Business should reach out to NGO’s in The Netherlands
1 september 2008
First: let there be no mistake. Everybody, including NGO’s and their members have to live by the law. Second: claims about projects and activities, whether made by business, the government or NGO’s have to be correct. All these organisations should be transparent about how they operate and impact society. Not the least by issuing sustainability reports many companies have opened up significantly over the past decade, more than NGO’s seem to have. So there is something to learn for them.
However, businesses can learn a lot from NGO’s too. That is why various companies have built partnerships with NGO’s. The combination of both parties’ skills and expertise can deliver synergies. Still, NGO’s are a pain in the neck to companies in other situations. This is not pleasant for the company involved. But from a societal perspective it can be valuable, since NGO’s act as countervailing powers. Again, provided that everybody is living by the law, and makes true claims based on real facts, this is the kind of resistance that keeps the capitalist system healthy. We can not, and business is aware of that, be successful without being tested by outsiders with a health degree of scepticism.
It is for this reason that I believe business should voice its concerns about the current debate. Not all NGO’s are great all the time, but neither are many companies. By explaining how cooperation and interaction with NGO’s has brought merits in the past, business would reach out to NGO’s at an important moment. In difficult times one gets to know his friends. The silence now seems to imply that NGO’s don’t have any friends in the business environment. I know this is not true. And I believe it is in the best interest of both business and NGO’s to bring some clarification. Do you agree?
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