Corporate Social Repsonsibility

Kamila Sagynbekova

                                                                                                                     MPA 20111685

Corporate Social Repsonsibility. 

Introduction. 

          During this year and taking into consideration the previous years one of the most discussed topics is the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). And it becomes evident that many companies, especially well-known companies, are getting extremely interested in the term of Corporate Social Responsibility. Moreover, a great number of companies have taken a great effort in improving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its implications in economic and environmental performance. My research paper is based on an analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility reports of three companies – ABB LLP, ERNST&YOUNG and COCA COLA Company. However, firstly, I would like to define the term of Corporate Social Responsibility itself. What is it? “What is beyond that hill?” “What is on the other side of that river?”

          According to the Green Paper presented by the European Commission in July 2001, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (Commission of the European Communities, 2001b, p. 6). Through many years there is a great deal of debates concerning the concept of CSR, and not only are private sectors being involved in these debates, but also public sector, and some non-governmental organizations. Mostly in the commercial sector CSR is revealed as a strategic planning part mainly for those companies that are very ambitious and would like to succeed in all spheres of business as they want to improve the reputation, image, and competition. The main point of CSR is that companies should understand that their behavior is considered not only just as an economic role. According to Robins (2008), it means “an interest to take liability not only for activities and impact in business, but also responsibility for their impact on society and environment” (Robins, 2008).

Literature review.

          Taking into deep consideration each company’s CRS report, I would like to start with the ABB LLP Company. “ABB LLP Kazakhstan is the company in structure of group of ABB companies. ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 115 000 people. Operating in Kazakhstan ABB Company has recommended itself as a fair and reliable partner focusing the activity on customers which actively work in the Kazakhstan market. It obliges us to carry out the sales of the equipment and to support service at a level of global requirements. Every day step by step we create and we strengthen trust to us of our customers and partners as the basic key to success in our business” (from the official website of ABB LLP Kazakhstan - http://inside.abb.com/). Concerning Corporate Social Responsibility, ABB is seeking higher standards every year. According to its official website this company strives to sustain “high social, environmental, human rights, ethical and governance standards for the benefit of all stakeholders” (www.abb.kz ). Corporate responsibility reveals the company’s values and behavior to its stakeholders. Every honorable company should have certain standards and policies that reflect all the important points of CSR, and ABB LLP is not an exception. The company has the Code of Conduct, Business ethics and governance, policies like The Group Social and Human Rights issue. Also, there are many stakeholders that are influenced by ABB policies and performance, beginning from employees and subcontractors to customers, suppliers and communities where ABB has operations. Moreover, the company highlights the importance of wide-ranging stakeholder engagement to help it achieve best practice and sustainable benefit for stakeholders. What is important that there are special sustainability experts who also work with business divisions and other group functions to increase awareness of potential risk and improve performance. It becomes evident that human rights play a significant role in CSR; therefore it is a very important aspect in this concept. Due to this fact, ABB is “seeking to raise its standards, and increase its understanding and mitigation of human rights risk” (www.abb.kz). It is necessary to notice that the policy of  Human Rights policy and public statement were approved in 2007, “complementing existing policies for raising social, environmental, health and safety and business ethics performance”(www.abb.kz). Another area of great importance is corporate citizenship initiatives. Concerning these initiatives ABB is supporting communities where it operates or remote communities, like those in India and Tanzania. The support is held in the case of its rural electrification program "Access to Electricity." Another interesting point, ABB seeks to be a “good corporate citizen.” According to its official website www.abb.kz , “Constant effort, vigilance and high levels of awareness are needed to raise standards which are consistent everywhere, even in difficult environments. This is work in progress.                         

