 |
|
|
Social Responsibility a Sure Bet for Business |
|
By Mario Osava*
LEAD:
"There is no contradiction between social responsibility and profitability,"
Oded Grajew, a leader of the Brazilian business world in favor of
sustainable development, tells Tierramérica
RIO DE JANEIRO - At 62, engineer Oded Grajew,
born in Israel but a naturalized Brazilian, is an icon of the progressive
business sector who has revolutionized the behavior of his fellow
entrepreneurs.
He heads the deliberative council of the Ethos Institute of Business
and Social Responsibility, which he founded in 1998 and whose "management
tools" -- indicators and guidelines -- serve a network of 18 similar
organizations in Latin America.
Former partner in a toy manufacturing company, he led several national
initiatives since the 1980s, like the PNBE (National Thought of
the Entrepreneurial Bases), the Abrinq Foundation for the Rights
of Children and Adolescents, initially linked to the Brazilian Association
of Toy Manufacturers (Abrinq), the Association of Entrepreneurs
for the Citizenry and the Ethos Institute. He was also founder of
the World Social Forum.
Tierramérica spoke by telephone with Grajew, who was in Sao Paulo
at the time.
TIERRAMÉRICA: Is social responsibility just a maneuver by businesses
to profit more?
GRAJEW: No, it's necessary to comply with it fully in order to obtain
its benefits. If a company promotes a bad product, in a short time
it loses its credibility and the dedication of its employees. Social
responsibility entered the logic of companies and the market due
to pressure from society, non-governmental organizations and trade
unions. The statistics show the correspondence between social responsibility
and profits. Furthermore, it's more work to cover up poor management
and the inherent risk. And if it comes out, it's explosive. There
are examples, like Enron in the United States and Parmalat in Brazil.
-- Do you think globalization runs counter to social responsibility,
by pushing competition to the extreme and by reducing costs, jobs
and labor rights?
-- Globalization increases those pressures, but everything is globalizing,
not just the economy: information, human rights, social networks.
Cases like Nike are emblematic, where they discovered child labor
exploited by its suppliers in Asia. The information was disseminated
globally, there was rejection of Nike shoes, and its stock market
prices fell. Globalization facilitated the public reaction. Curbing
rights also causes reactions, imposing limits. Danone in France
and Ford in Brazil had to reverse their massive layoffs, after boycotts
of their products. This is the same for trade unions, NGOs, government
and political parties.
-- Where does corporate social responsibility stand when it comes
to global warming?
-- Climate change puts everything in check. It requires urgent rethinking
of many things: the energy matrix, consumption limits, poverty,
inequality, lifestyle habits. Social responsibility also takes into
account the impact on future generations.
-- Would it be possible, for example, to do something for climate
change, similar to the campaign you promoted in Brazil against child
labor, in which companies would commit not to buy inputs from those
who are not working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or who deforest
the Amazon?
-- Certainly. For example, Ethos, Greenpeace and the leading European
consumer groups pressured the McDonald's restaurant chain, and convinced
the company and its suppliers -- the transnationals Cargill and
Bunge -- to pledge not to use soy produced from illegal deforestation
of the Amazon. Today there are Brazilian cities that have legislation
banning the purchase of non-certified (unsustainable) lumber for
use in public contracts.
-- Do environmental standards pose obstacles to companies, or do
they represent business opportunities?
-- Sustainable development is intended for future generations to
live better. It's foolish to say that environmental standards get
in the way of economic growth; it depends on what kind of growth
you want. Brazil grew a lot in the 20th century, but creating an
extremely unequal society. Unsustainable development expands the
physical infrastructure but exhausts the environment. In contrast,
sustainable development generates new business and jobs, as occurs
with solar and wind energy and biofuels.
-- What do you hope from the second term of Brazil's President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva?
-- That it will consolidate institutions that ensure a more just
society without relying on the good will of the government. Lula's
first term benefited the poor, generated formal employment and social
participation, but it's institutionally fragile. His successor could
change the path. It's essential to have reforms in order to recover
the credibility of politics, reduce the influence of economic power
in the elections and fight corruption. And a tax reform is needed
to create a more just system in which the poor pay lower taxes.
* Mario Osava is an IPS correspondent. |
