Back to the Future

And the CSR-Reporting Blog is back to the future🎇🎆🎈🎉🎊🍨🍨🍨. A future in which the CSR-Reporting Blog is back. 2018 has been marked by an uncharacteristic absence after almost a decade (10-year blog birthday coming up next month!). Apologies to those readers who have experienced withdrawal symptoms.... I hope you have kept up your ice cream intake despite  .. or because of ... the absence of posts from the most insightful and fun blog on CSR and Sustainability Reporting on the whole world wide web. (Modesty is exempt on this blog).

So what have I been up to since my last post way back in February? Here are a few highlights of my year so far, serving to demonstrate that, even though the CSR-Reporting Blog has been absent, I have not.

Reporting reporting reporting  
It's been an intensive year this year, again supporting clients around the world in delivering their sustainability reports and other communications. Overall, I have supported the writing and/or development of 10 reports this year, some of which will be published in the coming month(s), but all of which meant that I had a more intensive first half of the year than I might have imagined - basically sleepless - but also one of the most satisfying years at Beyond Business. Here are some of the reports I have worked on - more about these -  and the others that will publish soon - in future posts (now that we are Back to the Future).

Caesars Entertainment's ninth annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report for 2017-2018 under the theme of PEOPLE PLANET PLAY. This is the sixth report I have worked on for Caesars and each year, this company amazes me with its forward thinking, leading programs and multiple achievements. Each reporting cycle brings new challenges and but it's always fun! Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment provider with gaming, hospitality and entertainment offerings in several countries.

Nexeo Solutions' first Sustainability Report for 2017 is the result of an incredible journey of pulling together the different elements of sustainability practice for this global chemicals and plastics distributor and forming an overarching story about its global impacts on sustainable supply chains. This first GRI Standards-compliant report, supported by newly created corporate policy and position statements on key topics, was possible due to the dedication of the reporting team leaders as well as an entire company-wide effort.

ECI's Sustainability Report for 2017 is another fascinating chapter in the sustainability progress of an ELASTIC and sustainable future, as ECI helps us make the most of a 5G world. ECI®, a global provider of ELASTIC Network® solutions for service providers, critical infrastructures and data center operators, supports and delivers sustainable, innovative solutions and outstanding customer service, while operating responsibly and in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is ECI's seventh annual sustainability report and I have been privileged to work on all of them.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries 2017 Social Impact Report continues the story of Teva's global impact on healthcare and access to affordable medicines, together with new initiatives to contribute to healthy communities through safe medicines, collaboration, health initiatives and innovative research. Teva is a leading global pharmaceutical company and the world’s largest generic medicines producer, with a portfolio of more than 1,800 molecules for generic products in nearly every therapeutic area, as well as specialty medicines. Teva's report also presents six new corporate positions and policies covering charitable donations, human rights, diversity and inclusion, occupational health and safety, environment and antimicrobial resistance.

Liberty Global's 2017 Sustainability Report is another in the series of Empowering Positive Change through Technology and a masterpiece in compact, on-point and super interesting sustainability reporting. At just 20 pages with a separate downloadable GRI Content Index, Liberty Global once again is an example of relevant and focused sustainability communications as well as impressive performance. For those who don't know, Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company.

Reporting Conferences and Events
February 27 saw the 2018 edition of the annual Smarter Sustainability Reporting Conference in London, which I again chaired. Matt Mace of edie.net summed up his views about the conference here, discussing the merits of the standalone sustainability report in the context of greater integration of sustainability practice in the business. An interesting debate, of course, as integrated reporting, which has never claimed to replace sustainability reporting, is starting to quite enjoy the promise of doing so, and even SASB, who has never claimed to be global, is starting to lay the ground for its worldwide debut. "Sustainability issues don’t have borders, and neither should our standards" claims Matthew Welch, President of the SASB Foundation, paving the way for global SASB domination. But GRI is not perturbed. According to Tim Mohin, GRI's CEO sustainability reporting is the new normal and he is optimistic that GRI will be able to lead the harmonization and alignment of standards, including SASB, to move away from the current "alphabet soup" of disclosure requirements and "stop asking the same questions in annoyingly different ways". You can engage with Tim Mohin in Singapore on October 2 as he keynotes at the second annual Asia Sustainability Reporting Summit 2018 (#ReportingMania) which I will co-chair, alongside the incredible sustainability leader, Rajesh Chhabara.

