The Business Case Against Employee Volunteering?

Our recent blog series, The Business Case for Employee Volunteering, has proven to be popular with our readers. We wrote the series because we knew that CSR managers wanted good information and research to demonstrate the value to the company generated by these programs.

But what happens when you're not quite convinced that these types of programs should have a business case at all? Maybe corporate responsibility has its place, but the idea of doing good and making a profit shouldn’t get all mixed up together.

If you’ve been looking for some hard-nosed critical debate on the actual value of corporate citizenship strategies and sustainability programs, I suggest checking out next week's COMMIT!Forum in NYC on September 26^th.

Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the New York Stock Exchange are hosting an Oxford-style debate on "whether shareholder value is eroded or enhanced when companies integrate sustainability strategies and pursue corporate responsibility initiatives.” Two teams will take their best shot at presenting compelling arguments and offering their strongest rebuttals.

Here’s a bit more information to help you decide whether to buy that plane ticket and join the debate:

Is sustainability sustainable for the bottom line? If corporate responsibility programs erode or reduce returns, why do companies pursue them? On the other hand, if they are profitable, why do executives and CFOs steer away from these valuable strategies?

The team arguing that “shareholder value is eroded by sustainability and corporate responsibility” is Gerry Sullivan, Portfolio Manager of the VICE Fund (ticker: VICEX – www.usamutuals.com) and Dr. Aneel Karnani, PhD, from the University of Michigan and author of "The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility,” published in The Wall Street Journal. 

“In general, the capital markets reward companies that exceed expectations and shareholders benefit from that success.   I have only seen anecdotal evidence that sustainability enhances shareholder value. Of 11 selected ‘Green Funds’ only 2 have one-year performance better than the S&P 500. It will be difficult to show that sustainability has sufficient evidence compared to the everyday markets that are hyper-efficient and serve the best interest of investors,” said Sullivan,  developer of the NASDAQ OMX Industry Leaders Index.  A former Salomon Bros. corporate finance analyst and O'Connor & Associates options trader, Sullivan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Columbia University.

“As society faces many large challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, pervasive poverty, and disease epidemics, a critical issue is determining the appropriate roles for business and government in addressing these problems. This debate will explore the arguments about the role of business in society,” said Karnani, associate professor of strategy at the University of Michigan; and the author of Fighting Poverty Together. Karnani holds a doctorate from Harvard Business School as well as an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and a B.A. from the Indian Institute of Technology.

The team advocating that “shareholder value is enhanced by sustainability and corporate responsibility” includes R. Paul Herman, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of HIP Investor Inc. (www.HIPinvestor.com), and Dr. Vinay Nair, chief investment officer of Ada Investments (www.adainvestments.com) and Associate Professor at the Columbia Business School.

“We will show that investors have the potential to enhance their upside and limit their downside when investing for positive change,” said Nair, CEO and CIO of the New York based Ada Investment Management LP and adjunct associate professor at the Columbia Business School. The co-author of Investing for Change and a Senior Fellow at The Wharton School, Nair holds a doctorate from NYU’s Stern School and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras.

“This spirited, but civil, debate will put front-and-center the real value of business to society and the potential for more profitable and lower-risk investor portfolios from the implementation of sustainability,” said Herman. The author of The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World and a lecturer at The Presidio Graduate School (MBA) and Thammasat Business School (Thailand), he holds a B.Sci in Economics from Wharton.

The event will be held Sept. 26-27 at the Javits Center in Manhattan, a global investment hub. You can find out more information here - http://www.commitforum.com/

If you do plan on attending, you can get a 20% discount. Just use this code JARVIS20 when registering.

Since I can't make it this year - you have to promise to keep me up to date on twitter! I'll be looking for you.


At Realized Worth, we work with major corporations to design and implement strategic volunteer programs. Give us a call to chat about how we can help you: 317.371.4435 or contact Chris or Angela at chrisjarvis@realizedworth.com or angela@realizedworth.com

The Business Case Against Employee Volunteering?