«
»

Danish CSR Initiative on Social Media Meets Criticism

Jonas Klit Nielsen Posted by Jonas Klit Nielsen Aug 5th, 2010

Lys i AfrikaThe Danish CSR initiative called ‘Lys i Afrika‘ (Light in Africa) that was launched on Facebook 12 May has been met with heavy criticism. The project is being accused of greenwashing, of keeping people for a ride and being a piece of ‘slactivism’.

Behind the project is Danish energy company Energi Nord, who launched a Facebook page promising its fans – now Likers – to donate solar cell lamps to Uganda for every 25 new Likers to the Facebook page.

The goal was reached by Energi Nord
On the page, the goal was to reach 5,000 lamps which equals 125,000 Likers. On the 2nd August that goal was reached and from now on people can choose to donate a lamp themselves for 100 Dkk. The explanation is that Energi Nord has to drive a healthy business and therefore does not have unlimited means to donate lamps to Uganda.

Some of the skeptics criticize the fact that Energi Nord from the very beginning had their mind set on a certain number of lamps, which in some way renders the Facebook campaign superfluous. It is also criticized that Energi Nord in the end makes their marketing more aggressive, inviting their community to participate in events.

Good intentions
I can see why some of the criticism may be OK and it shows that you really need to think your initiatives all the way through and be 100% honest with people from the beginning. But sometimes I think we as professionals get a bit carried away.

In this case, Energi Nord is a professional business that wants to do some good in the world (there is enough companies out there not doing anything) and at the same time add those values their brand. This is understandable. They came up with a good and fun idea that could go viral by using social media.

125,000 people is now following the project and Energi Nord keeps people posted on the story of the lamp’s journey to their final destination while encouraging people to donate a lamp themselves. The result might well be the birth of a movement. What if 5% of the 125,000 took the small amount out of their pocket and actually bought a lamp – that would be an additional 6,250 lamps.

My point is simple. Yes, Energi Nord could just have donated the 5,000 lamps they wanted to, but with a campaign on Facebook, there is an actual chance of creating a movement maybe doing an even bigger impact than the 5,000 lamps. The number of donated lamps right now is 5,260, so some people have got inspired by the light so to speak.

Get inspired – send a lamp

Lys i Afrika - Energi NordThe criticism of this campaign has reached the media. If you turn to the Facebook page, some are arguing and some are saying they are leaving the page and think badly of Energi Nord, but the negative energy and people leaving seems to be less than 0,01% – again my point being, if people get the idea and get inspired, it does not matter what we as button belly oriented professionals think.

And just to be clear, I have no connection to Energi Nord or a possible agency helping them. In my ignorance I actually don’t even know if they have an agency assigned. But what I know is that I like to get inspired by good ideas and like the idea that I can take a measly 100 kroner’s and send a lamp to Uganda. It’s concrete – I know what I am giving and to whom. One lamp from every employee at Mindjumpers is now on the way to Uganda.

What’s your opinion on an initiative like this?

» Follow Jonas on Twitter

Similar Posts:

  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • StumbleUpon

Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted in Marketing & Communication, Social Responsibility

  • http://twitter.com/djisti Isti

    I like the idea as well and I think you did a great job there in supporting. Maybe you are a bit too pro company on this, but then again. I’d also rather choose to see the positive side of this then the bad one and the net is full of haters. Rather not pay too much attention to them and keep going. Thumbs up for the support

  • http://latenights.dk Jonas Juhler Hansen

    CSR is all about building up goodwill, isn’t it? Alice Korngold says about CSR that you should:

    “[..] deliver meaningful CSR results with integrity.”*

    Whether or not a solar lamp is meaningful, I don’t know. I do think 100 dkk is quite expensive compared to what those money might get you of true sustainable projects or transfer of technology. Things that last after a battery wears out.

    But most importantly, I think Energi Nord has a problem with integrity. I’m just not convinced that Energi Nord truly believes in this case. It doesn’t seem wholehearted trading facebook fans for charity. It seems more like a quick PR gimmick. In and out. And (ab)using people in need for a gimmick – well I can’t endorse that. Can you?

    Like respect and loyalty, goodwill is earned and I think you should be careful and committed to your CSR initiatives or there will be no goodwill to harvest if they are too random or suspiciously executed. There should be no doubt as to your intentions!

    I could be wrong. Lys i Afrika could be the beginning of a long lasting and dedicated effort from Energi Nord to do some good in the world. Time will tell. Perhaps next time they will donate replaceable batteries to the lamps – but only if you invite all your friends to the page and write the number of invites on the wall…

    *http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alice-korngold/leading-companies-good/corporate-social-responsibility-leveraging-good-will

  • Tehneyat

    I agree with Jonas (Hansen) on the above, but on the other hand, they just got caught. The thing is that often Facebook pages do not clarify what the intent of the page often is. I often find myself reading through ‘Stop FGM’, ‘Help monks in Burma’ and other campaign initiatives to see who the sender is, what the goal is, and when the deadline is, and the reality of the situation is that users of Facebook don’t take themselves seriously enough to address all these concerns before joining or supporting. The problem is that people are in a need of a quick-fix, where they need to do ultimate good in the least amount of time + energy used as possible. Energi Nord, like many others on facebook runnning a campaign, are not completely transparent about their agenda and were taking advantage of the fact that people on Facebook are a bit gullible when it comes to joining things (as no one is putting a signature anywhere, who cares to read all the terms and conditions…right?).

    This is not good practice by Energi Nord, and at the end of the day, if CSR is really about building goodwill, then obviously Energi Nord failed to set their agenda straight before embarking on this social media adventure.

  • Gareth Garvey

    I thought CSR was about corporations being socially responsible (or am I being naiive).
    This can be done quietly or can be something done to support a brand, give employees a nice warm glow etc etc. All donations come out of one or other budget, but if an organisation bellieves in aa cause and wan’t to show it’s social responibility by donating to this cause, it is more socially responsible to do something that genrates donations over and above the amount the company wishes to donate and generates additional awareness of the probelm.

    On the subject of the effectiveness of the donations….this is massively subjective. If people belive their money can be put to better use by supporting another cause then they should send their money to another cause.

    ….and the lamps are solar powered using rechargeable, not replaceable batteries. Lamps like this make a massive difference and give an extended day for education etc etc.

blog comments powered by Disqus