Investors and Consumers Demanding Business Social Responsibility

Having recently blogged about the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's investigation of calling cards, it's interesting to see this report from Researchandmarkets.com called "Social Responsibility in Card Marketing and Operations." The report says that 82% of executives at calling card companies believe that the companies themselves will embrace social responsibility on their own and without the "help" of government regulation. At first glance, I can imagine that you have your doubts, but the next statistic clarifies things a bit for all of us: 25% of stock buyers and sellers in the U.S., Japan, Italy, Canada, and Britain state that they bought into companies based on their social performance.

Growing Expectations for Businesses Worldwide
I'm sure that there were a lot of other factors for those investments too, but I think this is a little eye-opening. Partly it shows the challenges that businesses around the world face in general. Consumers and investors are now becoming just as concerned about how a service or product is created and delivered as much as what that service or product is. In an industry like calling cards where fraud is a big issue, I think those concerns put only increased pressure on those businesses to change and be more socially responsible in multiple business aspects.

House Panel Passes Calling Card Bill
Regardless of social responsibility, calling cards are one step closer to getting some of that governmental "help" in being ethical. A house panel has approved a bill (H.R.3402) endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The bill will set universal disclosure standards on rates and other terms for using prepaid calling cards. Another similar bill, which we've already mentioned, is in the Senate. The House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection's approval of the bill paves the way for it to be reviewed and voted on by the full committee.

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