Peter Knight on 'grubby' CSR

Gillian Tett of the Financial Times wrote an amusing piece about her time moderating a panel at Davos, on February 4. She complained that business people did not want to talk about the “grubby” business of making money, only about the softer things which she placed under the Corporate Social Responsibility banner.

On February 11 the FT published our response under the headline:

‘Grubby’ CSR is about making money

Sir, Gillian Tett (February 4) says “business leaders do not want to talk about grubby financial realities these days”, preferring to speak about corporate social responsibility. She misunderstands the realities of business today. CSR is grubby – it is about making money because it helps you understand what customers want.

Peter T. Knight, President, Context America, Inc, New York, NY, US