Also in 2018, I was delighted to conduct a one-day Sustainability Reporting workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia. Organized by the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia, led by the formidable Lela Khoperia, a dynamo driving the uptake of CSR in Georgia, the program was part of the Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative (CSSIGE) and funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Participants from 18 local companies and organizations joined the workshop and I had writer's cramp signing all the certificates at the end! This is incredibly important for this young country as it continues to establish its presence and deliver economic growth - to date, no Georgian companies have reported on sustainability but, if the eagerness and application of the attendees is anything to go by, we shall be seeing a flurry of reports from Georgia in the coming years!

The Georgian speakers among you can read about the workshop in a blog post by Marika Mchedlidze.


Reporting and Human Resources Management
In the early part of the year, I collaborated with old friends from the academic world to help develop a paper entitled: "Have labour practices and human rights disclosures enhanced corporate accountability? The case of the GRI framework." authored by Sepideh Parsa, Ian Roper , Michael Muller-Camen and Eva Szigetvari. Highlights of the research and discussion include:

- Companies over-claim adherence to GRI reporting guidelines while failing to report detailed information on their workforce.
- Companies fail to provide material information.
- Limited evidence of companies acknowledging impediments they encounter when reporting on their workforce.
- Companies pay more attention to their internal (as opposed to their external) workforce.
- GRI fails to achieve enhanced comparability, transparency and accountability goals.

Serious stuff indeed ... for those interested in the intersection between CSR and Human Resources Management (HRM), this is a must-read paper (assuming you have already read my book, CSR for HR, of course!). And continuing the HRM theme, I again worked alongside Professor Michael Muller-Camen and other accomplished academics to develop a chapter in a forthcoming book for publication in 2019, “Sustainable Human Resource Management: Strategies, Practices and Challenges”. The concepts and practice of Sustainable HRM and CSR-based people practices in organizations are still overlooked by all but the most enlightened Human Resources leadership; often HR functions are bypassed as companies pursue sustainability strategies and engage employees via different channels. This continues to be a missed opportunity for the HR function, and for society. My mantra in 2013 was "It is time for HR to wake up to CSR" and it's still pretty relevant today.

More awards 
I was please to author once again the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards annual publication, Learn from Asia's Best, showcasing examples of winning reports and what made them stand out. Check it out for some really impressive reporting approaches, designs and content.

The fourth annual Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2018 is now open for entries through November 2018, and I am bracing myself to close the year by putting on my judging hat together with a team of accomplished reporting practitioners and experts. I will read and review every single entry (as I have done for the past two years).  Good job that I am a reporting geek! 

Also in the last quarter of 2018, I will be joining another formidable team of judges to select the 2019 Sustainability Leaders. The UK’s largest and most prestigious sustainability awards recognize excellence across the spectrum of green and sustainable business. Entries are open till mid-September so now's a good time to think about who stands out for you on the sustainability landscape across 20 categories. 

So that's the Back to the Future round-up for the CSR Reporting Blog. Hope to maintain the pace as we move into the final stages of 2018 .. and many more exciting things on the horizon in 2019.

Thanks for reading the CSR Reporting Blog!



elaine cohen, CSR Consultant, Sustainability Reporter, former HR Professional, Trust Across America 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree, Ice Cream Addict, Author of three totally groundbreaking books on sustainability (see About Me page). Contact me via Twitter (@elainecohen) or via my business website www.b-yond.biz (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm). Need help writing your first / next Sustainability Report? Contact elaine: info@b-yond.biz 

Elaine will be cochairing  the  second annual Asia Sustainability Reporting Summit 2018 in Singapore on 2/3 OCtober. Join me there!

