T.J. Rodgers may be many things--tough taskmaster, Green Bay Packers fan--but reticent he is not. And if anything gets the pugnacious founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor talking, it's the notion that corporations ought to exist for more than the pursuit of profit. In the simplest terms, that idea--called corporate social responsibility, or CSR--invites companies to consider their impact on people and the planet on a par with their traditional quest for profit. Rodgers considers that bunk. Not that he opposes conscientious corporate conduct or occasional acts of charity. He's quick to point out that he and his company do quite a bit of both. "What I do criticize," he grumbles, "is the preachy and somewhat arrogant framework of philosophy that says, In order to be a good company, thou shalt do the following."
Rodgers isn't just being curmudgeonly. He and other critics believe that shareholders entrust managers with their investment solely to maximize long-term returns, not so those managers can use the proceeds to underwrite their urge to better the world. It is unclear how many of America's CEOs silently sympathize with Rodgers' views. But a large and rapidly growing number are neck deep in CSR initiatives, spending billions, tackling everything from AIDS in Africa to deforestation in Brazil. If anyone doubted that CSR has finally come of age in the U.S., they were probably set straight in October when Wal-Mart, the world's leading corporate bad guy in the eyes of a staggering range of social activists, claimed it had caught the bug. The $288 billion behemoth announced it would slash solid waste and greenhouse-gas emissions, invest $500 million a year in energy efficiency and offer better medical benefits to its 1.2 million U.S. employees. "We are going to do well by doing good," said CEO Lee Scott.
See full Article.
Posts
