The Case for Corporate Activism

Woah. “Activism” sounds too political for my organization! In truth, it depends on how you define the term.

Activism is a behavior that generally means an individual or group of individuals is following through on an affirmative commitment to address a policy or social issue that’s important morally, ethically, financially and/or economically to employees, partners, leadership and/or the community.

Most enterprises are active in policies only when their business interests could benefit. It is not activism when a major corporation lobbies for tax breaks to relocate its headquarters to a new state. It is activism when the City of Tampa requires businesses pursuing major developments to include job training apprenticeships a company or when a national affordable housing company in Boston voluntarily suspends tenant evictions amid historic, pandemic-inspired unemployment.

An organization that makes a substantial gift to the school district where most of its employees live is engaging in activism, but a company that pledges to create a more diverse board, under pressure from disappointed shareholders, is engaging in issue management.

If you want to do well by doing good, then being pro-active on policies that reflect the values and priorities of your organization’s stakeholders should be part of your public affairs communications planning in 2021.

There is no limit to the number of issues in which to get involved. Unemployment, job training, minority hiring, rental assistance, healthcare costs, educational quality, the environment and mass transit – all of these challenges present a wide range of opportunities to demonstrate to your audiences that you care about creating a better quality of life for them and the communities in which they live and work.

Activism does not require marching in the streets; it can be as simple as using your company’s voice to urge policymakers to pursue a solution or to endorse the principles behind a piece of legislation or a city ordinance.

What you choose to do should reflect organizational values, which presumably are aligned with those of your key stakeholders. How you do it – the strategy, messaging, channels, etc. – takes research, thought and planning. Corporate activism does not need to devolve into personal politics, but it takes disciplined strategic execution to avoid that outcome.

Looking ahead to the array of big and small challenges facing us and the increasingly desperate need for leaders to articulate priorities and direction at every level of society, businesses and organizations can earn out-sized respect and goodwill in 2021 simply by embracing a more public, pro-active position on issues that matter to their communities.

Points of Reference

Forging a pathway to the middle class for residents is why Tampa City Council members said Thursday they supported advancing a proposal to require apprentices on big city projects. https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2020/12/04/tampa-seeks-to-require-apprenticeships-on-large-city-projects/

As debate grows about whether the state should extend the ban on evictions in Massachusetts, one of its largest landlords said Monday that it will do so on its own. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/06/business/major-boston-landlord-extends-eviction-moratorium-end-year/

U.S. companies are sitting on the largest pile of cash ever. Investors are trying to gauge how they are going to use it. https://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-circle-largest-corporate-cash-hoard-ever-11607086917

More than two dozen federal stimulus programs crafted to help cash-strapped workers and businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic are set to expire in a matter of weeks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/06/stimulus-deadline-relief-programs/

Black employees make up just 4% of Tesla Inc’s American leadership roles and 10% of its total workforce in the country, the electric carmaker has disclosed in its first U.S. diversity report. https://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-diversity-idUSKBN28F0C8