Thanks for checking out The Changebase and for your thoughts!

And I love your idea that “value is derived from our ability to connect”! So true!

Thanks again for visiting The Changebase.

Great article. The value and impact of story is so often missed by corporations. Daniel Pink’s Whole New Mind really speaks to this. Value is derived from our ability to connect. We are living in a conceptual era.

I’d like to echo and enhance Elaine’s comment about how a story can demonstrate a company’s true understanding of sustainability. The more aligned the CSR work is with the core competencies of the company, the better that story will become and the results that come from it.

In addition, story creates attachment points for employee and community connection. It inspires people. Human beings are social creatures.

The interesting thing is that on some level, the whole point of CSR is about making companies more humane, or at least documenting attempts to to right.

The need for story and data lends well to the online CSR and interactive csr format. I wonder what would happen if online CSR reporting became like a wiki with interactive ability. In some respects this speaks to the discussions last Fall about whether CSR managers should blog.

Matthew Rochte
CSR/Sustainability Consultant
OpportunitySustainability.com

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, and for providing your own blog as a resource for learning about CSR reporting. I’ve used it many times as a reference myself!

Ideally everyone would be talking about these issues because they affect the business on so many levels (like you said, marketing campaigns, community investment, recruiting/HR etc). And yet I’m sure it’s easier said than done! My sense is that this is where the job of the CSR Director becomes about building relationships cross-functionally and making the case about the value of CSR on a business level. I can only imagine that this takes time, effort, and probably some real frustration. But it’s amazing and incredibly gratifying to be in a room with people (like in my experience that I wrote about above) where the light bulb goes on and suddenly – they get it!

Thanks as always for your thoughtful comments.

The report definitely serves a purpose (at least I hope it does, otherwise years of my career have been worthless!), but companies should remember to tell stories through other vehicles. Where in the marketing mix does it make sense to touch upon a sustainability program? How much should a company discuss community investment on its corporate website? What volunteer stories are appropriate for recruiting brochures?

I’m guilty of trying to bring stories to life through a traditional CSR report, but that’s because we often don’t have the relationships (or resources) needed to influence other communications pieces. But in my opinion, reporting should be only one piece of the communications puzzle!