This book provides a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the ISO 26000 standard for social responsibility (SR) in businesses and corporations. In addition to discussing the standard’s focus on various stakeholders and seven core topics, the book underscores its key aspects and most debatable issues, with a focus on its connection to sustainable business practices. It presents numerous cases and practical examples of the ISO 26000’s implementation and discusses the outcomes and lessons learned, in terms of the extent to which organizations can envision practicing CSR in ways that fit their activities, stakeholders and environment. Lately, the ISO 26000 has proved to offer an interesting and important approach to the standardization of (corporate) social responsibility. Approached and perceived as a voluntary standard that does not include any specific requirements, determining the best way to implement and work with it involved a considerable amount of experimentation. This book showcases the current state of application and discusses how different countries have developed their own specific versions of the standard, which organizations can use to certify their SR processes.
Over the last ten years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown from being criticised as a management fad to being endorsed as good business practice by the majority of the world's leading companies. It has also become ever more complex; and the majority of companies are now in need of clarity and guidance to actively engage with CSR in practice, to develop strategies that reflect the unique context in which each company operates and to embed CSR within their values. ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, began developing an International Standard providing guidelines for social responsibility (SR) in 2005. This long-awaited guidance standard was finally published in November, 2010 as ISO 26000. Developed by stakeholders from industry, government, labour, consumers, non-governmental organizations and others, ISO 26000 will almost certainly become the single most authoritative worldwide standard for SR. In only a few years' time, many thousands of organizations around the world are likely to be using ISO 26000 as a foundation for their SR policies. ISO 26000 is voluntary, and includes no specific requirements; therefore it is not a certification standard. Nonetheless, business users in particular are anxious to measure against the new ISO guideline their current efforts at implementing SR issues within their overall business strategy. Furthermore, many organizations have indicated that they may reformulate current strategies or develop new initiatives based on the content of ISO 26000. This book, written by international experts who have closely followed the development of ISO 26000, is the first to provide potential users with a comprehensive roadmap to the new standard and a compass to identify where they stand in relation to it now. ISO 26000 defines all of the key terminology of SR, provides advice about the ways in which organizations can identify their social responsibilities and how SR can be integrated not only into companies, but into all types of organizations. It is not another code or norm, but an overarching blueprint for social responsibility. This book covers all the key content of ISO 26000, examining the development of the standard, the topics covered and how key themes such as stakeholders are dealt with. It is rich in tools and benchmarking exercises, illustrative material, case examples, and help for companies looking to base their CSR policy on ISO 26000. It also contains an overview of the actions and expectations of organizations that wish to work in accordance with ISO 26000. Timely, detailed and practical, ISO 26000: The Business Guide to the New Standard on Social Responsibility will be an essential resource for the thousands of organizations that need an expert view on how the new standard works, where they stand in relation to it, and how they can work towards developing their CSR efforts in line with its content.
The role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the business world has developed from a fig leaf marketing front into an important aspect of corporate behavior over the past several years. Sustainable strategies are valued, desired and deployed more and more by relevant players in many industries all over the world. Both research and corporate practice therefore see CSR as a guiding principle for business success. The “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” has been conceived to assist researchers and practitioners to align business and societal objectives. All actors in the field will find reliable and up to date definitions and explanations of the key terms of CSR in this authoritative and comprehensive reference work. Leading experts from the global CSR community have contributed to make the “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” the definitive resource for this field of research and practice.
This book examines the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Latin America, with a particular focus on Brazil. Drawing on historical developments and theoretical reflections alike, it introduces readers to the state of the art in Brazilian CSR. The authors present a range of regulatory and entrepreneurial frameworks that form the basis for business and CSR activities in Brazil. In a number of detailed case studies from various Brazilian institutions and enterprises, the book provides revealing insights into the practice of sustainable and responsible business conduct in this country. Subsequent chapters show the effects of anti-corruption laws, which have since informed corporations’ compliance agendas, and discuss recent, massive corruption scandals. Generally speaking, the book provides a highly informative and practice-oriented resource that successfully reconciles an ostensible contradiction – corporate social responsibility and Brazil.
