A GROUP of senior black businessmen who hold shares in Woolworths have instructed me to represent them here today as well as at the upcoming annual general meeting, where I will make the views of these shareholders known.
The group of businessmen that own shares in Woolworths have made it clear that they are concerned about the increasingly irresponsible manner in which the management of Woolworths is handling the #BoycottWoolworths campaign.
The businessmen are of the view that, firstly, the management of Woolworths should have met with the activists advancing this campaign – regardless of wether the company agrees with the activists or not. Meeting and trying to resolve this issue should have been the first step.
Going to court to resolve this issue should only have been the last option pursued by Woolworths.
That to date Woolworths has declined a face-to-face meeting with BDS South Africa and other human rights groups goes against good governance principles.
For society, corporates are arguably one of society’s most potent change agents for a sustainable world. The economic reality today is that the drive towards a safer, cleaner, healthier and thriving society lies not only with policymakers, but with corporates too, as they influence policy, attitudes and behaviour through their operations and business philosophies.
Woolworths certainly fits the mold not just in South Africa but in a global context of a company wanting to be a socially responsible company. This was acutely pointed out by the group’s chief executive and chairman’s statement in the Woolworths’ 2014 Good Business Journey. Here is an excerpt: “Our customer research around our campaigns and initiatives as well as tracking studies, show an ever growing awareness of the [Woolworths] Good Business Journey… customers interact with us increasingly through social media channels, and are a key source of fresh ideas and priorities for the business… We see these interactions as opportunities to improve our business, to bring innovation and to better understand what is important to our customers.”
UN signatory
Last year Woolworths was ranked first in the RepTrak Reputation Index survey of South African companies. It was also rated in the top three of the Sunday Times Top 100 companies for 2013 and was included in the JSE Socially Responsible Investment index for 2013/14.
It must therefore come as a surprise that Woolworths now faces the prospect of ongoing boycotts and protests.
Why is Woolworths seemingly being singled out? The most obvious reason is that Woolworths has committed itself and its practices to certain values, for which it enjoys incredible support. For example, Woolworths is a signatory to the UN Global Compact (UNGC). According to the UNGC, it is the world’s largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative.
The UNGC asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption.
BDS South Africa and others contend that Woolworths is flouting the first principle by trading with Israel – particularly with companies that may have involvement, trade or some other dealing with Israeli settlement firms. By refusing to engage in public discourse over the Israel trade issue, Woolworths is not only potentially undermining its commitment to the UNGC, but inviting questions about all its other commitments and social obligations.
It is not difficult for companies to support universal causes like promoting education, healthy eating or addressing poverty. But a company that claims to be the bastion for corporate governance and corporate citizenship, we believe, cannot simply put its head in the sand when faced with complex issues.
Balancing the expectations (and sometimes competing objectives) is arguably the most critical challenge a company’s leadership faces. From Woolworths’ perspective, the answer is simple: either make a concerted effort to uphold the principles it promises to uphold, or openly move away from those principles.
Nadia Hassan represents a group of businessmen who hold shares in Woolworths. This is an edited transcript of a press statement she presented at a media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday.