Adding Value: The Business Case for CSR

Effective CSR is climbing the corporate agenda around the world. Not only does it help companies to address issues such as compliance, risk, and opportunity, it is also an invaluable tool for building trust, and managing resources. Yet how do you align your CSR activities with overall business strategy to deliver real value, and not just to meet compliance standards? Ark Group's report, Adding Value: The Business Case for CSR is designed specifically to help you tackle this challenge. Step-by-step you'll learn how to develop a value-added CSR strategy, embed it effectively within your organisation, and gain maximum buy-in from staff and stakeholders to ensure its success. Topics covered will enable you to: * Understand the business rationale for CSR, and key stakeholder concerns; * Identify where CSR fits within your company's risk and reputation management; * Integrate CSR into your business processes through effective leadership and management; * Monitor and assess your CSR performance and reporting; * Develop an effective communication programme for engaging with key stakeholders; and, * Foster a motivated workforce of active brand ambassadors for your company. Insightful real-life case studies of best practice in CSR are featured from leading international organisations Alliance Boots, Rentokil Initial, Lloyds Banking Group, ASDA, British Gas, and Wolseley. These include: * Using CSR data to improve business performance; * How 'People Development' underpins business strategy; * Helping all stakeholders consider environmental issues; * Protecting customers through product stewardship; * Developing a responsible supply chain approach; and, * Aligning community activity to business needs.

Table of Contents:
About the author...IX Acknowledgements ...XI Introduction ...XIII BackgroundXIII Definitions..XIII TerminologyXIV Part one: The business rationale for CSR (and stakeholders' concerns) Chapter 1: The business rationale... 3 Risk and reputation management...3 Example 1: Shell and Brent Spar...3 Mattel and the toy recall...4 Will CSR drive revenue?...5 CSR and investors...6 Some conclusions...10 Case study 1: Using CSR data to improve business performance - Alliance Boots ... 13 Background13 Obtaining accurate data...13 Using non-financial data for performance management...14 Ensuring data integrity...15 The benefits of using CSR data to improve business performance16 Chapter 2: Just who are stakeholders? 17 The range of stakeholders...17 Do all stakeholders matter?...18 Stakeholder management - some conclusions...22 Chapter 3: Governance of CSR ... 23 The governance elements...23 The business rationale for CSR governance...23 CSR governance - some conclusions...25 Chapter 4: CSR in the workplace... 27 Corporate culture ...27 Engaged employees...28 Recruitment attraction...29 A safety culture...29 Some conclusions...30 Chapter 5: CSR and the environment. 31 Legislation as the business rationale for environmental management ...31 Operational efficiency as the business rationale for environmental management...34 Some conclusions...34 Chapter 6: CSR in the marketplace - customers and supply chain ... 35 Customer-related legislation and reputation as the business rationale...35 Supplier-related legislation and reputation as the business rationale ...36 Using CSR as a business driver...38 Some conclusions...40 Chapter 7: CSR and the community ... 41 Employee relations as the business rationale...41 The local footprint as the business rationale...42 Brand value as the business rationale...44 Some conclusions...44 Part two: Integrating CSR into the business process Chapter 1: Effective governance... 47 Leadership and management of the CSR process...47 Engaging employees...48 Monitoring and assessing CSR performance and reporting...50 Gaining stakeholder feedback ...51 Some conclusions...51 Chapter 2: In the workplace ... 53 Workplace policies...53 Embedding values...54 Engaging employees...55 Learning and development ...55 Diversity in the workplace...56 The role of HR in CSR...57 Health, safety, and well-being...57 Some conclusions...58 Case study: How 'People Development' underpins the business strategy - Wolseley ... 59 Chapter 3: The environment ... 63 Environment policies...63 Ensuring practical and commercial environmental practices...65 The boundaries for reporting environmental impacts...67 Engaging employees in environmental initiatives...68 Some conclusions...69 Case study: Helping all stakeholders consider environmental issues - British Gas ... 71 Chapter 4: The marketplace... 73 Customer integration...73 Product stewardship ...75 Supply chain integration...76 Some conclusions...78 Case study: Protecting customers through product stewardship - Rentokil... 81 Background81 Ensuring regulatory compliance ...81 Seeking alternative product constituents ..82 Reducing misuse...83 Supporting third party organisations...84 Case study: Developing a responsible supply chain approach - Asda ... 87 Background87 Sustainability initiatives...87 ASDA Sustain and Save Exchange...88 The lessons learned ...89 On-going developments...89 Chapter 5: Integrating CSR in the company's community approach... 91 Internal perspectives...91 A stakeholders' risk analysis...92 Considering brand or corporate reputations...93 Cultural differences...95 Some conclusions...96 Case study: Aligning community activity to business needs - Lloyds Banking Group... 97 Part three: Communicating CSR to add value Chapter 1: Communicating CSR... 101 The broad approach - addressing the needs of shareholders, investors, and governments...101 Targeted communications - employees .102 Targeted communications - customers and suppliers ...103 Targeted communications - NGOs and the community ...104 What to cover in CSR reporting...105 Some conclusions...106 Chapter 2: Future developments in CSR... 107 Legislative reporting changes...107 Voluntary reporting changes...108 Initiatives..109 Some conclusions...110

About the Author :
TONY HOSKINS is Chief Executive of The Virtuous Circle (TVC), a management consultancy specialising in reputation and risk. He has extensive experience in corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate reporting of non-financial information (including environmental reporting), risk management, and stakeholder communications. He set up TVC in 2000. He works with major multinational companies and has an in-depth understanding of the issues they face in integrating these issues into business policies and planning. He has also completed CSR research projects on behalf of The Work Foundation, the RSA, the DTI, and the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, as well as company reporting research projects on behalf of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and the Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Prior to establishing The Virtuous Circle, Tony held Board-level general management and sales and marketing positions in UK and US companies. In addition to consultancy work, he speaks at conferences on CSR and the impact of narrative reporting, and for BBC TV and Radio on reputation management. He is a member of GLG Councils - an international panel of experts. He has delivered training on CSR, company secretarial practices, and corporate governance for ICSA, on business communications for Reading University Business School, and on environmental management for Imperial College. He is an assessor for the RSA Environment Awards. He is the author of many articles on the subject of work, employment, corporate governance, CSR, and reputation management and has written six books. He has an MBA from London Business School, and graduated in economics and statistics from Bristol University. He is a Fellow of the RSA, and Chair of its South Central Region.