There are various definitions of corporate responsibility.
CSR- this concept, according to which organizations take into account the interests of society, taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, local communities and other interested parties in the public sphere. This obligation goes beyond the statutory obligation to comply with the law and involves organizations voluntarily taking additional steps to improve the quality of life of workers and their families, as well as the local community and society at large.
CSR is a system of voluntary relationships between an employee, employer and society, aimed at improving social and labor relations maintaining social stability in work collective and the surrounding community, the development of social and environmental activities at the national and international levels.
The practice of CSR is the subject of much debate and criticism. Advocates argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, and corporations reap numerous benefits from operating for a broader and longer term than their own immediate short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR detracts from the fundamental economic role of business;
Some argue that this is nothing more than an embellishment of reality; others say it is an attempt to replace the government's role as controller of powerful multinational corporations.
Three main interpretations of CSR:
1. The first (classical approach) and the most traditional.
Emphasizes that the sole responsibility of a business is to increase profits for its shareholders. This point of view was promulgated by the Nobel Laureate in Economics Milton Friedman in 1971 in the article "The Social Responsibility of Business - Making Money" and can be called the theory of corporate selfishness.
The main shortcoming of the theory is time limitation. If the company incurs additional expenses in the short term, then in the long term it benefits from improving the corporate image and developing relations with the local community. In particular, M. Friedman noted that the fight against poverty is not a function of private business. This is the business of the state. The main task of a business is to earn money for shareholders and customers within the law. The business has no other obligations. The organization must pay taxes and owes nothing to anyone except God and conscience. According to M. Friedman, managers who have goals other than profit maximization assign themselves the role of unelected policy makers. That is, without having a legitimate right and sufficient competence, managers are trying to resolve issues and determine the ways for the development of society, which politicians should do.
2. the theory of corporate altruism.
This theory is directly opposite to the theory of M. Friedman.
Main idea is that business should take care not only of profit growth, but also make the most accessible contribution to solving social problems, improving the quality of life of citizens and the community, as well as preserving the environment. The authorship of this theory belongs to the Committee for Economic Development. The Committee's recommendations emphasized that "corporations have an obligation to make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life of citizens and communities, as well as to the preservation of the environment. Companies cannot stand aside from social problems, since they are open systems, actively participating in lobbying for laws and other government decisions, sponsoring various parties and other public associations.
3. the theory of "reasonable egoism".
It is built on the fact that Social responsibility business is just " good business"because it reduces long-term profit losses. Spending on social and charitable programs reduces current profits, but in the long run creates a favorable social environment and, therefore, sustainable profits. Philanthropic and sponsorship programs contribute to the legal reduction of the company's tax base and give a good "publicity effect" This is the main motive of the company's social activity.
Despite the ever-increasing attention to the issue under consideration, there is still no single generally accepted understanding of the social responsibility of business or corporate responsibility.
Some experts perceive socially responsible behavior primarily in an ethical sense, while others perceive it as a concept of legal responsibility.
According to M. Palazzi and J. Stutcher, "social responsibility is basically a philosophy or image of the relationship between business and society, and for its implementation and sustainability over a long period of time, this relationship requires leadership.
According to the position of A. Carroll, CSR is multi-level, it can be represented as a pyramid (Figure 2).
Lying at the base of the pyramid economic responsibility is directly determined by the basic function of the company in the market of a producer of goods and services that can satisfy the needs of consumers and, accordingly, make a profit.
Legal liability implies the need for a law-abiding business in a market economy, the compliance of its activities with the expectations of society, fixed in legal norms.
ethical responsibility, in turn, requires business practice to be consonant with the expectations of society, not specified in legal norms, but based on existing moral norms.
Philanthropic Responsibility encourages the company to take actions aimed at maintaining and developing the welfare of society through voluntary participation in the implementation of social programs.
In this way, CSR- is the obligation of business to make a voluntary contribution to the development of society, including social, economic and environmental spheres, accepted by the company in excess of what is required by law and the economic situation.
In foreign sources of information, social responsibility is often interpreted as:
"Business' self-made commitment to support sustainable economic development by working with workers, their families, local communities and society at large to improve the quality of life through actions that benefit business and society as a whole."
The World Bank Research Institute understands social responsibility in two ways:
- 1. A set of policies and actions related to key stakeholders, values and fulfilling the requirements of the rule of law, as well as taking into account the interests of people, communities and the environment
- 2. Business focus on sustainable development
The European Commission in its documents relies on the broadest definition:
"CSR is a concept that reflects the voluntary decision of companies to participate in improving society and protecting the environment."
According to the definition of the Russian Managers Association CSR business- voluntary contribution of business to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, directly related to the main activity of the company and going beyond the minimum specified by law.
Social responsibility also lies in the fact that companies try to meet public expectations regarding their products or services and at the same time form high social standards, thus contributing to improving the quality and standard of living in the country.
The main task of CSR- combine a sense of duty and real social action.
In this regard, it is interesting to analyze the structuring of the concept of CSR. In particular, they offer three main components of CSR development:
- 1. social obligations;
- 2. social response;
- 3. own responsibility;
At the same time, social obligation serves as the basis for social oriented activity business entity.
social obligation- the obligation of a business entity to fulfill its economic and legal obligations to society. If a company links its activities with the fulfillment of certain social obligations, then it pursues social goals only to the extent that the latter contribute to the achievement of its economic goals. Unlike social obligation, both social responsibility and social responsiveness go beyond the mere compliance by companies with basic economic and legal requirements.
A responsibility- this is a relationship guaranteed by society and the state that ensures the observance of the interests and freedoms of interrelated parties . It includes three components:
- 1. awareness of duty;
- 2. assessment of behavior;
- 3. imposition of sanctions;
Social responsibility- the company's commitment to pursue long-term public benefit goals. Hence, the concept of social responsibility is characterized by certain moral and ethical emphases, namely: the organization must do what is aimed at improving society, and not do what can lead to its deterioration. Therefore, the activities of any company that manufactures products that are essentially harmful to the health of any person will never be considered socially responsible, despite significant amounts of social investment in staff development, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and treatment. These companies can only be classified as socially responsive.
social response- the company's ability to adapt to changing social conditions. In the process of social response, companies are guided by social norms, which are of great importance in that they can serve as convenient and useful guidelines for managers in the process of making decisions. management decisions. The importance of social response lies primarily in the fact that it replaces general reasoning practical actions. Proponents of the concept of social response consider their theory more realistic and feasible than social responsibility.
It is important to note that, rather than assessing what actions are good for society in the long term, managers working in socially responsive companies identify core social norms and adjust the degree of social participation of their organizations in such a way as to ensure that they quickly respond to changing social conditions. The most modern examples of companies based on the concept of social response are Prentice Hall, McGraw-Hill, Los-Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Grand Metropolitan, Kraft General Foods, etc.
Comparative analysis of the concepts of social responsibility and social response:
Thus, if we are talking about the company's involvement in social activities, then all structural components must be present: social responsibility, social response and social obligation. Moreover, the social obligation serves, as already noted, as the basis for the socially oriented activity of a business entity.
There are interrelations between these three components of the direction of CSR development. (picture 3)
All types of responsibility are manifested not only in the internal organization of management, but also in the relationship between the organization and society, which are of great importance in the development of both. AT modern conditions corporate social responsibility plays a decisive role. With the development of production, scientific and technological progress, the urbanization of life, new, extremely complex problems arise and become more acute: environmental, socio-economic, technical, informational, urban, cultural, etc.
The future of civilization depends on a comprehensive solution of these problems. But their solution is largely determined by the activities of modern corporations, their responsibility to society and the future. That is why the problem of corporate social responsibility is becoming the central problem of management today. Its solution in the economic, scientific, technical, socio-political perspective excites the minds of many representatives of politics, science, business and management.
Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) is the realization of the interests of the company (corporation) by ensuring the social development of its team and the active participation of the company in the development of society.
The concept of CSR includes:
Responsibility of the organization to partners;
Social aspects of interaction with suppliers and buyers of products and services;
Corporate development - carrying out restructuring and organizational changes with the participation of representatives of the top management of companies, personnel and public organizations;
Health and safety of personnel in the workplace;
Responsible employee policy, personnel development management;
Environmental responsibility, environmental policy and use of natural resources;
Interaction local authorities authorities, state structures and public organizations to solve common social problems;
The responsibility of the organization to society as a whole.
Corporate social responsibility, unlike legal responsibility, implies a certain level of voluntary desire to allocate financial and material resources on the solution of social problems by the management of the organization. This desire is in relation to what lies outside the requirements defined by law or regulatory bodies or in excess of these requirements.
The life support of society is determined in the processes of life by the level of consumed resources and production wealth. The totality of territories, natural resources, the population in the environment of its residence constitutes the living space of society, the space for the activities of organizations.
The social responsibility of corporate managers (top managers), therefore, consists in organizing and successful management business, in the constant search for profitable interactions with the state. The fruits of this cooperation are a balanced and dynamically developing society, in which the work of each member of society is a prerequisite for general well-being.
In Russian management, the number of participants is increasing, who believe that social responsibility to their own staff and to society is not something exceptional, generated only by special circumstances, but a norm arising from the very essence of the organization's activities. The social aspects of activity become as inseparable from it as the economic aspects.
The objects of corporate social responsibility are: ecology, demography, safety, health, education, culture, science, information, recreation (Fig. 1.1). These areas of human and social development need business support, primarily economic support, as well as political and organizational support.
Rice. 1.1. Objects of social responsibility
To build a system of responsibility, taking into account its diversity, it is necessary to know the characteristics of responsibility in their full composition and scope.
Responsibility has the following characteristics:
1) Typological affiliation responsibility - is manifested in a combination of different types, and not just in belonging to one of the above. The art of implementing responsibility in management processes is to build this combination.
2) Measure Responsibility - reflects the degree of censure, encouragement, the strength of punishment or approval of the results of work. Here it must be borne in mind that responsibility in management acts not only as a factor of restraint or limitation, but also as a factor of motivation. The effectiveness of these factors is determined by both the type and the degree of responsibility.
3) Targeting- to whom the responsibility is intended, who and how should take it into account.
4) Organizational form implementation - fixed in regulations, instructions, agreements, contracts, etc.
5) Conditional character- can act under certain conditions set in advance.
