In 1971 I believed in a concept called corporate social responsibility.
I played a major role in getting the socially responsible investment movement going.
I paid for and convened a conference in Inverness California of the 30 leading organizers in the corporate social responsibility field. We used that conference to create common plans and joint projects.
As a foundation president, I funded research into the 'social-issues-behavior' of public corporations and funded publication of the results. I funded and supported many activist proxy battles.
I solicited funds for the newly emerging socially responsible mutual funds to help them get started.
As a corporate treasurer and foundation president I personally visited all of the major foundation managers and treasurers in New York to encouraged them to use their portfolios to support their programmatic values. In every case, the treasurers laughed at me. They said ‘if you don't like the corporation sell the stock’.
Over the years, I have come to regret my involvement in this movement. Corporations have absolutely no social responsibility. As Adam Smith so wisely pointed out, by seeking to lower costs, creating jobs and expanding their markets they're doing everything that anyone should expect of them. They are doing more for more people than any other entity or institution on the planet.
Over the years, the core problem of the corporate social responsibility movement became obvious to many others. The socially responsible causes had multiplied and changed. In the early 70s it was napalm, Native Americans, baby harp seals, women and minorities on boards of directors and investment in South Africa. Over the years, new causes were added from food safety and health issues to animal testing in cosmetics, animal products in pet food, LGBT, investment in tobacco..... and the list goes on and on.
What is socially responsible corporate behavior is chimeric.... it changes with the month. It is trivial, flippant and irrelevant to business.