Critical Analysis of CSR

Question: Some critics of CSR claim it is little more than greenwashing; to what extent do you agree or disagree? Answer: Introduction: As stated by Alves (2014), with greater embracement on the green products and services, several corporate bodies have been found to litigate their marketing plans surrounding false and misleading environmental marketing approach. This means of marketing activity has been popularly termed as greenwashing that merges the concept of green (environmentally sound) and whitewashing (concealing the wrongdoing) as an approach to marketing. A greenwasher is a firm that selectively discloses the good news and retains the bad news. As argued by Bazillier and Vauday (2015), CSR activities carried on by major Companies are more like an iceberg; it is invisible to a large extent. These activities are often targeted to attempt corporate domination rather than a simply defensive image management activity. Eco-friendly products, organic and natural components are the common misleading terms that major companies use to portray an eco-friendly nature of the products that they manufacture and sell (Parg uel et al. 2012). Emergence of Greenwashing Practices: Greenwashing is not something new in practice but evidences suggest that these malpractices have its root in the 1970s when there was emergence of environmental movements (Alves 2014)). It was during that time, that many companies started misleading consumers stating that the products or services offered by them are environmental friendly. In this respect, Mahoney et al. (2013) pointed out that by realizing the beneficial impact of the greenwashing CSR activities, many companies often opt for increasing the investment on these practices. Mahoney et al. (2013) also revealed certain evidences that a corporate body can easily undertake a reputation strategy to cover up the unusual or other things that might create a bad reputation against the company. These evidences have been getting highlighted easily because consumers have become more conscious about the activities and at the same time, the media has become aware and ready to highlight any kind of misleading situation that a corporat e organization can perform. Corporate Social Responsibility and advertisement are the strategic complements that major corporate houses use to create a sustainability approach towards the society. In the view point of Parguel et al. (2012), the corporate responsibilities towards the society and the environment have resulted in greenwashing due to certain identified unusual suspects towards the CSR practices. These practices, if considered from the perspective of economic benefits, have helped many companies to make good amount of money. As stated by Tsagas (2012), CSR activities also act as a means of communication for the corporate organizations. Advertisements and CSR activities are carried on to improve the reputation of the companies. In order to support this fact, taking a wrong approach and spreading misinformation by communication is a common scenario. Therefore, CSR and green communication are usually used by the firms as a strategic tool to achieve their goals. Theoretical Approaches Towards Greenwashing CSR Activities: Visser (2012) commented the greenwashing practices have changed to a large extent and the practitioners have been found to use new and better techniques to deliberately hide the unwanted consequences and send non-verifiable information to mislead the consumers. A theoretical framework suggests that there are two levels of communication: the cue, which are the non-verifiable information and the other are the hard news which can be verified by the consumers in lieu of certain expenses. According to, Visser (2012) in the first cue, the firm is found to disclose the information to the public without any sort of greenwashing and by not investing in much in disclosing the information to the consumers. However, in case of other form the firm has to invest and filter the evidences to a great extent in order to create a good image among the consumers. The EU Takeover Directive towards the inclusion of socially responsible behavior of major organizations to create a safeguard firm towards the corporate control. It was under this provision that the corporate activities of the organizations were held under adequate observation (Tsagas 2012). In addition to this, detailed analysis of the economic benefits and other determinants will be analyzed and then if needed proper alteration of the activities shall also be made. The commission reported that the corporate bodies have to perform certain social responsibilities towards the society that would not only benefit the particular enterprise but also the society where it operates (Tsagas 2012). The activities should not only benefit the shareholders of the organization but the consumers as well. Evidences of Greenwashing Activities: A recent case has been highlighted in California where major water manufacturing companies were accused on the use of the water bottles. The bottles were claimed to be biodegradable and recyclable but the truth was revealed very soon (Mahoney et al. 2013). Another such issue was highlighted from Cadbury as well. The Chocolate Company is well known for its fascinating history of its CSR activities. Kraft taking over the Company was always at a risk but the same risks were mitigated by the promises made by the Company towards their consumers. Again, if a similar case is considered, Quaker Oats also made promises to improve the condition of the society by offering wholesome nourishment to the hungry and the malnourished and to give employment to the unemployed (Filipovic 2013). However, the situation was changed very soon the whole vision of the Company to improve the social condition disappeared. Conclusion: By the end of the discussion, it has been observed that undertaking malpractices in the form of CSR activities. Greenwashing is a common approach that major organizations are undertaking to create a pseudo and positive image of the organization to the consumers. There have been a number of regulations that have been made to improve the condition of the social activities undertaken by these organizations. However, in order to keep pace with the increasing competition, the corporate organizations at times are found to take certain approaches that are not good enough for the society and the consumers as well. Therefore, it can be said that with better regulations and by laying certain provisional regulations, the malpractices can be curbed to certain extent. Reference List: Alves, I., 2014. Green spin everywhere: How greenwashing reveals the limits of the CSR paradigm.Journal of Global Change and Governance,2(1), pp.1-26. Bazillier, R. and Vauday, J., 2015. The greenwashing machine: is CSR more than communication. Filipovic, C. 2013. Bittersweet: How Kraft's Acquisition of Cadbury Ended the Dynasty of a CSR Luminary | Justmeans. [online] Justmeans.com. Available at: https://www.justmeans.com/blogs/bittersweet-how-krafts-acquisition-of-cadbury-ended-the-dynasty-of-a-csr-luminary [Accessed 28 Dec. 2016]. Mahoney, L.S., Thorne, L., Cecil, L. and LaGore, W., 2013. A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing?.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,24(4), pp.350-359. Parguel, B., Benot-Moreau, F. and Larceneux, F., 2012. How sustainability ratings might deter greenwashing: A closer look at ethical corporate communication.Journal of business ethics,102(1), pp.15-28. Tsagas, G. 2012. Reflecting on the Value of Socially Responsible Practices Post Takeover of Cadburys Plc by Kraft Foods Inc: Implications for the Revision of the EU Takeover Directive. SSRN Electronic Journal. Visser, W., 2012.The age of responsibility: CSR 2.0 and the new DNA of business. John Wiley Sons.