迪士尼高管一人分饰两角

    据毕马威会计事务所（KPMG）2011年的可持续发展报告指出，消费品行业的公司更倾向于制定可持续发展计划。而安永会计事务所（Ernst & Young）2011年的报告则指出：“全球共有超过3,000家公司公布了可持续发展报告”；这其中包括三分之二的《财富》世界五百强公司（Fortune Global 500）。不过，对于大多数公司而言，公布可持续发展报告还需要可持续发展负责人与首席财务官之间认真协商。

    可持续发展负责人与首席财务官这两个职务合二为一有几大好处。当然，首席财务官参与公司可持续发展方面的工作对任何公司内的环保人士都有好处。旧金山州立大学（San Francisco State University）道德与可持续企业中心（Center for Ethical and Sustainable Business）的丹尼斯•柯林瑞切特教授说：“这样可以使人们了解可持续发展的作用，提高可持续发展的重要性，而不是仅仅将可持续发展看成一帮环保主义分子的事。”

    此外，除了一些陈词滥调之外，首席财务官似乎也很适合可持续发展的工作。安永会计事务所的报告显示，大多数可持续发展措施都需要第三方认证，而这与财务审计颇为类似。报告称，这恰好符合首席财务官的作风，“他们知道如何选择最佳供应商，也知道如何与他们开展有效的合作。”

    而且，负责公司社会责任工作也会给首席财务官带来好处。柯林瑞切特教授说：“首席财务官一直被严格限制在负责公司的财务状况”，而接管可持续发展工作则可以提高他们在公司内部的知名度。拉苏洛便是最好的例子，外界一直盛传他可能成为CEO罗伯特•艾格的继任者。

    由拉苏洛担任可持续发展工作的负责人并不是迪士尼内部的一次大规模策略调整；这本来就是这家公司的运行方式——迪士尼的首席财务官一直都同时负责公司社会责任事务。拉苏洛认为，这种做法在迪士尼可能比在其他公司更为适合，因为公司业务很大程度上都依赖有见地的孩子家长的主动参与。这家媒体巨头的消费者会密切关注迪士尼品牌的一举一动，因为这些品牌会对他们的孩子造成深远的影响。拉苏洛说：“迪士尼品牌与公司的价值在于其一举一动的真实性。我们不能说一套做一套。”

    拉苏洛也看到了同时兼任这两份工作的好处。他说：“我认为，首席财务官有独特的义务和机会，为一些表面上看起来似乎非常困难的决策提供商业论证。首席财务官有先天的优势，既可以提供商业论证，同时还能反复提醒人们一个事实，即可持续发展是公司的核心价值所在。”(财富中文网)

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Companies in the consumer goods industry also tend to have a sustainability plan, according to a 2011 sustainability report by KPMG. And, in total, "more than 3,000 companies worldwide now publish sustainability reports," according to a 2011 paper from Ernst & Young; that figure includes two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500. But for most companies, publishing these reports requires serious negotiation between the sustainability head and CFO.

    There are a couple of benefits to fusing the two roles. Of course, having the CFO involved in sustainability efforts benefits the eco-conscious members of any organization. "It gives higher visibility to the role of sustainability," says Denise Kleinrichert, a professor at San Francisco State University's Center for Ethical and Sustainable Business. "It raises the level of importance of sustainability instead of just being seen as, you know, a bunch of tree-huggers."

    Besides, in spite of the stereotypes, CFOs might be cut out for the job. According to the Ernst & Young report, most sustainability measures require third-party certification, which can feel a lot like a financial audit. That's right up a CFO's alley, the report says: "They know how to select the best providers and work with them effectively."

    CFOs can also benefit from taking charge of corporate social responsibility efforts. "The CFO has been strictly confined to looking at the financial picture," Kleinrichert says, but taking over sustainability can make the finance person more visible to the rest of the company. This has likely worked well for Rasulo, who has been mentioned as a potential successor to CEO Robert Iger.

    Giving Disney's Rasulo the job as sustainability head wasn't a major strategy change for Disney; it's just how the company rolls -- Disney's CFO has always been in charge of CSR. Rasulo argues that this may work for Disney more than many companies as its business depends on the wiling participation of informed parents. The media giant's consumers closely monitor the actions of Disney brands because those names play strongly with their children. "A lot of the value of our brand and company is the authenticity with which we act," Rasulo says. "We cannot act in a way that is different from what we try to represent."

    Rasulo sees the benefits of his dual job. "I think that the CFO has the unique obligation and opportunity to make the business case for what sometimes, on their face, seem to be very tough decisions," Rasulo says, "[CFOs] are particularly well-positioned to both make the business case and to proselytize the fact over and over that this is a core value of the company."