Apple, Siemens, Disney, Shell. Large companies are withdrawing en masse from Russia. Pension funds ABP and bpfBouw are also doing it. Disney and Sony no longer release movies. In protest against the attack on Ukraine. Tech company Apple, which usually evades political discussions, said it would no longer supply products to Russia. And Apple Pay no longer works there. Tim Cook, the boss of the group, emailed all employees Apple also donates money for aid to Ukraine. It also triples every donation from an employee.
Do such initiatives make sense? I think so. Many Russians have no idea what is going on. Actions like this can make people think. This week there were long lines in the Moscow metro because Apple Pay and Google Pay refused service. And when Tim Cook says something, even in an internal e-mail, millions of people watch and listen.
In addition, companies have a moral and social responsibility. Creating jobs and earning money is no longer enough. Why again?
More than fifty years ago, the Austrian-American management thinker Peter Drucker was one of the first to put this on the agenda. An important reason: among the most important economic entities in the world, there are more and more companies. Such organizations cannot afford to focus solely on business, Drucker said. Their impact on the economy, humanity and the environment is simply too great for that.
Another reason: customers and citizens demand it. The American communications agency Edelman annually surveys the state of trust in the world. The most recent Edelman Trust Barometer shows that of all institutions, companies are the most trusted. Citizens worldwide have more trust in companies than in NGOs, governments and media. The respondents also believe that companies should become more involved in social problems, such as climate change and economic inequality. “Social leadership is now a core business of companies,” headlines Edelman on his website.
What can you do if you are not the boss of a global corporation? Fortunately, the news this week also offered a lot of inspiration.
Ali Niknam, founder and chief of Bunq Bank, said his company will help refugees with visa applications. Sytse van Heijst, director of Gazprom Netherlands, resigned. He no longer wants to work for the Russian state-owned company. Numerous small and medium-sized entrepreneurs doing business with Ukraine have started their own collections.
And of course you can also give money to aid organizations.
What is no longer a really serious option for companies is to remain neutral. I was reminded of a classic saying by the recently deceased South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu. “If you take a neutral position in unjust situations, you are on the side of the oppressor. If an elephant puts its paw on a mouse’s tail and you say you’re neutral, the mouse won’t appreciate your neutrality.”
Ben Tiggelaar writes weekly about personal leadership, work and management.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on 5 March 2022
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of March 5, 2022