Here's how you can navigate strategic decision making in the field of CSR.

El objetivo debe estar alineado a los problemas de nuestra comunidad y a los que se pueden generar a partir de nuestra presencia (como empresa) en el medioambiente dónde nos desarrollamos.

La definición de objetivos específicos es una clara demostración de la evolución y un mayor grado de madurez de las empresas que están gestionando sus principales temas ASG. Para esta definición es clave tener el visto bueno de la alta dirección e idealmente el apoyo del área financiera ya que muy seguramente estos objetivos van a requerir de un presupuesto para hacerlos realidad.

Uno de los principales aspectos que tomamos en cuenta desde las organizaciones de la sociedad civil es definir la problemática social, analizamos las causas, consideramos alternativas de solución, las traducimos en una teoría de cambio que hable de cómo es la situación actual y cuál la deseada. Es así que podemos decidir cuáles son las acciones que nos llevarán del cómo se está ahora y cómo en el futuro. Es muy importante que las corporaciones que decidan atender una problemática consideren que problema, estado deseado y acciones estén en línea con lo que hace cada día su organización para utilizar bien los recursos con que cuentan, no distraerlos ni mucho menos desperdiciarlos. Incluso deberían servir al negocio para ser sostenibles.

Responsible governance acts as the starting point for effective CSR. By setting SMART goals aligning with company's core values and mission, ensures transparent communication. This builds trust with stakeholders, a crucial element for impactful social contributions. Responsible governance allows companies to identify and manage social and environmental risks proactively. Integrating CSR into governance structures empowers businesses to navigate these challenges, paving the way for sustainable business practices that benefit both society and the company's long-term success.

J'ai compris au fil du temps que la RSE devait être présentée positivement. Dans mon entreprise nous tentons de déployer une RSE volontaire, ambitieuse mais aussi joyeuse. Il faut analyser la contrainte pour la transformer en opportunité ou en objectif puissant. La RSE doit aussi infuser dans tutes les strats de l'entreprise et elle se construit collectivement même si elle est portée principalement par une personne ou un service. Il faut réussir à transformer une pratique RSE en habitude.

Double materiality is a critical tool for CSR impact assessment because it assesses sustainability risks and financial impacts. It compels businesses to consider how resilient their operations and value chain are. It fosters a more comprehensive understanding of stakeholders concerns, leading to stronger collaboration and identification of emerging opportunities that benefit both society and the company. On a tactic perspective, systematically evaluating initiatives through a multimodal/ plural value is key. This multi-perspective lens (considering social, environmental, and economic impact, along with their alignment with CSR strategy) bridges the gap between strategy and actions, making it a game-changer for achieving real-world results.

Debemos evaluar tanto el impacto hacia afuera de la organización ( a los grupos de interés que se pretende beneficiar incluyendo el medioambiente) como el impacto o beneficio que se obtendrá para la organización, por ejemplo una reducción del riesgo de negocio, mejor reputación, mayor calificación en algún estándar o certificación, etc.

Con el FODAI ya hecho y el diagnóstico, definimos que camino seguir, planteando objetivos en pasos cortos y alcanzables para no caer en ningún tipo de Washing. De nada sirve tener un objetivo difícil de alcanzar que genera frustración. Mejor dar el primer paso, que sefuramente no nos lleva a donde queremos llegar pero si nos saca de donde no queremos estar.

Understanding the potential impact of our CSR efforts is crucial for strategic decision-making. By evaluating both immediate and long-term benefits, we can prioritize initiatives that offer the greatest positive outcomes, such as a healthier environment, a more educated workforce, or improved community relations. This ensures our actions are impactful and promotes continuous improvement. At the same time we needs to be wary of the risk of overestimating short-term successes and ensure our assessments are based on comprehensive, long-term data to avoid superficial results.

Assessing impact and tracking progress is important. What is key is to focus on long term impact (forget about quick wins here). When defining the program it is thus essential to define regular milestones to be met, allowing steering along the way, so the focus stays on the flag on the horizon while tracking progress on the path to get there.

En esta etapa, comienzan a fortalecerse las disidencias, siempre es importante ir a la velocidad del último en la comunidad, ya que si dejamos afuera a alguien, ese se convertirá en un actor de poder de acuerdo a las alianzas que pueda hacer con otras organizaciones o personas. Las acciones de la empresa u organización deben contemplar a todos los públicos, a todos quieren decir a todos, no dejar a nadie afuera de la conversación.

While sustainable CSR initiatives are always the ultimate dream but at the start of the programme we also need to plan the exit strategy. Therefore the right stakeholder engagement strategy is key to a successful exit strategy ensuring sustainable impact.

The stakeholder engagement process when defining the CSR program should focus on ‘who is influential on the topic you want to address’ and ‘who is willing to engage’. Doing this exercise will help you to prioritize your potential partner. And it also gives insight in who is influential and not willing to engage. You should understand there agenda, follow them, perhaps inform them as they can be potential blockers.

Increase your engagement in the topic of CSR by inviting cross functional involvement you can increase visibility for your function. This is important for a new or emerging CSR department, work on engaging them first then you can manage them and their expectations and input.

Stakeholder engagement is a crucial aspect of any CSR strategy. Identifying stakeholders—employees, customers, suppliers, and community members—and understanding their concerns and expectations are essential steps. Engaging in meaningful dialogue provides valuable insights into how our business impacts them and how our CSR efforts can address these areas. Knowing who our stakeholders are is vital as it allows for a targeted and collaborative approach, fostering trust and leading to more effective and sustainable CSR initiatives

💰 Budget wisely: Ensure you allocate sufficient financial and human resources to your CSR initiatives. Consider partnerships to leverage additional support. By partnering with a local non-profit, we were able to extend our reach and effectiveness in a community health project, using their expertise and resources alongside our own.

