Thinking About CSR in Practice: learnings from decades in the trenches

THINKING ABOUT CSR IN PRACTICE thoughts, tools and examples

Corporate Social Responsibility

STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT An Executive Education Program

Accra, Ghana

Nov 4-8th, 2013

Wayne Dunn

Professor of Practice in CSR

McGill | Institute for the Study of International Development

[email protected]

Tuesday Nov 5th, 2013

Who is Wayne

• Accidental Academic

• ~25 years of CSR related experience

• 60+ projects involving about 30+ countries

• Global background but African focus in last

decade

• Still learning (sometimes painfully!)

Lecture Overview • Discuss and try out some practical tools and

approaches (Think Abouts) for assessing and

understanding CSR in the field

• Group Work

• Industry Social License discussion

• Relationship

• Value Sustainability

• Social Value Return on Investment

• Value Proposition

• Partners

• Value Creation

• Communications

• Metrics

• CSR as a Catalyst

Session Objectives

• To provide tools and insights for assessing

and understanding CSR projects and

initiatives?

• To help participants be able to think about

CSR in a more systematic manner.

• To introduce the concept of Industry Social

License

Definitions Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Development,

Social programs, Community Relations

Terms are often used interchangeably

Definition

“CSR is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute

to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and

their families as well of the local community and society at large”

Financial

Responsibility

Environmental

Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility

(Sustainable Development)

Social

ResponsibilityWBCSD

Diagram

Another Definition of CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is

defined as value creation for business

that simultaneously yields more profit and

greater social impact, resulting in

powerful transformations and

opportunities for growth and innovation in

both business and society.

CSR in the OLDEN DAYS

Policies &

Good Intentions

Solving Social

Problems

CSR in the OLDEN DAYS (cont)

Community Relations Management

Framework

Plan

?Results?

System

“By working together to mobilize sustainable investment in the Least Developed Countries, government, business and civil society give hope and opportunity to the world’s poorest”

“lasting and effective answers can only be found if business – working together with other actors including government and civil society– is fully engaged”

Kofi Annan

United Nations Global Compact announced by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in

an address to The World Economic Forum on January 31,

1999, and was officially launched at UN Headquarters in

New York on July 26, 2000

CSR, No Matter How you Slice It

Value for People

Value for Communities

Value for Shareholders

Value for Governments

Need to balance interests

CSR is a SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

CSR is about value creation not Charity

How to think about CSR (more) Systematically

• Frameworks and systematic

approaches to CSR is still an evolving

area, despite a lot of progress over the

last 15 years

• No one size fits all

• CSR programs and activities can be

examined along many dimensions

Some Key Dimensions to Think About

Type of Activity

• Grants and Donations

• Community Social & Development

• Training and Education

• Local Institutional Development

• Local Infrastructure

• Employment

• Procurement

• Community Health

• Other


Relationship

• Highly Asymmetrical – Donor/Client

• Somewhat Asymmetrical

• Symmetrical

• Will it/should it change over time?


Value Proposition

• What Value Gets Created – For Who?

• Who else might benefit?

• Avoid Zero-Sum situations when possible

• Education example

• Who benefits

• Partners / Costs / Value

• $50k for 10 seats - $100k = 25 seats


Value Sustainability

• Does the initial investment continue to provide

value beyond the investment timeframe

• Community Event

• Local Supply Chain


Social Value Return on Investment

• Not every dollar invested in CSR creates the

same level of social value

Millennium Development Goals

Framework for Public/Private development collaboration

• Poverty

• Health

• Education

• Equality

• Environment

Common ground between private sector CSR investments/activities with ODA/Govt priorities


Partners

• Who/what benefits from success of this

initiative?

• What sort of partners would fit with this

initiative? (if any)

• What value would they receive? Create? (for

project and for company)?

• PNG AIDS/CIDA Inc.


Shareholder Value Creation

• What’s in it for the company?

Group Work

What do we do now? Case Study

More Key Dimensions to Think About

Communications

• What about this project should be

communicated?

• Why? How/Where? Risks? Rewards?

• What is the CSR equivalent of

Greenwashing?

More Key Dimensions to Think About

Metrics

• Can you manage it if you can’t measure it?

• What metrics would you measure/monitor?

• Why?

CSR as a Catalyst

• CSR projects can act as a catalyst to

bring key partners to the table

• Why do this?

• Increases available resources (financial,

human, organizational, political)

• Increases sustainability

• Reduces risk

CSR as a Catalyst

• HIV/AIDS in PNG

CSR Math

1 + 1 = 3 (or more)

Social License

• Industry Social License

• Corporate Social License

• Project/Site Social License

Industry Social License

• Oil Sands - Alberta

• Uranium Mining – Saskatchewan

• American chefs signing up to boycott Canadian

seafood because of the seal hunt

• Nov 4, 2013 - Newfoundland bans fracking

pending more research

Think Abouts

Question

With all the work that has happened – Why

does CSR remains such an issue

• Relationship

• Value Sustainability


• Value Proposition

• Partners

• Value Creation

• Communications

• Metrics


• Management Framework

• Social License (Project, Corporate, Industry)

Session Objectives

• To provide tools and insights for assessing

and understanding CSR projects and

initiatives?

• To help participants be able to think about

CSR in a more systematic manner.

• To introduce the concept of Industry Social

License

Extra Slides for Handout

The following are extra slides that readers

may find useful

Gathering & Organizing

Information on CSR Activities ABC CSR Program

Description Short description of the program

Objective Stated and/or understood objectives

Type of Activity • Grants and Donations

• Community Social & Development

• Training and Education

• Local Institutional Development

• Local Infrastructure

• Employment

• Procurement

• Community Health

• Other

Responsibility & Management What dept./position is responsible for the

program?

How is it currently managed and how

does the management integrate with

other corporate management systems?

Does the success/failure of this program

affect the manager’s annual evaluation?

How?

Consultation and History What, if any, local involvement was there in

the design and development of the program?

Any other notes on history – when it started,

how it came about, successes, failures,

developments, etc.

Budget Current budget including how it is derived

(i.e. 3% of something). Also any recent or

expected changes to the budget.

Value Proposition What groups, individuals, stakeholders

benefit from this activity, directly and

indirectly? Is there a way to help more to

benefit from it?

Partners Are there any partners that aren’t covered in

the value proposition discussion?

How are partners involved? What are their

roles and responsibilities?

Are they capable of meeting them?

Community Benefits What are the benefits to the community?

Can they be quantified? How?

Company Benefits What are the benefits to the company?


Other Beneficiaries Are there other benefits from the program?

Who benefits? How?


Success Indicators, Metrics,

Measuring & Monitoring

How is the program measured and

monitored?

Does it connect to management and

corporate objectives?

Is the program’s success linked to the

management evaluation program?

What other, if any, success indicators are

there?

How is the program reported? To who?

Frequency

Other Think Abouts • Value Sustainability


• Communications

• Metrics


For Additional Information

Wayne Dunn

Professor of Practice in Corporate Social Responsibility

McGill University | Institute for the Study of International Development

[email protected]

Desk: +1.250.743.7619

mailto:[email protected]

Business

Thinking About CSR in Practice: learnings from decades in the trenches