MONTEREY, Calif. -
By "this thing," John Weiser, a partner in the firm Brody Weiser Burns and an expert in corporate-community partnerships, meant "social impact."
"It's defining, tracking and managing the total impact of a business or institution on the communities it touches," he answered, a practice often referred to as "corporate social responsibility" in the for-profit world. "It is related to community relations. That's what's at the core, and includes HR, customer relations, environmental impact, supplier management and public leadership."
According to Weiser, a co-author of the book, "Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets," there are key societal issues driving a new awareness and demand for those corporate-community relationships, chiefly a change is what is expected of corporations.
"When I started in this 30 years ago there was no discussion of social responsibility," he said. "But society has come to expect businesses and institutions to do more as part of their social contract."
For credit unions, that contract is in plain sight.
"Where credit unions live, the middle class, has been losing ground," he observed. "Folks who don't have assets are losing ground to folks who do have assets. If you want to send your kids to college, you need to have assets. There's a chunk of the world that just can't keep up."
Other points made by Weiser:
* Global warming may seem like Al Gore's issue, but lenders need to pay attention, as the increase in weather variability will likely mean more natural disasters (from 1994-98, 498 natural disasters, 1999-2003 707 natural disasters). "Imagine you're a credit union in Vermont and the maple syrup industry goes away in another 100 years," said Weiser. "The other piece of the problem is flooding. What if you're a credit union in New York City making loans to people without flood insurance in a time of rising sea levels. Will property values be supported?"
* Government as an institution is being eroded, said Weiser, noting the same is true for the media, for the church and others that have lost the trust of the public. What about credit unions?
* Of the world's 100 largest economies, 51 are corporations. "These big corporations have gotten better at not paying taxes. Do you worry about your non-taxed status? Do you think they will look to you for taxes?"
"The public has decided, without consulting you, that you all are responsible for doing something about this and wants you to take the lead in solving these problems," he said.