Three Degrees of Social Responsibility

"When forging connections between people is a fundamental part of what you do, it is impossible to separate social responsibility from meetings and events." Shawna McKinley

Agreed. But what is "corporate social responsibility"? How are different organizations interpreting it? How is it impacting our meetings? Many of us are struggling to get our arms and minds around CSR and our role as meeting planners. Shawna has authored a fascinating issues brief, "Having a Human Impact: What is social responsibility for meetings?" http://www.meetgreen.com/files/articles/SR_Issues_Brief_032010.pdf where--with the help of meeting professionals focus groups--she has outlined voluntary action for social responsibility in three degrees:

First Degree: Feel good, look good
Second Degree: Responsible action in planning
Third Degree: Advocacy for responsibility

In the next few blog posts, I will explore each of these degrees in more detail. Please feel free to post comments about how your organization is acting on social responsibility so we can learn together.