How does CSR affect your business and stakeholders?

1 What is CSR and why does it matter?

CSR is the voluntary integration of social and environmental concerns into your business operations and decision-making. It goes beyond compliance with laws and regulations, and reflects your commitment to ethical conduct, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. CSR matters because it can bring multiple benefits, such as improving your brand image and customer loyalty, enhancing employee attraction and motivation, increasing investor confidence, strengthening supplier relationships, building social license and community support, as well as reducing operational costs and environmental footprint. For instance, by demonstrating social and environmental responsibility and responsiveness, you can foster a culture of purpose, trust, and well-being; by adhering to international standards and guidelines you can gain access to capital; by adopting responsible sourcing practices you can increase innovation potential; by contributing to local development you can build strong community support; and by implementing resource efficiency measures you can reduce waste.

2 How to identify and prioritize your stakeholders?

Identifying and prioritizing stakeholders is a key step in developing and implementing a CSR strategy. Stakeholders are individuals or groups that affect or are affected by business activities, such as customers, employees, investors, suppliers, communities, and regulators. To identify and prioritize them, you can use various tools and methods such as stakeholder mapping (a visual representation of stakeholders based on their level of interest and power), stakeholder analysis (a systematic process of collecting and evaluating information about stakeholders' characteristics, perspectives, and preferences), and stakeholder engagement (a continuous dialogue and collaboration with stakeholders to inform, consult, involve, partner, or empower them). This will help you understand their needs, expectations, interests, and influence in relation to your business goals and values.

3 How to choose and apply a CSR strategy?

When creating a CSR strategy, it's important to consider your business context, stakeholder expectations, and competitive advantage. The process includes conducting a CSR assessment, developing an action plan, implementing and monitoring the plan, and reviewing and improving it. A CSR assessment is a comprehensive analysis of your current CSR performance, gaps, opportunities, and risks. A CSR action plan should include a roadmap of your priorities, actions, responsibilities, resources, timelines, and outcomes. Implementing and monitoring the plan should be done systematically using appropriate tools and techniques. Finally, you should review and improve the plan periodically based on your monitoring results and stakeholder feedback.

4 How to use CSR frameworks and standards?

CSR frameworks and standards are voluntary guidelines and principles that help you define, measure, and report on your CSR performance. They can also assist in benchmarking your CSR performance against peers and industry, as well as demonstrating credibility and accountability to stakeholders. Among the many CSR frameworks and standards available, the United Nations Global Compact is a global initiative that encourages businesses to adopt and report on 10 universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. Additionally, the Global Reporting Initiative is a global standard that provides a common language and structure for disclosing and communicating economic, social, and environmental impacts. Furthermore, the ISO 26000 is a global standard that provides guidance on the core issues and principles of social responsibility. Lastly, the B Corp Certification is a global certification that assesses and verifies social and environmental performance.

5 How to communicate and report on your CSR performance?

Communicating and reporting on your CSR performance is an essential part of your CSR strategy, as it enables you to inform, engage, and influence your stakeholders, as well as demonstrate your achievements and challenges. It also helps to promote transparency and accountability, and encourages learning and improvement. You can use a variety of channels and formats to communicate and report on your CSR performance, such as CSR reports, websites, newsletters, and social media. CSR reports are formal documents that provide a comprehensive overview of your CSR strategy, actions, results, and impacts. Websites offer a dynamic and interactive way to share stories, data, and feedback. Newsletters provide brief summaries of highlights, updates, and events. Finally, social media provides a direct way to reach out to stakeholders and create awareness for CSR initiatives.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?