Tom Delfgaauw argues there’s still a crisis of confidence in business and calls for greater consistency in reporting.
When did you first become interested in CSR and sustainability?
Throughout my years at Shell I have had an affinity for environmental issues, as they began to get more and more prominent attention in the company and eventually evolved into sustainability issues. My main interest is a deep-held conviction that companies should act responsibly in the way they carry out their business.
What has been the highlight of your career?
First, as CEO of a Shell operating company, I started a major restructuring programme that consisted of the usual elements: lowering cost, increasing revenue and changing culture. The latter was by far the most difficult and challenging to achieve. Second, my last four years in charge of sustainable development. Not only were we able to start up this rollercoaster of activities, but the measurable effect of that effort on improving relations with virtually all our stakeholders was the highlight.
Is there still a ‘crisis of confidence in business’, as you said two years ago on the launch of AA1000 standard?
This is not an opinion, it’s a fact. Numerous surveys over many years underline this phenomenon. Of course there are important regional differences and recent surveys suggest a more fragmented picture than in the past, but the bottom line is that business is not much trusted. I don’t think that business on average deserves this low status but that is not the point. The perception counts and needs to be addressed urgently.
Do universal standards help companies manage and implement CSR?
Yes, but I recognise that this may not be a majority view yet. It’s easy to be condescending about global standards, and it’s also obvious that genuine application is potentially very time-consuming and expensive. However, the more inroads the CSR concept will make, and as the financial sector takes a growing interest, the more companies will need consistency, a level playing field and approaches that will facilitate comparisons between different companies by themselves and by third parties.
What are the major challenges facing businesses today?
Apart from the usual – survival and sustained performance – I believe that acceptance by all stakeholders is the central challenge. I deliberately use this jargon, because it is the new business language. But on closer inspection, I’m really not talking about something new. Careful handling of new risks is mainstream business and you disregard them at your peril. Preferably you do this out of conviction, but I’m just as happy when companies act because of an excellent business sense. The bottom line is that any business not taking these new risks seriously, risks finding itself out of sync with the societies in which it operates.
What are the emerging trends on the CSR agenda in the next 5-10 years?
A tricky question, because every ‘guru’ one talks with has a favourite list of trends… I expect an explosive growth in partnerships and alliances between the public, private and civil society sectors, more attention to governance issues, a lot more attention to the accountability of all players and a public sector struggling to follow the pace. But the CSR agenda has an uncanny way of jumping surprises on you all the time.
Tom was Vice President, Sustainable Development, at Shell International in London until 2001. He joined the Royal Dutch/Shell Group in 1969 and worked around the world in a number of positions, including vice president external relations and chief executive of Shell Switzerland. After leaving Shell, he became the first non-executive director of SustainAbility and in 2005 was appointed Chairman of the Council of AccountAbility. Tom is also Chairman of The Carbon Neutral Company; a member of the policy committee and criteria development sub-committee of the FTSE4Good Index and adviser to KPMG in the Netherlands. Tom has also set up Falstaff Consultancy, to assist companies in developing their sustainability
and CSR initiatives.
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