Key Elements of Corporate Social Responsibility

Key Elements of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in accordance with organization procedures.

Key elements are :

a) Contribution to economic development.

CSR focus businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that arm the public sphere, regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line : People, Planet and Profit.

b) Equivalent definitions of CSR.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) also known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business (SRB) or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model.

Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards and international norms.

c) Relations with sustainable development, corporate social responsibility.

CSR is an evolution in the approach towards sustainable development. Managing risk is a central part of many corporate strategies.

Reputations that take decades to build up can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental accidents. These can also draw unwanted attention from regulators, courts, governments and media. Building a genuine culture of ‘doing the right thing’ within a corporation can offset these risks. This leads to a sustainable development for the corporation with its corporate social responsibility.

Relevant guidelines of CSR in accordance with organization procedures.

Guidelines are as follow :

a) Social Accountability International (2001) Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000).

The company shall provide a safe and healthy workplace environment and shall take effective steps to prevent potential accidents and injury to workers’ health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimizing so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the workplace environment and bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards.

The company shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards on working hours and public holidays. The normal work week, not including overtime, shall be defined by law but shall not exceed 48 hours.

b) Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC).

The Code of Conduct provides guidance in five critical areas of CSR performance :

Labor.
Health and Safety.
Environment.
Management System.
Ethics.

c) Guidelines from Singapore National Tripartite Initiative (NTI) on CSR steering committee (Singapore Compact).

A socially responsible company will, among others, ensure that the environment where it operates in is not polluted. At the same time, whatever profits a company makes from operating within a certain region should be plowed back to the community there through community development programmes or life support programmes.

Meanwhile, a responsible employer will also ensure that the work environment within the company remains healthy for its staff and workers are well protected against unnecessary harms or dangers.

WSH good practices that require conforming to CSR requirements.

These good practices are as follow :

a) General ethical business behavior.

The ethical rights and duties exit between companies and society.

b) Acceptable labour practices such as :

Fair wages.
Child labour or forced labour avoidance.
Freedom of association (union).
Working hours.

c) Workplace Safety and Health.

Hazards elimination.
Risk assessment and control measures – safe work procedures.
Safety training.
Provision of PPE, etc.

d) Environmental management.

Environmental impact of the entire product life cycle.
Usage of energy, material and water.
Greenhouse gas, etc.

Recommendations to relevant stakeholders to conform to WSH related CSR requirements.

Recommendations are as follow :

a) Conduct gap analysis of company practices and CSR WSH requirements.

To raise staff’s awareness for the environment, we can have in place a 3-R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) initiative as well as a Workplace and safety policy.
Staff can be encouraged to re-cycle and reduce waste. Items such as stationery and paper are encouraged to be re-used as and when possible. Recycling bins can be placed in all offices to inculcate the good habit of recycling.
Workplace safety audit known as 5S can be carried out across all departments. This is to encourage staff to keep their working environment tidy, organized and hazards-free.

b) Establish action plans to conform to CSR WSH requirements.

The company shall provide a confidential means for all personnel to report non-conformances with this standard to the company management and the worker representative.
The company shall investigate, address and respond to the concerns of personnel and other interested parties with regards to conformance / non-conformance with the company’s policies and/or the requirements of this standard.

c) Implement WSH programmes required by CSR practices.

The company shall ensure that the requirements of this standard are understood and implemented at all levels of the organization.
Methods shall include, but are not limited to :
clear definition of all parties’ roles, responsibilities and authority.
training of new, reassigned and/or temporary personnel upon hiring.
periodic instruction, training and awareness programs for existing personnel.
continuous monitoring of activities and results to demonstrate the effectiveness of systems implemented to meet the company’s policy and the requirements of this standard.

d) Monitor and measure WSH programmes performances.

The company shall maintain appropriate records of suppliers / subcontractors’ (and where appropriate, sub-suppliers’) commitments to social accountability, including, but not limited to, contractual agreements and/or the written commitment of those organizations to :
Conform to all requirements of this standard and to require the same of sub-suppliers.
Participate in monitoring activities as requested by the company.
Identify the root cause and promptly implement corrective and preventive action to resolve any identified non-conformance to the requirements of this standard.
Promptly and completely inform the company of any and all relevant business relationship(s) with other suppliers / subcontractors and sub-suppliers.

e) Maintaining records of WSH programmes and performances.

