Frankly CSR

I must admit, when I started this blog last August, I was a little apprehensive about commenting on what other companies and industries are doing (or not doing) in the area of CSR, since I was writing the blog as a representative of my employer, Lawson.  While Lawson has a long history of being active in its communities and maintains a very strong employee code of conduct, like most companies, Lawson’s formal CSR programs are still evolving.  My objective has been to evaluate and comment on CSR news, trends and activities without implying that Lawson has perfected its approach to CSR. 

With Lawson’s announcement last week of a new global community service program, I thought it was a good time to talk a little more about what Lawson is doing in the area of CSR.  The community service program I just mentioned is intended to encourage every Lawson employee to use up to eight hours of company-paid work time during a year to volunteer for a community service activity. The program is designed to support Lawson employees who currently do various types of community service and to help motivate other employees to volunteer their time in their communities.  With approximately 4,200 employees around the world, the goal is that individually and collectively Lawson employees can have a positive impact in their communities.  

Lawson’s plan is for the community service program to become part of a broader CSR initiative that is expected to include a formal environmental program and sustainability reporting.  Lawson is already a stakeholder in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).  Over the last year we have become active in several of GRI’s sector activities for Lawson focus markets such as food processing and apparel and footwear.  As part of our GRI membership, we are in the process of formulating our own sustainability reporting approach. 

If you have followed my blog you also know Lawson has been focused on how it can help customers better manage their CSR programs using Lawson products (see posts from September 24, October 4, October 18, March 17).  It’s an area that is gaining momentum. 

Borrowing an old Nike advertising slogan, “there is no finish line.” This is particularly true when it comes to CSR. CSR is evolving and Lawson will continue to assess how it can make a difference.  

Jeff