Social Responsibility is a Discipline, Not a Department

This past weekend, more than 2,000 MBA students and graduates from around the world converged on the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia to grapple with the question: Can we change the world through business?

At FedEx, we believe the very nature of our business is changing the world through Access, the platform of our global social responsibility efforts.  In two different presentations, Bill Margaritis, Corp. VP of Global Communications and Investor Relations, along wtih Mitch Jackson, Sr. Director of Environmental Sustainability, shared the impact of Access on economics, the environment, the community and the workplace.  By sharing our story with this audience, we were not only informing Net Impact members about our work to date, but inviting them to consider where Access could take our world next.

After both sessions, many students approach Bill, Mitch and others from the FedEx team to learn more about the organizational structure that led to our Global Citizenship Report and overall commitment to Access.  Many of these MBA students and professionals were curious about the collaboration needed across numerous functions of the business to make CSR work. As we spoke with the students, we affirmed the growing consensus that social responsibility is not a department, but rather a discipline.  At FedEx, every part of the business model is committed to connect the world in responsible and resourceful ways. This is how you create change.

From the CEO to the front-line employee, each of us is making Access deliver for our customer, our team members and for the sustainability of our business and the supply chain of others.  While we continue to innovate and seek new solutions to build on our success, the entire corporation is looking for opportunities to change the world through business.

Looks like we answered the question.