In a real way, Bill Ford, chairman of Ford, summarised the central challenge of corporate social responsibility in the modern world in his introduction to Ford’s sixth formal non-financial report of Ford Motor Company:

At Ford Motor Company, we have made sustainability a long-term strategic business priority. The reason is simple: we are a 100-year-old company, and I want us to become a 200-year-old company.

The same challenge faces not only American Express Business Travel but the entire business travel sector, because – using the same statement by Bill Ford:

Sustainability is about ensuring that our business is innovative, competitive and profitable in a world that is facing major environmental and social changes.

Innovation, competitiveness and profitability are the more obvious positive dimensions of the long-term corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda. They illustrate, however, the ways in which a relatively narrow set of traditional agendas applied to business have expanded to define a new relationship between business and society

As the impact of business across society expands, it is not surprising that society’s expectations of business increase not only in scale, but in nature. This is, also, a function of the greater confidence in the competences and capabilities of business to address issues of sustainability, safety, security, care for employees and other stakeholders, stewardship, fairness and diversity and other indicators of the business agenda that emerged in the late twentieth century.............

Questions 1 Review the challenges facing American Express Business Travel 2 Make recommendations on:

(a) how the specific challenges might be met;

(b) an overall strategic response.

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The traditional business agenda Desired of business E.g. foundations, by society Expected of business by society corporate contributions E.g. avoid questionable practices, assert ethical leadership The traditional business agenda