6) Source implementation. For the internal organization of activities, this is the level of the management system, in accordance with the distribution of powers. For external relations - the organizations specified in the contract or agreement, as well as state regulatory bodies.
7) Temporary characteristics. There is always a time for its onset and implementation. Moreover, responsibility can change over time - weaken or worsen. This can happen when situations, conditions, needs, organizational positions change.
Tumilevich Elena Nikolaevna, cand. economy in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Enterprise Economics and Management, Khabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law, Russia
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Annotation:
The article considers the conceptual foundations of the system of organizational support for corporate social responsibility in a company. In accordance with the level of responsible behavior of the company, two options for building a system of corporate social responsibility are proposed: with the allocation of an independent link that implements the principles of corporate social responsibility, and with a high level of centralization of this scope of work in the top management link and delegation of authority to lower levels for the relevant departments .
JEL classification:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Russia today is not just a newfangled concept underlying the PR activities of companies. It is a necessary component of any successful company, the purpose of which is to achieve and maintain leadership positions in the market. CSR is a voluntary contribution of business to the development of society, carried out through social investments aimed at professional development and social protection of personnel, support for healthcare, sports, culture, education, environmental protection, etc. . Activities in this area should be systemic and consistent with the interests of all stakeholders.
The solution of any issue of the company requires the implementation of organizational, technical, methodological and information support. The concept of CSR also implies the need to form a certain composition of links, services, divisions, endowed with appropriate tasks and powers. To do this, it is necessary to build a system of organizational support for CSR, which is a functional subsystem of the entire enterprise.
The system of organizational support of corporate social responsibility is an interconnected set internal services and departments of the enterprise that ensure the development and adoption of management decisions on certain aspects of its social activities and responsible for the results of these decisions.
In practice, companies have different approaches to the formation of the CSR subsystem. It depends on many factors, among which are the following: the size of the company; organizational and legal form; the level of diversification of the company, including in relation to business lines and products, sales markets, financial portfolio; the state of the resource and staffing; system of legal regulation of CSR; the company's CSR policy; support of CSR principles by the company's personnel and its management.
Levels and principles of building corporate social responsibility
The main factor influencing the system of organizational support for CSR is the level of social responsibility of the company. At the same time, three levels of responsible behavior of the company can be distinguished, according to the United Nations Development Program.
1. Basic level, where all companies that comply with applicable law are located. The organizational support of a company of this level is not specific, since, in fact, there is no question of implementing CSR principles.
2. Second level social responsibility of business involves the use of tools aimed at improving the quality of the internal environment for employees of the enterprise: providing voluntary medical insurance, opportunities for advanced training, providing housing, kindergartens for the children of employees, etc. This type of liability has been tentatively referred to as "corporate liability".
3. Third - the highest level responsibility implies a focus on the development of society, improving the quality of life of the population of the territory where the enterprise operates.
For the second and, to a greater extent, the third level of social responsibility, the problem of forming a system of organizational support for the implementation of CSR principles in a company is acute.
An enterprise located at the last two levels of application of CSR practices in the construction organizational structure, which ensures the implementation of the concept, in our opinion, should adhere to the following principles:
− complexity: implementation of CSR principles into the overall strategy of the company;
− consistency: support of CSR principles by all members of the company and taking them into account when making managerial decisions;
− openness and information transparency in activities;
− formalization and regulation: clear regulation of procedures and business processes;
− portfolio social investment (comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of CSR);
− the principle of analyzing and monitoring the results of CSR implementation in the company's activities in order to develop solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of the company's activities.
That is, we adhere to the point of view that CSR should not be an end in itself, but an instrument of strategic sustainable and successful development companies.
The algorithm for the formation of a corporate social responsibility management system is shown in fig. one :
Two approaches to building a system of corporate social responsibility
Let us pay attention to the construction of the organizational structure within the framework of the corporate social responsibility management system.
The social management service, the CSR service should organically fit into overall structure enterprise management. At the same time, in our opinion, it is possible to implement two approaches to building a system of organizational support for CSR.
1. H independent operation of functional control centers(production activities, personnel, sales activities and finance), with the allocation of a social responsibility management center. At the same time, it is assumed that there is a limited, clearly defined information link between the main divisions in the organizational structure of the company's management on issues of corporate social responsibility.
The main areas of work within the framework of the CSR subsystem include the solution of the following range of tasks.
1. Definition of functional tasks:
− information for the formation of projects;
− general scheme of the project within the framework of CSR;
− detailing of the project scheme.
2. Staff:
− subsystem of recruitment, accounting of personnel, access to information;
− subsystem of workplace organization, wage conditions (salary, interest);
− internal interaction (document flow, control system).
3. Subsystem "Personnel motivation":
− study of the CSR project;
− planning and marketing (planned and emergency events);
− preparation of plans - planned result;
− approval of plans – operation or modification;
− analysis of the results.
4. Improving the efficiency of work in the direction of CSR:
− optimization of costs for the implementation of CSR principles;
− identification of the use of new means, methods, CSR techniques;
− increase in effective operating means.
When building a CSR subsystem in a company, it is also important that they implement supporting elements, among which are software support, legal and methodological support for the CSR system, information support, etc. (see fig. 2).
For example, there is a CSR manager at Kyivstar. He works in the Corporate Communications Department (reports to the CEO) and his main responsibilities include the development and implementation of a CSR strategy. Also engaged in this area is another employee of the department - a specialist in social communications.
2. Interconnected activities of organization control centers. It is assumed that most of the specific decisions are made by independent dedicated centers within the framework of their functional powers, and a number of synthesizing management decisions are developed and adopted collectively, together with other interested enterprise management centers. As a rule, specific performers responsible for such communication with other departments are allocated, and the list of relevant decisions is determined in advance by top management. This approach to a large extent eliminates the contradictions in the tasks that often arise between individual divisions of the company. In this case, the activities of all departments are focused on achieving the highest goals of the entire company, and not a separate section. On the other hand, top management is overwhelmed when adding tasks and functions related to the implementation of CSR principles.
This approach is used in many companies with the allocation of structural elements depending on the stakeholders with whom work is carried out within the framework of structural element. The main stakeholders of the company are as follows target groups:
− shareholders (usually a department for work with shareholders is formed, which reports to the board of directors, the chairman of the board);
− investors (an investor relations department is being formed, which reports to the board of directors);
− employees (department for personnel management, reports to the general director);
− state structures (department for work with authorities Russian Federation, reports to the CEO);
− consumers (individuals and legal entities) (department of marketing, sales, work with clients, commercial department, etc., report to the general director);
− partners (Department of Prospective Development, Strategic Management, etc., reports to the General Director).
That is, within the framework of this structure, the bearer of CSR principles is the highest level of management, CSR principles permeate all the activities of the company, the main relationships with dependent parties are built by the relevant departments and divisions.
To create a company effective system corporate governance With the introduction of CSR elements, it is necessary to determine the appropriate procedures for the functioning of the organization at the following levels:
− meeting of shareholders;
− board of directors;
− top management(first and second level).
Conclusion
In conclusion, we note that most Russian companies have not yet reached the point of managing CSR on strategic level. Although there are already signs of progress along this path. For example, at OAO LUKOIL, the principles of environmental activities are defined in the "Policy in the field of industrial safety, labor protection and the environment in the 21st century." In order to implement the principles and goals of this document, in turn, programs are being developed in the field of environmental protection, industrial safety and labor protection. Unified corporate management system industrial safety, the company's health and safety system is certified according to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
3. Morozova I.S. Corporate Social Responsibility in information society// Information humanitarian portal “Knowledge - Understanding. Skill". -2011. − No. 6.
4. Social responsibility of the company: practical benefits for business. / methodical guide. - M .: Association of Managers of Russia, 2002.
5. Official site of Kyivstar company [Electronic resource].
− Access mode: http://www.kyivstar.ua.
2.1. Definitions of the concepts "social responsibility of business" and "corporate social responsibility". The constituent components of CSR: social obligations, social response, social responsibility, etc.
To date, there is no single approach to the definition of CSR. Some scientists and practitioners interpret this concept broadly, and almost any company action involving the participation of personnel is regarded as a form of CSR manifestation. Others reduce it to its specific activity. In table. 2.1. various most well-known definitions of the concept of CSR are presented.
Table 2.1 - Approaches to the definition of the concept of CSR
| An approach | Source |
| From a practical point of view, the corresponding groups of requirements are in conflict with each other and cannot be satisfied all to the same extent. The choice of objectives should be limited to those requirements that management believes the firm must meet and is best prepared to do so. The performance of non-economic tasks depends on the solvency of the firm. Whatever non-economic goals are added to the list, if the firm does not achieve adequate profits, its survival will be in jeopardy and one of the goals will not be achieved. | Ansoff I. |
| CSR is the responsibility of an organization for the impact of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior that: - promotes sustainable development, including the health and well-being of society; - takes into account the expectations of interested parties; - complies with applicable law and is consistent with international standards of conduct; - integrated into the activities of the entire organization and applied in its relationships | International standard ISO 26000 "Guidelines for social responsibility" |
| CSR means doing business in a manner that is ethical, legislative norms and public expectations, or even exceed them. | "Business for Social Responsibility", USA - (Business for Social Responsibility) |
| A socially responsible business is committed to acting ethically and contributing to economic development by improving the quality of life of its own employees and their families, as well as the entire local population and society as a whole. | 1998, First WBCSD CSR Dialogue, Switzerland (1st WBCSD CSR dialogue) |
| Corporate corporate responsibility is a social movement of citizens that requires companies to take full responsibility for how their activities affect the world around them. Consumers, investors and company employees are beginning to realize the full power of modern corporations and are trying to use this power to make the planet the best place for everyone and everyone | "Corporate Social Responsibility", Teletype News, USA (CSRwire) |
| CSR is inherently linked to the concept of sustainable development; companies need to integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions into their operations; CSR is not an arbitrary addition to a company's core business; it is a method used in the management of companies | PricewaterhouseCoopers Company |
| The social responsibility of business is a voluntary contribution to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, directly related to the main activities of the company and going beyond a certain legislative minimum | Association of Russian Managers, Russia |
| The social responsibility of business is defined as a broad concept that includes the complex responsibility of a business partner, employer, citizen and participant in social relations. | Institute of Urban Economics Foundation, Russia |
Thus, CSR is considered, on the one hand, as an integral element of competitive strategy. And on the other hand, it is a manifestation of the company's ethical behavior in the market in relation to the subjects of the external and internal environment, or based on the triune approach of "economics, sociology and ecology" as a factor in the sustainable development of society.
social response is the ability of a corporation to adapt to changing social conditions. In the process of social response, organizations are guided by social norms, the great importance of which lies in the fact that they can serve as convenient and useful guidelines for managers in the process of making managerial decisions. The importance of social response lies primarily in the fact that it replaces general reasoning with practical actions. Proponents of the concept of social response consider their theory more realistic and feasible than just social responsibility.
