What does social responsibility mean? That is for society to decide rather than corporations. Social responsibility must at least mean not damaging society, responding to critical social problems and acting in the social interest. Let's raise the bar a little.

A socially responsible company would have to:

• Address climate change – Climate change is the major ecological crisis of our time. David King, the UK government's scientific adviser dubbed it 'a greater threat than terrorism'153. The UK government has committed to a 60% reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050 154. At the same time oil companies are constantly exploring to find more oil to burn, energy companies are running gas and coal-fired power stations and pumping more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, car companies are promoting gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles and airline companies are taking advantage of the lack of fuel tax to offer cheap flights. A socially responsible company would have to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by cutting energy consumption, use renewable energy and cut reliance on oil.
• Not sell products which are intrinsically harmful - The tobacco industry is arguably the only legal industry where consumers die through the correct use of their products. The arms industry profits from war, death and torture. Fast food companies profit from obesity and ill health. A socially responsible company would have to stop producing products that are intrinsically harmful. For some industries this would mean ceasing to exist.
• Stop manipulating the public – Why do we buy so much stuff that we don't need? Because corporate advertising tells us we want to and our consumption will lead us to happier, more fulfilled lives. The capitalist model requires constant economic growth, of which consumer spending is an essential part. Current levels of consumer spending are sending personal debts sky-rocketing, whilst profits are won on the backs of sweated labour and a devastated environment. A company acting in the social interest would have to only sell goods that were needed, could be afforded, and not manipulate consumers into spending beyond their means or promote overconsumption beyond levels the planet can manage.
• Internalise costs – When companies talk about 'efficiency' and 'minimising costs' they are generally talking about 'externalising' the true cost of their operations onto wider society. The bills for cleaning up pollution, providing welfare support to workers who don't earn enough to live on or for building the roads that allow their produce to be distributed, are passed on to society either directly through taxes or indirectly through living in an impoverished society and damaged environment. A company working in the social interest would cover these costs rather than, as in the capitalist model, seeking all possible ways to externalise them.
• Pay taxes in full – Paying taxes is both required by law and a key part of contributing to society as a responsible 'citizen'. Yet tax minimisation is seen as one of the prime duties of company directors to protect the revenue of their shareholders. Companies in the UK avoid an estimated £20 billion of tax155. In a private survey by Deloitte and Touche in 2000, 85% of the companies surveyed admitted to using tax avoidance schemes which they had expected to be challenged by the Inland Revenue. 156 More importantly, multinational companies exploit the poverty of developing countries, as the fluidity of capital encourages countries to compete for the lowest tax rates in a drive to attract investment. A truly socially responsible company would be transparent in terms of the levels of taxes it is paying in each of the countries in which it operates and would see paying tax as part of its responsibility to society rather than seeking to avoid it.
• Stop lobbying against the public interest – Corporate lobbying works against democracy. Corporations are able to influence policy making at all levels and have privileged access to decision-makers. Companies which claim to be socially responsible still lobby against the public interest, make donations to political parties for which they expect payback, and even use their position as supposed 'socially responsible corporate citizens' to gain access to international forums tackling global issues such as poverty, sustainable development and climate change, successfully capturing the agenda and undermining moves towards real change.
• Democratise the workplace – 'Socially responsible' labour practices when applied top down by a corporation are ineffective in tackling sweatshop labour. Workers need the space for collective bargaining where they decide their rights and demand them.
  A socially responsible company would be run for the benefit of people. Workers would be recognised not as 'human resources' who must be efficiently put to use by the company, but as the people who create the worth of the company and as such should determine their conditions of labour.
• Reduce consumption and limit growth - The current rate of degradation of the natural systems that are vital for our survival, forests, oceans, soil, fresh water and the earth's capacity to absorb pollution, can only be stemmed by an urgent reduction in consumption. Less consumption means lower profits for companies, yet if a company were truly socially responsible it would have to accept this ecological imperative.

This level of social responsibility is not something a corporation, as corporations are currently structured, could handle. It is not within its worldview. Society must create new structures to replace corporations, ones that could operate in a way that might meet some of these criteria. 22