Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a self-regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms. With some models, a firm's implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and engages in "actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law". CSR aims to embrace responsibility for corporate actions and to encourage a positive impact on the environment and stakeholders including consumers, employees, investors, communities and others.
CSR is not about pressuring firms into engaging in philanthropy or obligating them to shoulder additional responsibility for different social problems. Considered broadly, CSR is about establishing and perpetuating social norms that make economic markets more transparent and effective in serving societal interests.
It is likely to become an increasingly essential framework for reconciling individual interests and the social good. Because of this, CSR plays an increasingly influential role in every aspect of business, from corporate strategy to marketing and human resource management.
This course is designed to provide participants an overview on the basic principles of CSR and sustainability. It covers the key concepts and principles of sustainability and CSR; the definition of CSR and how it is applied CSR related concepts; stakeholder engagement, the best practices for preparing annual stakeholder engagement plan; social and environmental systems; driving environmental and social benefit within three distinct areas – engaging in philanthropy, optimizing operational impact and creating shared value; the global reporting initiative (GRI) main principles and guidelines; the local and international trends and legislation in CSR; and evolving the CSR activities to align with organizational goals and capabilities.
Further, the course will also cover the key principles of a CSR strategy; making the business case for the CSR strategy; identifying opportunities that benefit the organization as well as the community; building the ability to create shared business and social value over time; how company activities impact the environment and community; how organizational behaviour is impacted by CSR; the concept of triple bottom line (profit, people, plant) and the importance of taking it into consideration when analysing the company overall performance; integrating CSR best practices into key business areas, disseminating policy effectively and embedding CSR within the culture; sustainability programs and initiatives; good and bad business behavior across different sectors; components of a CSR action plan for your organization; building CSR expertise and capabilities; integrating social responsibility metrics into general performance management systems; measuring social and business impact; and communicating the goals and impact of CSR efforts to colleagues, shareholders and other stakeholders.