Rabobank Group

29-1-2009 | CSR news

We are seeing a fierce evolution where corporate social responsibility is about building social capital and trust, but also about business model innovation, says co-founder of SustainAbility John Elkington.

Some banks are just going through the motions of sustainability. Elkington says, “You can’t just slap together a CSR department, draw up a basic, generic sustainability report and be taken seriously anymore.” Anybody can do that. Elkington says the public is becoming more skeptical and critical as poorly executed values show up in the markets and on balance sheets. 

Since 1978, Elkington has worked with leadership companies around the world. In 2004, BusinessWeek described John as ‘a dean of the corporate-responsibility movement for three decades.’ Fittingly, one of his websites is www.sustainability.com and he has authored The Green Consumer Guide. He is also credited with terms like ‘green consumer’, ‘green investor’ and ‘triple bottom line’, referring to companies who think about people, planet and profits. 

Lagging or leading
“No organisation is perfect. I’ve watched Rabobank for at least the last 10 years. As a rule, banks are conservative, and often lag rather than lead. As for financial institutions in the Netherlands who are committed to CSR, I see Triodos and Rabobank as being ahead of the herd,” says Elkington. “Rabobank is on the leading edge with strategic commitments in areas like food and agriculture. This is potentially a model for other financial institutions.” 

Taking issues to the client
“If Rabobank is serious about CSR, then these values have to cascade down and become priorities. It is no longer enough - if it ever was - to have a CSR department inside the HQ. Several banks that are now coming apart at the seams had such departments. CSR has to be systemic and carried through to working with clients,” advises Elkington.
In the next three to five years, Elkington predicts that risk and reputation management will be fundamental. Also, in the next few years, because of the economy, it’s inevitable that many banks will cut CSR budgets and be tempted to toss some sustainable issues to the back of the closet. 

Preserving reputation
“But this kind of strategy only weakens the defenses,” warns Elkington. “Paradoxically, history shows that cutting back on issues like safety, health care, and the environment potentially undermine a company's reputation, but also help drive the new issues even deeper into the core of the business.”

Market drivers are important, but markets don’t always move in the right direction. “Business leaders know that you have to be prepared to lobby governments for new policies and rules. We have seen some very interesting initiatives in areas like climate change and corruption, and it is likely that we will see many more,” says the sustainability consultant.

“Therefore, the message for business people is that as sustainability goes mainstream, simply protecting your own corporate flanks is not good enough anymore,” says Elkington.