Korean companies urged to upgrade CSR

Wayne Visser, an internationally-renowned corporate social responsibility(CSR) expert said Wednesday that companies need to change their traditional CSR concepts to more creative and transformative ways, which he named CSR 2.0.

The senior associate from Cambridge University said that it is time to create value and good governance through CSR activities.
“Value creation, good governance, social contribution and environmental integrity are key elements of CSR 2.0,” said Visser in a conference held in a Seoul hotel hosted by the Korea Social Responsibility Institute (KOSRI), a research center focusing on the issue.

The event was organized by Lee Jong-jae, former managing editor of the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, who opened the institute last November. “We plan to hold it annually,” Lee said, as part of efforts to increase Korean corporations’ contributions to overcoming the worsening wealth divide.

Visser said that companies have previously used CSR merely as marketing methods to promote themselves, but such an approach does not make sense anymore.

The expert took the example of British oil company BP.
“BP has promoted itself as ‘Beyond Petroleum,’ but it never has been beyond petroleum.”

BP suffered from a big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, which flowed unabated for three months. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.

Hans Kroder, another CSR expert, emphasized importance of the global standard of CSR, dubbed ISO 26000.
“We need to speak the same language for clear communication to internal and external stakeholders,” said Kroder at the conference.

The Dutchman said that the global standard will prevent unnecessary discussions and save time. He said that ISO 26000 was published in November 2010 after about 1,000 experts had worked on the standard.

Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo said that big companies can take part in CSR activities by sharing their profits with small- and medium-sized companies.

“I think companies can actively join CSR with profit-sharing programs, in which the government takes initiatives,” said Hong at the meeting.

The Lee Myung-bak government has focused on the profit-sharing scheme as part of its efforts to make a “fair society,” its economic agenda for equal economic growth.

Hundreds of guests attended the conference. Employees from global companies and college students were among those that filled a large ball room at the Hilton Hotel. Doosan Chairman Park Yong-maan and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik also joined the session.

In the afternoon, Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku shared his experience in CSR with participants. The Korean unit of New York-based Citigroup has led CSR activities in the nation through varied and creative programs. <Korea Times/Kim Jae-won>

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