Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.

TriMet is a municipal corporation in the State of Oregon that provides light rail, bus, and commuter rail facilities in Portland and Oregon regions. With a fleet of about 700 buses operating on 85 lines, the mission of the organization is to offer transport alternatives that link individuals with their community, expediting traffic flow in addition to decreasing air pollution. TriMet is governed by a board of directors appointed by the Governor of Oregon (Connolly, 2018). Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.The organization has announced a strategic corporate social responsibility program that involves abandoning diesel buses by the year 2040. The move, which was unanimously voted for by the board because diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen and results in health complications and Portland and contributes to the issue of climate change. Successful implementation of the initiative would highly benefit both the company and the people of the state of Oregon. However, there is a need for an analysis of the action and evaluation of determinant factors of successful implementation.

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The New Corporate Social Responsibility Plan

There has been a growing concern over diesel exhaust from motor vehicles and its implications on health and preservation of the environment. A report conducted in the state-linked diesel exhaust to lung and cardiovascular disorders in the people in the region. Health officials estimate that the exhausts cause about 500 premature deaths in Oregon alone every year. Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.In addition to this, the effects global warming and climate change have gained local and global concern (Connolly, 2018). Currently, TriMet’s fleet of about 700 buses operates on diesel engines. As such, the initiative would give the transit agency an all-electric fleet by 2040.

The project is expected to cost about $500 million to successfully phase out diesel buses and replace them with electric buses over the next 22 years. Directors propose the implementation of the plan in phases with the initial period incurring nearly $53 million to acquire 60 battery-powered buses and battery-charging infrastructures. The second phase will see the acquisition of 20 buses (Connolly, 2018). As such, TriMet’s projects a fleet of 1,037 battery-powered electric buses by 2040 and complete phasing out of the current fleet.

Sustainability of the Initiative

Multiple surveys report that transportation system in the country in its entirety accounts for nearly 30 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions resulting from burning fossil fuels. More than 90 percent of the fuel is petroleum-based constituting of diesel and gasoline. For this reason, commitment to the environment is inevitable. The move is continuously seeing environmentally conscious fleets adopt hydrogen and electric technologies for purposes of increasing trucking efficiency. Vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and others are embarking on plans to produce hydrogen fuel cells and electric-powered vehicles to address environmental and health-related concerns.

TriMet is committed to providing responsible and sustainable transportation with the purpose of helping the people of Oregon live longer, healthier and happier lives. As such, the core approach to its CSR initiative aims to eliminate harmful emissions into the environment. The action will see the reduction of premature deaths resulting from unhealthy emissions totaling 500 deaths annually. Further, the move shall conform to the recommendations of global institutions on climate change and preservation (Connolly, 2018).Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper. This is because TriMet is ranked as the second largest consumer of diesel fuel in Oregon. More so, the transport sector is the most significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the state. The sustainability of the initiative centers on harmonizing investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change to enhance the future potential of meeting the environmental, economic, and social needs, and aspirations of humans.

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Actions Required for the Implementation

Although every organization intends to make a notable impact on the world, implementing a CSR project is not as simple as perceived. According to Archie Carroll (2015), a majority of organizations fail during the implementation phase after rolling out a strategic plan due to a variety of reasons especially for an entity that plans to adopt an initiative for the first time like TriMet. It is for this aspect that Carroll (2015) recommends a plan of immediate actions that need to be taken before the implementation process. The first immediate action to consider would be to conduct thorough research into the initiative proposed for implementation.

Research involves evaluating past companies that have undertaken a similar initiative and analyzing what they have done successfully. In China, for example, Shenzhen is one of the few cities to electrify 100 percent of its public buses, a fleet of more than 16,400. The transformation came about as an effort to reduce pollution in a profoundly vast industrial region. The project began back in 2009, and in less than eight years, the city has fully actualized its mission. The State of Oregon and TriMet company, through its director, have a lot to learn from Shenzhen city before rolling out the implementation plan.

Corporate social responsibility plans are expected to benefit all the involved stakeholders. However, stakeholders differ regarding the vested interests in an entity and the extent to which they are impacted by the actions and decisions taken by a company. For this reason, Cheng, Ioannou, and Serafeim, (2014) recommend buying in the principal actors and establishing a team to spearhead the adoption of the plan. The team needs to include a member from all the identified stakeholders including owners, employees, the general public, and government. To guarantee the success of the proposed idea, TriMet needs to organize an influential all-around team and demonstrate to them how acquiring and replacing the existing fleet with new electric buses will benefit the community and the involved stakeholders. This will not only garner their support but also ensure their full commitment in seeing the project come to life. Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.

Barriers to Implementation

In their analysis into the concept of CSR implementation, Yuen and Lim (2016) assert, strategic “CSR involves the voluntary practice of social and environmental activities to satisfy stakeholders of a firm but with the intention of generating profits.” As such, organizations face numerous challenges when implementing a strategic CSR project. A project of massive magnitude like the TriMet one is likely to utilize resources estimated at $500 million for the vision of the organization regarding CSR to be accomplished. Yuen and Lim (2016) note that effective execution of CSR requires substantial amounts of resources. Firm’s specific barrier, to this end, would be the lack of resources – financial, knowledge and expertise – for the implementation.

Often, the allocated budget for CSR is inadequate and outcompeted by other ventures that promise greater rates of return on investment. Additionally, a majority of organizations lack departments that are dedicated explicitly to manage CSR which is likely to be the case with TriMet. Another barrier as revealed by Ni and Van Wart (2015) is the lack of measurement systems necessary for quantifying the benefits of implementing CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.The management of the organization admits it lacks mechanisms aimed at monitoring and evaluating the CSR initiative in the course of its implementation. It is not easy to measure the impacts of the decarbonized buses in Oregon. More so, lack of measurement systems aimed at assessing the level of accomplishments of the initiative would make it impossible to control the performance of the CSR plan.

Addressing the identified barriers is critical to ensure the success of the initiative. Regarding insufficient resources, TriMet needs to prioritize the program and ensure it allocates adequate resources for the application. This is apart from just the financial resources needed but also the expertise and knowledge. Already, the organization has set aside funds expected to meet the needs of the CSR, but the problem of a lack of expertise and knowledge persists. Through extensive research and establishing the right team for the initiative, the effectiveness of the undertaking would be actualized. More so, there are a variety of measurement models the company can adopt for purposes of assessing the progress of CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a key concern in the modern business environment characterized by the existence of numerous businesses that, in one way or another, interfere with social, economic, and environmental aspects of life. There is also pressure building up on activities from some stakeholders, particularly the community and activists and also the government, to some degree, to engage in business practices that are responsible. The decision to replace the current fleet of about 700 diesel engine business with new battery-powered and electric ones by 2040 is an ideal example of a CSR initiative by TriMet. The success of the adoption of the plan, however, requires a keen analysis into different aspects of the process such as barriers, actions, sustainability, and the implications of the CSR program.

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References

Carroll, A. B. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility. Organizational Dynamics, 44(2), 87-96. Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.02.002

Cheng, B., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2131

Connolly, M. (2018). The Decision Is Coming Soon! Tell Trimet You Want Clean Electric Buses | Climate Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.climatesolutions.org/article/1537468202-decision-coming-soon-tell-trimet-you-want-clean-electric-buses

Ni, A., & Van Wart, M. (2015). Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing Well and Doing Good. In Building Business-Government Relations (pp. 175-196). Routledge.

Yuen, K. F., & Lim, J. M. (2016). Barriers to the Implementation of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility in Shipping. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, 32(1), 49-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsl.2016.03.006.Corporate Social Responsibility Study Paper.