Corporate responsibility
The public’s growing interest in ethical living and consumerism and the importance of organisational values has put increasing pressure on businesses to demonstrate Corporate Responsibility. This can include the development and demonstration of ethical business practices, policies, activities and, reporting mechanisms.
What are the implications?
- More active participation in the public sphere as Corporate Responsibility shifts to become ‘corporate citizenship’.
- Changes in levels and sources of VCS income as corporate responsibility is no longer synonymous with corporate giving.
- Increased polarisation as smaller charities are less able to take advantage of cause-related marketing and longer term partnerships.
- Increased information on the VCS as businesses want to know more about the organisations their companies are involved with.
- Greater evidence of impact and calls for organisational transparency and accountability as businesses need to monitor and demonstrate the outcomes of their involvement with an organisation.
- An increase in employee volunteering as more businesses feel under pressure to demonstrate corporate responsibility. (see levels of volunteering)
- Pressure on VCOs to demonstrate the same sense of corporate responsibility or citizenship as the private sector
- Corporate citizenship requiring high levels of investment may impact on resources available for core activities.
- Risk that the private sector could be perceived to be ahead of the game when it comes to environmental concern.
- Growing pressure for legally binding regulation on corporate responsibility.
Moving Forward
Corporate Social Responsibility concerns organisations of all sectors. Individuals are increasingly aware and critical of organisations that don’t practice what they preach.
- Is your organisation 'walking the talk'?
- Could your organisation develop a new relationship with a private company? A local business may feel more connected your organisation’s services? However, could require extensive research into the activities and corporate responsibility practices of local businesses. How can your organisation go about doing this?
- Can you demonstrate that your organisations’ mission fits with their social aims?
- Can you take advantage of non-cash support (e.g. in kind support or employee volunteering)?
- Are you exploiting websites and online services such as Guidestar UK to promote your services to the private sector and to encourage them to consider donating money to your organisation?
There is increasing pressure from funders and customers for organisations to be socially responsible.
- Has your organisation got the reporting systems in place to demonstrate it is?
- How might a relationship with a corporate body change the way your organisation monitors and demonstrates its impact?
Want to know more?
This driver is a stub and will be completed soon. Here we will link to external documents and resources for further reading.
Recent discussion
How will this affect your organisation? Have you considered it during your strategic planning? Can you share any interesting relevant links?Join the discussion!
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Megan
Third Sector ForesightYou mention corporate citizenship, which sounds interesting but I’m not sure what you mean. Could you explain some more?
Natalie
Third Sector ForesightAs CSR now covers an increasingly broad range of areas that relate to the wider impact of business and business practices, there has also been a shift in the language of CSR. ‘Corporate citizenship’ is basically a term to describe organisations who actively participate in the public sphere as members of society. This goes beyond businesses in the private sector, as the NHS corporate citizenship website illustrates. VCOs are also facing the same pressures and some are therefore re-examining their own practices and policies but this has significant cost implications. There is a risk that the private sector could be perceived to be ahead of the game when it comes to environmental concern (for example, Marks and Spencers already plans to go carbon neutral within five years). So far, CSR has developed essentially on a voluntary basis but calls for corporate accountability are growing, with initiatives, such as the CORE Coalition in the UK pressing for legally binding regulation. Do people think the VCS will struggle to keep up with this aspect of CSR?
Oliver
NCVO Research TeamCSR has been going for years now (10+) and never got close to binding regulation, is there any evidence that it is going to happen any time soon (apart from isolated pockets like carbon trading)?
Why are private companies like M&S going carbon neutral and doing other CSR initiatives – because they care or because it’s a PR exercise?
Surely CSR is the lifeblood of the sector (substituting ‘corporate’ for ‘organisational’). Therefore is there any need to get caught up in a ‘we’re more engaged with social responsibility than you’ game with the private sector – by definition we should be far ahead. If we’re not, the sector’s seriously in trouble!
Dhara
I went to an interesting lecture held by PMPA yesterday – How can Local government save the planet?. It focused (unsuprisingly) on what local government can do to stop climate change, and the example of carbon neutral Marks and Spencers was also given – I hadn’t seen the NHS corporate citizenship website before, but this thread has made me think about CSR and the public sector locally- If all 410 local authorities were better ‘corporate citizens’ could they save the planet? I dont think they could do it alone, but I think they could make a real difference – in relation to more then climate change.
Amy
The lines are being blurred between public, private and third sectors and creating community. I don’t perceive it as a competition but rather as a success that these positive ethos are crossing sectors. The challenge is for VCS organisations to respond to the changes in the “market place” and still add value.
A question that I keep exploring is: if we are mission driven and our mission is accomplished, successfully addressed by others or no longer relevant, what becomes of the organisation?” We exist to fulfil a need that is otherwise unmet. To stay relevant we must be in partnerships, leading the conversation, pushing for more. This need not be our core activity but it has to be our contribution to organisational citizenship.