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Corporate Social Reporting

What is it? 

Managing Companies in a Socially Responsible Manner

Consequent to increasing globalisation, greater environmental and social awareness, and more efficient communication, the concept of companies’ responsibilities beyond the purely legal or profit-related has gained new impetus. In order to succeed, business now has to be seen to be acting responsibly towards people, planet and profit (the so-called ‘3Ps’) sometimes also known as the triple-bottom line. The perspective taken is that for an organisation (or a community) to be sustainable (a long run perspective) it must be financially secure (as evidenced through such measures as profitability); it must minimise (or ideally eliminate) its negative environmental impacts; and, it must act in conformity with societal expectations. These three factors are obviously highly inter-related. Many companies now report regularly on the subject producing Sustainability and/or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reports whose content is increasingly scrutinised by investors and financial institutions. 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been defined by the European Commission as the integration by companies of social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in the interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. CSR is about managing companies in a socially responsible manner. Business and society are interdependent. The well being of one depends on the on the other. Companies engaged in CSR are reporting benefits to their reputation and their bottom line. CSR is a voluntary action that business can take, over and above compliance with minimum legal requirements, to address both its own competitive interests and the interests of wider society.

 CSR is to-day a strategically important  and challenging development for European business and policy makers taking root in a broad variety of industrial sectors. Environment, safety and health at work are very much an integral part of the CSR concept, companies recognise that they cannot be good externally, while having a poor social performance internally.

 CSR is an evolution in the approach towards sustainable development: while the 1992 Rio Earth Summit focused on environmental management, the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) focused on a broader set of issues, including poverty reduction and social development.

 Since 2000 the CSR concept has pushed further and further up the corporate agenda as business strives to act responsibly towards people, planet and profit (the so-called ‘3Ps’). Some driving forces pushing CSR up the corporate agenda (including OSH) are:

• Informed investors recognise that the business risk (both internal and external) for companies that successfully manage their social and environmental impact is lower than the business average;

• Consumers prefer products that are produced in a socially responsible way

• Increased concern about the damage caused by economic activity to the environment

• Transparency of business activities brought about by the media and modern information and communication technologies

• Search for new forms of global governance

• Measurement of progress toward sustainable development:

 Companies that already produce CSR reports have found that the process of developing a sustainability report provides a warning of trouble spots and unanticipated opportunities in supply chains, in communities, among regulators, and in reputation and brand management. Reporting helps management evaluate potentially damaging developments before they develop into unwelcome surprises.

 Reporting and external communication is a significant part of CSR and one that is no longer restricted to the largest multinationals. Recent statistics indicate that up to half of the UK’s top 250 companies produce some sort of CSR report. The UN sponsored Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed a set of reporting guidelines for CSR reporting. These Guidelines organise “sustainability reporting” in terms of economic, environmental, and social performance (also known as the “triple bottom line”). This structure has been chosen because it reflects what is currently the most widely accepted approach to defining sustainability.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a multi-stakeholder process and independent institution whose mission is to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. These Guidelines are for voluntary use by organisations for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of their activities, products, and services. The GRI incorporates the active participation of representatives from business, accountancy, investment, environmental, human rights, research and labour organisations from around the world. Started in 1997, GRI became independent in 2002, and is an official collaborating centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and works in cooperation with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Global Compact.

GRI is probably the most significant triple bottom line, multi-stakeholder, consensus-based, public reporting guidelines or frameworks currently at the international level. There are national-level initiatives being driven by governments, businesses and non-governmental organisations alike, and many of them are aligning with GRI to allow ease of use in the international arena.

 Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is also closely linked to CSR, and there are a number of measurement indices such as FTSE4Good and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index which rate companies CSR performance.

 ISO is also planning to develop an International Standard for social responsibility. The objective is to produce "a guidance document, written in plain language which is understandable and usable by non-specialists" and not intended for use in certification.

Useful Sources of Additional Information on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) available on the www:

Society and Business, Developing Corporate Social Responsibility in the UK

UK HSE on Corporate Health & Safety Performance Index

EU Information source on corporate social responsibility

EU Environment Agency on Sustainable Reporting

Europa Enterprise CSR for SMEs

Business in the Community in Ireland

UK Environment Agency on Environmental Reporting and Accounting

UK Government Gateway to CSR Information

Information on CSR from UK Industry

Agenda – Social Responsibility in Scotland

Business in the Community

Business in the Community in Northern Ireland

Business in the Community in Wales

CSR Quest

AccountAbility - Institute for Social and Ethical AccountAbility is committed to strengthening the social responsibility and ethical behaviour of the business community and not-for-profit organisations.

Mineral Resources Forum on CSR

The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) is an organization of leading companies dedicated to fostering environmental, health and safety excellence and corporate citizenship worldwide through the sharing of tools and information in order for business to achieve environmental excellence

Business for Social Responsibility is a global organization that helps member companies achieve success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment includes information on Supplier Environmental Management

Ethical Corporation magazine is an independent business information provider and events producer on the issues in and around corporate social, financial and environmental responsibility

Global Reporting Initiative

CSR Europe

UN Global Compact - code of conduct for large companies

United Nations research programme on CSR

ILO database on Business and Social Initiatives

Worldbank Corporate Social Responsibility Practice Work Program

Sustainability Reports for Multinational Companies

Corporate social responsibility Newswire Service

Centre for Innovation in Corporate Responsibility

Online companion to Ethical Performance an independent publication covering the latest in corporate social responsibility.

Greenbiz Leaders examples of environmental responsibility

UK CSR Academy

Corporate Environmental Reporting clearing house

Information source from Cleaner Production on Environmental Reporting

UK based SERM rating Agency on company sustainability risk

ISO Conference on Social Responsibility

GoodCorporation Standard helps organisations to develop, manage and monitor their corporate responsibilities

Copenhagen Centre:

Nordic Partnership Business Models for Sustainable Development

Dutch Knowledge and Information Centre on CSR

German Council for Sustainable Development

Social Venture Network (SBN) Europe

International Business Leaders Forum

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance

Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000): voluntary standard for corporate social responsibility.

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)

Danish Social Index: self-assessment tool to encourage companies to reflect on their social commitment and results.

Belgian Social Label:  is aimed at promoting a socially responsible production.

Italian CSR-SC Initiative

Social & Ethical Reporting Clearinghouse: website providing links to social and ethical reporting guidelines, organisations and surveys. 

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

Canadian Business for CSR

Amnesty International Business Unit

Greenpeace: campaigns for more sustainable and ecological practices. Has established partnerships with companies towards better social and environmental accountability.

Human Rights Watch: dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world.

Transparency International: dedicated to curbing both international and national corruption.

World Wild Life Funds (WWF): committed to create partnerships with companies towards better social and environmental accountability.

Links to useful CSR Resources on the www: 

EU CSR Resources -Inventory of KEY CSR Resources and Archives

GRI Reporting Guidelines

SRI World Group's socially responsible investment centre for financial advisers, money managers, and financial planners provides objective news, tools, and information products

World Economic Forum the Business Case for Corporate Citizenship

BSD Global Sector Specific Resources

Accountability Resources

Dow Jones Corporate Sustainability Assessment

ISO Social Responsibility Conference

Triplebottomline Resource Centre

Europa Enterprise CSR for SMEs

Enviro Reporting Resources