Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 21 th September 2009

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? Unfortunately, there is no agreement on what CSR is or what a company should be responsible for. To confuse everyone, the CSR concept is either replaced or supplemented by new terms such as:  Corporate accountability  Corporate citizenship  Corporate responsibility  Socially responsible investment  Sustainable Development

Blowfield/Frynas (2005) definition of CSR It may be useful to think of CSR as an umbrella term for a variety of views and practices all of which recognise the following: 1.that companies have a responsibility for their impact on society and the natural environment, sometimes beyond legal compliance and liability of individuals; 2.that companies have a responsibility for the behaviour of others with whom they do business (e.g. suppliers); 3.that business needs to manage its relationship with wider society, whether for reasons of commercial viability or to add value to society.

ISO2600 Definition of CSR In January 2005 a Working Group was established within ISO, to develop an International Standard providing guidelines for social responsibility (SR), ISO Objective: To produce a guidance document, developed by experts of developed and developing countries from all stakeholders to be usable by non-specialists.. Why: In the wake of increasing globalisation, we have become increasingly conscious not only of what we buy, but also how the goods and services we buy have been produced. Environmentally harmful production, child labour, dangerous working environments and other inhumane conditions are examples of issues being brought into the open. All companies and organizations aiming at long-term profitability and credibility are starting to realize that they must act in accordance with norms of right and wrong.

ISO2600 Definition of CSR In January 2005 a Working Group was established within ISO, to develop an International Standard providing guidelines for social responsibility (SR), ISO social responsibility responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that: – contributes to sustainable development, health and the welfare of society; – takes into account the expectations of stakeholders; – is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour; and – is integrated throughout the organization and practiced in its relationships.

Where is CSR at now? Driven by issues such as; Changing focus on governance and integration New mechanisms arising such as; Different ways of mapping and classifying stakeholders CSR Committees Stakeholder panels Partnerships, such as PPP, PFI, JVs Multi stakeholder commitments

Growth of partnerships There are already various forms of partnerships: one-to-one partnerships on a single issue (e.g. Greenpeace- Foron; Bovince with schools) long-term partnerships (e.g. community partnerships with mining and oil companies) multiple stakeholder partnerships involving third parties (e.g. Ethical Trading Initiative in the UK) Partnerships are likely to further increase in future.

Role of Trade Unions and their Representatives? Trade unions have the capacity to provide support frameworks for their members through leadership and participation in workplace initiatives, e.g. training. They also have a unique position of awareness raising and mobilising support for social and environmental improvements within an organisation. Representatives hold an important position of liaison between workplace stakeholder views and union policy. Union involvement as stakeholders in the development and implementation of policy; not as negotiators but as partners.

Prospect and integrating MDG into CSR policies Prospect believes it is essential that employees and trade union representatives should be fully engaged as stakeholders in developing, validating, and implementing such policies There are currently no statutory rights for trade union workplace representatives in the area of environment or corporate social responsibility, The key issues for Prospect are Right to collective bargaining and workforce representation locally and globally Protect workers rights Organisational contribution to the MDGs

The future of CSR? In 2005, the London Business School and International Institute for Environment and Development initiated workshops on “The Future of CSR in 2015”. The workshop participants concluded that the term ‘CSR’ may well be dead by Corporate responsibilities will not disappear but they may break up into distinct sub-agendas such as: Business and environmental management Business and human rights Labour issues in the supply chain Business and corruption

CSR in 2015 Progressive coalitions on an issue-specific basis will spread, such as ‘Business Leaders Initiative on Climate Change’ today. Influence of the rise of Asian economies – esp. China and India – will affect the nature of CSR. CSR will remain vulnerable to “external shocks” and CSR’s importance could decline as a result of economic recession or epidemic, such as avian flu.

Society & the Millennium Development Goals MDGs set in 2000, for global development by detailed targets, by goal and by region

Meeting the Millennium Development Goals Of the targets, 42% may be met on current trends No target will be met worldwide In sub-Saharan Africa, only one target likely to be met...so what is the role of business?

Meeting the MDGs & CSR Incorporating all 8 MDGs into a policy is far too large an endeavour for any organisation; The range of activities covered by the Goals is enormous Few companies will be able to relate to them specifically or see how their activities can contribute anything meaningful. Therefore; Aim to identify aspects of the MDGs that do fit with a company’s core activities, and; Move towards consensus on investment areas.

Stakeholders & Engagement Stakeholders are any individual, group, material, or system which is affected by, or affects, an organisation and/ or its activities. Understanding ‘what’ & ‘who’ Asking the right questions (shared agenda) Listening Translating opinion to proposal Actioning Reviewing Reporting

Standards & Reporting, including; International Standard on Assurance Engagement (ISAE3000) AccountAbility’s Assurance Standard (AA1000) Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) "Sustainability Reporting Guidelines" ISO (International Standards Organisation) standards Environmental management (ISO 14001) Quality management (ISO 9001) CSR standard (in progress) (ISO )

Management / Action The business case – consider; Sector of the organisation; Scope of impacts; social, environmental, economic geographic (production, supply chain, customers) Stakeholders; Issues / expectations of Responsibility; Does the organisation have a; Shared definition of CSR CSR / SD report Director responsible for CSR Employee engagement

Good & bad practice How would you judge?