Comments on: A big challenge: Being a Sustainability / CSR professional at Shell

By: green.energy.felix

green.energy.felix — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:36:00 +0000

hi @all. very interesting article. really enjoyed it – thanks for posting. i believe that shell’s biggest problem is the lack of sustainable innovation. the oil industry is obviously limitted to our natural resources and shell should have started focussing on renewable energy a lot earlier. by the way, i have found several other big ‘energy companies’ that already focus on sustainability a lot more. siemens, for instance, have launched a new campaign called sustainable cities: http://www.usa.siemens.com/sustainablecities/index.html

By: FabianPattberg

FabianPattberg — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:41:52 +0000

Thanks for the comment. I am not so sure whether employees know the center. This is the link to their website: http://shellcenter.rice.edu/

It looks as if they only provide the money for the center not more really. Which is a shame.

By: FabianPattberg

FabianPattberg — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:41:52 +0000

By: Milan

Milan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:23:51 +0000

Thanks Fabian for your insight. It seems that Shell has a big mouth, like other oil majors (work for one).
Are you aware of Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University, and do employees know about this center? I was wondering if the center is only Shell's tool in marketing campaign.

By: GlobalPatriot

GlobalPatriot — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:03:38 +0000

Good point Katelyn, CSR should not be contrived to placate the public and form the basis of a PR campaign, but instead should exist at the core of how a business operates.

By: Katelyn

Katelyn — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:31:28 +0000

Well, what about the companies that do socially responsible work as part of their core operating rhythm and mentalities. I feel a strong brand is one that has something to say, but doesn't do CSR for the sake of “having something to say”.

By: FabianPattberg

FabianPattberg — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Thanks for the comment David. I like your concept about balance. I did not think it about this in this way so far. Thanks for sharing this viewpoint.

By: David Connor

David Connor — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:06:45 +0000

They main issues are really around Shell's core operation and the differential between what they are saying and what they are actually doing. Their comms feels a little desperateand shallow at times, which could actually be a negative result of passionate people trying to over-compensate poor practice by pushing strong emotional content.

Passion is a double edged sword as it can blinker logic and common sense (another scarce commodity). Like yourelf Fabian, I too am all for encouraging passionate employees to stimulate productivity and creativity, but like everything else in life it's about balance.

Companies with predominantly extractive operations will face increasingly challenging operational conditions as the supply of finite resources such as oil, coal, gas and minerals begins to diminish.

From oil sands, Nigerian communities and to Artic drilling rights. Their controlled communication messages have recently been at odds with their uncontrolled, widely reported actions.

By: FabianPattberg

FabianPattberg — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:29:04 +0000

Thanks for your comments James and Mark. Here is my response.
@James: I like the devils advocate stance. Makes it even more interesting. I believe that passion is what keeps people motivated and innovative. Without passion we would all just stay at home and be only half human. If even that. This is even more important in the Sustainability / CSR sector. I think then your points of sincerity, authenticity, responsiveness and agility are just consequences/results of your passionate work.
@Mark: I absolutely agree. Slogans and spin can actually harm a companies Sustainability / CSR activities very badly in my experience.

By: GlobalPatriot

GlobalPatriot — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:11:22 +0000

Your second point above is important Fabian, as companies often create CSR campaigns as though they were marketing campaigns. They settle on a message and go to work, rather than waiting until they truly have something important to say.

I've always felt that a strong brand is one that has something to say, rather than simply relying on the repetition of slogans or stories full of spin.