"There are industries where the social and environmental impact is so great that even the best CSR programme cannot outweigh its negative effects," he says, giving as an example the tobacco industry.
Here, despite tobacco companies actively being involved in the creation of philanthropic community projects and education, often in the form of grants, scholarships, professorships, even the creation of an entire school, the very core of its business model is predicated on a product that can kill.
A recent World Health Organisation report, Tobacco Industry and Corporate Responsibility: An Inherent Contradiction, pointed out that, alongside the industry's philanthropic efforts: "The toll of tobacco-related disease and death around the world is spiralling to 4.9m lives lost every year.
"This figure exceeds all previous projections, reaching greater dimensions, faster than expected — reaffirming the urgent need for action on a global scale."
This is why Mr Crossman is clear: "CSR must go to the heart of the business model, otherwise it is no more than a token add-on".
But tobacco isn't the only sector facing conundrums with CSR; any company could technically fail to manage an environmental or social risk properly.
In this case, as Jennifer Walmsley, partner at consultancy Arkadiko Partners, explains, this "tends to give rise to the question of what else they are not managing well".
Ms Walmsley adds: "'Good CSR' is simply part of a company’s licence to operate in certain sectors such as extractives, where failure to do so has real and immediate repercussions.
"Where a health and safety incident closes a mine for a week, for example, then the financial impact of that is obvious.
"More broadly, companies having sound policies to manage the full range of risks they face makes good sense because it should, over the long term, mean that those companies are less subject to unanticipated shocks. Investors often talk about sustainability."
Regulation
Regulatory change is driving governments and companies towards a more ESG-friendly approach, and not just nationally but across the European Union and globally.
According to Stephanie Maier, director of responsible investment for HSBC Global Asset Management: "We are seeing a welcome increase in sustainability disclosure guidelines and expectations globally, whether in the form of mandatory corporate reporting or listing requirements.
"Companies failing to appropriately manage and disclose environmental, social and governance risks will see greater scrutiny from investors and regulators."
Her comments were backed up by those of Lisa Beauvilain, director and head of sustainability and ESG for Impax Asset Management.
She believes regulatory and reputational 'brand' risks of getting it wrong can have serious consequences for these companies.
Ms Beauvilain elaborates: "For investors it is important to understand the most material non-financial risks that companies are facing and how well companies manage these risks.
