Why do companies say they are responsible, but then act differently? Is it lip service, green washing, and double-speak? Or does this happen for a different reason?
The answer is that most companies are less sinister than skeptics might think, but often they don’t know what they don’t know. Good managers with strong values make bad decisions because they don’t see opportunities to make a difference on social issues. From the outside, they appear to be acting irresponsibly, but often it’s simply a reflection of in-line managers being uninformed about the intersection of their business with society.