Is CSR a Dangerous Racket? Just Look at VW!

Many people have claimed that CSR is (often? always?) a form of window-dressing designed to distract us from corporate wrongdoing or at best indifference. The VW emissions scandal provides fodder for the latest version of this accusation. Of course, what the argument below lacks is any evidence that there’s a correlation between an organization’s emphasis on CSR and the wrongdoing from which CSR can often distract us. >>>

LINK: Corporate Social Responsibility has become a racket – and a dangerous one (by Matthew Lynn for The Telegraph)

… VW was also a global leader in “corporate social responsibility”. Its annual report was packed full of lovingly described projects it backed and charities it supported. It was a “thought leader” on dozens of different weighty issues, and a “change agent” for improving society. Globally, it was ranked as the 11th best company in the world for its corporate social responsibility work.

What that surely tells us is that CSR has become a racket – and a dangerous one. It allows companies to parade their virtue, and look good, while internal standards are allowed to slip…..

What do you think?

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