beer to support climate change!  Perfect plan for St. Patrick’s Day.

24 breweries sign climate change declaration. http://bit.ly/1MoAg5K @triplepundit @leonkaye

Acknowledge progress and push for more  McDonald’s To Source Antibiotic-Free Chicken in USA http://bit.ly/1G6aFfP @gmcheeseman @TriplePundit

Many stakeholders but no winners Great article on Artisanal Mining by Paul Klein in Triple Pundit http://bit.ly/1Mb3WoP 

Local Content Success.  now available in #CSR Knowledge Centre http://bit.ly/LocalCSR #PDAC2015

Dealing with growing social demands in mining  World Bank Panel @PDAC  http://bit.ly/1C3VfKW #PDAC2015

Walmart’s sustainability train is barreling down the track!  http://bit.ly/1AdvBN3  Jen Boynton  @triple Pundit  Rob Caplan  @robbyk

Stakeholder Engagement Series 

Many of you have asked that I pull together some of my recent publications that deal with stakeholder engagement into a set.  Haven’t quite done that but below you have a list of articles and links to the LinkedIn Posts.

• Eleven strategies for maximizing value from CSR:  http://linkd.in/1tHnpZr
• CSR in Budget Crunch Times: 12 strategies for success:  http://linkd.in/1zaNE92
• Multi-sector CSR Partnerships: Natural Partnerships – Unnatural Partners:  http://linkd.in/11fUNsB
• From Pariah to Exemplar: Applying the six best practices :  http://bit.ly/CSRAnalysis
• Engaging Internal Stakeholders: Seven proven strategies :  http://linkd.in/1z7vQN7
• CSR Communications: Eleven mistakes to avoid:  http://linkd.in/1yAfJHV
• Stakeholder Engagement: Six best practices:  http://linkd.in/1CR5yCN
• Creating a CSR Program: in eight self-serving steps:  http://linkd.in/12viCNs
• Stakeholder Engagement: Five common mistakes:  http://linkd.in/1yW8usQ
• Smarter CSR Budgets: Eight steps to connect budget to value:  http://linkd.in/1wa8W8L
• 28 Expert tips on stakeholder engagement:  LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1vpVLtx
• Don’t be an Altruistic Angel: Be transparent about what’s in it for you:  http://linkd.in/1yAdog0
• 13 mistakes that prevent and destroy multi-sector partnerships:  http://linkd.in/1y830NH  

If missing Aboriginal women is a domestic violence issue is ISIS recruiting an adolescent issue? @M_A_W_inCanada

Stakeholder engagement series. 

List of #CSR Thoughtpieces on Stakeholder Engagement from the CSR Knowledge Centre http://bit.ly/1EwKMaK  http://bit.ly/CSRknowledge

Is CSR Dead?  Dying, hibernating, irrelevant, or working just fine? http://bit.ly/CSR-Dead  @triplepundit @marcstoiber

CSR Communications

CSR Communications seems to be a hot topic right now so I thought I’d share links to some of our recent related publications.  If interested feel free to read, download and share. 

 
·       Internal CSR Communications Suck:  http://bit.ly/1Az4TSD 
·       7 strategies for engaging internal stakeholders:   http://bit.ly/1BOFGWF
·       11 mistakes to avoid in CSR Communications:  http://bit.ly/1qQMM9t
·       Eleven strategies for maximizing value from CSR:  http://bit.ly/17uzlDG  

CSR Communications seems hot. Here are 3 short publications. Good, bad & ugly  http://bit.ly/1Az4TSD  http://bit.ly/1GiJHlJ http://bit.ly/1zAvyxV

Internal CSR Communications Suck!  We need to get better at creating internal alignment.  CSR Thoughtpiece posted to Slideshare http://slidesha.re/1B0kga4

Wow Safeway! Sustainable transparent seafood. Trumping Whole Foods.  Great work   http://bit.ly/1GeDaIU @triplepundit @JenBoynton

Pay it forward Pizza! Great model. Align business, customer, social and community and make $ @mwartman1 http://bit.ly/1DE3fCS

We are really bad @ internal CSR Communications. Should align from planet to shareholder to people in company   http://linkd.in/1Edi3HM

Good CSR communications aligns the dots from planet to shareholder to people in company. @RepublicofEvry1 good example

CSR Partnerships. Theory and Practice.  Lecture & Role playing scenario.  Delivered in Nairobi Kenya, Feb 2015   http://slidesha.re/1CI5qA2

Internal CSR Communications Suck! And us CSR Pros are to blame  http://bit.ly/1Dr47e6

Sustainable Brands Seeks Entrepreneurs for Startup Business Competition http://bit.ly/1CHXst4  #CSR

Consumers want to see greater #CSR in the processed #food sector says @globescan consumer report @Foodanddrinkfed

4 strategies for local content success.  Local content can be the best ROI of any CSR investment.  Posted on Slideshare http://slidesha.re/1vVQUb4

Until CSR Pros speak ‘What’s in it for them’ to Finance, Ops & Engineering, CSR is a sandbox and toys in the corner of the business!