CSR: 8 short questions, 5 long answers

For those of you who don't speak Romanian (which I don't, though I have downloaded an App :)), I thought I would provide a translation of my recent interview which appeared online here. The interview is with ResponsabilitateSociala.ro,  the premier portal in Romania for all things relating to CSR. Andreea Giuclea, editor of ResponsabilitateSociala conducted the interview and was responsible for asking me many thought-provoking questions. ResponsabilitateSociala is hosting the annual Europe CSR Lessons on 15th and 16th May in Bucharest, with a fine line-up of speakers and fascinating case studies. I will be presenting a home-grown case study from my own market on Wednesday 16th May. More about that after the event.

When Bing Tanslate came up with an interesting "English" translation of my interview in Romanian, I realized that I had to step in. This is just one example:

"They may advise you to report the more honest and transparentin a way that allows the 2nd really imactul to evaluate their activity. Finally, we advise you to be realistic and authentic, and to accept the fact that lies on a road that stretches over many years and a day trip."

Here is the interview in full. Bingless. 

As CEO of a CSR consulting firm, you work with companies that are trying to develop responsibly. What is the main advice you offer them?

We recognize that companies have to start where they are. As consultants, we are always looking to help our clients deliver more progress, better results, faster implementation and broader and deeper assimilation of sustainability principles in the business. However, we recognize that companies can only do so much and that they have to pace themselves. Sustainability is a long-term effort and must follow a strategy which has a scope and a timing which is right for each business.

We therefore advise companies to look at their broader role in society and how their sustainability performance is positioned in the context of the contribution they make to a better world. We advise companies to find the right focus for their business and drive their performance in that focused area as hard as they can, while ensuring a minimum baseline across key sustainability indicators. We advise companies to ensure they bring along all their employees and external partners – sustainability works best when it forms a culture which is embedded in the business and is done in partnership.

We urge companies to measure not only performance, but outcomes and consider the question: what is different in the world as a result of our sustainability performance? We advise companies to report as honestly and as transparently about their business in a way which enables stakeholders to gain a true appreciation of their impacts. Finally, we advise companies to be realistic and authentic, acknowledging they are on a multi-year journey and not a day-trip.

Could you tell us what is your opinion of the current phase of corporate social responsibility? What are the main challenges that the field is facing?

Worldwide, I believe sustainability is in a dynamic phase and moving towards a more holistic representation of the concept. Rather than just trying to "be good" or "do good", there is more of a realization these days that sustainability is a way of business, not just a project which runs alongside the business. No longer just about values or philanthropy, companies now see they can make money through sustainability.

This means that companies are looking for the "shared value" aspects of sustainability activity which are generated through different business models. Regulation is also getting keener in many countries and carbon emissions, energy, water and other natural resources are becoming more expensive. Financially, companies are realizing that their financial balance sheet has the potential to be significantly affected by government intervention with carbon taxation, water taxation, landfill costs etc.

The move to an integrated approach to sustainability, characterized by the integrated reporting model, is taking time to be fully understood but is showing signs of reaching a wider corporate audience. Finally, the use of web-based tools to connect with stakeholders and online interactions to gather stakeholder feedback are becoming more acceptable.

Beyond Business is a firm based in Israel that works with local and international clients. From this point of view, what regions do you think are more open to CSR initiatives and how can you explain it? Are there any cultural differences regarding the approach towards social responsibility?

Broadly, the approach to sustainability is more governed by the size and global nature of a business, rather than its location. Global companies, which are generally leading the sustainability pathway, operate in the same way in every market in which they are present. This has the effect of leveling out local and cultural differences. Local companies in every market are impacted significantly by the standards established by leading businesses, as they are often suppliers to these businesses. Microsoft, P&G and Wal-Mart, for example, require their suppliers to report on sustainability performance.

However, in a more general sense, there are some differences in culture and focus, depending on the state of business and sustainability practice. Local companies in emerging economies, for example, are primarily concerned with ensuring compliance and attention to quality, safety and employee standards, while focusing their efforts on those aspects of sustainability which will deliver shorter term cost advantages, such as energy and raw materials savings. In some areas, such as India, sustainability is more about citizenship and philanthropic activities. In some countries, such as Japan, sustainability is very systematic and driven by quality frameworks, whereas in other countries, such as Africa, it's more about social equality and empowerment.

You also offer Sustainability Reporting consultancy. How important is for a company to be transparent about its CSR activities?

