A few years ago, I was walking by the poolside at the Muthaiga Country Club to my table, when I spotted my dear friend Bob Munro, (now deceased). He was there with his family and with his friend Michael Hopkins, to whom he introduced me.
Since then, Prof Hopkins and I became close friends as well, but equally sadly he too passed away recently- a few weeks before his eightieth birthday.
For the last few years, Prof Hopkins had been living part of his time in Malindi, part in Nairobi and part in France near the Swiss border, in each location continuing to pursue his passion for corporate social responsibility (CSR), where he had been a pioneer in developing sustainable frameworks.
He authored numerous books on the subject, including periodic updates, and he was also a visiting professor at many universities, including Management University Africa here in Nairobi.
He also published a series of blogs, condemning the awfulness of Brexit, which he later collected into a book called Brrrexit!.
Prof Hopkins was greatly in demand for interacting with students on the highly topical subject of sustainability, as well as with corporates around Europe, in India, Mauritius and elsewhere. He was also in demand with me, as he became my guide on CSR and sustainability, plus the closely related ESG issues – on Environment, Social and Governance.
I particularly admired him for his “systems thinking”, urging those with whom he interacted to integrate their ESG strategies with their overall ones. And another point he liked to make was not to confine CSR activity to the for-profit private sector but also to not-for-profits and to the public sector. Great thoughts! Plus to have sufficient but not excessive regulations for it.
I quoted him in a couple of my articles on such subjects in this column, and we participated in a joint book launch at the Westgate bookshop, he-with his CSR volume, “From the Margins to the Mainstream” and I-with a collection of my articles on ESG.
Prof Hopkins and I linked up in several other related ways. He introduced me to Prof Mike Saks, his UK colleague who also specialised in such fields, and the three of us co-founded the UK-centred International Responsible Leadership organisation, which promotes such kind of leadership around the world.
Prof Hopkins may have been a much-respected academic in his field, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a jolly fellow, whose laughter so often filled the room.
He was a joker, not least about himself, and he and I would always have such a happy time together, whether just on the phone or in person.
His jolliness, his very firm values and his areas of interest also led me to introduce him to my Rotary Club of Nairobi, where he would nudge us into building sustainability into our community projects. Not surprisingly, his commonest phrases were to “treat others the way you want them to treat you,” and to “treat all key stakeholders responsibly”, very aligned with Rotary thinking.
Prof Hopkins became a very popular member, often staying behind after our weekly lunch meetings to chat further, with a few members. And when he passed away, a great sense of sadness swept over the club.
Just recently Rosemary Wahome, herself in the sustainability business, asked me if I’ve thought about how to honour Prof Hopkins contributions to sustainability, and it immediately occurred to me to propose a sustainability award in his memory to our Rotary Club. Discussions on this are under way.
On November 16 – Prof Hopkins' 80th birthday – a memorial service was held in Malindi to celebrate his life, with his son William and daughter Eve present.
And following this, his cremated remains were carried out on a boat and sprinkled into the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately I couldn’t be there to eulogise my buddy, but happily I have this opportunity to write about him.
We will continue learning from Prof Hopkins about CSR and sustainability through his writing and remembering what he taught us, and it will keep reminding us of his permanently on-display sense of humour and his jolly laughter.
The writer is chairman of management consultancy The DEPOT, and co-founder of the Institute for Responsible Leadership. Email: [email protected]
Unlock a world of exclusive content today!Unlock a world of exclusive content today!
