Alistair Phillips-Davies
Almost a decade on from the financial crisis there are still big questions being asked about business’ role in society.
With tax scandals and low wage debates played out against the backdrop of company profits that people sense are ‘made’ and not ‘earned, companies are still being defined as bad guys. To customers, bad firms damage the environment, avoid their taxes and pay unfair wages.
The Scottish business and financial communities have been debating what good corporations look like in modern society. We don’t claim to know the answers but we know we need to ask the question and challenge ourselves to do more.
We asked ourselves if a business does no harm, does that alone make them a good corporation? Personally, I don’t think that’s enough. Clearly all companies need to abide by the law but responsible companies also contribute positively to the societies that enabled them to be successful in the first place.
At SSE we know that energy companies have a particular responsibility as we provide an essential service. I know that SSE’s customers want good value energy and great service, but customers also, rightly, expect us to pay our taxes and pay fair wages.
So we’ve got our house in order by working with the likes of the Living Wage Foundation and the Fair Tax Mark to achieve their standards, as well as concentrating on providing energy and delivering good service.
But I also think people want us to be mindful of some of society’s greatest challenges and use the might of a large firm to help play a part in tackling some of them. Here, I’m afraid; we are only just getting started – but I’m certain it’s good business sense to do it.
I was inspired by a recent example that makes a dent in the issue of long term youth unemployment. SSE and Barnardo’s have been working together since 2007, giving young people on Job Seekers Allowance a supported opportunity to get on the career ladder.
We recently evaluated the programme and it shows an overwhelming return on that investment – not just for the individual and wider society – but for SSE too. It provides a new pipeline of talent. It helps us recruit through a non-traditional route, and brings further diversity into the group – which is critical in a hugely customer-facing sector.
We realise many companies are doing little bits here and there. Whilst we don’t have all the answers, the genuinely successful approaches are where the action makes good business sense
SSE’s anti-tax avoidance position tells investors that we manage risk. The Living Wage brings about a higher employee retention rate and lower absenteeism. Our work with Barnardo’s is helping tackle issues we face; an ageing workforce that’s not reflective of the communities it serves. In other words, each of these interventions has direct business benefit – it is both self-interested and in the public interest.
They’re not fads or quick fixes. They’re long term, sustainable actions that marry delivering for customers, for employees and for the society SSE is part of. To my mind this is where my company and others have to place more focus if we’re to make a strong contribution to the world on which we depend.
Alistair Phillips-Davies is chief executive of SSE
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here