For many years now in the food industry we hear and read about Social Accountability & Responsibility, these terms are not so new to us as they where several years ago. Buzz words are common in many sectors and have been used for many decades within most large corporate organisations and beyond. In today’s business world most if not all major international organisations have allocated budget for Social Accountability & Responsibility, yet many people who are expected to stand by the terms and the consumers come to that really can’t define or explain the definitions or simply have no idea what they mean to the company or the individual.
The definitions for these keywords are and actually mean something very different to many of us, it could be a breakfast feeding programme, or a rain harvesting system design being built into a new building yet all under the same generic terms and headings.
One of the common themes is the overall term “Stewardship” when i first came across the concept of Social Accountability & Responsibility it was alien and one that in my own mind i had very little interest or understanding, it caused several heated board level discussions at our corporate Head office where all of those involved all had there own unique dynamic understanding regarding both definitions. These definitions had to be shaped into a corporate direction for the company to be at the leading edge of the baking industry at the time.
Everyone recognised the need to be at the cutting edge, the issue was how to achieve the desire and need come to that.
Once we at the board level had reach some form of agreement and buy in the next challenge was potential even more difficult for us a global business and was a challenge as we had to gain our employee’s confidence, buy-in and support otherwise without the correct engagement it was never going to happen for us a company, and this was a global requirement we wanted to be a market sector leader otherwise failure was inevitable like it or not.
After several sessions back in our global regions where we operated, it was really interesting to compare notes of the different views for various parts of the world as to the definitions and potential projects each region had reached, it was very different. However within each region each facility had a similar thought process.
Some years have passed, my own views have been changed and my engagement is far higher than i would have ever thought from where it was at the very beginning. I recycle at home, turn water taps off to save water, and often i am found switching lights off as part of my efforts. From my personal prospective to be able to look back and see the change i am doing my part to save the world for my future families generations in a small way.
What i do take away today when i think about this important topic is that the major international food manufactures still seem to be struggling to focus and many not all with actually only connect on small areas of there own business operations.
Major international food manufacturers have the ability to spend millions of dollars per year in specialised areas of the their own businesses, actually it could be said that the reality is they are only focussed on generating savings with new and lean manufacturing practices, methods or operating leaner manufacturing practices. These are some of the benefits and should not be dismissed but do they really answer the whole thought process regarding Social Responsibilty and accountability? personally i am not so sure industry views the benefits in this way.
So in short your corporate definitions need to be measurable with SMART targets. I would suggest have a spread of benefits from those targets chosen, which encompass as many areas as possible.
As an example of social responsibility for the employee and the company we deployed many methods, here is an example of just one thats a win / win for the company.
Most international companies face issues in communicating with overseas facilities due to languages between the corporate parent and the local business. As a company we used to offer English lessons and private tutoring to our administration staff and surprisingly this was popular even in “France”.
In another country we supported several local orphanages and Children’s hospitals, there are many ways off ensuring your social responsibilities are actionable in the local communities as well as other corners of the world as an international business, its not only about economic benefits.
Key to all of this being successful is really the engagement of your staff in all area’s and the correct targets you set for your organisation, wether it be environmental stewardship, water conservation, energy conversation or the support of local schools programmes or Technical schools define your programmes, more importantly define targets that can be achieved and when you do, celebrate don’t be shy or humble, the achievement for all concerned can be and will be a great motivator for further future successes.