Social responsibility- the obligation of the organization to pursue long-term socially useful goals, accepted by it in excess of what is required of it in accordance with the law and economic conditions. Hence the concept of social responsibility is characterized by certain moral and ethical emphases: the organization must do what is aimed at improving society, and not do what can lead to its deterioration. Therefore, the activities of an organization that manufactures products that are essentially harmful to the health of any person (production of weapons, alcohol, tobacco products, etc.) will never be considered socially responsible, despite significant amounts of social investment in staff development, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and treatment, such as drug addiction. These corporations can only be classified as socially responsive.
social obligation- the obligation of a business entity to fulfill its economic and legal obligations to society. If an organization links its activities with the fulfillment of certain social obligations, then it pursues goals only to the extent that the latter contribute to the achievement of its economic goals. In contrast to social obligation, both social responsibility and social responsiveness go beyond the simple fulfillment by organizations of basic economic and legal requirements.
Relationships between social responsibility and social responsiveness are shown in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 - Comparative characteristics of social responsibility and social response
The events of recent years - the refusal of many consumers to purchase products of socially irresponsible companies, the bankruptcy of the largest corporations Enron, World Com, failed mergers due to a low level of trust - have shown that issues of social responsibility and business reputation come to the fore in the activities of any company. Therefore, it is so important to understand what CSR is and how socially responsible business behavior affects the process of forming a corporate image and business reputation.
First of all, it is necessary to define such concepts as "corporate image" and "business reputation". It should be noted that at present there is no single, generally recognized algorithm for building the image and reputation of an organization. At the same time, the formation of a positive business reputation is closely related to the creation of a sustainable corporate image.
Corporate image: the general idea (consisting of a set of beliefs and feelings) that a person develops about an organization.
Business reputation: value characteristics (such as authenticity, honesty, responsibility, decency, etc.) caused by the established corporate image.
Corporate image is a set of beliefs and feelings that the company wants to create in the audience. In the US, many companies use in their activities the criteria formulated by Fortune magazine when compiling the rating of the 500 largest companies: quality of management; product quality; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; financial strength; effective use corporate assets; long-term investment attractiveness; propensity to use new technologies; responsible attitude towards society and the environment.
Improving the corporate image of the company depends on the improvement of all elements of corporate governance, including corporate culture, transparency of activities, public awareness of the company. One of the results of improving corporate governance and culture is the growth of business reputation, an increase in the size of intangible assets that depend on the positive image of the company, the presence of stable business ties, fame brand name and brand name. Recently, the dependence of business reputation on the nature of relations with the company on the part of not only buyers, partners and clients, but also society has increased, which is far from indifferent to what means are achieved strategic goals company, how it fulfills its obligations and what social principles adheres to. The presence of social programs, sponsorship, the quality and effectiveness of relationships with authorities and the local community increasingly affect the company's business reputation, determine its investment attractiveness and competitiveness. Thus, in the report “Return of Reputation”, published by the consulting company Hill & Knowlton, more than 90% of the polled stock analysts agreed that a company that does not monitor its reputation will inevitably face financial collapse.
CEOs, major business associations and Russian government equally responsible for improving the realities and perceptions of the Russian economy, its financial markets and investment attractiveness. Judging by the results of the survey, the leaders of Russian companies are ready to take steps to improve their corporate reputation. They see building relationships with the media, financial market participants and other external audiences as their main strategy (63%). Two-thirds of respondents consider sponsorship and participation in charitable programs as a way to improve their image. A third of survey participants are going to increase spending on reputation management.
In accordance with the theory of stakeholders, the corporation actively manages relationships with individuals and other entities (including future generations), and in terms of CSR, primary and secondary stakeholders are distinguished.
Figure 2.1. Stakeholder Model.
In accordance with the stakeholder model, corporations are inherent in social responsibility; already at the time of its inception, the corporation was an integral social organism with its own culture of production with intra-corporate relationships, its own corporate spirit and ethics. The social aspect should be taken into account when forming a corporate strategy, in addition, it is necessary to isolate the social strategy. This contributes to the creation of favorable conditions for the development human capital, the formation of a holistic lifestyle and the improvement of the individual, which predetermines the formation of the competencies of the individual and the key competencies of the company.
Table 2.3 presents the needs and expectations of the corporation's stakeholders and mechanisms of influence.
Table 2.3 - Needs and expectations and mechanisms of influence of the company's stakeholders
| Parties concerned | Needs and expectations | Mechanisms of influence |
| Primary stakeholders (who affect or may have a significant impact on the company's activities or who are affected or may be affected by the company's activities) | ||
| Owners (shareholders, participants, other investors) | Growth in company value, receiving dividends | Corporate control |
| Top managers, middle managers | Income growth, satisfaction of professional interests | Authority within the company |
| Company employees and their families, former employees and their families | Wage, social package; working conditions, confidence in maintaining the workplace in the future; satisfaction of professional interests | Own efforts and labor discipline; maintaining at the proper level (as well as mastering new ones) knowledge, skills, abilities |
| Consumers | Ability to obtain adequate and accurate product information; freedom of choice | Consumer Protection Law, Antitrust Law |
| Organs state power(Federal tax service, state statistics bodies, etc.) | Preservation of jobs, payment of taxes and fees, compliance with the legitimacy of business | Regulation of companies' activities to improve the efficiency of the economy; regulation of relations between business and consumers; regulation of actions in relation to the natural environment |
| Secondary (the influence of the company is negligible) | ||
| Lenders (banks and other credit organizations) | ||
| Suppliers and contractors | Stable partnerships | Compliance contractual relations |
| Competitors | Development of partnerships | Choice of means in competition |
| Political parties | Reduction of social tension in the region of presence | Conquest of the electorate |
| Mass media | Informing stakeholders | Advertising, PR companies |
| local community | Economic stability | Joint social projects |
| Associations, unions, associations | Maintaining a positive image of the industry, regulating relations between companies and associations, unions, associations | Activities of professional communities |
| Religious groups | Decrease in prices for goods, works, services | Lobbying |
| Subsidiaries and affiliates | The right to reasonable initiative to make effective decisions | Corporate control |
| Trade organizations | Price reduction, stable partnerships | Competition |
| The poor | Price reduction | – |
| Environment | Environmental protection | Accidents at facilities signal the need for improvement |
| Future generations | Sustainable development | NLA aimed at preserving resources for future generations |
Effective interaction of a corporation with stakeholders to conduct a civilized business involves its mutual dialogue with its stakeholders, implemented on an ongoing basis on the basis of equality, respect for the interests of the parties. The map of stakeholders developed by the corporation involves: formalization of all stakeholders of the corporation, consideration of their possible needs and expectations, analysis and evaluation of the corporation's activities in terms of making changes to the existing map. An example of a stakeholder map is shown in Figure 2.2. The corporation maintains a dialogue with representatives of stakeholders on an ongoing basis, including: on the implementation of CSR programs and projects within the framework of strategic cooperation, as well as in the course of preparing non-financial reports of the corporation in order to take into account the interests of each stakeholder in future periods.
Figure 2.2. Stakeholder Map
The implementation of CSR in the context of its types, forms and methods for each corporation is determined primarily by the needs and expectations of stakeholders, and, on the other hand, depends on the pace and direction of development of the institutional environment. At present, new forms of CSR implementation have appeared, which make it possible to strengthen control over the spending of funds allocated for CSR activities (creation of a corporate charitable foundation, patronage, social entrepreneurship, volunteering, venture philanthropy, etc.).
Identification of stakeholders in the context of CSR is carried out based on the following factors: the role of the company in the socio-economic development of the state (territory, industry); the level of its responsibility for current and past activities and future impact on the external environment; the degree of influence of the subjects of the external and internal environment on the company; government social, environmental and other programs implemented in the industry, etc.
In order to develop CSR programs and their implementation, corporations seek to engage in mutual dialogue with their stakeholders as part of their activities, and a feature of socially responsible corporations is the continuation of such interaction during the preparation of non-financial or even integrated reports for the corresponding period. In this case, information on the interaction of the corporation with its stakeholders is one of the sections of such a report (for example, an integrated report of the State Corporation Rosatom, JSC FGC, etc.).
2.3. The main principles of CSR: consistency, balance, satisfaction of the interests of stakeholders, accountability, transparency, principle feedback, the principle of ethical behavior, etc. The best practice of CSR principles.
Principles- this is the starting position of any theory, doctrine, science. CSR principles are the guidelines and rules that underlie the solution of tasks related to the implementation of the mission (vision) of the company, its strategic goals and priorities, taking into account their social aspects and stakeholder engagement.
One of the primary stakeholders of a corporation is shareholders, so the quality of corporate governance becomes an important issue in the manifestation of CSR. The best world practice is the principles of corporate governance of the OECD (Principles of OECD CG), adopted in 1999 and became methodological basis to analyze the quality of corporate governance of individual companies. The OECD CG principles represent an important first step in developing a common international understanding of the elements of a good corporate governance regime and can be used by the private sector involved in the development of corporate governance systems and the development of best practice(table 2.4).
Table 2.4 - Comparison of OECD CG principles and principles of the Corporate Conduct Code
| Principle | OECD interpretation |
| Shareholder rights | The corporate governance structure must protect the rights of shareholders |
| Equal treatment of shareholders | The corporate governance structure should ensure equal treatment of shareholders, including small and foreign shareholders. All shareholders should be able to obtain effective protection in case of violation of their rights |
| The role of stakeholders in corporate governance | The corporate governance framework should recognize the statutory rights of stakeholders and encourage active collaboration between corporations and stakeholders to create wealth and jobs and ensure the sustainability of financially sound businesses. |
| Disclosure and transparency | The corporate governance framework should ensure timely and accurate disclosure of information on all material matters relating to the company, including financial position, results of operations, ownership and management of the company |
| Responsibilities of the board | The corporate governance structure should ensure the strategic management of the company, effective control over the administration by the board, as well as the accountability of the board to the company and shareholders |
In accordance with the Code, the main purpose of applying the standards of corporate conduct is to protect the interests of shareholders, regardless of the size of their block of shares. In joint-stock companies, ownership is separated from management, so conflicts related to corporate behavior are likely to arise. One of the conditions for the inclusion of issuers' securities in the quotation lists is that the issuers of securities provide the organizers of trade in the securities market and stock exchanges with information on compliance with the provisions of the Code, which is a condition for the inclusion of securities in the quotation lists.
