The ultimate constraint: Time

Apparently, a recent U.K. study (as described in Net Impact's weekly newsletter) has found that multi-stakeholder dialogues don't seem to "satisfy" stakeholders, because they usually bring up more demands than they resolve. These groups tend to find that attitudes have changed through engagement, and relationships have strengthened - but that there are more issues on the table at the end than at the beginning.

At a recent Kennedy School conference, "partnerships" were the mot-du-jour for CSR practitioners. This survey indicates that partnerships are doing some good, but also may not be accomplishing what they were set up to do - i.e., resolving disputes between stakeholder groups. (Partnerships don't usually say this is their goal, but broadly speaking, I belive it is.)

Sometimes I wonder, with all the great CSR things we want to do, by how much can we really increase the energy we put into these activities? How much can we expect ordinary consumers and shareholders to increase the time they put in? I'm afraid that time and energy are serious constraints on raising awareness and motivating action.

This, among other reasons, is why I support solutions that make it easier for us to move in the right direction - like ethical labels that tell us in a glance that a certain product meets a certain widely-accepted standard. I've started compiling a list of these on my website. Please feel free to sugest more!