I believe a large part of the problem is that corporations who are jumping on the CSR bandwagon still see it as PR (see PR v CSR). As such, CSR gets assigned to the marketing department which in most companies is not accountable to KPIs or even ROI.

I believe that the successful of companies of the coming decade will be base on hiring not only the best and the brightest but also the greenest candidate. Since CSR is not seen as a core STRATEGIC position in the company and tend to lean toward the “feel good” environmental side, they have been frequently filled with only the “green”est candidate. Unfortunately what I’m hearing from hiring managers is that they get predominantly environmentalists & philanthropists & marketers applying for these positions with little to no business savvy, management experience, nor risk awareness or they get over qualified laid off business people with no awareness about sustainability or green. Ethical Corporation a couple of weeks ago had an editorial about Sustainability/CSR Professionals needing to prove their worth. He expressed similar issues about the need to bring value to the company. To which I responded, that these CSR/Sustainability roles really need sound business leaders like SME CEOs/presidents who understand business, strategy, leadership and have a passion for sustainability and corporate responsibility. (Of CEOs and CSRs – Response to Ethical Corp article)

Matthew Rochte, LEED AP
Sustainability / CSR Consultant
http://www.OpportunitySustainability.com
http://twitter.com/mrochte

Every company is at a different stage of organisational maturity and you correctly highlight the KPI barrier that those tasked with a strategic CSR role face.

CSR is evolving rapidly and I too believe that those within this and similar roles can and will place a crucial part in the near future of every business whether they like it or not. At the moment it should be about exploiting CSR as a competitive advantage in a maturing arena.