Table 2.5 presents general and specific CSR principles.
Table 2.5 - General and specific principles of CSR organization
| Principle | Content |
| General | |
| Consistency | The principle of consistency implies the unity of CSR in the space of the company and its integration into all business processes |
| balance | The need to comply with this principle is due to the consideration of the "business-state-society" system from the point of view of formalizing the company's AP, satisfying their P&E, but within the limits established by the state and society |
| Satisfaction of interests of interested parties | Is important point in corporate governance, since it is necessary to respect, take into account, observe the interests of all stakeholders who have their own P&E |
| Accountability | The company must be accountable for its impact on society, the economy and the natural environment. The degree of accountability can be different and depends on the stage of the company's life cycle. At the same time, accountability implies accepting responsibility in the event of harm, taking appropriate steps to eliminate the harm and taking measures to prevent it in the future. |
| Professional Competence and Integrity | The activity of the company in the field of CSR implies the implementation of actions in the direction of CSR in accordance with the applicable technical and professional standards having for this purpose special professional knowledge and skills and maintaining them at the proper level |
| Transparency | CSR must be transparent to all stakeholder groups in the company. From the position of information law, the main component of transparency is accessibility, which is ensured by the openness, publicity and publicity of the company |
| Feedback principle | A change in strategy (including social) affects all other functional areas and aspects of the company's activities, its business processes |
| Specific | |
| Principle of ethical behavior | The conduct of the company is based on honesty, fairness and integrity. |
| The principle of matching the level of CSR to the stage of the company's life cycle means | A clear understanding by the company's managers that the strategy (including in the direction of CSR) varies significantly depending on one or another stage of the life cycle (business cycle) of the company. |
| Compliance of the level of CSR with the industry specifics of the company is | Understanding the company's activities, understanding the amount of harm it causes to the environment, first of all, is the key to success in promoting CSR |
| The principle of human capital development | The acquisition by people of greater freedoms and opportunities to lead a life that they value and have reason to value. It is about expanding the choices |
| The principle of reducing the level of negative impacts | Understanding by the company of responsibility for the negative impact of its activities on society and for reducing the level of negative impacts |
2.4. Types of CSR. Triune result: the voluntary contribution of the corporation to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres.
The concept of "corporate social responsibility" can be interpreted in two aspects:
- as a philosophy behavior of a corporation in society, the fundamental concept of the relationship between a corporation and other entities (as social groups), individuals, specifying the goals, principles, methods, tools used by the company to meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders, which are decisive in ensuring sustainable development, taking into account the limited available resources and organizational capabilities;
– systematized and multidimensional corporation activity that affects the quality of life of members of society through the implementation of consistent economic, social, environmental measures aimed at meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Today, many developed business structures are clearly aware of their importance as a socially responsible partner in relation to both internal and external stakeholders. At the same time, there is still no clear identification of areas and forms of CSR implementation. That is, there is no classification based on objective criteria. Today there is a wide variety of different elements of CSR. Therefore, their classification in terms of the formation of a system of social responsibility of a particular company is necessary condition in line with major market trends and social requirements.
Firstly. CSR can be differentiated in three areas of its implementation: internal; external; combined:
1) in relation to personnel, shareholders, to the development of human resources in the enterprise as a whole;
2) to the development of the local community and society as a whole;
3) both internal and external stakeholders.
This division is necessary for a clearer understanding of the consistency, complexity of CSR, its forms of implementation and, ultimately, for a comprehensive consideration of the interests of the main internal and external stakeholders in order to obtain the maximum possible socio-economic effect.
It is also possible to distinguish between the concepts of CSR, which is implemented outside the requirements of the law, and CSR, which is implemented within the framework of the current legislation.
In this case, under social obligation business should be understood as the activities of the company, which is implemented in relation to all interested parties (both internal and external). This is a formal part of CSR, the implementation of which is regulated by law. Consequently, the informal part of CSR involves the business taking responsibility for the fulfillment of some obligations beyond the limits of legally established norms.
As a rule, the activities of a socially responsible corporation aimed at achieving sustainable development are viewed from the perspective of a “triune outcome” ( Triple Bottom Line): corporate economics, production ecology and social policy. The selection of three separate aspects is conditional - when preparing corporate reports, they should be considered in conjunction.
Corporate reporting is also considered in three aspects: economic performance indicators, environmental performance indicators and social performance indicators. The best practice for preparing corporate CSR reports is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
2.5. Forms of manifestation of CSR: by the scope of actions, by types of assistance, depending on the time of action, depending on the effectiveness, on the mandatory manifestation, on the areas of social programs. Tools for the implementation of social programs.
Figure 2.2 - Classification of CSR forms according to various criteria
Currently, there are many examples of social activity by a company in various sectors of the economy, when social needs are met when commercial goals are achieved. Of the foreign companies, it is necessary to name such large companies as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Ford, General Motors, etc. Among the Russian companies are the State Corporation Rosatom, OJSC Norilsk Nickel, OJSC Gazprom, OJSC Lukoil, OJSC Russian Railways, JSC FGC UES, JSC INTER RAO, etc.
As shown by the domestic and overseas experience implementation of the concept of CSR, today there are many forms of manifestation of CSR (Fig. 2.2).
Charitable donations. Sponsor help. The role of sponsorship and charity in shaping the business reputation of a corporation. Foreign and Russian experience sponsorship. Problems of sponsorship development in Russia.
Charitable donations.
Benefactors– persons making charitable donations in the form of:
– disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) transfer of ownership of property, including monetary funds and (or) objects of intellectual property;
- disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) granting the rights of possession, use and disposal of any objects of property rights;
- disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) performance of work, provision of services.
Benefactors have the right to determine the purposes and procedure for the use of their donations.
Charity- Providing gratuitous (or on preferential terms) assistance to those who need it. The main feature of charity is the free and unconstrained choice of the form, time and place, as well as the content of assistance. The concept of charity is given in Art. 1 of the Federal Law of August 11, 1995 No. 135-FZ "On charitable activities and charitable organizations".
Charity- voluntary activities of citizens and legal entities for disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) transfer to citizens or legal entities property, including cash, disinterested performance of work, provision of services, provision of other support. At the same time, the goals of charitable activities are listed in Art. 2 of Law No. 135-FZ, and this list is closed. It includes, for example: promotion of the protection of motherhood, childhood and fatherhood; promotion of activities in the field of education, science, culture, art, enlightenment; promoting the development of scientific, technical, artistic creativity of children and youth.
By providing financial support, for example, to the organization of a children's creative competition, the company, in fact, is involved in charitable activities. But in order to finally be convinced of the correctness of the classification of financial assistance, one question must be answered: to whom exactly is financial support provided? The fact is that the direction of cash and other material resources, the provision of assistance in other forms commercial organizations, as well as support for political parties, movements, groups and campaigns are not charitable activities (clause 2, article 2 of Law No. 135-FZ). Therefore, if the competition is held by a non-profit organization, then the provision of financial assistance will be a charitable activity, but if a children's creative event is organized, for example, by a political party, then there can no longer be any talk of charity.
The concept of sponsorship is given in federal law dated March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ "On Advertising". That is, it applies within promotional activities. Sponsor (from lat. spondeo - I vouch, I guarantee)- a person who provided funds or ensured the provision of funds for organizing and (or) holding a sports, cultural or any other event, creating and (or) broadcasting a television or radio program, or creating and (or) using another result of creative activity. Sponsored advertising- this is an advertisement distributed on the condition of the obligatory mention in it of a certain person as a sponsor.
The essence of sponsorship, in fact, lies in the fact that for the financial support provided, the sponsor must receive advertising services from the sponsor in return. At the same time, not only the person providing sponsorship in exchange for disseminating information about themselves, but also providing it free of charge.
The role of sponsorship and charity in shaping the business reputation of a corporation. In Russia, as elsewhere, sponsorship and charity serve mainly to develop a positive corporate image. But, despite the awareness of the importance of charity to enhance the corporate image, in many companies charity is not really used to achieve this goal, the top officials of organizations often do not consider charity at all as an opportunity to promote the company's image. In companies where only CEOs responded to the questionnaire, in many cases charitable events are covered only within the company.
In the same number of cases, media coverage of these programs does not matter to them. However, for large companies internal coverage of charitable initiatives is sometimes more important than external coverage, since it allows you to improve the climate in the team, create a sense of security among the staff. In companies where the questions of the questionnaire were answered by directors of PR departments, the general public does not learn about charitable events only in 6% of cases. These managers are absolutely convinced that media coverage of a company's charitable activities is very important for building relationships between business and society, and they try to use charitable events as a striking element of event communication, effectively positioning the company in the eyes of the public. Experienced public relations specialists try to carry out charity events within the framework of a general image campaign. Heads of PR services willingly engage third-party PR agencies to cover charitable events (39% of cases), actively prepare and promote such events using their departments (53% of cases).
Foreign and Russian experience of sponsorship. A distinction is made between sponsored events (when a corporation is one of its sponsors) and named events. In the second case, brand exposure increases in direct proportion to the coverage of this event in the press. For many corporations, the global nature of the associations caused by the target segment is important. To declare the globality of the brand, corporations associate it with a truly global sponsorship object (World Cup, Olympics). Large corporations with great experience sponsorship: Coca-Cola, Panasonic, McDonalds, etc.
Problems of development of sponsorship and charitable activities in Russia. When sponsoring in Russia, corporations face the following problems: wrong choice of sponsor ( oil company, regardless of whether it sponsors football or not, it will not pump more oil); there are still no corporations in Russia that, according to their potential, could become powerful sponsors (a separate sports team or even separate species sports); development non-commercial types sports: sports in our country for many years (with the exception of football, hockey, tennis) have been developing with only one goal - to win the Olympics.
