Expert review - Corporate Social Responsibility

What is CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined by the European Commission as the voluntary integration by companies of social and environmental concerns into their business activities and their relations with stakeholders.

The ISO 26000 specifies the guidelines for CSR and its 7 core subjects are:

Governance of the organization;
Human rights;
Labor relations and working conditions;
Environment: sustainable development is part of the CSR approach;
Fair practices;
Consumer issues;
Communities and local development.

This strategy aims to have a positive impact on society while being economically viable.

Who manages the CSR approach in the company?

The successful implementation of a CSR approach depends on the CSR Manager (or at least someone with a project leader role). His/her role is to carry out a preliminary audit to assess the corporation. Then he/she will carry out an audit to define a strategy adapted to your activity. An action plan is implemented where concrete actions are launched and organized. These actions are associated with indicators to be constantly monitored. A dynamic dashboard (PowerBI type) will be of great help to evaluate the results of the adopted CSR strategy.

What are the KPIs to measure CSR actions?

The CSR strategy is divided into 4 parts: social, environment, societal and responsible purchasing on which concrete and measurable actions can be implemented.

Here are some examples:

Social

Number of employees, M/F distribution, ages, country or region
% of disabled people in the workforce
Average seniority
Number of people trained / number of training hours
% of payroll training allocations
Evolution of remuneration and the gap between men and women
Differences in remuneration between the highest and lowest salaries
Hirings and dismissals (including number of disputes)
Absenteeism rate
Occupational accidents (frequency and severity rates)
Number and theme of agreements signed between management and the IRP
Existence and content of the risk assessment template
Presentation of the Human Resources and Training policy …

Environment

Energy consumption (electricity, gas…)
Greenhouse gas emissions (expressed in tons of CO2 equivalent)
Monitor your waste management process
Kilometers driven and/or fuel consumption
Composition of the vehicle fleet
Water consumption
Means devoted to prevention
Raising awareness on environmental issues …

Societal

Territorial impact (contribution to local economic and social development)
Number of beneficiaries according to the activities
Number of indirect local jobs
Number of hours in skills sponsorship
Number of projects supported
Number of interventions in schools, companies, local events
Presentation of partnership policy, link with companies, other non-profit organizations …

Responsible purchasing:

Amount purchased from local companies
Amount purchased from integration companies
Number of suppliers involved in CSR or with its related actions
Number of calls for tender with CSR clauses
Weight of CSR clause rating in overall rating
Average settlement time
Number of disputes
Gift policy and fight against corruption

How to effectively manage a CSR strategy?

The efficiency of the CSR approach in the company depends on a good organization and coordination with the different departments. It is essential to build on a strategy based on a collaborative working group. It is important to reassess the adopted strategy over time and to adapt the latter to the company’s circumstances and evolution.
To succeed in this challenge, it is highly recommended to digitize your strategy on a dedicated software. A single platform will help you centralize all the processes, easily share information about the CSR activities and reports. A digital solution can help you monitor and update your CSR key indicators with real time data. These elements can be accessible in the form of dynamic dashboards. This digital solution is adaptable to the needs of each different department.

Expert’s conclusion

The benefits of CSR are numerous, both internally in terms of improving the working conditions of employees and externally with your suppliers and customers. It is part of the company’s ethical responsibility which aims to promote and take care of its brand image.
Most importantly you get to give back to the community and bring more positivity to our planet!