We see transparency as a catalyst for performance. The very act of preparing a Sustainability Report causes a company to confront many issues within its business which have never been addressed previously in the same way. Different questions are asked and new measurements are required. Core deliberations about disclosure cause serious discussions in the business at the highest levels. Making a public commitment to targets and action plans carry a certain pressure to deliver, far more than with targets communicated internally.

Additionally, Sustainability Reporting is a source of pride for employees and serves to support employee engagement. Therefore, most companies find that reporting serves as a management tool to help define and determine performance levels, set targets, engage employees and make progress.

In addition, of course, transparency is the basis of a trusting relationship with stakeholders – research has shown that readers of Sustainability Reports increase their level of trust in the reporting company, even if the report is not of the highest quality. (See specifically the recent report from ACCSR, on readers' perceptions of Sustainability Reports) A strong level of trust from stakeholders is massively significant and can help the company move forward and overcome challenges and risks. Often, the Sustainability Report is the only place in which the company can tell its own story, as reports in the press may be misrepresentative.

What are the main challenges you face when trying to convince companies about the importance of CSR reporting?

More and more these days, we do less in terms of "trying to convince" companies to report. We prefer to talk to companies about Sustainable Business Strategy, and help them understand why and how this is beneficial for their business as well as for society and for the planet. The Sustainability Report is part of this discussion. Our reputation as Sustainability Report consultants often brings companies to approach us after they have made the decision to report and are looking for the expert support to deliver the best document they can.

However, we still spend much time and energy in helping develop awareness in the market, through our writings, conferences and our work with different corporate groups. One initiative, which we started in 2009, is called the Transparency Index. We evaluate and publish a ranking of the website transparency of leading public companies in different markets in the world to see how they are reflecting sustainability issues in an accessible way through their web platform. For the first few years, we covered the Israeli market only, but now, in partnership with the Center for CSR Development in Ukraine, we are expanding this into a global index which will be launched later this year. Web-based transparency is also influenced by the presence of a Sustainability Report.

In general, we find that companies which are on the sustainability journey are more ready to report because they have accepted that transparency is an inseparable part of the overall process. Often, they are subject to pressures from their customers or even competitive pressures to report. Those who have not, often talk about the complexity, cost and lack of investor pressure to report. However, these are companies who have not quite understood what Sustainability Reporting is all about. Even as an SME, you might say a micro-business, my consulting firm Beyond Business published a first Sustainability Report (which won an award as the Best SME Report in the global CRRA '12 Awards in April 2012), and we intend to report every two years. As a consulting firm, this is important for us to "practice what we preach" and demonstrate that any reason for not reporting on sustainability is simply an excuse and not a justification.

You are the author of the book ”CSR for HR: A Necessary Partnership for Advancing Responsible Business Practices”. Could you tell us in a few words what is the role played by the HR department in establishing a CSR strategy?

The Human Resources function in any business has an important leadership role to play in contributing to the definition and execution of sustainability strategy in any company, and also in establishing Human Resources practices which are sustainable. Sustainability done well requires changing the culture of the business. The Human Resources function has the specialist knowledge and skill to drive culture change processes.

To embed sustainability, HRM needs to be clear about the contribution of employee engagement and employee practices to delivery of an overall sustainable business plan. Many HRM processes are inextricably linked to sustainability themes – compensation, recruitment, diversity and inclusion, safety, health and wellbeing. HRM can also make a profit-supporting contribution to sustainability. Wellbeing programs, for example, are now known to deliver up to four times the investment for companies, in increased employee productivity, reduced health costs and insurance premiums, reduced absenteeism and turnover. HR needs to get better at measuring their contribution and tabling the benefits in a clear way. Regrettably, most HR Managers have still not understood this.

From your experience, can you give us some examples of how businesses can become more sustainable? Do you admire any companies in particular for their approach towards sustainability?

I think the first thing is for a company to make the decision to define a clear strategy that integrates sustainability thinking into business processes and define what the desired outcome is. In the current line-up, it is hard not to ignore Unilever as a company which has made bold statements about sustainability, "decoupling" environmental impacts from corporate growth and trying to engage consumers in behavior change, with a CEO who is very vocal about the importance of this approach and carries much influence.

