Corporate social responsibility

"Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an expression used to describe what some see as a company’s obligation to be sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations. A company’s stakeholders are all those who are influenced by, or can influence, a company’s decisions and actions. These can include (but are not limited to): employees, customers, suppliers, community organizations, subsidiaries and affiliates, joint venture partners, local neighborhoods, investors, and shareholders (or a sole owner). CSR is closely linked with the principles of “sustainable developement" in proposing that enterprises should be obliged to make decisions based not only on the financial/economic factors but also on the social and environmental consequences of their activities. Some nations require CSR reporting, though agreement on meaningful measurements of social and environmental performance is difficult." (From Wikipedia)

Synergi is a vital part of a company’s way of solving the challenge of being sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations. Synergi makes both employees, customers, suppliers, community organizations, subsidiaries and affiliates, joint venture partners, local neighborhoods etc. able to take part in the decition making process. By gathering all information from all parts in one single database you get the synergi-effect of all relevant stakeholdes being able to report into the corporate system.

There are many reasons why companies would track, measure and report their CSR performance. Some see reporting as an effective communication and reputation management tool, building loyalty with customers, investors and suppliers around important values and issues. Others may choose to use it as a risk management tool. Not knowing the firm’s weaknesses and being unable to anticipate when it might come under fire can be very costly. CSR reporting could also bring market advantage by putting firms in a better position to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index or the Jantzi Social Index, which, in turn, would lead to being included in ethical investment funds and portfolios. In any case, CSR reporting is a big step for any company to take, and mapping a realistic plan is very important. A firm may want to begin with a selfassessment, moving into reporting against wellaccepted global guidelines, such as those of the Global Reporting Initiative. With the proper steps, this process can evolve into an independently verified report with stakeholder engagement.

“There is no way to avoid paying serious attention to corporate citizenship: the costs of failing are simply too high.... There are countless win-win opportunities waiting to be discovered: every activity in a firm’s value chain overlaps in some way with social factors — everything from how you buy or procure to how you do your research — yet very few companies have thought about this. The goal is to leverage your company’s unique capabilities in supporting social causes, and improve your competitive context at the same time. The job of today’s leaders is to stop being defensive and start thinking systematically about corporate responsibility.”

Michael Porter, Professor

Harvard Business School, at the April 2005

Business and Society Conference on

Corporate Citizenship