One way we are aiming to create shared value
Each year, at Christmas time, we donate a proportion of our operating profit to our two chosen charities.
The decision to support charities was taken at the very outset of the formation of groupH. It’s simply something that we feel is the right thing to do, not just something to put in our Corporate Social Responsibility Document.
In fact, we’re of the opinion that CSR needs to be redefined, particularly as to what it means in terms of impact on local communities – of course a challenge for a global virtually organised company.
We very much agree with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter’s concept of Creating Shared Value.
Internationally renowned business thinker Professor Porter has raised a challenge to the modern model of capitalism. He believes that the disconnect between business and capitalism and society has grown.
“There’s been this shorter term view of how to create profitability and there’s also been this narrowing of what the responsibility of the company is” says Porter in an interview on BBC’s Global Business programme. With this disconnect has come a growing distrust in business, that CSR is failing to address in Porter’s view.
CSV is much more of a fundamental concept than CSR he explains.
“It’s not about doing stuff on the periphery. It’s not about supporting social causes. It’s not about philanthropic giving. It’s not about volunteer programs on the margin. It’s about re-examining your business itself from the perspective of trying to create profit in a way that actually meets social needs.”
The professor concludes that the competitiveness of a company and the health of the communities around it are mutually dependent, and that by focusing on what connects economic and societal progress, we can move towards a new phase of global growth.
At groupH, the idea of connectedness has always resonated with us. We are all connected in more than one way to our colleagues, clients and the communities we work in.
Our Corporate Responsibility Statement is the synthesis of personal mission statements from each member of the groupH core team. Our CSR is therefore a unique statement, one of shared values, specific to who we are and what we do as an organisation. It reflects our culture of shared values, how we assemble project teams, how we function within groupH, how we conduct our business, and our impact on society and the environment. It does not just define and drive what we do, but also reflects who we are and why we work together under groupH.
Our business does not exist only for its own sake. It seeks to look for ways to help reduce disease impact and burden on individuals and society. We support selected local charities with a percentage of our profits on an annual basis. We wanted our choice of charities to reflect this, and continue to find ways to further embrace CSV.
Want to Dig Deeper?
groupH Corporate Responsibility
Creating Shared Value
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00clcns/Global_Business_Professor_Michael_Porter/
