PILOTING RRI IN INDUSTRY: A ROADMAP FOR TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGIES Emad Yaghmaei CEPE/ETHICOMP, Turin June 6, 2017
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) ‘The responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society’ (European Commission 2011) Still little attention for innovation and product development in CSR
RRI in companies Explain what RRI is Provide incentives to engage Dialogue Develop roadmap to implement RRI principles Consulting services to help personalise Employ RRI tools in product development Branch level initiatives
RRI pilots in companies Technology Pilot companies Nanotechnology 2 Companies (Italy) Synthetic biology 2 Companies (UK, US) Automated Cars/Drones 2 Companies (UK, Netherlands) Internet of Things 2 Company (UK, Netherlands)
Pilots Objectives In the pilots, we will help the companies to: Articulate a responsible strategy for their organization Make the business case for RRI Embed RRI principles in their organization
Common Challenges to Adopting RRI Practices Importance “RRI is not relevant for us. I know no other leader in my field who’s done this.” “No way, this is in conflict with our goals.” Strategy “That’s a change of strategy. It’s not in my goals. My manager must approve first.” “I am not paid to do this.” Urgency “I understand it is important, but we first must solve this much bigger acute problem.” Ability/Resources “I’d love to help, but we don’t have the skills, headcount, or budget.”
Challenges for companies Why do it? Added value versus costs Resources Time Expertise Integrate it into their business Strategic level Daily practices
Bridging the Gap between RRI Community and Industry Language problem between RRI community and industrial stakeholders: Connect the Responsible Business Case to existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the team/project/company. Identify the stages of the implementation of RRI in companies
Assessment of pilots Reflection on and comparative analysis of pilots Comparison with traditional projects in the same companies Look at product and process dimension of RRI Added value of RRI
Signs of Successful RRI Engagement Strategy RRI is seen as a strategic priority. RRI is analyzed and broken into specific actions for the team. Execution RRI goals are set and cascaded. Progress is inspected frequently. Compensation RRI performance impacts employee compensation. Communication The line of business leader and her direct reports explain and promote RRI without being externally triggered.
Next Steps: RRI Integrated Reporting You can not improve what you can not measure
Roadmap RRI Tools for industry Gender dimension and tools Principles for stakeholder involvement Ethical guidelines How to integrate RRI in CSR Best practices and experiences Added value for companies
“There is only one way still open, the one of critique” (I. Kant)
Emad Yaghmaei TU Delft Research Fellow of the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section Department of Values, Technology, and Innovation Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management Jaffalaan 5 2628 BX Delft The Netherlands +31 (0) 15 2789689 E.yaghmaei@tudelft.nl Twitter: @EmadYaghmaei