For those in the world of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental and Social Governance reporting (ESG), an interesting dynamic is at play in Hong Kong, with a large multinational brand being drawn into the domestic "dirty" laundry of its licensee. The question is whether that local partner, and flagbearer of that brand, is able to find solutions which will not pull the value of the international brand down with its own domestic reputation.
This is an expensive brand maneuver and risk for any company, particularly with such a hot environmental topic as the one that shark fin represents and the visibility that social media provides. The Hong Kong and Chinese governments both already have banned this item from all official functions. This story is global in the environmental community, and it shows how multinational brands should exercise caution in who they work with, or license to, just as they would with supply-chain transparency and ESG requirements for those partners.
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