The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility
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CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A THESIS Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Economics and Business The Colorado College In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Arts By Peder McDermott Johansen May/2009 CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA TIONS: THE EVOLUTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Peder McDermott Johansen May,2009 Economics Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the factors that motivate companies to partner with NGOs on the issue of climate change. In investigating these factors several appear to motivate companies to take action: cost savings, brand image, and altruistic motivations. Climate change has the ability to change the way we live and the global landscape. It is important to understand the factors that cause business to take action on climate change so that we can help to slow or reduce the intensity of climate change. I investigate six companies, three who are actively partnering with NGOs (Lafarge, Nike, and Starbucks) and three who are not (Boeing, Costco, and Weyerhaeuser) to determine what factors motivate these companies to either take action or not. KEYWORDS: (Climate Change, Corporate Social Responsibility, NGO) ON MY HONOR, I HAVE NEITHER GIVEN NOR RECEIVED UNAUTHORIZED AID ON THIS THESIS Signature TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... .. II. THEORy...... ............................................................................ 5 Corporate Social Responsibility.. ... ... ...... .. ... ... ... ... .. ..... ... .. .. .. .. ... 6 Stakeholders.................................................................... .... 6 Development of CSR ................... , . .. .. .. ... ... .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .... 7 Profitability of CSR. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ... .. ... ...... 9 CSR and the Environment....................................................... 11 Business Partnerships.................................................................... 12 NGOs............................................................................... 12 Climate Change and Business.................. ................................. 13 Green Alliances. 14 III. BACKGROUND.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. ... ... 18 The Environmental Defense Fund.................................... .................. 18 WWF Climate Savers... ... ................................. ..................... .......... 21 The World Business Council for Sustainable Development........................ 24 United States Climate Action Partnership............................................. 26 Ceres......... ............ ...... ... .... ..... .................. .............................. 28 Company Profiles....................................... ........................... ...... 29 Starbucks........................................................................... 29 Nike................................................... .............................. 32 Lafarge.................................................................... ............ 33 Boeing.............................................................................. 34 Costco............. ........ .................. ........................ ............... 35 Weyerhaeuser. .................... 35 IV. ANALySIS.................................................................... ............... 37 Methodology. 37 Data............... ...... ... ... ...... ......... ......... ... ...... ... .... ..... ... .... ... ........ 38 Carbon Disclosure Project........................ .................... ......................... 39 Starbucks................................................................................... 46 Nike.......................................................................................... 47 Lafarge............ ... ...... ... ... ............ ......... .................................. .... 48 Boeing..................................................................... ....................... 50 Costco................................................................................... .... 51 Weyerhaeuser.......................................................................... .... 52 V. CONCLUSION............................................................................ 54 SOURCES CONSULTED... ....................................................................... 58 LIST OF TABLES 3.1 EDF MAJOR CORPORATE PARTNERS AND PROJECTS.................. 20 3.2 23 COMPANIES IN THE CLIMATE SAVERS PROGRAM ..................... 3.3 COMPANY GOALS FOR THE CLIMATE SAVERS PROGRAM...... ..... 23 3.4 NOTABLE COMPANIES PARTNERING WITH THE WBCSD............. 26 3.5 USCAP MEMBER COMPANIES. .. ... ...... ... ... ... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .... 27 3.6 USCAP NGO MEMBERS........................................................ .... 27 3.7 NOTABLE COMPANIES OF THE 83 PARTNERING WITH CERES...... 28 4.1 KEY TERMS....................................................................................... 38 4.2 CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT SURVEY RESPONSES................ 40 4.3 OCCURRENCES OF KEY TERMS IN COMPANY DOCUMENTS ......... 41 4.4 AVERAGE KEY TERM OCCURRENCE PER THOUSAND WORDS.. .... 42 4.5 OCCURENCES OF KEY TERMS BY COMPANy............................. 44 4.6 OCCURENCES OF KEY TERMS PER THOUSAND WORDS BY COMPANy .............................................................................. 45 4.7 ANAL YSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (STARBUCKS)......... ................................................ ...... ......... 46 4.8 ANAL YSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (NIKE)....... 47 4.9 ANAL YSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (LAFARGE) 48 4.10 ANALYSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (BOEING) ... 50 4.11 ANALYSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (COSTCO)... 51 4.12 ANAL YSIS OF HOW SOME KEY TERMS BREAK DOWN (WEyERHAEUSER)............................................................... ... 52 LIST OF FIGURES 3.1 IMPORTANCE OF TOPICS COVERED IN STARBUCKS 2006 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT........................... 31 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Climate change is problem that all of humanity is facing today. Scientists have been able to use ice core samples to look at the concentration of CO2 and the temperature of the earth going back over 400,000 years. In their findings the concentration of CO2 had never exceeded 300 parts per million (PPM) CO2. However, currently the average atmospheric concentration of C02 is 380 PPM. This leads scientists to believe that the climate change that we are seeing is from anthropogenic causes. "Scientists predict that if the increase in greenhouse gas emissions continues unabated, temperatures will rise by as much as }0 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century, potentially causing dramatic-and irreversible---changes to the climate."} It is speculated that as the earth's temperature increases, glaciers on Antarctica and Greenland will melt causing sea level rise. This will have dramatic effects on many low lying areas and coastal cities, causing the destruction of infrastructure and millions of people to become refugees. This will also have the effect of destroying the habitat of many different species of plants and animals. As ocean temperatures rise, it is possible that large storms will become more powerful and destructive. We may also see changes in rainfall patterns; this could have I Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "Climate Change 101: Overview." Available from http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/Climatel 0 1-0verview-lan09.pdf. Internet; accessed 30 April 2009. 2 the effect of leaving cities without an adequate supply of water and changing the growing regions for the world's crops. Much of this is speculation since scientists have not been able to create models that take into account all aspects of climate change, but the future seems bleak if no change is taken. In July of2008 Al Gore gave a speech in Washington D.C. where he called for 100% renewable electric power in the United States (U.S.) by 2018: To those who say 10 years is not enough time, I respectfully ask them to consider what the world's scientists are telling us about the risks we face if we don't act in 10 years. The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis. 2 Of the U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2006, electricity generation makes up 32%, transportation makes up 28%, and Industry makes up 20%.3 Mr. Gore's call to change implies that all sectors from business to government are needed to work together to accomplish this aggressive program and can help promote change within other sectors. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have the ability to bridge the gap between government inaction on climate change and work directly with the companies emitting greenhouse gases to develop action plans and work to address the issue on a voluntary basis. This model has been effective with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) cement project where eighteen companies worked to understand the issues their industry faces on climate change. These companies have 2 Environment News Service "INSIGHTS: A Generational Challenge to Repower America." Available from http://www.ens-newswire.com!ens/juI200S/200S-07-1S-insgore.asp. Internet;