Corporate social responsibility consulting and training

What is corporate social responsibility?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns how a business manages its impacts on society. It is associated with responsible business, corporate citizenship, business ethics and corporate sustainability.

In practice, CSR includes managing labour, occupational health and safety, environmental and ethical issues throughout an organisation’s activities, while meeting applicable laws and relevant customer or supply-chain requirements.

CSR has developed beyond an internal policy or an individual company’s ethical initiative. Organisations increasingly integrate social and environmental considerations into their governance, operations and relationships with stakeholders.

CSR combines voluntary commitments with legal and contractual obligations that depend on the organisation’s activities and markets. It should not be described as a single mandatory certification or uniform legal requirement for every business.

CSR can support an organisation’s mission and help communicate its values to customers. ISO 26000:2010 provides international guidance on social responsibility; it is not a certifiable management system standard. The triple bottom line (TBL) considers social, environmental and economic performance. Applicable obligations still need to be identified for each organisation.

ISO 26000:2010

An approach to CSR

Organisations can use ISO 26000:2010 to guide their activities, describe their commitments and report progress. The UN Global Compact’s principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption offer another reference. Governance responsibilities, including board or committee oversight where appropriate, should be assigned to suit the organisation.

Three approaches to CSR

• CSR as a way to create value
• CSR as an approach to risk management
• CSR as an expression of business ethics

Illustration: environmental responsibility is one of the dimensions of CSR.

Social compliance is an important consideration for many international buyers. Suppliers should identify the legal, contractual and programme requirements that apply to their customers and supply chains.

ITVC services

CSR consulting is one of ITVC Global’s service areas.

ITVC Global offers the following consulting and training support to help organisations implement social responsibility commitments:

• Training on understanding and implementing social responsibility requirements
• Training in internal social compliance assessment skills

Support for specific standards and programmes

• SA8000 social accountability management system consulting
• RBA consulting and training
• BSCI consulting
• Sedex–SMETA consulting
• WRAP consulting
• WCA consulting
• GSCP consulting and training

Project experience

ITVC Global has supported suppliers in Samsung Electronics’ supply chain in Vietnam with CSR consulting and training, including preparation for RBA assessments carried out by organisations such as DNV and TÜV Rheinland. Project experience informs our practical support for clients; assessment outcomes depend on each organisation’s implementation and evidence.