National vs International CSR Institutions and Frameworks

National vs. International Institutions That Promote CSR

Role of the Public Sector in CSR

The public sector plays several key roles in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR):

• To obligate: regulation, inspection, and legal sanctions and incentives.
• To ease: facilitate the legislation of actions, non-mandatory guidelines, transparency, creation of incentive laws, training, awareness, and facilitation of dialogue between stakeholders.
• To collaborate: combine public and private resources, and coordinate and create synergy between public policies related to CSR and stakeholder dialogue.
• To promote: political support for CSR practices in the market, through awards, guides, recognition, and indicators.

International Institutions: The 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact (UNGC) sets out ten principles grouped into four areas:

• Human rights (Principles 1-2): support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights, and make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
• Labour (Principles 3-6): uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour, abolish child labour, and eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
• Environment (Principles 7-9): support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility, and encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
• Anti-corruption (Principle 10): businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

CSR Benefits (Principles 11-15)

Key benefits of CSR include:

• Improved visibility of CSR and expansion of new practices.
• Better level of trust between citizens and companies.
• Improved self-regulation and co-regulation processes.
• Alignment of CSR with interests.
• Greater transparency of companies in social and environmental terms.
• Promotion of the importance of CSR in the educational context.
• Emphasis on the importance of national CSR policies.
• Integration of European and global CSR concepts.

ETNOR: Ethical Values in Business

ETNOR is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 to promote recognition, dissemination, and responsibility for the ethical values implicit in economic activity and the quality of organizations and public and private institutions. Its CSR practices include:

• Respect and promotion of human rights (non-discrimination).
• Labour conditions: professional development, health and safety, and training programs.
• Production and sales processes: types of materials and energy used, and product and service quality.
• Relationship with the environment: conservation, protection, and environmental improvement.
• Information policy: transparency in management decisions.
• Consequences for the Third World: helping country development and preserving businesses.
• Contribution to peace: manufacturing, transport, and sale of arms, and relations with military companies.
• Relationship with the state: prevention of money laundering.
• Contribution to local and regional development: job creation and social work.
• Participation in educational and cultural processes: collaboration in training programs and youth integration.

Model of the Four Dimensions of CSR

This model establishes the dimensions of CSR based on the type of responsibility the action generates and the social expectations created by each one:

• Philanthropic: be a good corporate citizen; desired by the company's stakeholders.
• Ethical: the obligation to do what is right; expected.
• Legal: obey the law and adhere to regulations; required.
• Economic: be profitable; desired by society.

Triple Bottom Line

• Financial level: economic performance and returns.
• Environmental level: environmental impact of production, minimizing risk and reducing environmental impact.
• Social level: gender and ethnic diversity, wages, and security, with actions according to the company's expectations.

Paul Hohnen's CSR Implementation Framework (2007)

• Plan: establish clear objectives and guidelines. a) CSR assessment. b) Develop a CSR strategy.
• Do: create teamwork, incorporate senior and middle management, and establish responsibilities and targets. a) Develop a CSR commitment. b) Implement the CSR commitment.
• Check: measure targets and recognize performance.
• Improve: conduct a SWOT analysis. a) Evaluate and improve.
• Cross-check: return to the beginning of the next cycle.