There are typical threats when forming a sponsorship package that you need to be able to neutralize:
– “mass grave” (more than 10 sponsors);
– the values that the brand “carries” have little in common with the values of the event;
– the sponsored event is liked by the top manager of the sponsor’s company;
– the event may not take place due to force majeure circumstances;
– journalists do not write about event sponsors.
All these threats can be neutralized, which will contribute to the growth of sponsorship and increase its role in creating the corporate image of the company.
When carrying out charitable activities Russian corporations have to overcome many serious obstacles: low reputation and bad image of charitable organizations; indifferent and inflexible attitude of the state towards charitable organizations; high taxes (there is no preferential taxation in Russia). The main sources of motivation for business representatives to philanthropy are the administrative pressure of the authorities and the good will of the top management. Another problem of Russian charity is the low activity individuals, the reasons for this are the loss of traditions, spiritual emptiness and indifference of a significant part of the population.
Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR] is an important element of corporate communications. The liberal, market-based system does not currently provide the happiness, comfort, and necessary security of the majority of mankind; and it will not provide them for the projected population in the future.
Social policy today is not only the implementation by governments of the concept of the welfare state, it is also the involvement of business and civil society in solving key social problems. The reaction of transnational companies to the pressure of civil society institutions was the formation of a new ideology of business participation in public life: the ideology of corporate social responsibility. Today, thanks to the support of PR and business communications professionals around the world, the concept of CSR has become widespread as a new technology to justify commercial and production activities companies, ultimate goal which is still profit maximization. One should not underestimate the personal interest of professional communities of business consultants and experts in increasing the demand for their services by creating a new market for designing, consulting, evaluating and verifying the social activities of companies. In Russia over the past ten years, corporate social responsibility has evolved from an abstract subject of expert discussions into an important element of corporate communications and corporate governance.
The topic of CSR, that is, the responsibility of business to society, has received dynamic development in recent years, both in the Russian and in the global expert and business communities. Today, non-financial reports of about a hundred companies are registered in the National Register of Corporate Non-Financial Reports of the RSPP, including environmental reports, social reports, reports in the field of sustainable development. The Global Register on the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) website includes almost two thousand non-financial reports. A 2005 study by the international consulting company Mercer found that the majority of investment managers around the world believe that socially responsible quoting practices will become commonplace in investment processes in the next 10 years.
^ Company social responsibility(or corporate social responsibility, CSR) is its contribution to economic, environmental and social activities, ensuring and supporting the sustainable development of both the company itself and the regions of its presence and society as a whole.
^ Socially responsible company is an organization that conducts its activities, guided by the principles of social responsibility, sustainable development and implementing a set of social programs in its priority areas.
In the Memorandum on CSR Principles, the Association of Russian Managers defines the social responsibility of business as “the philosophy of behavior and the concept of building up their activities by the business community, companies and individual business representatives in order to achieve sustainable development and preserve resources for future generations based on the following principles:
Production of quality products and services for consumers;
Creation of attractive jobs, investment in the development of production and human potential;
Strict compliance with the requirements of the legislation: tax, labor, environmental, etc.;
Building conscientious and mutually beneficial relationships with all stakeholders;
Efficient business management focused on creating added economic value and increasing national competitiveness in the interests of shareholders and society;
Accounting for public expectations and generally accepted ethical standards in the practice of doing business;
Contribution to the formation of civil society through partnership programs and community development projects”.
Activities in the field of CSR, reflected in the system of economic, environmental and social indicators of sustainable development, are carried out through a regular dialogue with society, being part of strategic planning and company management.
The work of the company in the field of CSR is that any production and economic decisions taken in view of their social and environmental impacts on companies and society. With such a construction, CSR turns into a powerful factor in strategic development, strengthening business reputation and competitiveness, as well as increasing the market capitalization of companies. In fact, CSR is the policy and implementation of a company's sustainable development strategy. CSR and sustainable development are two sides of the same coin. This is facilitated by the significant contribution of the company to sustainable development and the implementation of the principles of corporate social responsibility. The implementation of CSR opens up new prospects for companies to form and implement innovative approaches to social policy that take into account the traditional values of the company and modern requirements time. Also, corporate social policy can be considered as an integrated part of company management. The document that records the achieved indicators for the implementation of the principles of corporate social responsibility into practice is the corporate social report (see Fig. 16.1).
Rice. 16.1. Components of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Corporate social reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing information and accountability to internal and external stakeholder groups. The subject of the corporate report is the results of the organization's activities in relation to the goals and objectives of corporate social policy and sustainable development. The corporate social report presents the results achieved, as well as the consequences that occurred during the reporting period, in the context of the organization's commitments, its strategy and management approaches. The corporate social report is prepared in accordance with the principles of materiality, coverage of stakeholders, the context of sustainable development and completeness. Social reporting is usually considered not as a one-time procedure, but as an independent business process, integrated into the design and management system of corporate social policy.
In conclusion of this section, let us turn to meaningful definitions of CSR. Recall that there are quite a lot of definitions of corporate social responsibility and there is not a single generally accepted one, therefore, in order to form a more complete understanding of its essence, it is necessary to present here a certain range of definitions of the concept (in addition to those given by us in the introduction), and then dwell on its components.
CSR means that a corporation must be held accountable for all its actions that affect in any way people, associations of people and the environment. This means that the harm caused to people and society should be eliminated, if possible. It may also require the company to give up some of its income if the consequences of receiving it seriously affect the representatives of the company's stakeholders.
CSR– a concept according to which companies integrate social and environmental components into their policies and interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.
CSR- the responsibility of the company as an employer, business partner, "citizen", member of the community (the limits of the community are determined by the geography of the company's activities: at the level of the district, city, country, world); part of the company's ongoing strategy to increase its presence in society and develop its business; opportunity to make a positive impact on the community in which the company operates.
CSR - a decision-making and implementation process that ensures that all company activities are based on the protection of human rights, labor protection, environmental standards and compliance with legal requirements in all company activities and in its relations with interested communities.
CSR– the way a company is managed and adjusted to its social and environmental impact in order to deliver value to its shareholders and stakeholders by innovating its strategy, organization and operations
CSR– integration of social, environmental and other aspects of concern to stakeholders in the company's business operations.
So, there is a fairly large number of definitions of corporate social responsibility. Let's try to derive some universal definition, by taking into account all aspects, one way or another embedded in the concept of CSR. Now, once again, it is necessary to designate those characteristics of CSR, which are assumed as the main components of this concept by Western experts. This is first of all:
Voluntary practices in the field of CSR.
Integration of social, legal and environmental components of the company's activities.
The limits of socially responsible practices are set by the geography of the company's activities: at the level of the district, city, country, world.
Compliance with legal requirements for the company's activities.
Not only the fulfillment, but also the exaggeration of expectations in relation to the company, i.e., the activity is "above the norm".
Possible refusal of some part of the company's income in favor of this activity, but with the expectation of social and economic benefits for the company itself in the long term.
Company Stakeholder Orientation
Some constancy in this activity, its inclusion in the strategy and policy of the company.
CSR is an integral part of the corporate governance of a modern company. ^ CSR is an intangible asset of a company.
The practice of the largest companies in the Russian market shows that its importance for business cannot be overestimated. At the same time, a number of aspects can be singled out, within which it is possible to assess the impact of a company's social policy on its commercial activity. First of all, is to strengthen the corporate image, which in modern economy even more important than the growth of current financial results. The growth of the corporate image in this case is achieved both among the general public and government institutions, as well as among their own staff and clients. For example, the Coca-Cola Company spent more than $11 billion on goods, services and investment projects in 2006, making a significant contribution to the economic growth of the regions, which ensured the loyalty of consumers, local governments and business partners. A company that has established itself as a serious investor in the social sphere, carrying out consistent actions in this direction, can count on the loyal attitude of all stakeholders. Of course, the primary role in this process is played by the coordination of the work of the functional units involved in CSR and public relations, which ensures the company's competent positioning as a social investor and competent publicity of its public mission.
Secondly, the company's activities in the field of CSR and sustainable development significantly increase the shareholder value of the company in the value of its brand. 86% of investors are sure that socially responsible investments increase the company's market value in the long run. Evidence of this is the sharp rise in the value of shares of companies such as Johnson & Johnson, BP and other leaders in the social responsibility rating in 2006.
Recently, there has been a steady shift in the business environment from ethical investments to investments in sustainability, which received its logical development in the growing popularity of the Dow Jones Index. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is the result of a collaboration between leading indexing companies and sustainability research organizations. The indexing process includes a comprehensive assessment of economic, social and environmental criteria with a focus on creating long-term shareholder value. Indexing implies the use of a well-defined methodology based on primary research, the application of best practices taking into account industry specifics, and an annual summing up to identify best practices, followed by the publication of ratings.
Thirdly, the social component of the company's activities affects its investment attractiveness. This influence can hardly be overestimated: any investor, when making a serious decision to buy blocks of shares in a particular company, evaluates the entire range of risks. A company may be attractive in terms of its current profitability, but extremely unsustainable from an environmental and social point of view, which in the long term reduces its financial capabilities. Three important factors in future profitability and value potential can be ignored or underestimated in standard securities analysis:
The quality of strategic management.
Flexibility / adaptability.
Stability of leadership positions in a competitive environment.
A company's performance in relation to environmental, social and governance risks/opportunities is becoming an increasingly important indicator and a key indicator for all three value drivers.
Finally, a company's balanced actions in the field of social development significantly improve its relations with government agencies. In particular, city-forming enterprises that go beyond the legal minimum in their social activities, for example, those that organize the leisure of citizens, are a priori in a more advantageous position in relation to competitors. An example is the LUKOIL-Perm program for the development of depressed agricultural areas, within the framework of which it was decided to revive folk crafts and peasant farmsteads in the areas of the company's operations.
It is also important to pay attention to the fact that today the model of the company as a profit machine is no longer so relevant: even management theorists believe that maintaining the company as a stable social system in the long term is more important than short-term financial results. Big business today pays great attention to sustainable development, realizing that it is the key to its continued existence and prosperity, and a well-thought-out CSR policy provides the necessary basis for the successful functioning of the company in the future.
