Financial Recovery Goes Hand in Hand with Social Responsibility

By Sarah Kaplan and Rod Lohin

The year 2020 has shown us, perhaps more than ever, the truth of the phrase "if you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything." It's as true for companies as it is for ourselves.

But, company health is not just financial. Increasingly, research shows that company resilience in the face of shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic is as much about trust as anything else: Trust in the eyes of customers, employees, regulators and other stakeholders who are important to a company's success. Trust-building - whether you call it corporate social responsibility or stakeholder management - has always been the smart thing to do, and even more so now.

There's no doubt that many companies' finances are hurting in the context of COVID-19. But trust in companies isn't particularly healthy either. The Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 reports that 56 per cent of people surveyed believe capitalism as it exists today does more harm than good in the world. In the context of COVID, only 38 per cent believe business is doing well or very well at putting people before profit.

So, corporate health - as reflected in their finances and trust by other stakeholders - is in trouble on both accounts. This leaves companies in a doubly difficult bind as they look toward an eventual recovery.

But, financial recovery doesn't have to conflict with social responsibility. In fact, they go hand in hand.

Read the full (pay-walled) op-ed in the Toronto Star here: Financial Recovery Goes Hand in Hand with Social Responsibility