Pharmaceutical Market Europe • November 2021 • 32-33
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Companies’ actions have significant impact on people’s lives, not just in terms of the products and services they offer or the jobs and opportunities they create, but also in terms of working conditions, health and the environment
By Danny Buckland
The modern concept of corporate social responsibility was born in the 1950s when businesses were challenged with giving ethics and morality a seat in the boardroom.
In 1953 the landmark publication, The Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, laid down a mantra ‘to follow those lines of action that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society’.
College economics lecturer Howard R Bowen’s book was regarded as seminal and aspirational but had limited punch in a world waking up to fast-moving consumerism and a profit-first credo.
He had coined the phrase corporate social responsibility (CSR) yet it too often became a bolt-on characterised by charitable donations, slogans and set-piece volunteering.
But a desire to work ethically and focus on patients before profit has led a new generation to venerate the birth of social responsibility and reframe business practice; original hardback copies of the book began changing hands for $1,000.
For many it is now the only way to do business, with CSR at the core of existence as well as business enterprise.
Stephen Page, one of the founders of the independent global creative communications agency Page & Page and Partners eight years ago after a career as a shareholder, managing director, brand and creative director in big agencies, believes it has to be part of a company’s anatomy.
“If you need to say you have a CSR policy, it’s a bit like saying you are soulless and your staff doesn’t care about anybody, only the share price and getting up the career ladder,” he said. “My father, who was successful in business, passed on one bit of advice to me and that was to be considerate of other people, and he always tried to see the world from other people’s eyes.
“I was well into my 20s when I realised that actually if you are actively considerate to other people, are interested in their world and how you can add value on their behalf then they become more interested in you as well.
“Culturally, we have built Page & Page and Partners around that. We insist that each team member is actively considerate of each other. We do that for our clients as well. And then we do it as best we can for our clients’ target audiences.
“It is about having insight into an audience. Lots of agencies turn that into a very big, complicated theoretical thing when, really, insight is consideration. It is telling that audience what you would do to make a difference to their lives.”
Page & Page and Partners has grown rapidly winning awards along the way as the agency has expanded to a team of 30 – and its approach is paying dividends.
“It’s actually a safer route because if you reach out and genuinely want to help your audience, then you’ve got a purpose in common,” added Stephen. “The human brain reacts to what is instinctively appealing and we get fantastic business results for campaigns that we work on – and I think it all comes back to what my dad told me when I was a little kid. ‘CSR only works when you put doing things for other people at the core of your strategy’.”
A recent collaboration showcased the belief in action, he said. The company partnered with Novartis on a challenging project that visually expressed how people suffering from chronic spontaneous urticaria patients feel – a daring and arresting campaign that was hailed by healthcare professionals.
‘A desire to work ethically and focus on patients before profit has led a new generation to venerate the birth of social responsibility and reframe business practice – for many it is now the only way to do business, with corporate social responsibility at the core of existence as well as business enterprise’
“We are building a team that has active consideration at the heart of it. We’re not desperately chasing after clients but we are collecting clients that share our beliefs and approach. The Novartis campaign came about because they are enlightened and wanted to do something different.
“Our internal phrase is jolting people off their daily autopilot and there are many ways we do that. We think differently and employ almost extreme creativity and theatre.”
He added that commercial considerations are still important and fundamental challenges exist within industry.
“It is certainly not easy and we don’t have all the answers, believe me but the future is exciting,” said Stephen. “Pfizer is talking about having a growth mindset, an acknowledgement that purpose has to be about finding a better way of doing things.”
CSR has become a buzzword theme, with Pfizer enshrining Five Bold Moves to drive its growth strategy and shift from being a commercial powerhouse to being a scientific powerhouse and Johnson & Johnson investing in alternative energy sources to reduce its environmental impact.
But it has been put into muscular practice at VISFO, a fast-growing health tech consultancy that specialises in health economics and data analytics that drive actionable insights. The company’s offices are based in Brighouse, West Yorkshire at the site of a leading European climbing wall.
The wall is owned by VISFO’s founder and CEO, Max Noble, and is used by climbers of all levels. It provides opportunities to disadvantaged and disabled communities and stands as a metaphor for the company’s commitment to CSR.
Chief Medical Officer David Williams, whose 30 years of industry experience includes strategic roles in major pharma companies, said: “CSR is about attitude, belief and people. You can have it as a bolt-on to your business or make it part of your DNA.
“It is a false assumption that having CSR is good for your brand because people know if they are being sold [a story] and can spot tokenism a mile off.
“People and clients need to recognise and believe you are doing good things and that can only come if you believe it and practice it yourselves.”
Its continuing growth is based on the rock solid foundations of its principles to create strategies that lead to real change and benefits for patients.
“We have declined some contracts because they don’t fit with our beliefs and aims,” added Williams. “It is not always easy to do that but our commitment is complete.
“It is a grand philosophy but gives a higher meaning to what we are doing and that brings benefit to the clients, the patients and to us as people. Many companies say they put the patient at the centre of what they do but it is a badge, something you stick on the website; it is not what they truly believe in.”
VISFO’s agile digital strategies listen to patients at a granular level, generating real-world insights that can then be used to leverage programmes to transform and enrich patient experiences.
“We often take clients out of their comfort zone using nudge theory and the principles of behaviour change to take them forward,” added Williams. “You have to take people with you. They have to share the vision and the journey to make it work effectively.”
VISFO’s ethical principles are connected to other charitable initiatives including funding 15 scholarships for students from widening participation backgrounds to attend university, as well as pioneering digital tools for people living with the autoimmune condition Lupus.
“CSR is not a vanity metric,” said Noble. “It is about having the belief in what you are doing and having the tools to make a difference, not just having a CSR programme you point to.”
Two examples of big pharma companies that have been successful in implementing corporate social responsibility
Pfizer
Through its Global Medical Grants programme, during the COVID-19 pandemic Pfizer provided resources to help improve the recognition, diagnosis, treatment and management of patients while also making grants available to clinics, medical centres and hospitals to improve the management and outcome of COVID-19 patients.
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson has had a long-running aim to reduce its impact on the planet for three decades, with a focus on providing safe water to communities around the world and the company continues to seek out renewable energy options with the goal of having 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025.