CSR Transparency

I read an interesting article today in PR Week, “Market Focus: CSR: beyond lip service”, about Chiquita Brands and their candidness regarding their CSR efforts. The article describes how Chiquita Brands revealed that workers in several of their South and Central American facilities had not received adequate safety training. The company also disclosed that several women had been sexually harassed at their facilities in Guatemala and that some workers in Panama were not enrolled in the social security system. All of these admissions were available to the general public in Chiquita’s second annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

The article indicates that America is still behind Europe when it comes to CSR activities, but more American companies, like Chiquita Brands, are becoming more transparent about their CSR efforts. In the past, companies did not disclose anything beyond the basic ‘we care’ message, but now companies are increasingly more forthcoming about their goals and strategies towards CSR. This is, in part, due to the understanding that, in order for stakeholders to take CSR reports seriously, the reports must be candid. Michael Mitchell, the spokesman for Chiquita, stressed that their CSR report was not a PR tactic but rather their attempt to be honest about their current achievements, what they want to achieve and where they have struggled.

I wanted to personally read Chiquita’s latest CSR report so I had a look at their website, http://www.chiquita.com/, and I quickly found a link to their 2005 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report. The report initially mentions their core values and code of conduct and stresses how seriously they abide by them. One specific paragraph that stood out to me was their justification for participating in CSR. The paragraph says:

We strive to achieve high standards of corporate responsibility because it is
the right thing to do. It enables us to enhance the trust in our brand,
strengthen our reputation and improve the company’s financial performance, which
is good for all investors.

Other parts of the report that stood out to me was it’s emphasis on the significant amount of investments the company puts into their CSR efforts, as well as how and why CSR benefits the health and growth of the company. It also provides detailed reasons for participating in their various CSR projects. I also found it interesting how they declare that they, along with their employees, are proud of their CSR activities.

After reading Chiquita’s CSR report I am lead to believe that they, in fact, do care about more than just the bottom line. The report demonstrates to me that Chiquita has taken a sustainable and dedicated approach to CSR.