 The Rise of Sustainable Fibers in the Fashion Industry

Interesting and insightful. By Leon Kaye @ Triple Pundit  http://bit.ly/1DClOG6

Industry, Community & Engagement: Who is responsible? Lecture & Role playing scenario.  Delivered in Nairobi Kenya, Feb 2015   http://slidesha.re/17ndFII

4 strategies for local content success.  Local content can be the best ROI of any CSR investment.  New blog post http://bit.ly/1CwgBeQ

8 million tonnes of plastic dumped into oceans each year! Remember, we don’t got another planet. http://bit.ly/1vHsFNr

Industry, community & engagement. Strong, respectful & insightful dialogue on extractives and communities in Kenya. Credit @CanHCKenya @ihrb @KimothoWangui

Big business advocating stronger environmental regulations.  Can Govt keep up?

Interesting discussion in the Guardian.  http://bit.ly/1FsPepy Guardian article by @matt_gitsham

Communication is key whether you’re selling soda or social change.  Effective and appropriate communications can add societal and shareholder value to Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.. http://bit.ly/1DYPyuC   Interesting series in the Stanford Social Innovation Review   Also see CSR Communications: 11 mistakes to avoid  http://bit.ly/1zAvyxV

Plastic Bank: Plastic waste to $currency!  Brilliant!

Alignment of social, community, environmental and shareholder interests.

http://bit.ly/16zIfPa @DavidKatzEO  @jillettinger

Bridgestone's Sustainability Hub: A Dialogue on Solving Survey Fatigue (for itself and others) http://bit.ly/1KweOwx Great work @bridgestone

Dirty, ugly mining has lessons for Hi Tech!

Dirty, ugly mining has lessons for Hi Tech!

And Hi Tech should pay attention or it could feel the pain that mining felt when it started getting slammed by a rising tidal wave of social performance expectations.

The mining industry has become relatively good at figuring out how to organize itself to create local benefits and value as a by-product of its core business operations. 

In general mining goes beyond simply meeting regulatory requirements on environment, labour, safety, etc. and is actually creating additional value for local communities through targeted development programs and efforts.

From working with local agricultural producers, to supporting alternative economic opportunities for women to general education and health programming and across a wide-range of other social value areas, the mining industry is reaching out to support people and families in the communities near its operations.

Of course, it is far from perfect and one doesn’t have to look far to find where it has come up short.  But, what is important here is that there are many places where it is succeeding and having meaningful impacts on people, families and communities.

What does this have to do with hi tech?  Lots.

In general the hi tech industry has been paying increasing attention to its supply chain.  To materials sourcing and to the labour, environmental and human rights practices in its supply chain.

This isn’t easy with supply chains spread throughout developed and developing economies and across a range of national regulatory frameworks. 

In many countries the national regulations governing environment, labour standards, health, safety and human rights are below what the hi tech industry’s consumers would consider appropriate.

Many companies have acted to set their own standards in these areas to guide their employees, contractors, sub-contractors and others in their supply chain, essentially establishing a private regulatory framework.

Managing compliance throughout this diffuse network and across its linguistic, cultural and economic diversity is challenging to say the least.  Often the marketplace expectations that drive this private regulatory framework are totally foreign to the people and organizations being asked to apply them.

And now, in the midst of this challenge, more is coming!

Soon companies will be held accountable for a broader social performance expectation.  In addition to meeting global expectations on materials sourcing, health, safety, labour standards, environment and human rights companies will be expected to create social value in the communities in which their supply chain activities take place.

This is where mining has lessons that can be helpful.  Those companies that want to lead, rather than be driven to meet these emerging social value creation expectations should take a close look at what happened in the mining industry. 

The mining industry’s movement to support social value and development was often driven by painful pressures from NGOs, communities and the global public.

As society became more focused on social and environmental performance (starting roughly in the 1990s) the mining industry was an early and relatively easy target.  It had:

·         Large, highly visible and concentrated environmental footprint

·         Legacy of less than stellar environmental performance (some would say terrible)

·         Legacy of social disruption

And the industry wasn’t really prepared to handle the pressure for increased social performance. 

Some balked and resisted.  Many of those lost market cap and even valuable projects as that elusive ‘social license’ evaporated when they were unable to effectively deal with growing social demands on their projects and activities.

But some have thrived.  Some adapted well and have learned to integrate local value creation into their projects and activities.

Today leading mining companies are routinely involved in a wide-ranging suite of social, economic and environmental activities aimed at making life better in the communities in which they operate.

These activities go far beyond mining and encompass a range of health, education, economic/poverty alleviation, agriculture, environment, gender and other activities. 

The major themes of the mining industry’s social value added activities are nearly perfectly aligned with the global development community’s focus areas as defined by the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Hi tech companies have two choices in the face of the emerging expectations to create social value as a result of its supply chain activities.

