Sustainability and CSR
April 19, 2008 – 5:46 pmA recent conversation on this subject left me confused so here is my attempt to clarify the issue.
- Sustainability is about the management of resources - natural, human and financial. In managing them sustainably you need to meet the needs of today’s stakeholders without compromising you ability to satisfy future stakeholders (or even the same ones tomorrow, next month, next year etc …………).
- CSR is about behaving ethically and making a positive contribution to wider stakeholders, particularly the communities of your staff, suppliers and customers as well as society at large.
Clearly there is considerable overlap between the two agendas, mainly in the human aspects. Good CSR is built into the day to day operations of businesses, not just making charitable donations. For a concise CSR statement address the following:
- Our main social impacts are _____________
- Our current and target performance levels are _____________
- We are going to close performance gaps by doing the following _____________
- The following issues are new to us, being considered and we would welcome your feedback _____________
- By virtue of what we are and what we do these aspects are key to our continued success _____________
The above should be used to describe your values and purpose as a business - not what you think stakeholders would like to hear. CSR is not a PR exercise, but stakeholder pressure means most business will have to make an investment. To maximise the return on this investment align your CSR activities to your core values, rather than taking convenient or hobby horse opportunities and bragging about them.
So what aspects are involved in CSR? Health & Safety, corruption, political stance, anti-competitive behaviour (topical with OFT news!), regulatory compliance, supply chain human rights screening, discrimination incidents, employee turnover, employment contract flexibility (part time etc.), governance arrangements, diversity, training and education activities - to name a few! If you are new to the game there is no need to jump into the whole mix but start with those that you already manage and simply state your position, where you want to be and how you measure your performance.
So what good examples are out there? A superficial selection follows based on what the business has said with no investigation and little interpretation. If the examples are genuinely good, they aren’t in it for the PR but because it makes business sense, so ‘misspeaking’ shouldn’t be an issue?! No apologies for the bias towards education and training, its an area construction has hardly over invested in recently.
Wates Building Futures Programme:
Government-backed scheme targeting lone parents, long-term unemployed and ex-offenders. Wates works with Thomas Vale and GF Tomlinson, all part of The Birmingham Construction Partnership that is involved in regeneration projects on behalf of Birmingham City Council. The programme claims a 60 per cent success rate in getting delegates into full time work after the two-week programme which focuses on skills and opportunities. These include construction skill sessions at South Birmingham College including brickwork and plastering, visits to building sites and skills to help cope with interviews and confidence.
The programme supports the company’s clearly stated values and is one way they are tackling the skills shortage issue everyone talks about but few act on. They have gone on to sponsor research to identify how business can tap into and benefit from the community know how of RSL’s to mutual benefit. This sharing of best practice gives an authentic flavour to their CSR activities.
Lafarge Cement Biodiversity Indicators
A good example as cement production has few virtues, so investment in working with wider stakeholders to minimise impacts and restore effectively fits my definition of good CSR - there is no disguising the initial damage which is necessary for their business, and few of us are not cement customers!
They have continued to develop following suggestions and advice provided by their national stakeholders - experts such as the Staffordshire and Derbyshire Wildlife Trusts, Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been developed and
improved in former operational areas, close to Cauldon and Hope Works; alongside extensive restoration work at Dunbar Works and at a former cement works in Weardale, County Durham.
In addition they have been working with organisations such as WWF and Equilibrium to develop simple, site specific indicators that can help them measure restoration and biodiversity performance.
Mitie Managed Services
Mitie spent more than 5,850 employee hours setting up and running eight Skills Centres in 2006/07. They are currently helping well over 400 14-16 year olds to learn a range of construction skills, and to obtain nationally recognised vocational qualifications, that include the BTEC First Diploma in Construction, and form part of the National Curriculum.
The centres have all been launched in community-focused schools. Selected schools are always near to the company’s regional centres to make it easier for employees to provide support which they have enjoyed doing since the first centre was opened in Portsmouth in 2001. Others have been built in schools in Manchester, Bristol and Sunderland and Airdrie in Lanarkshire.
Similar to the Wates initiative, this is benefiting young people and the communities Mitie operate in, as well as Mitie themselves and the wider Construction Industry. Sponsoring local football teams etc. has its place, but to my mind this sort of initiative is more balanced and ultimately just better business.