Politicians have a role to play in CSR that extends far beyond introducing regulation, says Eric Biel
In discussions on the role of government in CSR, government is all too
often characterized as a heavy-handed regulator, allowing critics to
juxtapose the flexible and forward-looking mechanisms of voluntary
self-regulation. Such is the framing offered in the recent EP article by Conservative Party leader David Cameron under the rather dramatic heading ‘don’t allow CSR to become a state-led leftist agenda’.
To be sure, there is truth in some of what Cameron says. It is hard to
argue with his point that ‘the more that companies voluntarily adopt
responsible business practices, the more compelling the case for a
lighter touch on regulatory inspection and enforcement.’ Others,
notably Washington Post
columnist Sebastian Mallaby, take a different route to reach a similar
conclusion. Arguing that businesses are filling a void left by
government’s inability to address policy issues in areas such as labour
and environmental standards, Mallaby believes that the next stage ‘may
be for companies not merely to outpace government but to pull
government along’. Fair enough – but this greatly oversimplifies the
fact that government has quite varied roles to play in advancing CSR.
Consider the portfolio of Sweden’s ambassador for corporate social
responsibility, Elisabeth Dahlin, who both co-ordinates government
initiatives and helps promote best practice in the private sector. She
has used the Swedish Partnership for Global Responsibility to make CSR
a tool of her country’s foreign policy in a very pro-business manner.
Even in the US, where interest in government engagement is decidedly
cooler than in Europe, it is worth considering the many roles that
government has still managed to play. In terms of multi-stakeholder
initiatives like the Fair Labor Association and the Voluntary
Principles on Security and Human Rights, the US government has been
both initiator and incubator – helping keep alive efforts that face
strong opposition from some interests. The State Department has
convened different stakeholders and along with the Labor Department has
funded private sector-led projects, while the Agency for International
Development collaborates in public-private development partnerships.
And, as a new Democrat Congress slowly pays more attention to CSR, it
shows some interest in oversight through hearings and reports on which
mechanisms work and which fall short.
Certainly government could regulate in areas where voluntary approaches
are ineffective. But that is unlikely to be the starting point or
preferred route. For while the US Government has a lot of catching up
to do, its engagement more likely will focus on how to make voluntary
initiatives work better, saving regulation for genuine cases of ‘market
failure’.
Eric Biel is managing director of corporate responsibility at Burson-Marsteller in Washington, DC