Avoid hit and run CSR actions. If you can't do it for the long term it means it doesn't have a purpose and it is not sustainable. If a CSR action has a purpose, you will find the necessary resources from your management and teams.

As a representative of the non-profit community, i think the best way for corporates and NGO to work together is to identify as many intersections as we can and leverage each other’s resources to implement selected priorities.

Impactful CSR strategy needs to have variety of resources (people-experts, time, funding, workspace, etc) on disposal in order to be successful and meaningful. Only CSR strategies alligned with corporate strategy, available resources and long-term perspective creates impact in local community that brings changes and can be measured.

En Argentina los presupuestos asignados a RSE, Sustentabilidad y todo lo que genera triple impacto económico, social y ambiental se le suele asignar muy poco presupuesto. En mi caso como Creativo Publicitario puedo dar fe al haber trabajado junto a las áreas se Marketing de las empresas, el presupuesto de Sustentabilidad versus el presupuesto de Marketing es de 1 a 10.

With a due diligence lens, companies should not only measure progress and success, but also efficiency of the different sustainability programmes and training, as well as stakeholders engagement actions they have in place. I believe the private sector has a lot to learn from NGOs in terms of Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) frameworks and methodologies.

📏 Track progress: Use KPIs and benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of your CSR activities. Regular reporting and transparent communication are crucial. We implemented a dashboard to track key metrics such as volunteer hours, funds raised, and environmental impact, allowing us to monitor our progress and make data-driven adjustments.

Ideal es medir el éxito y también los puntos en los cuales no fuimos exitosos para mejorarlos. Muchas veces en los puntos débiles encontramos los principales puntos de mejora del plan de RSE.

From my experience, it is learnt that applying lean data approach to measure the impact on a real-time basis helps implementors a lot in terms of regular review of progress, course corrections, improving the delivery efficiency and outcomes.

A due diligence envolve uma análise detalhada de diversos aspectos de uma organização, como sustentabilidade e engajamento das partes interessadas. As empresas privadas podem aprender com ONGs, que operam com recursos limitados e desenvolvem robustas práticas de Monitoramento, Avaliação e Aprendizagem (MAA) para que possam demonstrar resultados tangíveis de suas atividades e adaptar suas abordagens. Adotar essas práticas pode melhorar a transparência, responsabilidade e impacto social e ambiental das empresas, fortalecendo sua reputação e contribuindo para metas de sustentabilidade e responsabilidade social.

🔄 Continuous improvement: Regularly review your CSR strategy and its outcomes. Be ready to adapt your approach based on what’s working and what’s not. After a year of running a green initiative, we found some of our recycling efforts ineffective. We revisited our strategy, made necessary changes, and saw a significant improvement in our waste reduction goals.

Sustainable Development implies cooperation and open collaborative governance. This is why there is a 17th SDG : partnerships (UN). And it is most particularly relevant on a local/regional scale since the outcomes can directly be observed by the local stakeholders. In order to participate to local social and green transitions, some companies chose to join collaborative projects together with local public administrations, CSOs and other companies. In such multilateral environments, companies have to share, elaborate and measure initiatives, objectives and indicators collectively. This represents a change of paradygm towards a more horizontal decision-making, in opposition to a traditional pyramidal model.

Take the opportunity to reflect utilising your junior members of staff, understand the most critical aspects of the project failures through the lens of all of your team not just the leaders or external stakeholders. It can take courage to reflect honestly but start the habit of this by having feedback moments in the project design process to ensure it is baked into the roadmap. This will prime those involved in the project for transparency. Acting on your reflection sometimes means turning the other way in how you have managed or strategised be brave and shameless growth is evolution!

Justo:as organizaciones son entes vivos, como cada humano que la compone… la constante es el cambio . Las estrategias de RSC deben ser dinámicas, ajustables y obedecer al entorno y necesidades inmediatas y urgentes.

To navigate strategic decision-making in CSR, align initiatives with company values and goals while actively engaging stakeholders to understand their needs. Set clear objectives and KPIs, develop and implement detailed plans, and monitor progress regularly. Maintain transparency through regular reporting and foster a CSR-focused culture by encouraging employee involvement and continuous improvement.

🌍 Stay informed: Keep up with trends and best practices in CSR. Continuous learning will help you innovate and stay relevant. 🌱 Embed CSR in culture: Ensure that your CSR values are integrated into your company culture. This can enhance employee engagement and drive more meaningful impact.

En mi opinión, navegar por la toma de decisiones estratégicas en RSE implica una comprensión profunda de los valores de la empresa y cómo estos se alinean con las expectativas sociales. Yo haría un análisis detallado de los stakeholders para identificar sus intereses y cómo impactan en la estrategia corporativa. Según mi experiencia, creo que es importante considerar la sostenibilidad a largo plazo y cómo las decisiones de RSE pueden influir en la reputación y el rendimiento financiero. También recomendaría evaluar los riesgos y beneficios de cada acción, asegurándose de que las iniciativas de RSE sean auténticas y estén integradas en el núcleo del negocio.

It’s all the more important to align your CSR strategy with international standards understanding how they affect the country and the sector. In which your business operates in order to leverage your strategy and material topics with key requirements for the industry and always trying to advance its maturity levels. This also helps when engaging your leadership in the relevance to embedded the Strategic CSR into the business strategy not just to better position the company among its peers , but to deliver clear benefits and net impact to the business, the environment and the society in the transition we live in.