To answer the question of whether or not corporate social responsibility (CSR) does impact a firm's evaluation, panel experts at last week's "Business for Social
Responsibility" conference representing viewpoints from the London Stock Exchange; Goldman Sachs International; ABN-AMRO Bank; and Generation, a
private investment firm, resoundingly said, "Yes, it matters."
Remarked panelist Fred Stone, head of IR Solutions at the London Stock Exchange, "Eighty-four percent of the decision to invest in a company is based on non-financial
information."
CSR communications as it relates to Wall Street, social investment firms and asset owners ranging from individual investors to pension funds is oft overlooked in quarterly or
annual reporting. It doesn't fall often enough into the hands of CEOs or their PR staff to relate; thus, many firms go unprepared to communicate with consistency the management of
risks, transparency, and social and environmental functions, and to impact such risks as climate change, human rights, geopolitical and other environmental, social, and governance
(ESG) issues.
The premise is that, in the context of all other risks (country of operation, credit, etc.), companies that manage social and environmental risks do better over time. Francis
Condon, senior advisor at ABN-AMRO Bank (Amsterdam, Netherlands), said, "CSR managers, PR pros and officers of the company should understand the key drivers of the business and
the issues that affect it in relaying the overall feel for management quality that we're broadly looking for."
Yet most communication plans do not develop CSR media-analyst approaches and tactics or ways to prepare the CEO/CFO to be in the media eye. The financial-services field is
moving toward an evolution of long-term impacts, a more open culture and a review of non-financial -- as well as financial -- data in evaluations. They prefer audited "assurance"
of non-financial data.
Remember this: To prepare your CEO/CFO to answer the non-financial questions of their business on both the "buy" and "sell" sides of the financial-services industry, be
proactive in creating a dynamic approach for the unexpected.
Contact: Susan Nickbarg, SVN Marketing LLC, 301.588.6430, [email protected]