It is encouraging to see a company with such wide ranging impacts and interests engaging seriously in how it can deliver wider public benefits. With communities expecting to have much more of a say about their future and the political interest in localism growing from all sides the challenge of engaging communities effectively will be key to ensuring collective responsibility. Here at Civic Voice – the new national charity for the civic movement – we might ask whether you think it is being done well enough at the moment? And how would you feel if you put yourself in the shoes of a local community for a day?

For me – a collective responsibility is the literal translation of how the issues of sustainability should be conversed about. While there can be one (or many) figureheads within an organization or community, in the end it all comes down to the individuals and the convergence of everyone’s ideas and suggestions for improvement to their communities and workplaces. Much like how safety is not just “the safety guy’s” responsibility, sustainability is something that should be addressed by everyone because it affects everyone. It is everyone’s duty to take ownership of these matters, as some others in this thread have stated already.

I believe that a great place to start in these discussions with everyone is to put to rest some of the outstanding myths associated with sustainability. As a company (OpCo or corporate) we should also be weary of “greenwashing” and be able to show and discuss real and tangible results in how we are helping our environment and communities.

Collective responsibility for me represents the convergence of the mutually supporting responsibilities of corporations, employees, governments, investors, customers, NGOs, and public communities to seek to resolve the pressing issues. It is also about developing consensus and understanding on the material issues that matter most, I guess.