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Corporate social responsibility

Automated web reporting | Changing the nature of CSR

So GRI 3.1 has been released.  I’ve been so excited by this development it’s taken me a couple of weeks to get around to actually looking at what the changes are.  Yep, that excited.

Actually, it’s a bit more than that.  a) I was busy on other things, and b) there are other far more qualified people who will have far more interesting things to say about GRI 3.1.

However, while reading through the changes I was struck once again by how simple it should be for large corporates to gather these statistics, and how easy it should be to publish these statistics in real time on the web.

Why this doesn’t happen yet remains a mystery to me, but then again I’ve always looked at how technically feasible something is rather than the politics which is required to get it to happen. [Read more…] about Automated web reporting | Changing the nature of CSR

Three tips to develop CSR Redwood

Once in a while you come across a company name which is just sooooo apposite for their business you find it hard to believe some kind of legal name change hasn’t been involved.

The best example of this I’ve ever come across dates back to my early childhood and travelling into Oxford on the Park & Ride.  As the double decker rattled its way along the Abingdon Road we passed by a funeral directors, called Reeves and Pain.  I kid you not, and so far as I know the company is still going to this day.

You may have already come across an interesting little video from The Big Think project entitled “Companies Can’t Be Parasites Anymore”; it was released last month but I’ve only just watched it.

The video is of a brief interview with Stephen Miles, VC of Heidrick and Struggles, one of the oldest executive consulting firms in the US.  A video with that title from a company called “Struggles” .. I’m sorry, it somehow seems apposite once again.

All that aside though, the video is well worth watching.  It’s only three minutes long and in a quiet yet forceful way Stephen Miles outlines exactly the changes needed in corporate culture post-financial crisis. [Read more…] about Three tips to develop CSR Redwood

LSE & 3i : Precision and Content Combined | FTSE 100 Website Reviews

My eldest son, having reached the dizzying age of 11, really kinda worries me.  He doesn’t want to be top of his class and, I have a sneaking suspicion, he deliberately sabotages various tests to ensure he’s not.

Why? Because he’s afraid of being labelled as a nerd.  It’s OK to be in the top class you understand, and he gets rather upset if there’s any suspicion that he’s not.  But not top of that class; that just makes you a social pariah.

Eh. We’ve all been there in our school and professional days I guess, hiding our true thoughts under the bushel for popularity reasons, pretending we’re not quite the person we really are.

Me? I have no such issues anymore and I’m happy to admit to getting rather nerd-ish about companies, their websites and their Sustainability Reports.  Perhaps it will catch on? Who knows…

This is why two websites have caught my eye within the financial sector of the FTSE 100.  Not because they’re outstanding in any way, but because each has its own little nuances which makes it an intriguing site to have a look at.

See. I told you I was a nerd didn’t I?!

[Read more…] about LSE & 3i : Precision and Content Combined | FTSE 100 Website Reviews

Bringing transparency to CSR reports

In those far off, misty days of University, one of the terrible misconceptions I used to labour under was that I could play the drums.

My few remaining friends from those days are still trying to convince me of my lack of talent on the piano and guitar as well.

No one mentions singing.

ANYWAY…

One of the drums I keep on banging today is to do with transparency as a foundation of a company’s sustainability, and it’s not just me this time either.  The reason for this is because as regulation has become looser accountability has to be strengthened, and the only way accountability can really be implemented is through transparency.

But how do you do it?  After all, publishing every minute of every meeting ever held will just be a data overload, and while businesses need to move away from secrecy as a default no one’s suggesting the end of commercially sensitive material.

An interesting solution comes from the Netherlands, where the mandatory examination of CSR reports for transparency has been going on for several years now. [Read more…] about Bringing transparency to CSR reports

CSR lessons from the fashion supply chain

Here’s a hypothetical thought.  Suppose I was walking along the street one day and a Chinese man walked up to me and kicked me.

I’m absolutely certain I would say “Ow” and I might also enquire (politely, of course) what had led him to such a course of action.

Now imagine you were walking down a different street in a different country, and a Mexican walked up to you and kicked you.

Do you think your pain or response would be dramatically different because of the different people and circumstances involved?

I doubt it.

One of the very interesting effects (but not intentions) of the CSR and sustainability agenda is the way it breaks down stovepiping between different industries and companies.  Take the recent report from Labour Behind the Label and War On Want (PDF download) for example.

[Read more…] about CSR lessons from the fashion supply chain