Summarizing, we can conclude that the company's activities in the field of CSR and sustainable development are expedient and possible to measure and evaluate. The funds allocated for social needs, of course, pay off, and the effect for the company is manifested in the following areas:
2. Sales growth and consumer loyalty.
3. Optimization of attraction and retention of labor force.
4. Reducing the scope of control by supervisory organizations.
6. Improve productivity and quality.
7. Growth of financial efficiency.
8. Access to capital.
9. Stock stability.
At the same time, it is important to note that formalization will never be absolute. Many benefits from a balanced social policy can be attributed rather to intangible assets and the company's reputational component, as a result of which it is rather difficult to measure their direct effect.
Important a component of CSR is the management of corporate social policy. Designing a corporate social policy for a large company with a geographically distributed structure is a complex and rather lengthy process that requires a systematic approach. For an adequate understanding of the individual characteristics of corporate culture, of which corporate social responsibility is an integral part, its deep diagnostics is required.
There are several approaches to designing a company's corporate social policy:
1. Carrying out diagnostics of the company's corporate culture in order to identify unique elements , of potential value in connection with the implementation of the concept of CSR.
2. Designation of the thematic field for the development of the social component of the company's brand.
3. Involvement of management and leading specialists of the company in the internal corporate dialogue about the social mission, goals and objectives of the company's CSR.
4. Benchmarking of Russian and international CSR practices in order to introduce the best samples, methods and technologies into the company's work.
^ Documentation and conceptual support of the company's corporate social activities. Ensuring the systematic management of the company's social activities is possible if there is a package of documents and materials that reveals the vision and conceptual approaches to planning, managing and implementing CSR principles. This is how the semantic space of the company's CSR is formed, appealing to which it becomes possible to integratively manage the practice of corporate social responsibility. The design of the semantic space is carried out through the development and adoption of the following documents:
FROM social mission- a thesis metaphorical expression of the social purpose of the company. It is usually formulated as a short statement (slogan).
Corporate social policy - a document that formulates the ideology, basic principles and approaches of the company to corporate social responsibility and contribution to sustainable development. The document has no time frame and is paradigmatic in nature, revealing the company's social mission in the context of long-term business goals and sustainable development of the country. Prepared taking into account the code of corporate conduct and other framework documents.
^ Company social strategy– a guide to action describing the priorities of corporate social responsibility for the medium term, linking with the strategic and operational business objectives of the company. Social strategy is a strategic and practical planning tool that allows the company to develop targeted social programs and activities in accordance with the corporate philosophy, social mission and promising areas of activity.
^ Target social programs - a set of documents describing the content and managerial aspects implementation of the company's social strategy in relation to specific groups of stakeholders, regional specifics, budget and current business tasks.
^ The practice of social activity of the company– a set of measures for the implementation of targeted social programs. The practice of social activity of the company is continuous, because the company is in constant communication with its stakeholders, in one way or another.
Corporate social responsibility should be considered as an integral element of the organization's management processes. Therefore, when designing an integrated CSR management system, most of the approaches and methodological developments used in the design of other management processes. Integrated CSR management system is a system of business processes with reference to various types of resources, responsible persons, integrated with other groups of corporate business processes. The documentary component of the integrated CSR management system is internal instructions, regulations and methodological recommendations that contribute to the implementation of the best practices of corporate social responsibility in the field, the integrated CSR management system is developed with a focus on the management system already in the company and the procedures for collecting and analyzing social information described in international GRI standards, etc.
^ Levels of corporate social activity.
Corporate social policy of the company in practical aspect unfolds on at least three levels:
1. Macro level affects the whole company through the development and transmission of meaningful messages regarding the goals and practices of CSR. In addition, at the federal level, independent socially responsible activities can be carried out in three dimensions:
special promotions and events covering the audience of all regions of the company's activities;
work to inform federal stakeholders (public authorities, investors, including foreign, business media, etc.) about the company's social activity in order to develop the non-commercial (social) component of the corporate brand;
development and design of activities and areas of CSR, focused on the entire staff of the company.
2. Mesolevel covers activities in the field of CSR at the level of individual territories (region, district, region, regional, regional center). At this level, the strategic goals and objectives of CSR are adapted to the specifics of a particular region and take into account the interests and positions of the company in this territory.
3. Microlevel associated with the implementation of CSR principles and practical measurement, taking into account the individual situation and expectations of a specific group of stakeholders, but with a focus on the key interests of the company as a whole. Individual micro-districts, company offices and local communities act as the object of the micro-level of corporate CSR.
There is a continuous information exchange between all levels of corporate social activity, which allows, on the one hand, to bring to all external and internal stakeholders the goals and priorities of corporate social policy, and on the other hand, the decision-making center on the CSR strategy to receive complete and reliable information about the situation at all levels organizational structure . Of course, the interaction between the levels of social activity of the company must be carried out in accordance with internal instructions, rules and regulations. Possible directions, development of CSR:
1. Development of the theme of social investment.
This topic seems promising, since it is in harmony with the specialization of the company as a financial institution, which is the object and subject of investment. Investment in social sphere can be considered from two sides: firstly, it implies the implementation of a targeted long-term policy of the company in local communities, aimed at solving socially significant problems, involving the mutual investment of resources and bringing mutual benefits to all participants in the process; secondly, social investment can be used in the context of the development of targeted programs that provide joint participation with other partners in the implementation of CSR principles.
^ 2. About grip of interested parties (stakeholders). Interaction with stakeholders (stakeholders) is not only an obligatory part of the company's social reporting process, but can be considered as a special type of corporate communications. Stakeholders can be representatives of various groups: local communities, representatives of federal and regional authorities, the banking community, representatives of non-profit organizations, media journalists, enterprise employees, etc. Usually the dialogues are free discussions in the context of the topic of corporate social responsibility. Regular informing of stakeholders is important from the standpoint of the development of the non-commercial (social) component of the company's brand. It is proposed to expand the scope of influence on stakeholders in the process of implementing the company's corporate social policy. To do this, it seems appropriate to consider the following forms of interaction with stakeholders listed in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guide, version 3.0.: questionnaire surveys, focus groups, discussions with representatives of local communities, discussions at specialized corporate working groups, correspondence, individual consultations and interviews, other acceptable forms of interactive work.
The latest trends in the development of corporate communications in the field of social activity of the company provide for an expanded approach to this area. As a result, the concepts of corporate citizenship and sustainable development are gaining ground.
Corporate citizenship is an approach that manifests itself in the strategic and current activities of the organization and reflects the specifics of the relationship and interaction of the company with all interested parties (stakeholders) and the environment. Some degree of corporate citizenship is evident in all types of company relationships with stakeholders and the environment. Corporate Citizenship - Governance social relations within the company and its associated communities at the local, national and international levels. The concept of corporate citizenship combines two types of thinking: CSR and stakeholder theory. The concept of corporate citizenship first appeared in British companies, and then it was accepted American business. Corporate citizenship combines the rights and obligations of the company, relations with stakeholders, opportunities and challenges of the global business environment, the dirty components of the implementation of corporate citizenship are:
Responsibility management system: a consistent, systematic and holistic responsibility management system that emphasizes the interconnectedness of the interests of the company, its stakeholders and the environment. This system implemented with the support of external consultants in the field of industry, ecology and social policy.
Responsibility and processes assurance system. External assurance of accountability and processes is based on global standards for external verification, monitoring and certification.
Companies have a broad definition of corporate citizenship, including activities such as environmental protection, health care for employees, reliable and safe products, adherence to professional ethics, participation in community programs, traditional philanthropy, etc. The concept of corporate citizenship underlies the activities of most modern transnational corporations (TNCs), determining their interaction with states and societies in the era of globalization. So, to be a socially responsible corporate citizen, according to the European CSR documents, is not only to fully follow the accepted legal norms in your activities, but also to invest more in human capital, the environment and relationships with stakeholders. At the intraorganizational level, the implementation of CSR means involving employees in investment programs for the development of human capital, health and safety, participation in the transformation of the company's management system. Recognition of the importance of social responsibility can partly be reflected in government action and legislation on issues such as job security, equal rights, consumer protection laws, environmental protection. This turns some areas of social responsibility into legal requirements. However, legislative measures alone will probably not be enough to force managers and other members of the organization to behave in an “appropriate” way.
As a result, in addition to national "sustainable development" programs in many countries of the world, the leading part of companies develops and implements their own corporate "sustainable development" plans. In business circles, there is often no unambiguous understanding of this concept and this activity, which is not surprising for countries and companies that often operate in different conditions from each other. However, the essence or goal these plans and activities for all one to disrupt the directly proportional dependence of economic growth and the negative impact on the environment. Only those enterprises that in practice have achieved a reduction in the negative environmental impact while increasing the production of goods and services, and annually confirm this again and again, are considered “sustainable” and, accordingly, the most socially responsible – this is where the relationship with CSR occurs. At the same time, the withdrawal by companies of "dirty" industries outside their countries has practically no effect on the requirements for indicators of "sustainability" of the company, the requirements for ecology and social development are not removed, although they are modified for transnational companies depending on the countries in which their subsidiaries are located. company.
^ Sustainable development in relation to business, it is the ability of a company to ensure a long-term return on assets that meets the minimum requirements of shareholders regarding the amount of dividends and capitalization of shares, subject to a set of existing resource, institutional, environmental, technological, social and other restrictions, within which it is possible to choose strategic alternatives and current organizational and technical solutions. The economic dimension of sustainable development refers to the impact of an organization on the economic position of its stakeholders, as well as on local, national and global economic systems.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines CSR in its publications as the long-term commitment of businesses to conduct business in an ethical manner and contribute to economic development, improving the quality of life of their employees and their families, as well as local communities and society as a whole.
Corporate social responsibility has become a movement that continues to conquer various countries and, therefore, needs a developed system of standards and indicators that make it possible to determine in practice the level of social responsibility of a business. The term "sustainability" has a triple meaning - the measurement of the economy, the environment and social performance. This approach is based on the concept sustainable development, i.e., balancing the needs of the current generation for economic well-being, a favorable environment and social well-being without compromising the similar needs of future generations. Sustainability reporting involves an analysis of the economic, environmental and social impact of the company's activities, as well as the goods and services it produces, on the external environment.
Companies are increasingly focusing on CSR and corporate citizenship. The reasons for this are:
1. New concerns and expectations of citizens, consumers, public authorities and investors in the context of globalization and large-scale changes in the industry.
2. The growing role of social factors in decision-making by consumers and investors, whether individuals or organizations.
