Investing in CSR activities, particularly in tough economic times, will help boost revenues and reduce costs through the ups and downs of business cycles, said business leaders on the second day of the International Singapore Compact CSR summit.
Cerebos vice president, group corporate affairs and investor relations Daniel Quek said at the second day of the two-day conference that the company’s move into CSR was borne out of a strategy to be recession proof, which in turn helped it survive the shock of financial crisis.
Cerebos is the owner of the popular Essence of Chicken brand, other health supplements and now coffee and sauces.
Through CSR, Cerebos aims to enhance its corporate image which will strengthen it’s various brands, said Mr Quek.
Cerebos’s CSR activities are centred on its people, he added, as the firm believes firmly in engaging its employees. Cerebos also hopes to identify its future leaders through CSR initiatives.
Some examples of these initiatives include an integrated “wellness program” led by an internal wellness committee. The idea is for staff to work hard but also to be happy in their personal lives, he said. A grounds-up committee approach has led to high participation rates in CSR activities, and high engagement in their work.
Mr Quek added that by meeting employee’s needs and ensuring they have a career progression, they become more engaged with the company. He noted a recent example of Cerebos staff raising over $30,000 at recent community event and also highlighted the company’s “Hope in a Bottle” initiative, which worked with Habitat for Humanity to encourage recycling.
Beyond consumer businesses, even those in the heavy industries take CSR seriously, said Mr Martijn A. van Koten, VP Manufacturing Operations East, Shell Eastern Petroleum.
Shell is particularly focused on what they call sustainable development, given the world’s energy constraints even as demand for resources is growing. The firm is investing with strategic partners to develop sustainable products, he said.
Shell is also aiming for zero incidents across their operations. While there have been many safety incidents across the industry in the past five years, the firm has reduced its incident rates, he added.
Focusing on CSR also “lowers operational and financial risks” as it makes business operations more efficient, said Mr van Koten, though he acknowledged that “the journey is difficult but a continuous effort”.
Ms Kim Faulkner, founder and chief executive of Activiste who also spoke at the summit gave a different take on CSR. She believes that “branding will be the only unique differentiator between companies” and CSR has a strong link with branding, she added.
“The way we think about ourselves, about our society also affect us emotionally. This can be a very powerful motivator in “changing the way people think”, she said.
She cited The Body Shop as an example of a company that has distinguished itself as a brand through its CSR initiatives.
Body Shop founder, Anita Roddick, was a true leader in taking CSR to a global level, said Ms Faulkner.
“She proved that you can have a negative opinion in the industry that you’re in”. In the 1980s, Anita saw business as an opportunity to work for the common good, and this still arguably continues today”.
In Asia, she talked about BTPN, the Indonesian bank the started as a pensioner’s bank. BTPM was recently bought by private equity firms TGP. They are now focusing on retail banking and micro-financing.
Ms Faulkner said the firm’s senior management was “almost fanatical about this move towards the positive impact of micro-financing”.
For BTPN, just as for Cerebos and Shell, boosting “employee engagement” is a core reason for investing in CSR activities. The speakers agreed that this will lead eventually to bottom-line benefits and stability, particularly during tough economic times.
Eco-business.com’s coverage of the International Singapore Compact CSR summit is thanks to City Developments Limited (CDL).
