A Connection Too Strong to Ignore

What do Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, General Electric and Nokia all have in common?  If you said they are all among the top five global brands, you are correct.  If you said they all publish sustainability reports using the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Guidelines, you are also correct.

GreenBiz last week reported on a recent study by GRI that looked at the world’s top 100 brands, as ranked by Interbrand, and found 80 percent of the top 15 global brands publish sustainability reports using metrics developed by GRI. All of the top five brands mentioned above are included. This research adds to the rapidly growing list of reports I’ve seen connecting sustainability reporting and strong performance in the areas of brand, revenue, profitability and other key business measures.

This type of report will often elicit comments from observers such as, “Large, profitable companies can afford to undertake CSR initiatives and publish sustainability reports. That just isn’t practical for the rest of us.”  This implies that CSR became important only after the company became a global leader or as sustainability becomes more in vogue.  In almost all cases, that view is misguided.  

I know CSR has been a long-held core value for IBM. At Lawson’s Executive Forum (a conference for executives from our customer organizations) last March, we focused on the topic of CSR. We were fortunate to have IBM Vice President of Global Community Initiatives Paula Baker on hand to discuss the company’s CSR program. It’s a very impressive story. I would also point you to the March/April 2007 edition of CRO magazine, which had a cover story on IBM. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I should note that IBM is one of Lawson’s strategic partners but the reason I’m highlighting IBM is its commitment to sustainability.

It’s also important to note that sustainability reports are just a means of communicating with stakeholders. It’s the actual sustainability practices that ultimately have an impact.  While reporting can certainly help companies create a “green halo,” stakeholders will quickly see through reports that are not based on solid sustainability activities.

Jeff