There are many companies I admire, ranging from large global corporations to smaller local businesses in different countries. Pepsico, Marks and Spencer, BT, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Vodafone, Telefonica of Spain, Westpac Bank of Australia, Kesko of Finland, Natura Cosmeticos of Brazil, Novus International from the U.S., Netafim of Israel, – some of whom are my clients - are all showing sustainability leadership in many different ways.

I think the important thing here is not to try to reduce sustainability to one single denomination. Sustainability is a complex set of factors and no company is totally perfect. As long as a company is stretching itself to do what it can from where it is, and making demonstrable progress, I have admiration for that.

How do you see the evolution and future of corporate social responsibility?

There is a lot of debate about whether CSR or Sustainability will remain as a distinct function in business or whether it will become absorbed into the fabric of each business and part of the general responsibilities of managers and the way they do things. I don't believe this latter approach will work. I believe that Sustainability will always be a required focus of every business, acting as a platform and a guide and a set of checks and balances for each business.

I believe sustainability is growing into an important profession which will rank alongside the business leadership with its own voice and contribution to successful sustainable business strategy. Of course, it does become part of everyone's role, but without leadership, no business function has impact. Just as businesses have absorbed Quality as a Way of Life, but there is still a Quality Manager in most businesses, so Sustainability cannot survive without its own distinct strategic leadership within the business.

Over the coming years, I believe we will see more regulation around sustainability themes, especially transparency and reporting, and therefore the number of companies which deliver Sustainability Reports will increase substantially. This will have the effect of catalyzing sustainability performance and creating a new competitive threshold for all companies everywhere. Companies which do not participate in this movement will lose ground and become the exception.

For those companies which are still undecided about sustainability, the time is now! In Romania, I believe there are massive opportunities, with a growing economy and a stronger presence in Europe and in the world. This is the time for companies in Romania to align with leading business practice and become more prominent in their adoption of a sustainability approach.

I am looking forward to the European CSR Lessons Conference and to being back in Bucharest. They have fabulous ice cream in Bucharest :)

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices  Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Betting on a sustainable (MBA) future?

This is just a reminder to interested readers of the CSR Reporting Blog that I also run a blog which is specifically focussed on the role of the HR function in driving CSR. You can find it at CSRforHR.com. This is in anticipation of my forthcoming book: CSR for HR - A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices (publication in October). Please do take a look at this blog and I would be delighted if you would subscribe by email :)

My most recent post on Green MBA's , which follows my editorial on CSRwire.com entitled "Will Green MBA's save the planet?" relates primariliy to the recruiting practices of corporates who talk sustainability but blithely ignore the thousands of Green (sustainablility) MBA grads who enter the job market each year.

As I continue to read and scrutinize numerous CSR reports, I will be watching for those Companies which mention the encouragement of appropriate CSR and sustainability education in their recruiting programs. It seems to me that a Company who is betting on a sustainable future ought to be concerned enough to support the business schools that are aligning themselves with this objective.

elaine cohen is co-founder and co-CEO of Beyond Business, an inspired leading social and environmental consulting and reporting firm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

HR Job Descriptions for CSR

Some of you may know that I am now in the final stages of writing my book to be published later this year by Greenleaf Publishing, on the ways Human Resources Managers need to change what they do and how they do it in order to become more relevant partners in Companies who adopt a strategy and practice of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. Most HR Managers, I maintain, do not have a CSR mindset, many don't even know what CSR means and why it is relevant to their function. In around 250 packed pages, I have already described this interplay in great detail, with many examples from businesses around the world and some inputs from leading HR professionals in global Companies.  I am now writing the final piece, pulling all the separate analyses of the different HR functional areas together, with a toolkit for what and how to change. One piece of this is a new-style Job Description for the HR (generalist) Manager in a business which assimilates CSR strategy as part of its way of life. I will share my thoughts on how this looks to me, in the hope that any of you out there with a particular interest in HR may respond with insights which will improve my version and which I can use as I finalise the book.

Job Description for an HR Manager in a CSR-minded organisation (draft)

Job Purpose

The HR Manager is responsible for developing and assimilating tools and processes which enhance business and individual capability, in a way which develops a positive and healthy organizational culture, upholds business principles and values, and maintains accountability for the effects of business and individual actions on all stakeholders including society at large and the environment.

