By Wayne Visser
Why has CSR failed so spectacularly to address the very issues it claims to be most concerned about? What would be far more productive than all this wishing and pretending that CSR is good and fluffy and cuddly and will help to solve the world’s problems is to simply see it for what it is: an outdated, outmoded artifact that was once useful, but whose time has past.
We need to let the ‘old CSR’ die gracefully and give it a dignified burial. By all means, let us give it the respect it deserves – a fitting eulogy about brave new frontiers of responsibility that it conquered in its heyday. But then, let us look for the next generation of CSR – the newborn that will carry the torch forward.
If we succeed in admitting the failure of CSR and burying the past, we may find ourselves on the cusp of a revolution, in much the same way as the internet transitioned from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. The emergence of social media networks, user-generated content and open source approaches are a fitting metaphor for the changes CSR will have to undergo if it is to redefine its contribution and make a serious impact on the social, environmental and ethical challenges the world faces.
Let us explore in more detail this revolution that will, if successful, change the way we talk about and practice CSR and, ultimately, the way we do business. There are five principles that make up the DNA of CSR 2.0: Connectedness (C), Scalability (S), Responsiveness (R), Duality (2) and Circularity (0).
Download
Read the full chapter CSR 2.0: The Evolution & Revolution of Corporate Social Responsibility
Source
Chapter 21, In: Responsible Business: How to Manage a CSR Strategy Successfully, Edited by Manfred Pohl & Nick Tolhurst (Wiley, 2010)
Tags: csr, csr 2.0, wayne visser