3. Growing concern about the destructive impact of economic and industrial activity on the environment.
4. Business transparency supported by modern media, information and communication technologies.
CSR is becoming an increasingly important reason for the activities of most economic and social factors, as well as states that make their important actions dependent on the principles of CSR. In addition, the following external factors contributed to the institutional development of CSR as a global type of social policy:
^ Increased activity of shareholders. Corporate scandals have focused public attention on the need for ethical and socially responsible corporate behavior. External interest groups and shareholders expect more from the business. They are turning to the business sector to help society deal with the many social and economic challenges that are emerging. At the same time, stakeholders use various actions against companies that, in their opinion, behave like socially irresponsible actors: such actions include statements for the press, boycotts of goods, picketing of offices and enterprises, and even attacks on corporate websites.
^ More sophisticated stakeholder commitments. Companies and stakeholders in many cases seek to streamline the dialogue process.
Growth in the number of formal documents establishing and developing CSR (codes, standards, indicators and general principles). New voluntary CSR standards and results measurement methods continue to proliferate, creating a new discursive landscape for CSR development. The recent corporate scandals in the US (Arthur Andersen and Enron) created a new wave of formalization of the CSR sphere. At the same time, there are tendencies towards unification and enlargement of many CSR standards and rules created by public and industrial organizations.
^ Expanding the impact of CSR throughout the entire production chain and economic activity companies. CSR expands the boundaries – stakeholders.
In conclusion, we can conclude that CSR today is not only a global fashion, but a long-term trend in the policies of transnational companies, reflecting the emergence of a new type of social policy, which is not under the jurisdiction of national states, but public, international and business structures:
A company's social responsibility (or corporate social responsibility, CSR) is its contribution to economic, environmental and social activities that ensures and supports the sustainable development of both the company itself and the regions of its presence and society as a whole.
A socially responsible company is an organization that operates in accordance with the principles of social responsibility, sustainable development and implements a set of social programs in its priority areas.
Aspects within which it is possible to assess the impact of the company's social policy on its commercial activities: it is the strengthening of the corporate image, which in the modern economy is even more important than the growth of current financial results; the company's activities in the field of CSR and sustainable development significantly increase the shareholder value of the company in the value of the brand; the social component of the company's activities affects its investment attractiveness; balanced actions of the company in the field of social development significantly improve its relations with government agencies.
An important component of CSR is the management of corporate social policy. Designing a corporate social policy for a large company with a geographically distributed structure is a complex and rather lengthy process that requires a systematic approach. Integrated CSR management system is a system of business processes with reference to various types of resources, responsible persons, integrated with other groups of corporate business processes.
Corporate citizenship is the management of social relations in the company and its associated communities at the local, national and international levels. The concept of corporate citizenship combines two types of thinking: CSR and stakeholder theory. Sustainable development in relation to business is the ability of a company to ensure a long-term return on assets that meets the minimum requirements of shareholders regarding the amount of dividends and capitalization of shares, subject to a set of existing resources, institutional, environmental, technological, social and other restrictions, within which it is possible choice of strategic alternatives and current organizational and technical solutions.
^ The corporate social report is an important CSR document
Russian companies are actively integrating the best business practices into their activities. This contributes to increasing competitiveness and efficiency of corporate governance. Most of the leading domestic companies conduct their activities in accordance with the universal principles of corporate social responsibility. The practice of preparing and publishing non-financial reports informing stakeholders about social, environmental, production and financial results company work. The national register of corporate non-financial reports (RSPP) contains almost a hundred documents, and their number is constantly growing: non-financial reports of 48 companies have been entered, 93 reports have been registered, which have been issued since 2000. Among them: environmental reports (EA) - 23, social reports (SR) - 51, reports in the field of sustainable development (ESR) - 13. (See Table 17.1). In order to realize the growing popularity of non-financial reporting on a global scale, it is enough to cite the data of the Corporate Register. For example, between 1990 and 2003, the number of public reports increased from zero to 1,200. The largest number of reports appeared in Europe (58%), followed by the United States (20%), Asia and Australia (20%). %), and, finally, Africa and the Middle East are moving more slowly in this direction (2%). At the moment (2004) it can be stated that more than 2,000 companies annually submit their report in the field of sustainable development.
^ Table 17.1
Distribution of non-financial reports by industry affiliation of companies
Industry affiliation of the company | Number of companies | Number of reports |
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Oil and gas | |||||
Power industry | |||||
Metallurgical and mining | |||||
Thematic report (for example, "Environmental Report" - Western Timber Company). Corporate social report (unverified/verified, for example, EuroChem's corporate social report). Sustainability Report (Unverified/Verified). A corporate social report allows a company not only to present information about its corporate policy in a consolidated form, but also to bring it to its target audiences. In addition, its own corporate social report gives the company significant image and managerial advantages: Strengthening the company's reputation as a socially responsible corporate citizen in the international and Russian business community. Additional external and internal multi-aspect professional assessment social activity of the company. Potentially reducing the amount of control by supervisory authorities. Growth of the company's intangible assets (primarily strategic investments in the corporate brand). An additional opportunity to positively influence potential investors. Independent news stories. The possibility of targeted information impact on "hard-to-reach" target audiences (representatives government agencies authorities, public organizations, heads and owners of public organizations, heads and owners of large companies). Optimization of the management of the company's social activity through the accumulation and comprehensive analysis of information on all aspects of social activity. The global practice of social reporting implies independent validation of the procedure and content of the corporate social report, which means that: - firstly, collection and analysis of information on the company's social activities is carried out in accordance with one of the recognized international standards(GRI - Global Reporting Initiative, Accountability 1,000, etc.); - Secondly, the content of the social report and related working documents undergo an independent professional examination for compliance with the requirements of international standards; - third, the content of the social report is communicated to the key target audiences – stakeholders. Thus, the corporate social report becomes an authoritative document demonstrating the goals, objectives and results of the company's social activities. The expanding practice of corporate social reporting has acquired an institutional shell in the form of international and national standards for non-financial reporting. Most Russian companies are guided by the GRI and AA 1000 reporting standards. GRI was created in 1997 by The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in partnership with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to improve the quality, rigor and usefulness of reporting in areas of sustainable development. The initiative was supported and actively participated by representatives of business, non-profit advocacy groups of organizations specializing in the field of accounting, trade unions, investors and many other groups and organizations. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a long-term multi-stakeholder international initiative. Its goal is to develop and disseminate Guidelines for Reporting Sustainability, applicable worldwide. The recommendations are intended for voluntary use by organizations when reporting on the economic, environmental and social impact of their activities, as well as the goods and services they produce, on the environment2. The recommendations are intended to help reporting organizations analyze and communicate to stakeholders about their contribution to the achievement of the sustainable development goals. The GRI reporting system is intended to be used as a generally accepted reporting system for an organization's economic, environmental and social performance. GRI includes a detailed description of the indicators considered in the report (see Table 17.2). The system is designed to be used by organizations of all sizes, industries and locations. It takes into account the characteristics of a wide range of organizations - from small enterprises to diversified companies operating on a global scale. The GRI reporting system includes both general and industry-specific materials that a wide range of stakeholders around the world have recognized as universally applicable to reporting on an organization's sustainability performance. GRI is the basis for reporting on the economic, environmental and social performance of an organization in accordance with the following principles (Fig. 17.1): Outline the principles of reporting and describe in detail the content of sustainability reports; Help organizations to create a balanced and adequate view of their economic, environmental and social performance; Contribute to the comparability of sustainability reports of various organizations, including when carrying out activities in geographical areas remote from each other; Maintain systems of benchmarks and assessments of sustainability indicators established by industry codes, standards and voluntary initiatives; Serves as a tool for interaction with stakeholders. Finally, the principle of report verifiability is linked to several other principles such as comparability, accuracy, neutrality and completeness. This principle is intended to ensure that the process of preparing the report and the information presented in it meet the standards of quality, reliability and other similar expectations. The AA1000 standard with more stringent methodological limits is also common. The AA1000 standard is a generally applicable standard for evaluating an organization's sustainability performance reporting, and for evaluating its underlying processes, systems, and competencies. The standard provides insight into the key elements of the verification process. The Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability (AccountAbility) is a leading international institution in the field of improving corporate reporting for sustainable development. The Institute's AA1000 series provides organizations with effective reporting management and quality assurance tools and standards. "AccountAbility" conducts up-to-date scientific research, on the basis of which it forms public policy, deals with vocational training verification of specialists. The Institute uses an innovative open management model that involves the participation of collective and individual members, which include representatives of business, public organizations and government agencies from around the world. The AA 1000 verification standard is intended primarily for use by verification organizations. It gives an idea of how to organize and carry out the work entrusted to them to check and verify the report. In addition, the AA1000 Verification Standard is designed to: assist the reporting entity in assessing, planning, describing and overseeing report verification work (including internal verification), and assist the board of directors or board of directors in overseeing the disclosure of non-financial information; provide an opportunity for interested parties to familiarize themselves with the results of verification and related reports and evaluate their quality; assist standard setters and policy makers in the development of non-government voluntary standards, as well as in the development of voluntary and mandatory aspects of organizational reporting, in particular reporting requirements and verification of reports; help professionals in the field of professional development and training improve their skills in the field of verification and reporting in general,
