The main aim of this thesis is to research how the members of an occupational pension fund value the fund's corporate social responsibility policy and how the members can be reached with more information about this policy. Also at SPH, the Dutch pension fund for general practitioners, the member became more verbal and involved in the corporate social responsibility policy.
Dutch pension scheme
In this chapter, we will look at the Dutch pension scheme as a whole and the pension scheme for GPs. Most second pillar pension scheme members are not fully aware of the cost of their pension scheme.
SPH – the pension fund for general practitioners
Although most of them are freelancers or entrepreneurs, they are obliged to build up their pension at SPH, the pension fund for general practitioners who work and live in the Netherlands (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgeleighenden, 2020). The entrepreneurs and freelancers in the SPH pension scheme do have to pay for their pension themselves.
The Corporate social responsibility policy of SPH
Based on the background and objectives of the pension fund, SPH does not only focus on long-term financial value creation. Social value creation is also a core task of the fund with a view to long-term returns and social involvement.
Research questions
One of the examples of SPH taking the lead in a health-related issue is the call to pharmaceutical companies to work together against the coronavirus. SPH is also one of the parties that signed the Dutch Financial Sector Climate Agreement.
Key concepts
This chapter examines the theoretical underpinnings of the concepts relevant to this research in more detail. This chapter takes a closer look at the theoretical basis for the concepts relevant to this research.
Corporate sustainable responsibility
In the various theories, the terms customer, consumer and member are used as they are used in the source. In the US, the role of the individual was emphasized, while in Thailand, for example, the general discussion was that the CSR obligation should depend on the size of the company (Holme et al., 2000).
Sustainable investing
For example, pension funds are specifically prohibited from investing in companies involved in the production of cluster munitions (Netherlands National Bank, 2007). In 2014, the Pension Fund Code entered into force as a self-regulatory document for the Dutch pension sector.
Communicating to stakeholders
With the power-interest matrix (Cornelissen, 2017), the participant groups can be plotted or based on their power and their level of interest. But it is precisely those with the most interest and power, the so-called key players, who deserve more priority. If we look at the members of SPH, they mainly form their opinion through the direct and indirect contacts they have with the pension fund.
The product that is offered (a pension scheme) is therefore a co-creation in collaboration with the GPs themselves. However, it has a joint responsibility with the BPV to maintain GP support for the pension scheme and thereby 'sell the concept of a pension fund'. Temporal context refers to the receiver's perception of the history and anticipated future of his/her relationship with the sender.
If it appears that the objectives cannot be achieved with the set budget, adjustments must be made.
CSR communication
The assessment of CSR policy and implementation is described in the strategic balance sheet management and investment policy. Since 2019, the evaluation of CSR policy and implementation has been an integral part of these evaluations, in which the principles and consequences set out in this policy document are tested against reality. The company's core values formed the basis not only of the campaign, but of all the communication expressions of the organization.
This is in contrast to Shell's campaign, which was a separate campaign, not part of the entire communication mix of the Shell brand or corporate enterprise. This increases the risk of one of the stakeholders involved using a project to greenwash its image. 58% of funds believe that responsible investment is sometimes a sham for asset managers (PensioenPro, 2020).
This is difficult to control, but it can greatly influence people's opinion of a company or project.
Summary
Once a company is accused of greenwashing, it is really hard to get rid of that image (de Jong et al., 2019). They concluded that it is not enough for a company to report that it is behaving 'green' (sustainably) just because it follows laws and regulations. The fear of being exposed as part of a greenwashing operation or even advertising and greenwashing the pension fund itself are a couple of reasons why the board of SPH is reluctant to use CSR in its communication to members.
As far as SPH is concerned, most of the current communication takes place in order to comply with current rules or to respond to commotion among SPH's members. In order to keep members informed about the CSR policy and its development, it is not only necessary to look at what is strictly necessary. It should be noted that the story has a clear structure and approach and that it does not resemble too much a greenwashing story.
This means that it is aimed at acquiring new knowledge that is directly applicable in a concrete situation.
Research design
This chapter discusses the research approach, data collection methods, and data analysis methods.
Methods of data collection
This is due to the sometimes heated discussions and politically expressed positions taken by the various discussion partners. To what extent must the policy be drawn up by the board members. The result of the first discussion formed the input for a large survey among all members of SPH.
The answers from this member's survey were used as input for another round table discussion with members of the pension fund. In this discussion, the quantitative data were further discussed and the extent to which they corresponded to or differed from the views of the participants at the table. Knowing that the participants in this roundtable were all highly motivated and committed members of SPH with a strong attitude towards CSR, we used them to discuss the next steps.
How would they like to be informed about the CSR policy and in what way.
Methods of data analysis
Communications How and how (involved) members want to be informed about SPH's corporate social responsibility policy. This chapter will discuss the results of the round table and survey. How SPH members value the current CSR policy and how they would like to be updated on this topic.
Round table discussion 2021
Member’s survey 2022
92% of members say they believe SPH should invest their money sustainably and responsibly. How would you describe your opinion of SPH's current CSR program? Probably because of the war in Ukraine, which made the Netherlands realize how dependent the country is on Russian gas and other fossil fuels (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2022).
Which of the following topics should be prioritized in SPH's corporate social responsibility program? SPH should follow the current policy, according to which it does not exclude by definition all fossil companies, but reduces the CO2 emissions of investments, in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This appears to be a prime example of a case in which the most outspoken members - on both sides of the spectrum from the staunch proponent of CSR to the biggest skeptics - cause a lot of noise within the organization and in the media, but it seems that the silent majority agrees with the current CSR policy.
SPH must follow the current policy, whereby you do not by definition exclude all fossil companies, but reduce the CO2 emissions from the investments.
Round table discussion May 2022
An email newsletter, which is not currently available in SPH's media mix, is by far the most popular option.
Summary
For SPH it is important to emphasize that CSR is not a matter of greenness, but is an integral part of investment policy. Based on SPH's mission and the idea of 'investing in a healthy future', CSR is indeed one of the main activities of the pension fund. It fits best with SPH's mission and vision if the story that unfolds follows the guardian archetype.
The very fact that SPH has a pension scheme in the first pillar is an example of the paternal nature of the pension fund. As a result, they were mainly conducted with members who were at both ends of the spectrum (for or against CSR). With an attendance of 11% of the entire population, the quantitative research has been carried out very well.
The weighting variables with the overviews of the numbers before and after the weighting can be found in appendix 2. SPH explains this as looking beyond the creation of financial value for the participants. Which of the following topics should be prioritized in SPH's corporate social responsibility program.
Reliability and validity
Learning outcomes
Research questions members survey 2022
How would you describe your opinion of SPH's current social responsibility program? Can you explain why you [answer Q1.A] have an opinion about SPH's current corporate social responsibility program? The central theme of SPH's social responsibility program is "caring for the future".
In your opinion, SPH should pay less / equal or more attention to its corporate social responsibility efforts. Health is a good theme for SPH to focus on in its corporate social responsibility program o Strongly agree. What is your opinion about the level of communication from SPH about its corporate social responsibility program.
In what way do you want to be updated on SPH's program for social responsibility.
The weighting of the research results
