In a presentation to a session at the GLOBE 2014 conference in Vancouver, former Enbridge President and CEO Patrick Daniel gave a very realistic overview of how corporate responsibility to various groups has evolved over his 40 years in industry. He said that companies used to consider that shareholders, employees and customers were their primary communities but in more recent times the whole of society has become much more important, possibly even exceeding the previous three groups in importance for corporate success.

At the same time Daniel admitted that only a very small number of companies have recognized this, that for the corporation it is not just a matter of handing money out for community activities but actually engaging with broader society and many of the groups that society includes, and that many companies are finding it especially challenging to address their corporate social responsibilities. He said that he expects that in future years the matter of social license to operate will impact many more companies.

This is a GallonDaily live report from the floor of the GLOBE 2014 conference.