          Another company which should be considered is Ernst & Young. This company is a globally recognized leader in knowledge management. “We invest in developing processes and systems for our people to create, share and reuse our intellectual capital on a global scale, enabling us to efficiently deliver the most relevant insights for you” (from the official website – www.ey.com).  Corporate responsibility is integral to Ernst & Young’s business strategy. It is revealed in the website that “our four pillars include community engagement, education, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability” (www.ey.com). Considering the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability, the main point in creating a sustainable context, to put it another way, is “a thriving community able to protect its environment, educate its children and become prosperous by fostering innovation and generating new businesses” (www.ey.com).  The core values of CSR in this company are: community engagement, entrepreneurship, education and environmental sustainability. If we take into deep consideration the pillar of community engagement, it is necessary to point that Ernst & Young encourages every person apply his or her workplace skills to “create positive change in communities close to home and around the world”(www.ey.com). On a global basis, the company joins with organizations like the Private Sector Leaders Forum of the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and Transparency International. These organizations were designed to help find ways to address the social and economic challenges of our time. As the representatives of Ernst & Young claim that the main values of their corporate responsibility efforts are: education, entrepreneurship and the environment – “that complements our business strategy and is critical to strengthening market economies” (www.ey.com ). Also, despite of the fact that these sustainability efforts are provided voluntarily, the company do not give an “extra pair of hands”. Moreover, the company is contributing to the communities and, serves on “not-for-profit boards, support schools, mentor students, assist high-impact entrepreneurs and strive to reduce our environmental footprint” (www.ey.com). Talking about the educational point, Ernst & Young need to recruit a talented workforce in every country where they do business. Ernst & Young as one of the world’s great global consulting and training organizations, through educational programs, helps young people in the communities realize their full potential. Another issue is the entrepreneurship value. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award, which celebrates successful entrepreneurs in 50 countries, is the most prestigious award of its kind. Entrepreneurs create jobs and transform communities as well as industries. And entrepreneurs are extremely resourceful in both good times and bad. According to the official website (http://www.ey.com/GL/en/About-us/Corporate-Responsibility/Entrepreneurs-create-jobs-and-build-communities), Ernst & Young encourages people to “donate their skills to smaller ventures that otherwise could not access such sophisticated advice – but that still have the potential to contribute significantly to the economy of a household, a village or an entire nation”. Concerning about the core value of environmental sustainability - “a healthy environment is important to our people and to our business” (http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Aboutus/CorporateResponsibility/Environmentalsustainability). There is practice called “Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice”. It helps the clients of the company and the communities move to a low-carbon way of operating and lower their costs in the process. According to the official website it is happening “because we believe that any commitment to a greener world has to start at home, we’re also challenging ourselves to work in an environmentally responsible manner and to find new ways to reduce our carbonfootprint”(http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Aboutus/CorporateResponsibility/Environmentalsustainability).There were some initiatives adopted to increase the influence on the environment worldwide. Firstly, it was done by Ernst & Young such things as measuring their own carbon footprint by collecting and analyzing data on energy consumption in their offices and business travel. The second initiative was to set and achieve goals for Ernst & Young’s internal operations to “promote environmentallysustainablebusinesspractices”(http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Aboutus/CorporateResponsibility/Environmentalsustainability). The third initiative was taking into action an environmentally responsible travel policy around the globe. And finally, there was made an initiative to establish leading practices/guidelines around waste management for the offices around the world.

          The next area of great importance and interest is the Coca Cola Company and its contribution into the Corporate Social Responsibility. This 2009/2010 Sustainability Review covers the performance of The Coca Cola Company and the Coca Cola system from August 2009 through September 2010. All data and information in this report reflects the performance and goals of the Coca Cola system. This report is designed by the seven main points that are called “LIVE POSITIVELY”. The information reported in each of these core areas is based on the ongoing feedback the Coca Cola Company has received from internal and external stakeholders. The company also points the report on the principles which are outlined in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Guidelines, United Nations (UN) Global Compact (signatory since 2006) and CEO Water Mandate (signatory since 2007). According to this report (2009 Annual Report on Form, pages 12-19), there is included discussion of potential risks and challenges to their business, and other filings with the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company is discussing some of these issues and includes others of interest to their stakeholders in this report, such as firstly, the responsible water use, secondly, the energy efficiency and climate protection, thirdly, the sustainable packaging. Also, another important issue was about obesity and other health concerns. Also, workplace and human rights, associate health and safety, anticorruption and product quality are the problems of consideration. Concerning the goals of Coca Cola Company, their sustainability report is evolving. According to their report, they work to provide a more robust and informative report to our stakeholders and this is happening each year. Moreover, they emphasize on working by employing improved metrics and goal setting. “While we discuss initiatives and programs, as well as progress from year to year, we recognize the need to report additional quantifiable metrics and targets” (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/pdf/SR09/2009-2010_The_Coca-Cola_Company_Sustainability_Review.pdf). Concerning the transparency, the company believes that commitment is meaningless without accountability. “The scrutiny we face from a global audience is high, and the need for increased transparency continues to grow beyond the requests of our critics to those of our customers, partners and consumers” (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/pdf/SR09/20092010_The_CocaCola_Company_Sustainability_Review.pdf). The interesting point is that the company is continually advancing the information it shares with its stakeholders. Another important point they made that it is necessary to listen to their stakeholders. The company emphasizes the fact that if they work together with their bottling partners, customers and other stakeholders, the contribution to sustainable development and the benefits to the whole business can be greatly magnified.  
 
 
 
 
 

References.

1. www.abb.kz
2. Corporate Social Responsibility and its impact on society and environment, Robins, 2008
3. www.ey.com
4. http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Aboutus/CorporateResponsibility/Environmentalsustainability
5. http://www.ey.com/GL/en/About-us/Corporate-Responsibility/Entrepreneurs-create-jobs-and-build-communities
6. Green Paper, European Commission ,July 2001,Commission of the European Communities, 2001b, p. 6
7. http://inside.abb.com/
8. 2009/2010 Sustainability Review (Coca Cola Company) 2009 Annual Report on Form, pages 12-19
9. http://www.thecocacolacompany.com/citizenship/pdf/SR09/20092010_The_CocaCola_ Company_Sustainability_Review.pdf