CSR Department directors at Western companies based in Moscow: Move to Kiev

More than one year ago, the people of Ukraine began to demonstrate their disgust with their leadership’s corruption and backtracking on a promise to establish closer ties with the EU. Their President’s violent crackdown ultimately backfired and led to his abdication. Since then, the country has endured Russia’s seizure of Crimea and Putin’s relentless military support for separatists in the Donbass region who oppose the new government’s pro-Western policies. Ukrainians are dying for freedoms we take for granted in the West. Meanwhile, Western firms doing business in Russia have a moral duty to abide by their own corporate social responsibility policies, which include support for human rights and self-determination. Regional headquarters of Western companies that are also active in Ukraine are inevitably based in Moscow. A sign and symbol of commitment to own corporate values would be to move CSR departments to Kiev. This would send a signal to the world that Western corporations not only believe in their own proclaimed values, but also care about their consumers in the entire region and not only the bottom line.