(September 29 – 09:30 ET) – It’s not enough for businesses to operate within the law, says Christopher Pinney, director of the Imagine Program, an organization which promotes corporate philanthropy. Pinney made his remarks yesterday in Toronto at a session of the annual conference of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.
Companies such as MacMillan Bloedel, Shell and Nike have learned that perceived breaches of human rights or environmental ethics can become public relations disasters, says Pinney. And they can hurt a company’s bottom line. Companies should build ethical practices into their mandates.
A recent poll indicated that 75% of Britons believe it is important for corporations to be active in the community, he says, adding, social responsibility is important to shareholders too. An Angus Reid poll conducted in 1998 showed that 63% of shareholders in public companies believe corporations have a responsibility to donate to society through charities. Only 61% of non-shareholders hold this view.
Pinney emphasized that it is important for the investment industry to embrace the new order of corporate ethics. “Corporate Social Responsibility is not a cost. It is an asset,” he said.
“Responsible companies to better.” Pinney contends that there is more demand for corporate social responsibility in portfolios, and that the mutual fund industry will benefit by investing in “reputation assurance,” a new corporate theory that deals with corporate social responsibility.