This book takes a fresh look at current issues in corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a special focus on emerging economies. In particular, it includes dedicated chapters on the theory of CSR, related principles and values, and insights from cross-generational investigations. In turn, the second part of the book examines the relation between financial performance and social responsibility in different industries and types of organizations. The third part presents cases involving emerging economies, and addresses reporting, auditing and accounting, as well as sector-specific issues for e.g. retailing and banking. Lastly, the book tackles the aspects of financial performance and taxation in a number of case studies and practical examples. Overall the book provides cutting-edge insights into the theory and practice of CSR from European countries that can be considered emerging or developing.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a buzzword in management today. And yet, skepticism often prevails, as CSR is often associated with traditional philanthropic practices enabling companies to greenwash their unethical social and environmental practices. This book offers a fresh view on today's CSR from both historical and geographical perspectives. Exploring its roots and theoretical developments in the US, the author then focuses on how CSR has spread across the world, first in Europe and later in the developing world. An updated overview of today's CSR agenda is provided with a focus on four key issues: stakeholder inclusion, employee engagement and social dialogue, human rights and environmental sustainability. With the support of multiple cases and examples taken from various continents and industries, the book adopts a sustainability-driven perspective, based on the belief that the future of CSR lies in the strategic embeddeness of key issues into the company's value chain. Finally, the book attempts to draw the contours of tomorrow's CSR by proposing a new terminology reflecting the current evolution of CSR.
This book explores the key issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and reporting as applied to sports organizations, with particular attention to the Italian environment. It is divided into two parts, the first of which examines the general principles and reporting tools of CSR; these represent the reference point for all types of organization, including sports organizations. The coverage encompasses the evolution of CSR and the latest standards issued by authoritative international public and private institutions. The aim is to provide readers with a sound basis for understanding fully the application of these principles and reporting tools within the world of sport. The second part is devoted to a detailed analysis of the CSR strategies and social reporting initiatives adopted by sports organizations. Although the focus is primarily on Italian sports organizations, due attention is also paid to world benchmarks. In particular, the analysis examines the CSR strategies and reporting initiatives developed by international and Italian sports federations and by two international professional football clubs. The book will be of wide interest to academics, students, and practitioners.
The book examines the evolution and current state of corporate social responsibility (CSR), using a five-stage maturity model: defensive, charitable, promotional, strategic and transformative CSR. The first four stages are dubbed CSR 1.0 and characterise most current CSR practice, while the fifth stage is named CSR 2.0 (also transformative or systemic CSR) and describes emergent and future CSR practices. Reasons are given why CSR 1.0 approaches have failed to have any significant impact on the most serious global social, environmental and ethical challenges. The emergent CSR 2.0 will then be explored in detail by elaborating on five principles underlying the new approach, including: creativity, scalability, responsiveness, glocality and circularity. A four-part DNA Model is also introduced, covering value creation, good governance, societal contribution and ecological integrity, which provides the basis for defining and measuring CSR 2.0. Finally, a 70-question CSR 2.0 self-assessment diagnostic tool developed by the author is presented, with sample data to show how the tool can be used for future research and practitioner application.
'Perrini et al provide a detailed, authoritative look at the evolving European perspective on corporate social responsibility. They show how Europe has moved from follower status to leading edge practice. The book is the best current indicator of what the next stages of CSR will look like.' - Thomas W. Dunfee, University of Pennsylvania, US The rapidly increasing attention devoted to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has resulted in the term 'CSR' being applied to myriad dissimilar phenomena. The authors therefore aim to dispel this confusion by presenting a multi-faceted view of socially responsible corporate behavior and related themes. They provide a conceptualization of CSR that emphasizes the role of the adoption and implementation of specific CSR strategies and their impact on corporate social and economic performance.
This book is an introduction to developing and implementing a successful program in the domain of sustainability and social responsibility. The reader is exposed to financially, environmentally, and socially responsible objectives that are supported by strategies and achieved by clear tactics that have measurable outcomes. The reader is introduced to methods of implementing technologies and practices and will also learn how to measure the consequent social and environmental performance for written reports and persuasive presentations. This book also reveals why we should be sustainable by explaining seemingly complex topics in science in a way that requires very little math or science background. The overview also captures how sustainability and social responsibility can be the source of process and product innovation. This book's approach is practical yet scientific. The nine chapters are dedicated to the practice of environmental and social responsibility in ways that achieve financial stability over the long run. As a result, these chapters help us understand not just why businesses need to be more responsible but how businesses can be more successful over the long run. International standards are given full treatment. ISO 26000 is given detailed attention, slightly more than ISO 9000 or ISO 14000, because it melds guidance on both environmental and social responsibility into one general concept of social responsibility. This book also specifies how to use traditional methods such as Six Sigma, lean, and operations research to improve processes, reduce resource use and waste, and make better social and environmental decisions that are based upon data from key financial, social, and environmental performance indicators. Internal and external data sourcing are given full treatment along with basic statistical data management. A recurring theme throughout the book is the integration of traditional methods of continuous improvemen
