Corporate Social Responsibility: Not An Easy Choice

I recently returned from a European trip that included a stay at London’s Halkin Hotel.  While there, I was amused  to see the name and content of one of the smoothies on the hotel’s breakfast menu.

The options included fairly standard combinations and bore typical fruity/tropical names.  The sole exception?  A blend called “Corporate Social Responsibility,”  which included an unlikely (and, to me, highly unappetizing) combination of such green vegetables as spinach and watercress, plus herbs.  The drink reminded me of the concoction that Catherine Banning (the character Renee Russo played in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair) slugged down each morning (famous line: “don’t ask what’s in it”).

Someone obviously had fun naming the Halkin’s CSR drink. The hotel’s breakfast clientele, which skewed heavily toward well dressed business people, probably appreciated the humor.  Even if you’re an ardent CSR supporter,  the idea of an unpleasant-sounding drink bearing the CSR name elicits a smile.

Nonetheless, the underlying message was unclear.  Perhaps it was something simple and straightforward like: “CSR:  green and good for you!”  More ambivalent possibilities also suggested themselves:   “CSR:  a very good thing, but not an easy choice,”  or perhaps “CSR: made from good stuff and well intentioned,  but hard to swallow.”  One’s views about CSR dictate the possibilities.

These musings led me to wonder whether the term “CSR” carries an unusual amount of negative baggage.  It’s clear that even some leaders in the field of business ethics avoid the term, preferring to use “corporate citizenship” instead.  Take, for example, Ben Heineman, the former Chief Legal Officer at GE, who now teaches at Harvard.  Heineman prefers to use “corporate citizenship” to CSR.  In his 2008 book, High Performance With High Integrity,  Heineman wrote that “corporate citizenship” offers a more useful framework than CSR for assessing the appropriate role of business in society.  Specifically, he feels that CSR advocates too often ignore or downplay the importance a company’s strong and sustained economic performance, and over-emphasize the interests of outside stakeholders.

What do you think?  Is the term CSR burdened by negative connotations?  Do you prefer to use “corporate citizenship” or another alternative? What would you make of a thick green beverage called “Corporate Social Responsibility?”

A closing note:  despite my strong professional interest in CSR, I  couldn’t bring myself to try the CSR drink.  For me, this particular formulation of CSR  just wasn’t palatable.

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