Talk the Green WalkHow organizations have utilized the Global Reporting Initiative’s framework for corporate social responsibility reporting

A capstone project by Brad Baso for fulfillment of graduation requirements of the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program at theCollege of St. Catherine

April 16, 2009

Talk the Green Walk:Overview•Purpose of research

•Conceptual framework:

•Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

•Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

•Research methodology and findings

•Questions and, hopefully, Answers

Research Purpose

•Personally engaging

•Practical - emerging field of CSR reporting

•Excellent fit with MAOL’s effective, ethical and enduring leadership model

Conceptual Framework

•Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

•CSR Reporting

•Global Reporting Initiative

•Stakeholder Analysis

•Research Question

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)CSR aligns business operations with social values. It integrates the interests of stakeholders—all of those affected by a company's conduct—into the company's business policies and actions. CSR focuses on the social, environmental, and financial success of a company—the triple bottom line, with the goal being to positively impact society while achieving business success.

-CSR Newswire (http://www.csrwire.com/pdf/WhatIsCSR.pdf)

CSR Reporting

•Describing a company’s CSR goals, activities and results.

•Frequently seen as a PR and branding tool

(GRI)•Started in Boston as a program of

Ceres in 1997, now on its own in Amsterdam

•Staff of 36, annual budget of $7M

•Network of 30,000+ experts in 60+ countries

•Primary products and services involve its reporting guidelines

•Over 1,500 published reports to date

GRI Guidelines

•Standard Disclosures:

•Strategy•Economic•Environmental•Labor practices•Human rights•Society•Product responsibility

GRI Guidelines•What and how to report

Stakeholder Analysis

•Investors (shareholders)

•Employees

•Customers

•Public (community)

Shareholders

•Is this company effectively managing risks and opportunities?

Employees

•Am I inspired to work at this company?

•Employees (current and future) are increasingly bringing personal values into the workplace

Customers

•Do I have enough of/the right information to decide to spend money with this company?

Community

•Does this report disclose all relevant information about the company’s impact to its immediate surroundings and community?

•Corporate philanthropy efforts, environmental concerns

Research Question

How does utilizing the Global Reporting Initiative’s corporate social responsibility reporting framework enhance companies’ CSR published reports?

Underlying AssumptionCSR reporting, when done properly, improves companies’ sustainability performance, thereby making a positive contribution against the ecological challenges of global warming, diminishing bio-diversity, natural resource depletion and human adversity.

You will assume one of the points of view of these stakeholders based on the card given to you when you came in.

Please open it now.

Your role

CSR Reports Reviewed MN GRI

General Mills Y N

Kellogg’s N Y

EcoLab Y Y

JohnsonDiversey N N

Kellogg’s & General Mills

Commonalities

•Addressed concerns for all stakeholders:

•Nutrition and health

•Food safety

•Agriculture and production

•Identified organic/healthy brands

•Included an excellent summary and CSR action plan

•Included strengths and opportunities

•70 pages long

•14 charts/graphs

Kellogg’s:Organic/Healthy Brands

•Excellent narratives and case studies

•Lacked overall CSR strategy

•Read more like a series of PR stories

•55 pages long

•7 charts/graphs (4 from enviro section)

General Mills:Organic/Healthy Brands

Summary of Findings

GRI’s Guidelines help companies develop their CSR reports from feel-good press releases to powerful documents of accountability and transparency.

Questions

•In your stakeholder role?

•Others?

Thank you!•MAOL:

•Project advisor, Martha Hardesty

•Program director, Rebecca Hawthorne

•Go-to wonder woman, Val Krech

•Fellow students

•Friends, family and former coworkers