A colleague of mine recently attending a large APAC regional marketing event where one of the speakers said in "5 years CSR would be dead," and related it to the fact or hope that in 5 years CSR wouldn't be an after-thought.  It wouldn't be in the "have to do" column for companies in 5 years because hopefully the social and corporate consciousness would simply show the way for all companies to "want to do" something to help the world in whatever capacity.  And CSR  specific departments, campaigns, newsletters, etc., would all be extinct as the essence of CSR work would happen every day.

Until that day comes I was thrilled to read over at B.L. Ochman's blog a review of what AMEX is up to in this space with their new "Members Project" which basically comprises of AMEX donating up to $1 for every cardmember that registers (up to $5M) and than the fun part happens with everyone who is a member has the ability to recommend a charity/cause to get some funding and people vote on their favorites.  It is such a great idea and one that I'm hoping other companies will copy soon. 

I hope everyone in the communications industry is having conversations with their clients regarding the formulation of a CSR strategy and eventually implementing a CSR campaign.  There has been significant research showing the positive benefits of companies conducting these campaigns (with consumers, media, stakeholders, investors, etc.) and there's no better day to start than today.