The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has described CSR as ‘the business contribution to sustainable economic development’ (however, all public sector organisations in the UK also have CSR commitments).
Typically, such CSR commitments address issues that go beyond legal compliance to encompass the following:
- Corporate governance and ethics
- Health and safety
- Environmental stewardship/sustainability
- Human rights (including core labour rights)
- Human resource management
- Community involvement, development and investment
- Corporate philanthropy and employee volunteering
- Customer satisfaction and adherence to principles of fair competition
- Anti-bribery and anti-corruption measures
- Accountability, transparency and performance reporting
- Supplier relations, for both domestic and international supply chains
Environmental Sustainability
For many organisations, sustainability issues in general, and reducing environmental impact in particular, are near the top of the CSR agenda. This is partly because such measures also help to reduce overheads through improved efficiency. There is also an acceptance among many that climate change is one of the main challenges facing the world today. Thus, the motives for reducing environmental impact may be commercial, philanthropic or, very often, a combination of both.