Quite recently, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme Achim Steiner, in an interview carried out by a scandinavian media source, recommended that the nations would use their power to help companies to prevent climate change.
Let's talk about tomorrow for a second. Steiner told how he believes that a prevailing idea has been existing, in which the winnings of the corporations driven by economic growth belong to the owners. At the same time however, natural disasters and pollution are causing evermore health issues globally. Issues that are left for the taxpayers and society to solve and pay for.
Steiner has a point. But, his vision of the the corporative world and the powers that move it are slightly obsolete. For years, companies and their leadership have been aiming for smaller carbon footprints. Most of them have even come to an understanding that the positive image of their companies is reinforced once they act proactively to fight against global warming related issues. This has of course been found to affect the purchase-behaviour of their clients positively. So yes, the CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs may cost vastly. But, they in the long run are likely to turn into an increased profit. Likewise, after a longer period, the bill to be paid by the company may be too much to take on and carry out.
Good examples for CSR based company models can be found all over in the lists of word-known brands, i.e. Ben and Jerry's which actively selling a cause instead of a product-led catalogue of services. People are not living in a consumption bubble. This kind of thinking was left in the 90s era. Nowadays, people have the option to buy into a good and relevant cause - without sacrificing the quality of the purchased service nor their personal beliefs.
Today, the strategies carried out by corporations and companies have a huge effect. However, the pressure is likely to be formed due to money. Now more that ever. Institutional investors are also likely to pay attention to the ethics of their behaviour more than before in order to carry out their work with dignity. If the success of a company is to be based partly on their CSR programs and the success of these, it is also obvious that the investors are more likely to invest in them. This created a strong loop in which one activity feeds the other and vice versa. So maybe the future is bright after all, regardless of the recent global events on this front.