A very CSR festive favourite…

I recently revisited an old DVD festive favourite, A Miracle on 34th Street (the original starring Edmund Gwenn, not the horrendous Nineties remake with Sir Richard Attenborough) and was struck – and rather surprised - by the number of CSR themes that jumped out at me: corporate reputation, collaboration/partnerships, business ethics and stakeholder engagement to name just a few.

For those of you unfamiliar with the 1947 Oscar-winning movie, the film tells the story of a Macy’s department store Santa who claims to be the real Father Christmas and ultimately has to go to court to prove he is who he says he is.

To cap it all, the film even demonstrates CSR’s value to a business’s bottom line.

Here’s what Mr Macy says on learning that his store Santa is directing Macy customers to other stores to buy certain toys: “Imagine Macy's Santa Claus sending customers to Gimbels. Ho ho. But, gentlemen, you cannot argue with success. Look at this. Telegrams, messages, telephone calls. The governor's wife, the mayor's wife.. over thankful parents expressing undying gratitude to Macy's…We'll be known as the helpful store, the friendly store, the store with a heart the store that places public service ahead of profits. And, consequently, we'll make more profits than ever before.”

Just change that ‘friendly store’ to ‘responsible store’ and tad-ah, CSR Hollywood style. 

Wishing all our readers best wishes for the festive season and health and prosperity in 2014.

Liz Jones, editor