Job Objectives

1. Support the delivery of business strategy, objectives, goals and targets through the effective engagement, deployment and development of people.
2. Assure the resourcing of the business with appropriately skilled talent, in the right place at the right time to perform the required tasks.
3. Contribute to the development of a corporate culture which encourages dialogue, support for individuals, openness to new ideas and the ability of each individual in the organization to achieve professional and personal fulfillment.
4. Assure the understanding of people in the business of the impacts of all their activities on stakeholders, society and environment, and support programmes in which all may contribute to improving these impacts.

Key Areas of Responsibility

1. HR Strategy: Development and implementation of HR Strategy which is aligned with business objectives and supports business strategy delivery through all professional HR functions in a responsible way.
2. HR Stakeholder Engagement: Identify all direct and indirect stakeholders of the Human Resources function in the business and engage with them in different ways to ensure complete understanding of their needs and aspirations, and ensure responsiveness to theses needs.
3. Personnel Planning and Resourcing: Analyse the long-range resourcing needs of the business in the context of changing market and business dynamics, and manage processes to ensure that people with the right skills are available as needed to perform tasks as required.
4. Organizational culture: Promote the development of an ethical, inclusive and diverse organizational culture based on respect and values, in which all are able to contribute in a context of open information and dialogue, acceptance of continual change and focus on professional leadership and personal accountability.
5. HR Functional Contribution: Develop, deliver, monitor and measure processes and tools to ensure effective attraction, recruitment and retention, training and development, remuneration and reward, performance management, and employee relations in the business, in line with the principles and practices of social and environmental responsibility.
6. Internal Communications: Ensure a high, dynamic and interactive level of internal communications in which all employees are engaged and can feel part of the business community.
7. Sustainability: Ensure the HR function is aligned with the business's sustainability strategy by providing sustainability awareness training for all employees, and developing HR programmes which support Sustainability strategy, which may include community involvement and volunteering programmes and environmental activities undertaken by employees, amongst others.

Key Measures of Job Outputs

1. Employee Satisfaction and Inclusion
2. Employee Diversity
3. Stakeholder Satisfaction with the HR Function contribution
4. Adherence to Ethics and Values by employees
5. Attraction, Recruitment and Deployment Effectiveness
6. Employee Health and Safety and Well-Being
7. Employee Retention and Turnover Rate
8. Individual Skill Development (training)
9. Performance Review Implementation
10. Employee Engagement in Internal Communications
11. Employee Volunteers and Hours Volunteered in the community
12. Employee contribution to reduction of the business's Environmental Footprint

Key Knowledge, Skills and Competencies required to meet the job requirements


Knowledge and Skills :
• Business strategy, processes, performance drivers, risks and opportunities
• Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility principles and practices
• Business and sustainability issues in the wider societal context
• HR Strategy Development
• Stakeholder Engagement and Dialogue Processes
• HR Functional development and implementation expertise in all HR sub-functions
• Human Rights, Labor Codes, Health, Safety and Well-being frameworks
• Communication tools including advance application of social media internally and externally


Competencies :
• Leadership, clarity of purpose, long-term thinking and visioning skills
• Ability to challenge the system using an inquiring mind and analytical skills
• Listening, Mediating, Integrating and Influencing skills
• Commitment to help people grow and develop (in alignment with business needs), and a passion for business with social and environmental responsibility
• Outstanding proliferate communicator via diverse channels
• High degree of integrity, personal ethics and commitment to social justice
• Optimism and a sense of humor

(NB: I did not add Chunky Monkey addict as a key competency, though, of course that helps).

Any of you CSR Leaders or HR Professionals out there with a view on the above ?

elaine cohen is the CEO of Beyond Business, a leading social and environmental consulting and reporting fitm. Visit our website at www.b-yond.biz/en

HR behind the times on CSR

The Human Resources function is a critical partner in the development of a responsible and accountable corporate culture. Corporate Responsibility is often referred to as improving impacts on stakeholders. Nothing new here. Employees are stakeholders. Nothing new here either. The better you treat, or impact on, your employees, the better the business will perform. Numerous statistics and surveys prove this correlation. The engagement of every employee in the business is really the only way to ensure flawless corporate responsibility.  I am reading Adam Werbach's book at the moment, Strategies for Sustainability, and quite by chance, or not, he makes the same point - more eloquently than I do, I must admit. However, it's nice to be in such illustrious Company. Adam says: ... "to execute a strategy for sustainability, you must engage individuals personally" (page 132).