The company shall maintain appropriate records to demonstrate conformance to the requirements of this standard.
The company shall establish and maintain procedures to communicate regularly to all interested parties data and other information regarding compliance with the requirements of this document, including, but not limited to, the results of management reviews and monitoring activities.
In the case of announced and unannounced audits of the company for the purpose of certifying its compliance with the requirements of this standard, the company shall ensure access to its premises and to reasonable information required by the auditor.
The company shall maintain appropriate records to demonstrate conformance to the requirements of this standard.

Assist company senior management in the preparation of company CSR reports and documentation in accordance to CSR requirements.

The below-mentioned to be included :

a) WSH performance indicators commonly used to measure CSR performance.

Health and safety – number of nonfatal injuries and illness.
Greenhouse gas emissions metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Electricity from renewable sources millions of kWh.
Social and economic investment – Total corporate wide and foundation cash and in-kind contributions.

b) General contents of CSR reports.

Our environmental policy.
Fighting climate change.
Optimizing waste management.
Rationalizing our paper consumption.
Preserving landscapes and biodiversity.
Innovating for environment.
Meeting customer expectations.
Promoting work place safety and health.
Acting as a responsible employer.
Promoting responsible sourcing.
Economic data.
Environmental data.
Auditors report.
Glossary.

c) Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

Enterprises should take fully into account the established policies in the countries in which they operate and consider the views of other stakeholders.

In this regard, enterprises should :

Contribute to economic, social and environmental progress with a view to achieving sustainable development.
Respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host government’s international obligations and commitments.
Encourage local capacity building through close co-operation with the local community, including business interests, as well as developing the enterprise’s activities in domestic and foreign markets, consistent with the need for sound commercial practice.
Encourage human capital formation, in particular by creating employment opportunities and facilitating training opportunities for employees.
Refrain from seeking or accepting exemptions not contemplated in the statutory or regulatory framework related to environmental, health, safety, labor, taxation, financial incentives, or other issues.
Support and uphold good corporate governance principles and develop and apply good corporate governance practices.
Develop and apply effective self-regulatory practices and management systems that foster a relationship of confidence and mutual trust between enterprises and the societies in which they operate.
Promote employee awareness of and compliance with company policies through appropriate dissemination of these policies, including through training programmes.

d) Data requirements.

Environmental Data.
Social Data.
Economic Data.
WSH Data.

e) Verification of WSH performance indicators.

Verification of the performance indicators can be carried out through internal and external compliance audits.
In the case of announced and unannounced audits of the company for the purpose of certifying its compliance with the requirements of this standard, the company shall ensure access to its premises and to reasonable information required by the auditor.

Assist company senior management in the CSR maintenance process.

The below-mentioned to be included :

a) CSR communication to relevant stakeholders

Employees.
Unions.
Contractors.
Suppliers.
Clients.
Public.
Interested parties.

b) CSR reports and documentation

Code of ethics.
Accountability systems.

c) WSH performance results.

d) Certification agencies for code certification.

e) CSR organization on membership, and code conformance.

f) External parties interested in company’s corporate responsibility performance.

External corporate governance controls encompass the controls external stakeholders exercise over the organization. Examples include :
- competition.
- demand for and assessment of performance information (especially financial statements)
- government regulations.

Conclusion.

Product stewardship is a concept whereby environmental, health, and safety protection centers around the product itself, and everyone involved in the lifespan of the product is called upon to take up responsibility to reduce its environmental, health, and safety impacts.

For manufacturers, this includes planning for, and if necessary, paying for the recycling or disposal of the product at the end of its useful life. This may be achieved, in part, by redesigning products to use fewer harmful substances, to be more durable, re-useable and recyclable, and to make products from recycled materials.

For retailers and consumers, this means taking an active role in ensuring the proper disposal or recycling of an end-of-life product.