Social Responsibility: Current Challenges

We’ll say it up front: As a businessperson of color looking to become a leader in socially responsible business, you’ll find that you’re entering a very white world. While that’s not so unusual, our colleagues reported that they expected more and, in some cases, have been disappointed by what they found. Where they saw a strong commitment to solving big planetary problems, it often seemed to gloss over pressing problems in local communities. Where they saw a commitment to social justice, it seemed partially blind to racial injustice and barriers to opportunity. The implicit message seems to be: “Hey, we’re busy saving the world here. We don’t have time to deal with those issues of community and diversity.”

We’re happy to report that this is changing. The SRB 2.0 project is one outgrowth of a profound and growing realization that the socially responsible business movement cannot succeed (and possibly shouldn’t) as long as it’s focused primarily on the interests of privileged white business leaders.

Our discussions with a diverse group of leaders reveals a real convergence of concerns around social justice, inclusion, diversity, and the environment. And the younger, emerging business leaders we talked to are proof positive—they take the totally integrative view that all businesses must be diverse and environmentally responsible and take care of their communities in order to succeed in their world.

What are some of the challenge you might face in developing your business of color as a leader in social responsibility? We explore a few below...

Market Relevance

Many companies that define the SRB movement have introduced specialty products on a small scale, at a premium to the consumer. Organic foods are a prime example. They can add as much as twenty percent to the average family’s grocery bill, and for low-income families the premium is as much as forty percent. We also see premiums for fair trade and environmentally-preferable products, including hybrid cars, green energy, or fair trade coffee and chocolate. As one diversity practitioner noted, "A lot of the green/eco companies are elitist in how they market and price their goods, so they’re not pushed to consider the other audiences and communities that would broaden their interest in and commitment to other constituencies."

The impact is that organic food and other products of socially responsible companies have been positioned as the exclusive domain of a predominantly white and affluent consumer. If your market has traditionally been far more concerned with price and performance, these new "green-premium" products may seem irrelevant.

Consumers of color, however, are increasing educated and affluent themselves. Consider that:

  • "The percentage of African-American/Black households with incomes of $50,000 or more grew 13.5% between 2003 and 2007, compared with 8.4% for total U.S. households."
  • "Hispanics/Latinos are an increasing proportion of the total affluent market...From 1991 to 2000, the growth of affluent Hispanics/Latinos rose 126%."
  • "The median household income for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders ($55,026) is 28% higher than the U.S. average."
    Source: Magazine Publishers of America market profiles.

So taking the lead in developing the market for green and socially responsible products in your community of color can pay long-term dividends. But companies like City Fresh Foods aren't waiting. By working aggressively from a clearly-defined social mission of reinventing the food supply, they are creating a local, low-income market for natural and organic foods.

Business Relevance

The conventional wisdom is that environmental initiatives can be a tough sell in communities of color, that they're just not interested in anything green.

To some extent, our experts tell us, that's true. That's in part because of economics (people who are more well-off tend to be more concerned about the environment) and partly because of cultural influences. Yet, with increasing attention on concerns like environmental racism, with companies and municipalities dumping trash and toxins in communities of color, and opportunities like green job creation, that traditional barrier is breaking down.

The question isn't whether people of color care about the environment or social responsibility, it's how you position it, notes entrepreneur Ed Dugger: “Folks need to understand that environmental issues are not just global but affect ordinary people, especially people of color. Environmental concerns are common issues that have an impact on the health and economic position of people of color. When you suddenly have a crashing together of what corporations are doing to impact the environment and how they impact real people’s health, that when things start to hit the wall.” That's when companies of color that are well-positioned can step into roles as environmental leaders.

Language

Language is another barrier to integrating social responsibility into businesses of color. As black entrepreneur Melissa Bradley-Burns notes, "Too often, predominantly white socially responsible organizations have tried to reach out to people of color, run into a language barrier and came across as self-righteous. You wouldn't hear 'socially responsible business' at a Dreammakers conference where the concern is creating wealth in the black community."

Part of the disconnect is that the language reflects different focal interests. Compare the terms often used to discuss social responsibility between our respondents:

  Business Leaders of Color White Business Leaders
Primary focus Community Environment
Language used “Giving back” Being “green” or being “socially responsible”
Primary interest Identifying with and supporting my (ethnic or local) community Identifying with like-minded (usually progressive) change agents

Green America, a national social justice and environmental organization, discovered the language difference in a profound way at their Washington, DC Green Festival event. When they randomly asked attendees to answer the question "What's your favorite green thing to do?" they found that older non-white attendees were far more likely to give more community-oriented responses answers like, "Help the homeless" or "Volunteer in my community," while younger people of color and white attendees listed environmental activities, such as "recycle" or "ride my bike" as their favorite green things to do. "But the really interesting thing," notes Denise Hamler, producer of the Green Festivals, "is that there were so many people of color there in the first place. That's a real shift from that past where we had to pull out all the stops just to get a tiny percentage of minority representation."

As you bring social responsibility into your business of color, you'll need to find the language that works. From our research, a focus on community is the place to start, then actively test the environmental message to find what works. We think you'll find increasing receptiveness to green messages in your community.

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What does it look like when a business of color is driving by a powerful--and inclusive--green mission? See the best practices of City Fresh Foods »