Ultimately, corporate reponsibility is not just about treating employees well, or investing in their development, or providing a ramp if they are in a wheelchair. It's not only about how satisfied they are on the job. Corporate responsibility is transforming every employee into an ambassador of the corporate responsibility message of the business. Ensuring that they understand, are involved, are inspired and know where they can play a role. This means moving from impacts ON employees to impacts OF employes. Each employee in the business interacts with any number of stakeholders every day, maybe thousands of daily connections. This potential, to turn every single stakeholder interaction into one which moves the CSR agenda forward, is more powerful than almost any other single business activity.

CSR reporting is often seen as something which primarily benefits employees. Through the report, they get a comprehensive view of the way their Company interprets and progresses sustainability themes. Often, the CSR report contains news and information which had not cascaded through to them via regular internal communication channels.  In some cases, Corporate Reponsibility reports even state the names of individuals in the Company who are responsible for progressing different action items - an example of this is Vancouver City Savings Union (Vancity) (page 35). But when I recently tried to ascertain how many Companies actually track how many employees read all or part of their reports, I couldnt get an answer.

I found one example of something coming close to this on the Adidas website where readers of their online report are asked to own up and identify themselves. The results are displayed in a neat graph.

We dont know how many people took this survey, and I am not quite sure what the difference is between an employee and a worker, but this is a great way to see what kind of people are taking interest in the report. And a very brave move on the part of Adidas to have an open survey such as this on their reporting site . In a recent dialogue with Symantec,  i understood  they progress many activities in the framework of internal communications to ensure employees are aware and engaged. But, bottom line is, overall, we DON'T KNOW if employees take any sort of interest in one of the most important documents the Company publishes to stakeholders, and if they are capable of being the ambassadors for that document, and the Company.

 

Who is repsonsible for this ? After the CEO, it has to be the HR Function. The HR function must ensure proceses are developed within the busnesss to raise employee awareness of key strategies and processes, especially those which are in the public domain. Why doesnt HR do this ? Because, I submit, most HR Managers just don't see how they link to Sustainability strategy, beyond matters relating to ethics and values, and sometimes, community volunteering (because no-one else does it). Most HR Managers really don't see the relevance of ensuring high quality communications and dialogue about sustainability programs. When was the last time you had a progressive conversation with an HR Manager about sustainability in the supply chain and the HR role which supports that ? How do HR Managers recruit people into sustainability jobs ? In what ways does HR adopt sustainable practices  as a function ? Most HR Managers cannot tell you. The HR function has still not grasped the principles of a stakeholder society and stakeholder-driven business.

 

This is a pretty damming picture of HR people. This is why i am writing a book as a guide for HR Managers on all things sustainability and corporate reponsibility, due for publication next year. In order to test my theory, I produced a short survey for HR Managers. Of the lowish number of responses I have had to date, this is some of the initial data:

• 100% of HR Manager responders say that HR Managers need to have some understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility
• 54% of HR Managers say CSR  is something they are involved with as part of their ongoing role
• 80% and 70% respectively say this involvements relates to ethics and community involvement, with zero being involved in supply chain practices and external stakeholder engagement.
• 45% said that HR Managers need additional skills (and knowledge) to support CSR
• 30% said they had targets related to CSR

and one HR Manager, in responding to the question "What does the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility mean to you ?"  wrote : "Sustainability" . Well, at least that's something.

So, they all think it's important, half of them are responsible for it (in a limited way), and a third are measured on it. Less than half think they need to learn new ways of doing things in order to do it. Frankly, I think this is a saddish picture of the HR function. And i am keen to get a wider sample of opinions from a broader range of HR Managers so PLEASE pass this on to any HR Manager you know and request they complete the survey HERE: http://bit.ly/3HpxnS
I promise to update you all with the results. Thank you !

