The partnership will launch an initial service called Impact, a four-stage process that works with companies and brands to assess, engage, partner and advocate with governments, NGOs, employees, customers and community groups on a specific issue in a specific market.
According to Edelman Asia-Pacific president Alan VanderMolen, the new offering is based on a shared belief between his agency and sustainable business specialists CSR Asia that stakeholder engagement lies at the heart of CSR. Recent reports, most notably from Harvard Business Review and Financial Times, claim that CSR will increasingly be seen as a “public relations sham” and will face renewed budget pressure from any impending economic downturn.
FT columnist Stefan Stern predicts that CSR itself will rebrand around the concept of sustainability.
“Customers are generally unconvinced by the hype,” said Stern. “In the inevitable life cycle of management fads, CSR is now heading for the exit.”
VanderMolen did not disagree with the assessment, and pointed out that “too many companies operating in this region try to implement cookie-cutter CSR programmes from the US and Western Europe without examining the real needs and expectations of stakeholders on-the-ground. This leads to a significant waste of resources and little or no meaningful impact on the lives of stakeholders in communities.”
But VanderMolen also argued that engaging with the community in pursuit of profit is essential for businesses in Asia. “There is both risk mitigation and competitive advantage to be had by operating in a way that meets the needs of communities,” he said. “What you’re running into is a definition issue - where what you’re really talking about is sustainable business practices.”
