No business on a dead planet
Some people believe that the financial crisis will hit companies’ environmental and social accountability. I don’t believe that is the case. I believe the same as David Brower, head of Friends of the Earth. As Brower says; there is no business on a dead planet. The crisis hitting us right now makes me even more convinced that we need to change our ways. For Choice Hotels Scandinavia it’s out of the question to cut back on our social responsibility. We can’t afford to do that, we really cannot.
In a survey published by the Swedish Veckans Affärer last week, four out of ten top leaders expressed the view, that they would like governments to lay down stricter regulations concerning emissions. 72% of them explain this view by stating that, their clients demand businesses to take a greater social responsibility. And Choice Hotels Scandinavia is no exception.
The Stern-report published a few years ago, argued that it would cost 1% of the world’s GNP to avoid an environmental crisis. Stern has later said that their estimate was too modest. But even if it will cost us two or three per cent, we cannot afford to do nothing. This is not a question of costs, but of survival.
Many claim that alternative sources of energy are unprofitable, when oil costs 100 dollars a barrel. At this moment, the price of oil is 66 dollars. But we can’t let the price of oil determine the fate of our planet. We can certainly not let daily variations in the price of oil shape our long-term plans. That would be too dangerous. The challenges of our planet must be our guide when we define social responsibilities.
Social responsibility is not something we can perform liposuction on after a few good years. We cannot remove social responsibility as if it were a tumour. Businesses that cut out social responsibility in hard times are not serious about it. They have not put it into practice. These kind of businesses have their social responsibilities no further than in a committee, or hidden in a drawer. In Choice, social responsibility is in the frontline, in our culture. Choice carries social responsibility in 8500 thinking minds, and in 8500 beating hearts. Our social responsibility cannot be removed by surgery. It’s not part of the body. It is the body.
Petter
