8 July 2010
Philippines The following opinion article by By Chit. U. Juan was posted on Business World
Many companies have heard about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) but are still afraid to start a program or are unaware that there are opportunities within their supply chain that could be considered CSR.
I recently met Karl Queipo, the executive director of RD Group of Companies, in a recent meeting in Puerto Princesa City. RD Group is in many businesses from fishing to canning and operates the more familiar RDEX seafood store where you can get fresh frozen tuna, among many other sustainable seafoods.
Karl shared with me their programs such as attending to their fishermen employees who are sent out to sea for six months just to find tuna in the Pacific waters. There is a ban on tuna fishing in General Santos waters, so they have had to fish nearer Papua New Guinea and Indonesia where RD has fishing permits as well. So he corrected me that there is no GenSan Tuna at the moment, rather they are Pacific Tuna, if one were to be strict about it. Even our canned tuna, the popular products being promoted as the healthier meat, are sadly already imported. Tsk Tsk. RD Group of Companies, however, has thought about its own sustainability as a business and has contributed greatly to preserving our own tuna population.
Another noteworthy project is Jollibee’s project with Catholic Relief Services and Central Luzon State University (CLSU) to buy onions and peppers from farmer clusters in Northern Luzon, assuring the farmers of better farm-gate prices for onions. Imagine the local farmers getting better prices and if they do, they treat their family at a nearby Jollibee store (yes, there are Jollibee stores even in far-flung San Carlos City, Negros!). Now, that is coming full circle. You feed the farmer and he feeds his family with your product as well. Now, everytime you bite into that burger, you know a farmer is able to also enjoy the same meal.
I asked Karl if it was a CEO mandate to do these CSR projects, and he confirmed with me that top management has a directive to make sure they farm sustainably. The same with Jollibee. I have spoken with Ms. Grace Tan myself and have confirmed that she has the heart to keep these supply chain projects going.
The reason why many companies cannot seem to get started is that they delegate the visioning to their seconds or third downs. The vision is reserved for the CEO or his/her spouse and the execution is done by the subordinates but with the participation from above.
When I was still heavily involved with a coffee chain (my past life), I loved doing the visioning and sharing of that vision with my managers who readily imbibed the advocacy as it also meant the sustainability of our very business. They would plant with me, harvest with me, and all would be ambassadors of our CSR projects.
So, two things are key. The CSR has something to do with your business and the CEO is the lead person to jump-start the program, appoint key people imbued with the same, if not similar, fire and passion for the cause, and roll out the program all the way to your stakeholders and customers. I never met anyone who questioned our cause over the 10 years I ran the program. Today, I assist and consult with friends who wish to start their own CSR activity.
Many start with volunteerism, with reasons stated that they are just small, they do not have funds, and that they can help many causes. Volunteerism is good because it gives employees a chance to participate. The only challenge is that it hardly becomes a continuous circle or cycle. They usually can be one-off activities to give one a "giver’s high" whether one gives money, materials or the most expensive resource, time. Sustainability is the challenge if one were to connect his CSR to his very business.
July is CSR Month and it would be a welcome sign for CEOs and company owners, especially of our food chains and food manufacturers, to be more enlightened about launching a CSR program. The League of Corporate Foundations will hold its annual conference and expo on July 16-18 at the SMX and it would be good for company owners to attend, and not just delegate this seeming menial task to subordinates.
I had the chance to influence a close relative to do CSR by taking him to a CSR conference many years ago. I am proud he now has a four-year old program, integrated into his small business, and feeding a whole barangay whose lives have improved through his buying of a very affordable ingredient or supply, banana leaves.
I have yet to see a successful CSR program that started from the ground up, where PR and Corporate Communications start the idea. Most of the successful and inspiring stories I have been exposed to in the last 10 years have always followed the same, if not very similar, formula: The CEO must lead it, the CEO must live it, and the CEO must be outlived by it.
