The first step in bringing a corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) strategy to life is the development and formal adoption of CSR commitments, which are the policies or instruments of a company that indicate what it intends to do to address its social and environmental impacts. ...
Traditionally, performance measurement systems relied almost exclusively on management and cost accounting principles, often resulting in an emphasis on short-term results and efficient management of tangible resources (i.e., fixed assets and inventory), which were easier to measure using financial metrics, and failed to pay appropriate...
While corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) is grounded in the fundamental proposition that companies should look beyond economic performance to take into account the social and environmental impact of their activities, the reality is that “doing the right thing” is not a sufficient argument and CSR...
The assessment of the company’s current and potential corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) activities, combined with the survey of practices of other companies and guidelines included in CSR instruments, should allow the leadership team to start putting together a list of proposed CSR actions that can...
Companies should begin the process of developing a corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) strategy by collecting and analyzing information to assess the potential role of social responsibility in the company’s business activities, benchmark their CSR profile against the efforts of competitors, learn more about the needs...
While frameworks and suggestions for implementation of corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) do vary, there is almost no controversy that in order to make informed decisions about the content of a new CSR initiative, or changes to an existing program, the board of directors and members...
Becoming a sustainable business, or improving a company’s current performance with respect to acting in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, requires the same sort of strategic approach as any other major corporate initiative. However, while strategic planning for sustainability has become a recognized discipline,...
The path for developing and pursuing a CSR or sustainability strategy will be different for each company and will depend on its unique characteristics and circumstances; however, it is generally recognized that an effective strategy must be based on accepting the need for organizational change,...
Community engagement and investment is a multi-faceted activity that requires formal management and planning. Working with and in the community is part of the broader corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) activities of the company and this means that management should begin at the top of the...
Once your company has finalized and published its CSR commitments, attention needs to turn to the actual implementation of those commitments, which includes the day-to-day decisions, processes, practices and activities that are required in order for the company to adhere to its commitments and effectively...