In preparation for our upcoming webinar on June 1st on “Building the Corporate Responsibility Profession,” (FREE WEBINAR -- register today!) I met with Nancy Beer Tobin from the Executive Education Department at Georgetown University's McDonough Business School. She asked me to point out the holes in the Corporate Responsibility (CR) curriculum. Universities, trade associations, and training organizations have jumped into the CR education space giving us a rich panoply of information, but does it really fulfill on the potential: equipping companies to not just comply with society's mandates but actually lead?
Our June 1st webinar will explore these issues in-depth from multiple perspectives: the CR practitioner’s (thanks to Kevin Moss of BT and Susan Seutter of Cisco), the CR educator’s (via Nancy Beer Tobin and Georgetown), the up-and-coming CR professional (through Ryan Whisnant, Director of Sustainability for SunGard & 2009 EDF Climate Corps Alumnus), and the media’s (from Vault.com’s Aman Singh). But as a preview, here are my perspectives on Nancy’s question. The short answer is no. The longer answer: the potential exists, but needs refining.
I see five holes that need filling:
1. Embedding CR into the core leadership curriculum
2. Finance for non-finance majors
3. Responsibility for non-responsibility majors
4. Responsibility communications skills
5. An organized body of knowledge and development path
Let's take these one at a time...