They can sit back and wait for the pressures to develop further and respond later as pressures build.

Or, they can be proactive and get out ahead of the curve.

For those wanting to get out ahead of the curve the lessons learned in the mining industry can be valuable.

Some of my recent tweets on CSR and Sustainability

A few people have asked me to put my recent tweets into a document so here they are.

Follow me here https://twitter.com/ZINGmore if you want to get future tweets in real time.

Win/lose = Lose/lose. Sustainable business wins by helping others to win too. Broad value propositions = long-term sustainable value. Read more at http://bit.ly/CSRknowledge

11 Sustainable U.S. Wineries. Feel good about feeling good. Everyone wants more reasons to buy & enjoy good wine. Great article by Mary Mazzoni of Triple Pundit http://bit.ly/1xGhAGK

Increasing costs. Increasing complexity. Uncertain value generation.

Is this what your CSR looks like? http://bit.ly/1C5TES1

National Hockey League in top 20 of EPA’s Green list. Global first for a sports league! http://bit.ly/1C1Kqns  

Read 2014 NHL Sustainability Report http://bit.ly/1zgieuT  to see more of the league and the team’s sustainability efforts. And, the NHL and its teams and players do even more.

The players, teams and league make a major social impact with their support for communities, youth and causes. And, they do it very quietly and without calling for attention. This analysis argues that they could create more value for themselves if they weren’t so quiet about it. http://bit.ly/1BOqCDZ

CVS continues tobacco free support. Great alignment of social value and corporate core. http://bit.ly/1xtieaq  @EileenBooneCSR @CVSHealth It is great to see companies step up to the plate on creating social value and do it in a smart way.

The CVS contribution of $5 million to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is great alignment with their corporate core. It is great to see fewer corporate CSR contributions that look like they were selected on a whim by the CEO’s new mistress! Smart companies align CSR outreach and investments with their corporate core.

Done something amazing in sustainability/CSR last year?

Tell the World!  Enter 2degrees Champions Awards. Let the world know about it and give you feedback. http://bit.ly/1LQOSgH

Market driven waste management. Financial & environmental performance.

Great article by Alexis Petru @triplepundit http://bit.ly/1yJVbtu

CSR Beyond Beads n Trinkets. Think before you spend.

See more #CSRKnowledgeCentre http://bit.ly/CSRknowledge

CSR: Create, don’t just donate.

CSR should create value for shareholders AND society

See more #CSRKnowledgeCentre http://bit.ly/CSRknowledge

Patagonia-Aligning CSR with brand, market & impact Authenticity pays!

Great short read http://bit.ly/1zy22bX  by @marcstoiber

Recycled water into beer!

Sustainability that is easy to support http://bit.ly/18Ffhz0  @LeonKaye @triplepundit

Perfect for the Super Bowl

Progress not perfection.

This and other efforts are adding up to big differences in supply chain sustainability http://bit.ly/1EXvrOM  

Stopping Hazardous Chemicals from Entering the Supply Chain By Padma Nagappan — February 01, 2015 The $11 billion parent company of brands such as North Face, Timberland, Nautica, Lee and Wrangler has debuted a chemical management initiative that could be a game changer for the industry, as it scales the program across its vast supply chain and invites the industry to take advantage of it.

Super Bowl and sustainability.

Quick insights and history at http://bit.ly/1CM6iqI  Courtesy @GreenBiz

Mars Rocks on Supply Chain Sustainability

Mars continues to push on sustainable supply chain (beef, pulp, paper, soy) http://bit.ly/1Lsvsi0  @marsglobal @EUAfricaMonitor

It was great to see them winners at the EU-AFRICA Chamber of Commerce CSR Awards Gala in Brussels in November.  See video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P6MfGhLRKI

And congrats to EU-AFRICA Chamber of Commerce creating the event to showcase the work of Mars, Newmont, DHL and the other winners

ICMM opens commenting period on updated Indigenous Peoples and Mining Good Practice Guide @ICMM_com http://bit.ly/1yMtmj7

Did you know the NHL is a global leader in sustainability?

Full carbon offset for one http://bit.ly/1CGUvty  more @NHLGreen GREAT leadership

Is CSR about distributing, creating or sharing value or all three?

Discussion & thoughts here. http://bit.ly/CSR_Value

Role of mining in national and emerging economies.

Interesting @ICMM report https://lnkd.in/eZFNvyv

CSR SWOT: discover risk, value and more

See new LinkedIn Post if interested https://lnkd.in/bX7V4na

Well done is better than well said!

CSR Communications must be free of Socialwash or Greenwash. 11 Mistakes to avoid http://bit.ly/1qQMM9t

Food for thought – 13 Sustainability trends for 2015

http://bit.ly/1GvgN5T  by Richard Mazzola Quick read

Viewpoints for Business in 2015 - Progress and Purpose.

Interesting Webinar discussion from @GlobeScan http://bit.ly/1CKGitY