The shift from

CR 1.0 to 2.0 – the UK horizon

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN THE WORLDOF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

DIRECTIONSSUPPLEMENT

JUNE/JULY 09

CUSTOMISED

REPORTING

Our 2008 Directions report examined some othe really tough sustainability issues hitting theagendas o businesses and the media. Salterbaxteridentied a trend in CR communications withcompanies operating in a state o CR 1.0,something that we categorised as a housekeepingapproach to corporate responsibility. Businessesare working hard to identiy, monitor and managekey environmental and social impacts – but thencoming to a halt, or not tackling the ‘elephantin the room’.In the current climate, where businesses areexpected to be more accountable or theirimpacts in the economic crisis, issues such asenergy security and globalisation sit rmly underthe heading o corporate sustainability – and herea housekeeping approach is just not good enough.Stakeholders demand or their issues to beaddressed and businesses need to communicatetheir stance on complex challenges. This is thenext step we have identied in sustainability:the shit rom CR 1.0 to 2.0.Here we’ve looked at ten o the most responsibleUK companies, those that are platinum ranked byBusiness in the Community*. These leaders havethorough, robust programmes in place already.But what are their communications refecting?Does the reader go away with a sense o whatissues are a priority and why? We based ourresearch on external communications, a marko whether businesses are condent enoughto talk about their views and prioritise theirbig issues as an organisation.The questions we asked…

Is the business showing signs o embeddingcorporate responsibility and sustainabilityinto its strategy and articulating where itsees the business value?Is the business engaging eectively withstakeholders?Does the business work through a materialityprocess to defne and prioritise issues?

What this review is not doing… This is not acritique on business conduct. Our aim is tond clarity in approach and look at how thisis articulated.

Dan Holmes

Head o CRsalterbaxterdholmes@salterbaxter.com

*The BITC CR Index is a benchmarking tool that assessesand compares responsible business behaviour, moredetails can be ound at www.bitc.org.uk

‘Leaders’ should be leading the way. So are these companies putting into focus the issues that matter most to their stakeholders? And is there clarity in their approach?Welcome to the June/July 2009 edition of Directions Supplement.

Following on rom our Directions 2008 report, which identied the Europeancompanies making the shit rom CR 1.0 to 2.0, we now reveal a snapshot oUK CR leaders*. CR 2.0 is the move rom CR housekeeping to communicatingthe issues that matter most. In the current business climate many are questioninghow corporate responses to key ethical and environmental issues will are.Will the recession shit ocus away rom corporate responsibility or will CR be adriving orce or recovery? One thing is or sure, those companies that successullyarticulate how they have embraced their more complex issues are leading theeld in CR communications.

Directions Supplement

June/July 09

ECONOMIC

2.0

Barclays has broadened its ocus rom corporateresponsibility to sustainability. The desiredintention being to identiy and manage theimpacts o most signicance to stakeholdersacross the entire group and ensure that impactmanagement is embedded into businesspractices. The 2008 Sustainability Report isbased on thorough stakeholder identicationand materiality assessments. Equally, the deptho commitment to issues tackled is impressive.However, while the approach is thorough –both in terms o identiying issues o importanceto stakeholders as well as through provision oexamples o work undertaken – it is at timestoo selective. More examples regarding howthe company responds to eedback (particularlynegative) would be useul. This would have beenparticularly apt or demonstrating responses tocriticism o the nancial sector on the topic o theeconomic crisis.Nonetheless Barclays is a CR 2.0 leader –stakeholders are at the heart o its sustainabilitystrategy. The number o case studies or eachissue is notable. However, better use o onlinetools should be a priority as currently the ormatdoes not do the content justice.

Barclays

The aviation sector is acing signicantchallenges. Can this inherently dicult industrykeep afoat, manage its impacts and transormits operations? Long used to tackling problematicissues, such as noise pollution, BAA doesnot appear to have adapted its corporateresponsibility reporting to ully refect the enlargedscale o its impacts. Whilst the 2008 corporateresponsibility report does explore Heathrow’scontribution to the UK economy and airportexpansion, it does not put orward a trulyconvincing case or its continued growth.An engaging online campaign using socialmedia that conronts the questions in anopen and honest ashion would better inormengagement, opening up ongoing two-waydialogue channels with stakeholders aroundthese sensitive issues. As a company constantlyin the public eye – due both to the scale o itsimpacts and the intractable issue o airportexpansion – managing public perception andengaging with the right groups is vital to thelong-term sustainability o its operations.At present its eorts do not adequatelymeasure up to the size o the challenge.Highly scrutinised and highly regulated,it needs to upgrade communications to engagewith stakeholders in a more meaningul way,so BAA is stationary at CR 1.0 or now.

BAA

1.0

For the second year running, Co-operativeFinancial Services has integrated its CR reportinginto a group-wide Sustainability Report. This isa combined approach to reporting done well –all too rare at corporate group level. It is splitinto three main areas – social, ecological anddelivering value. For example, in the socialsection ethical nance initiatives sit logicallyalongside ethical supply chain measures andcommunity involvement. The only caveatbeing that the document is not supportedby a compelling online presence – a missedopportunity considering the detail and leadershipdemonstrated. The ‘warts and all’ approachis at times too dense – i only or the amounto ground covered, which could detract romdierent stakeholder group experiences. Outsideo its report, its campaigns such as ‘Plan Bee’aimed at helping to save the honey bee, arewell supported with online videos and engagingmaterial – demonstrating how its values runthrough the company.Co-operative has made the shit to CR 2.0,due to a ormula and group-level approach thatdemonstrates how each aspect o its businessis led by the same values. Whilst its membershipsite is well populated with ethical campaigns,its corporate site could improve the accessibilityo inormation contained in the report or directstakeholders to the relevant inormation.

Co-operative Financial Services

2.0