1. Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility
Chair: Anastasios Xepapadeas, Professor Athens University of Economics and Business, Fellow Beijer Institute, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Spyros Lioukas, Professor Athens University of Economics and Business
PHOEBE

2. CSR AND CLIMATE CHANGE Business activity affects climate
E.g. emissions, resource use (materials, energy, water), technology choices in operations
Choices in the value chain (suppliers, clients)
Company specific - polluting sectors
An array of indicators in standard CSR metrics
E.g. in the GRI, CRI, in Thompson Reuters ESG
A pillar in UN Compact / goals, in EC directives, in the WBCSD

3. DO FIRMS RESPOND? An old question, with new answers Main motives
Dominant impression: Firms comply reluctantly, or superficially
Selecting issues with public relations impact
But a few take substantive initiatives
Main motives
For social legitimacy mainly - they cannot ignore the risk of moral sanctions
Others find net benefits in building a pro-social profile

4. CONFIDENCE IN THE CORPORATION IS ERODING
Trust is low
Eurobarometer 2013: Only 53% of citizens believe that companies make efforts to behave in socially responsible ways (as against 67% in USA)
Many perceive businesses as the problem
Behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways, at the expense of the community
Trying to be “below the radar” or evading environmental regulations, or “washing up”

5. What Citizens want?: Global Expectations
Q: Most Important Factor when forming an impression of a company
Don’t know
Environmental practices
Brand quality/ reputation
Labor practices
Responsibility to broader society
Economic contribution
Source: and Global CSR Monitor Environics, conducted among General Public in 20 countries

6. THE COMMPETITIVENESS IMPERATIVE
Corporations exist to create economic returns, not to solve social problems
Competitiveness is the natural makeup of the corporation
“Social” can exist if it can be supported by economics –resources are limited
E.g. addressing consumers who appreciate extra environmental attributes in the product is, in many cases, sustainable

7. CSR PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES
For joint value creation, shared SOCIAL + ECONOMIC VALUE
By addressing some social issues with modifications in the business model, or with new business models
How? Through dialogue with communities on strategic issues
By engaging stakeholders, including NGOs - not only consumers
Focusing the dialogue on strategic issues (“materiality” principle)
benefits come through learning and innovation

8. FROM ECONOMIC TO SHARED VALUE CREATION
Depart from the conventional view of CSR
Donations and philanthropy have reached their limits – isomorphism gives no further competitive advantage
They are peripheral, not touching the core of the business model
Opening business definition and thinking by integrating social issues
Re-invent the business for the needs of customers and communities
E.g. differentiation through “green innovation” (e.g. Body Shop before 2006, Apivita, Kores)

9. Traditional view: elevates economic value defending a given business model
Profitability
HIGH
Social,
Enployment
LOWER
Environmental,
Ecological
(MORE RECENT)
LOWER
LATE

10. Towards an integrated view: new ways to create shared value
Profitability
Social,
Human
Environment
Opens new mental maps, business models
Innovation is the key

11. An opportunity for the future
Companies have a lot to do
To overtake misconceptions about CSR / sustainability
Moving beyond CSR as something external to the business model, a public relations exercise
They do not know how to internalize it in the business model
It is an evolutionary path with shared benefits

12. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR SHARED VALUE CREATION
Integrate stakeholders
Is dialogue institutionalized? (e.g. ELPE)
Be authentic, put the core of the business model in the dialogue
Do we focus on materiality issues?
Do we “walk the talk” ? Avoid hypocrisy?
Recognize strategic opportunities
Search for new ideas, innovations
E.g. product features that communities want, new market segments, smart buying win-win with suppliers

13. KEY POINTS
Sustainability opens opportunities for shared value creation, social and economic
it can provide competitive / sustainable business models
Embed sustainability into business strategy
“All successful strategies in the future will have a societal dimension” ( M. Porter, HBS)