I took last week off, but today I want to wrap up the final chapter in IBM’s The Enterprise of the Future (a steady Saturday feature since July 12; be sure and download your free copy)

Chapter Five is called Genuine, Not Just Generous and refers to “an emerging generation of socially minded customers, workers, partners, activists and investors” who are demanding—through their wallets and their feet—a new commitment and level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from companies.

It’s not an accident that three of the nine drivers that continually moved higher over the last three surveys are all part of CSR—socioeconomic factors, environmental issues and people skills—CSR reputation is critical to attract and retain scarce talent.

According to one electronics CEO, “Corporate identity and CSR will play an important role in differentiating a company in the future;” one consumer products CEO said “Consumers will increasingly make choices based on the sources of the products they buy, even the ingredients and processes used in making these products.”

But, like a leopard, these corporations are having problems changing their spots, “They’re very interested in new product and service opportunities for socially aware customers, however, transparency is not currently a top priority.”

Still, “CSR investments will grow by 25 percent, which is faster than the other trends…”

There are five key points to CSR

• “Understands CSR expectations;
• informs but does not overwhelm;
• starts with green;
• involves NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) as part of the solution;
• makes work part of making the world a better place.”

and five key questions you need to ask yourself

• “Do you understand your customers’ CSR expectations? How are you involving them in solutions?
• Do you know which NGOs your customers listen to and are you collaborating with those groups?
• Have you gained insights from current green initiatives that can be applied to your broader corporate social responsibility strategy?
• Are you offering employees the opportunity to personally make a difference?
• How do you ensure that actions taken throughout the enterprise — and the extended value chain — are consistent with your CSR values and stated policies?”

Finally, “The CEO s we spoke with are upbeat — not just about opportunities for their organizations (important as that is), but also about a bright future for business and society.”

Are you?

Your comments—priceless

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Image credit: nookiez   CC license