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm . Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz/en

Inform, inspire and involve to embed CSR in operations

Embedding, post number 4. We already covered embedding CSR in Human Resources, the Procurement function, and the Finance function. All of this, as you may recall, is based on Ethical Corporation's 2009 research report called How to Embed Corporate Responsibility across different parts of your Company. This time, i will cover the ways Companies embed CSR in the "Facility, Logistics and Operations" bits of the Company. Having managed logistics for many years with Procter and Gamble in Europe, this is an area of the business I am familiar with. The report looks at:

• How to make facility or manufacturing operations more efficient and more  environmentally friendly through consultation with operators and line workers
• Developing low energy or socially innovative solutions for triple bottom line benefit
• Indentifying no-cost innovation solutions
• Developing partnerships to drive suggestions for improvements

Most people will understand quite easily that environmental opportunities are abundant in the Manufacturing and Logistics functions. With examples from Boots, Hewlett Packard, Novo Nordisk and Vodafone, the report cites examples of innovative solutions in different aspects of the supply chain which offer benefits for customers and the business, and which have been developed using insights and suggestions of those involved on the ground. Opportunities such as haulage partnerships with non-competitive companies to optimize truck payloads, recycling and re-use rather than disposal of products, real-time energy monitoring  are some of the solutions highlighted. The key common demoninator of the development of these solutions is : dialogue. Creating a culture where employees of the business, suppliers and customers can contribute to developing triple bottom line solutions is core.

Developing new ways of doing things, and maintaining a constructive dialogue with suppliers, customers and employees does not happen automatically. A company looking for CSR opportunities in the manufacturing and logistics functions needs to define its objectives and create awareness for the concepts of social and environmentally preferred ways of manufacturing or trucking. This means creating  communications processes for all these stakeholders, so that CSR is part of their mindset when they are reviewing operational activities. "Greening employees" for example, reflects the process of educating, informing, involving and inspiring  employees regarding environmentally friendly practices.

What better Company to use for a review of the embedding of CSR in the logistics function than a logistics Company. I took a look at Fedex 2008 CSR report. Here is an example:

"At the FedEx Packaging Lab, our engineers use the latest materials and tools to solve shipping challenges, including environmental ones. FedEx engineer Yongquan Zhou recently helped a customer shipping heavy exercise equipment from China find a more protective and environmentally friendly alternative for a commonly used cushioning material known as expanded polystyrene foam (EPS). His result: a honeycomb-style packaging with corrugated pads and banding, a packaging solution that not only reduces damage at a comparable cost, but is also better for the environment."

I assume Mr Zhou didn't wake up one morning out of the blue and thought to himself over the morning cornfakes: "Hmm, I need to find environmentally friendly packaging solutions today". I bet he didn't say to himself " Wow. Honeycomb-style packaging, gotta do something with that". I bet he didn't think, as he helped himself to a third bowl of cornflakes,   "I can contribute to saving the planet today by developing environmentally-friendly solutions for Fedex clients". Maybe he did, but the chances are that if he did, it was because of a culture that had been developed at Fedex to ensure employees are aware of their possibilities to contribute to environmental efforts, and provide them with the opportunity to do so.

You can't embed CSR if you don't inform, inspire and  involve.
 
elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm . Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz/en

HRM and CSR - a match made in heaven ?

Marginally off-topic - but relevant to the cause .... So all you reporting buffs, please bear with me.

I am writing a book on the role of Human Resources Management and the way HRM interacts with and supports the CSR strategy and practices of a business. A kind of guide for the Human Resources Manager. Having served as a Country VP HR in a global company for several years, and assumed responsiblity also for promoting the Company's CSR programs, and now through my interactions as a consultant to businesses, this is a mix that i have many insights about that i would like to share. I have opened up the first chapter of the book for public review prior to completion and publication, and would welcome any form of input.

For those who are interested, you can download the first chapter here: http://tinyurl.com/ppd4d8

Second chapter available on request for those who are really keen !!!!

thanks in advance !

elaine cohen is the joint CEO of BeyondBusiness, a leading reporting and social-environmental consulting firm based in Israel. Visit our website at: www.b-yond.biz