New group pushes 'responsibility officer'.

Is there a place in the corporate firmament for another title, corporate responsibility officer (CRO)? A new organization is so sure that there is that it has launched a magazine, a series of conferences and a Website, www.TheCRO.com.

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The organization kicked off with a conference in New York in November that drew close to 200 people from a variety of fields--corporate officers, marketing executives, attorneys, consultants, nonprofit leaders and more. The program offered a wide-ranging view of corporate responsibility--largely synonymous with social responsibility--and direct experiences from executives involved in outreach and communication.

The actual job title of CRO is scarce: Jay Whitehead, CEO of the organization, said at the conference that he was aware of just 12 at public companies. But the function itself, CRO says, is filled by people holding a range of titles: CFO, treasurer, chief operating officer, vice chair, chief compliance officer, chief ethics officer, general counsel and EVP of human resources or investor relations. A more common title is vice president or director of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Or the function may be divided among several executives.

The CRO has incorporated the content of Business Ethics magazine and its Website, and publishes CRO magazine, The CRO.com and regular email newsletters. It says its aim is to provide its members a range of media--magazines, conferences and online properties--to more rapidly professionalize the new CRO function by providing success stories, information and analysis on best practices, navigational tools and critical relationships. In doing so, it will "serve corporations in addressing the needs of major stakeholder groups, including shareholders, employees, customers and community."

Indeed, CRO is doing something unusual: trying to build and help shape a community around a discipline that is still evolving. CSR has made major inroads with pension funds and non-profits, and has far more visibility in recent years, especially with concerns about environmental damage and climate change. But it has more traction in Europe than in North America and remains a subject of considerable resistance from many companies and indifference from many analysts.

And, besides resistance, there is a perceived lack of strategy about how to develop CSR. A survey by 198 medium-sized to large multinationals by The Conference Board found that most said they lacked an active approach to developing new business opportunities arising from meeting citizenship and sustainability needs.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tell-tale Signs of a Company's Troubled Finances

* Slowdown in payment patterns

* Slowdown in inventory turnover

* Plant closures/layoffs

* Loss of market share

* Company begins disputing charges with longtime vendors

* Sudden departure of top executive(s)

* State tax liens are filed against company

* Marked increase in requests/inquiries for trade information about the company from other vendors

* Delayed release of quarterly or annual financial statements

* Financial results are released by someone other than the CEO or CFO

* Hiring of an external "business consultant"

* Loss of "key" customer(s)

Source: Research from global trade credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI