CSR
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is something we hear a lot about these days and is proving a great help in driving large companies to tackle sustainability issues, says Paul Reeve*.
It also represents a commitment on behalf of the m&e contractor to operate in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible way both as part of a project team and as an organisation in its own right.
Managing CSR can reduce risk and enhance reputation (e.g. with clients) but to be effective, CSR activity must have three main elements. Companies should:
1) address key sustainability issues;
2) communicate with their key stakeholders (also known as ‘interested parties’ e.g. clients, enforcers, employees, or local communities); and
3) recognise stakeholders’ interests in the company’s business planning.
CSR activity often has effects along the supply chain (notably in the procurement of products and services).
According to the DTI (now DBERR), “CSR is about behaviours that go beyond basic legal compliance”. It suggests that a responsible contracting company should:
* recognise that its activities have a wider impact on the society in which it operates
* In response, take account of the economic, social, environmental impacts of its activities
* seek to achieve benefits by working in partnership with other groups and organisations.
Any contractor looking to engage in effective CSR activity should decide which business issues most affect their ability to operate successfully. This requires an ‘informed but practical’ appraisal of their social and environmental impacts. CSR often reflects environmental issues, but it can encompass many other issues such as: health and safety; protection of the public; supply chain practice; and even fiscal responsibility.
To engage properly with CSR, a contractor should know who its key stakeholders are and how they are affected by its activities, products or services. It must then engage constructively with these groups to:
• understand their views
• establish priorities
• resolve conflicting interests
• formulate actions, and
• review progress.
Companies should understand what key stakeholders expect from them and what they can deliver as a result.
Corporate reporting
The best CSR reports deal with actual performance, not just plans and certainly not just messages. Ideally, they include useful performance indicators. A CSR report should provide a method of effective communication (not just dissemination), so it needs a way of ensuring feedback from interested parties.
*Paul Reeve works for the Electrical Contractors' Association and is an expert on health and safety matters and provides regular updates to the M&E Sustainability website.
Look out for his guidance on:
Site waste management plans
Embodied carbon
Net waste method (WRAP initiative)
REACH