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Oct 24, 2012 11:30 AM ET Campaign: [3BL Blogs](/news/campaign/3bl-blogs) [Posted by Paul Klein](http://3blmedia.com/blog/Paul-Klein/CSR/Why-Has-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Stalled) [CSR](http://www.forbes.com/companies/csr/) has come a long way in a very short time. But while CSR remains a high priority, social performance has been lackluster and corporate leaders want to know how to increase the value of their investments in this area. In this context, it’s no surprise that *Fast Forward* is the theme of [Business for Social R](http://www.bsr.org/ "BSR")esponsibility’s 20th [Annual Conference](https://2012-ny.bsr.org/ "Annual Conference") that takes place in New York this week. I had the opportunity to speak with Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR, about some of the challenges and opportunities that corporations face in this area. Here’s an edited summary of a long conversation I had with Aron about the state of CSR today: **[Paul Klein](http://blogs.forbes.com/csr/):** On the one hand, we don’t need to talk about the business case for CSR anymore. On the other hand, being “responsible” isn’t having the impact it once did. What do you think corporations ought to be doing to increase the value of their CSR efforts? **Aron Cramer:** There is still a long way to go to fully integrate social, environmental, and governance questions into business strategy and operations. In BSR’s 20th Anniversary Report we identified four areas that we think are really important in terms of getting more traction and having more impact. The first is to continue to integrate CSR at the core of business with accountability systems. We also believe that the essence of sustainability needs to be fully integrated into the way markets work so that the short-term considerations that currently dominate our financial markets diminish because you eliminate barriers to greater progress. The third thing we talked about is looking at systems change – the need to look at how whole systems operate and how to embed CSR in these systems. Finally, businesses need to take advantage of the way our society is changing. Individuals are more empowered and connected than ever before and companies need new ways of communicating with and engaging the public. [**Click here to continue reading and comment**](http://3blmedia.com/blog/Paul-Klein/CSR/Why-Has-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Stalled) *Paul Klein founded Impakt in 2001 to help corporations become social purpose leaders and is considered a pioneer in the areas of corporate social responsibility.* *Paul has helped Fortune 500 companies and other large corporations including BC Hydro, Canada Post, The Co-operators, De Beers, Hain-Celestial, Home Depot Canada, McKesson, Nestlé-Purina, National Bank, Petro-Canada, Pfizer, RONA, Shoppers Drug Mart, Starbucks, sanofi-aventis, and 3M to improve the value of their social purpose programs. Paul has also helped many leading non-profit organizations to build shared value partnerships with corporations.* *Paul is a regular contributor to Forbes, has served on the Advisory Council of the Queen’s School of Business, and has been a featured speaker for organizations including the Aboriginal Human Resource Council of Canada, Association of Canadian Advertisers, Conference Board of Canada, Canadian Business and Community Partnership Forum, Canadian Stewardship Conference, and the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada.* *Paul is regularly featured in the media as a corporate social responsibility source, was included in the Globe and Mail’s 2011 Leading Thinkers Series, and was recognized as one of America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior.* [![3BL Logo](/sites/default/files/2023-06/3BL%20FULL%20LOGO_MIDNIGHT_MEDIUM.png)](/profiles/3bl) ### More from 3BL ###### [“AI Can’t Quote Coverage You Never Generated.”](/news/ai-cant-quote-coverage-you-never-generated) Mar 31, 2026 1:30 PM ET ###### [3BL Launches New Content Editor to Power Richer Brand Storytelling](/news/3bl-launches-new-content-editor-power-richer-brand-storytelling) Jan 27, 2026 5:30 PM ET ###### [3BL Joins Double the Donation Community User Conference, Jan. 22](/news/3bl-joins-double-donation-community-user-conference-jan-22) Jan 12, 2026 2:00 PM ET ###### [Our Vision for What’s Next](/news/our-vision-whats-next) Dec 17, 2025 2:30 PM ET ###### [What 10 Years and 600 Studies Tell Us About Sustainable Business Success](/news/what-10-years-and-600-studies-tell-us-about-sustainable-business-success) Dec 10, 2025 1:00 PM ET ###### [New Research Debunks Sustainability-Profitability Debate](/news/new-research-debunks-sustainability-profitability-debate) Dec 3, 2025 10:30 AM ET ###### [3BL Supports Berkshire Bounty’s Fight Against Food Insecurity With $10,000 Challenge Grant](/news/3bl-supports-berkshire-bountys-fight-against-food-insecurity-10000-challenge-grant) Dec 2, 2025 12:05 PM ET ###### [2025 Was a Big Year for Sustainability Communications — Here’s What the Research Said.](/news/2025-was-big-year-sustainability-communications-heres-what-research-said) Nov 20, 2025 2:00 PM ET