What are the limits of corporate social, stakeholder or society responsibility (CSR) actions in the current global reality?
Copenhagen Compliance principles and practices, OECD guidelines and other covenants encourage companies and organizations to apply the principles of responsible corporate behavior to CSR. Instead of generalizing, preventing or remedy social or good governance violations that others might have committed we recommend the promotion of a positive and proactive CSR compliance culture.
Transparency, accountability and progress must go hand in hand in all good governance actions. However, in spite of the many good intentions, businesses become irresponsible enterprises if the components are not integrated, embedded and automated and result in the lack of CSR focus.
Cultivate a positive and proactive CSR compliance culture
To accomplish the long term corporate social, stakeholder and environmental behavior, there are two prerequisites for success:
- Leveraging CSR is a Company's approach to Compliance when it determines the role CSR can play in the adoption of the company's compliance strategy?
- Employees must be encouraged to embrace and take ownership of a single component of the CSR policy, as part of their ethical code-of conduct in relation to the changing corporate culture.
The business approach to the task of developing CSR is to be proactive and provide employees, individuals, NGOs and others who feel the responsibility, the opportunity to get the necessary introduction and training so that they have the potential to define and discuss their own positive CSR initiatives.
Companies in a free democratic society should be allowed to conduct sustainable business activities without first being subject to the NGO's, oversight or authorities' suspicion. Therefore Copenhagen Compliance focusses on managing the CSR components that respects and desires the cultivation of a positive and proactive CSR compliance culture instead of the negative desire to highlight the focus on violations disregarding the realities and culture of the environment.
Interpreting sustainability
Because the OECD guidelines on CSR are so broad that it is impossible for businesses to know exactly if they cross them. General statements like companies must: "Contribute to economic, environmental and social progress with a view to promoting sustainable development", leaves the desire from some organizations to interpret "sustainability" and other general terms.
Therefor it is advisable for businesses and organizations to develop their own definitions and adhere to these. We further recommend that companies formulate a social purpose of the business to avoid the risk of complaints on how "sustainability" is to be interpreted?
On the other hand, companies must also comprehensively refrain from seeking or accepting exemptions not covered in the legal or regulatory framework. As the second part of the definition process, we recommend that companies further define the levels of human rights, environment, health, safety, labor, taxation, financial incentives, or other issues. In that case due diligence on CSR issues minimizes the risk of being the subject of a CSR criticism.
We want companies to be ready with a powerful defense for their CSR actions.
