Why CSR should be a priority for all investors

Sarah Mumford, marketing director at Alquity Investments, says the recent debacle at Barclays serves as a reminder that considering a company's corporate social responsibility principles is something investment providers should be doing as a matter of course.

Over the past few weeks, the goings on at Barclays (and no doubt other banks to come) have illustrated perfectly how poor behaviour within a company towards the outside world, otherwise known as how seriously it takes its corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations, can have devastating consequences for both that organisation and its stakeholders, be they employees, suppliers, customers or indeed shareholders. The long-term impact on the bank’s reputation, also known as its brand, and in turn its share price, can only at this point be guessed at, but the outrage felt by many at the...