^ Rice. 17.1. GRI reporting principles The main characteristics of the AA1000 standard: 1) covers the entire range of performance indicators of the organization, i.e. indicators of sustainability, 2) evaluates the completeness of the organization's understanding of its own performance indicators and its impact on the external environment, and also takes into account the opinions of interested parties about this; 3) highlights the materiality of the content of the reporting to stakeholders and the accuracy of the information disclosed, and draws attention to the organization's policies and compliance with mandatory standards; 4) lays the groundwork for public statements of compliance that will increase the credibility of published sustainability reports; 5) evaluates the ability of the organization to respond to the requests of interested parties and, thereby, considers reporting as part of an ongoing interaction with them; 6) takes into account not only the current state of affairs, but also a possible change in the situation, i.e. not only how the organization implements the stated policy and achieves its goals, but also how it is able to meet future standards and expectations; 7) supports and integrates various approaches to quality verification that involve multiple verification organizations, approaches and standards, including ensuring compliance with the "Recommendations for Reporting Sustainability" proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Guidelines; 8) applicable to organizations of various types and sizes, can be used by verification organizations in different geographical, cultural and social conditions; 9) require the verifier to demonstrate its competence and provide information on the nature of the relationship with the reporting entity (i.e., the client). Organizations using any part of the AA1000 Series, including the AA1000 Verification Standard, undertake to take into account the interests of all parties, i.e. organizations undertake: a) identify and study their social, environmental and economic impacts and related performance indicators, as well as the opinion of interested parties on this; b) take into account the requests and needs of interested parties and respond appropriately to them in the policies and practices of the organization; c) provide interested parties with a report on their decisions, actions and their consequences. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia (CCI RF) has developed a draft of the first domestic standard in the field of social reporting. The standard assumes the presence in the company's social report of an introductory part ( general provisions) and seven thematic sections. The standard has been prepared taking into account the basic principles of the international standards for corporate social reporting AA1000, developed by the British Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability, and the Standard, called the "Guidelines for reporting on sustainable development", developed as part of the Global Reporting Initiative. In addition, the Standard of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation takes into account the requirements that are imposed on Russian business in modern conditions in terms of its social responsibility of behavior on the part of the state and society. Separately, it should be noted the framework documents in the field of social responsibility - the Social Charter of Russian Business (RSPP) and the Memorandum on the principles of CSR (Association of Russian Managers). Compliance with social reporting standards in the process of preparing a non-financial report is confirmed by an independent verification procedure, which is voluntary. Verification is a method that, using a number of specific principles and approaches, allows you to evaluate the quality of the materials prepared by the organization, for example, its reports, as well as the systems, processes and level of competence in the organization that ensure the effectiveness of its work. Verification implies that the results of such an assessment will be open to the general public, which will serve as a guarantee for the recipients of the report of its authenticity. There are the following benefits of social report verification: An independent assessment of the content of the report as an official corporate document - the growth of readers' confidence in the report. Image support of the brand of the verifier company gives additional weight to the report. Additional features positioning the report in the information space. ^ Technology for compiling a corporate social report One of the key stages of corporate social activity is the preparation and publication of a social report - open document, which contains data related to the results of the company's activities in the field of ecology, charity, labor relations, participation in the development of regions, etc. A company usually has clearly defined, tight deadlines for preparing a corporate social report. Therefore, a systematic approach to managing the social reporting process should be considered as basic principle work on the document. An important place here is occupied by strategic and operational planning of all these stages of the implementation of the corporate social reporting process, which allows for optimal management of financial, intellectual, organizational and administrative resources. The essence of social reporting is not to get a beautiful weighty book as a result, but to integrate the principles of social reporting into the corporate governance system. Therefore, the terms during which the preparation of a social report takes place are quite long - from three months to a year. Social reporting is an ongoing process rooted in the management system. But in reality, a company usually has clearly defined, tight deadlines for preparing a corporate social report. Many companies that are just planning to start the social reporting process for the first time spend as much time on this as they do on the development of a booklet. It can be difficult for consultants specializing in the field of social reporting to convince their clients of the incorrectness of this approach and they have to show miracles of ability to work in order to meet extremely tight deadlines. And here a systematic approach to managing the process of social reporting should be considered as the basic principle of working on a document. An important place in this case is occupied by strategic and operational planning of the stages of implementation of the corporate social reporting process, which allows for optimal management of financial, intellectual, organizational and administrative resources. Let's try to divide the whole process into stages. At the preparatory stage, organizational actions are taken that are necessary to launch the process of social reporting. Primarily, detailed terms of reference are drawn up and approved for the preparation of a social report and a detailed calendar plan that provides effective time management for the process of preparing a social report. The task clearly indicates key goals, tasks, vision of future results and deadlines, a draft preliminary table of contents of the social report is given. If a company is planning the first release of a social report, it is recommended to see what these documents issued by other companies look like, this will help at least approximately estimate the amount of work. At the same time, the study of best practices in the field of social reporting is a necessary element of the preparatory stage. To compare the content of social reporting of selected financial institutions, it is recommended to use the information packages of GRI, AMP, RSPP, RF CCI, etc. Additionally, an independent verifier of the corporate social report is selected. It is desirable that already at the very beginning of the social reporting process, the company has a specialist or a group of specialists responsible for coordinating the process. working group and for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is formed from among the company's managers and external experts. The group is formed to oversee the process of preparing a corporate social report and the gradual implementation of the principles of social reporting with a focus on international standards. The group discusses and accepts for further process the data and materials that are planned to be placed in the social report. Many international social reporting standards strongly recommend the creation of such a group to ensure the continuity of the social reporting process. A social report is not a matter of one or two departments and a CSR working group, but a process that concerns the majority of managers and employees. good start implementation of social reporting in the company is carried out seminar (business game) on the topic of CSR with the working group and representatives of the company's management. The purpose of the seminar is to build a symbolic field of corporate social responsibility in the minds of the participants of the event and to formulate the key thematic areas of the company's corporate social policy. A successful corporate seminar will serve as a guarantee that in the future all leading departments and departments will be open and ready to cooperate when contacting them for information required for the preparation of a social report. The next stage is research. During this period, qualitative and quantitative data are collected for the preparation of the company's social report. Requests for the provision of qualitative and quantitative data are formed with a focus on indicators of social reporting of international standards. Therefore, at the beginning of this stage, it is recommended to study the content of the standards and indicators indicated in the social report in as much detail as possible. During this stage, the development and implementation of formalized tools for collecting and accumulating qualitative and quantitative information according to the methodology of international standards is carried out. The main data collection tools are: Standardized forms and questionnaires for obtaining primary economic data (internal corporate statistics and key economic indicators). Questionnaires for obtaining primary qualitative indicators of the company's social activities (cases, events, activities, one-time promotions, etc.). Guides of semi-formalized interviews with representatives of top management and employees of the company, focused on obtaining opinions, evaluations of results and prospects for the development of the company's social activities. Questionnaires for conducting regular surveys of company employees on CSR topics (the frequency of surveys is at least twice a year). Further, a generalization and analysis of the indicators necessary for placement in the text of the company's non-financial report is carried out. For this, a wide variety of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods are used. Writing the text of the report is a separate stage of the social reporting process. The quality of the text of a social report depends not only on the creative abilities of the authors, but on the completeness of the information collected and the quality of its analysis. It is recommended to involve employees and heads of services and departments of the company who are experts in the relevant field in preparing the text of the report - this allows you to avoid factual errors and inaccuracies in the text. First, a detailed table of contents (synopsis) of the corporate social report is developed, corrected and approved. After that, the text of the report is actually written and approved. It is recommended that the draft working text of the report be submitted for discussion by the working group on CSR, and each chapter be submitted for approval to departments competent in a particular area from finance and production to ecology, charity, social investment. In parallel with this, it is advisable to hold meetings with stakeholders to discuss the preliminary results of social reporting. Prepress and publication completes the report preparation phase. It is recommended to pay no less attention to the design of a social report than to its content - high-quality packaging will increase interest in the content of the document. In parallel with the collection of statistical and textual information about the company, it is advisable to form a library of illustrations that will saturate the report with high-quality visual information. When developing a design layout for a social report, you need to understand that a social report is a serious content document, where creativity should not go against the perception of the content. After the text of the report has been approved, it is recommended to carry out high-quality literary editing and proofreading - a professional approach when working with the text of the social report indicates the seriousness of the company's intentions in the field of non-financial reporting and avoids typos and oddities. The dissemination of the report and the process of its independent verification are separate stages of work, which we will discuss in more detail in future publications. It is better to simultaneously publish the report in electronic and printed form. When laying out the report, actively use the possibilities of graphic design, drawings and photographs. It is advisable to translate the report into English to inform foreign partners of investors and NGOs. Carry out internal information work to bring the content of the report to the management and staff. ^ Interaction with stakeholders An important stage in the preparation of a social report is dialogues and consultations with stakeholders for whom information about the company's social performance may be significant. Stakeholders can be representatives of various groups: local communities, representatives of federal and regional authorities, the banking community, representatives non-profit organizations, media journalists, employees of enterprises, etc. Typically, the dialogues are free discussions in the context of the topic of corporate social responsibility. Parties concerned (stakeholders) these are individuals, organizations or communities that are directly related to the activities of the company or are indirectly related to its activities. There are a number of formats, standards, and codes that organizations can choose to govern their stakeholder engagement process. The purpose of these standards is to improve an organization's ability to achieve sustainable development. These include the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (concerning reporting rules and indicators), SA8000 (concerning certification of enterprises in the field of labor relations), the AA1000 series of documents (concerning the systematic preparation of social reports based on dialogue with stakeholders and the EFQM quality management model. national level various organizations issued their guidelines and standards relating to corporate social responsibility. There are also a number of useful resources developed by organizations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Business for Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe, Future 500 Initiative, British Environment Council, South African - "Calabash Project", "Brazilian Institute of Ethics", Indian "Development Alternatives Group" and "International Association of Public Participation". When identifying stakeholder groups as a priority audience, it is recommended to take into account: The level of responsibility in making decisions that affect the activities of the organization. The degree of influence on the company's activities. The degree of closeness to the company. Level of representativeness, reflection of the interests and composition of a given social group. The need for additional information about the work of the company. An important component of the social reporting process is the involvement stakeholders in a communication exchange. The form of involving stakeholders in the dialogue can be different: round tables, group discussions, questionnaires, expert interviews, newsletters. The GRI standards provide for a wide range of stakeholder consultation formats. Typically, dialogues with stakeholders are free discussions in the context of the topic of corporate social responsibility. Interaction with stakeholders is an integral element of the social reporting process, ensuring the exchange of information between the company and its target audiences. When organizing interaction with stakeholders, it is recommended to pay attention to the following aspects: Preliminary analytical work should be carried out to identify priority stakeholder groups. Within the framework of one session of social reporting, it is impossible to cover all interested groups. It is necessary to inform potential stakeholders about the goals and procedure for interaction in the context of CSR. If possible, before the interaction, the stakeholders should be provided with the fullest possible information about the organization and its social activities. It is necessary to prepare a guide for communication with stakeholders in advance. It is necessary to form an electronic database of stakeholders with contact details and characteristics of involvement in the dialogue. Interaction with stakeholders can be considered as an informational occasion (especially if it is a round table dialogue). It is important to record all interactions with stakeholders on photos and audio and summarize in the form of brief reports and analytical notes. In the future, this will help with independent verification and preparation of a social report. Dialogues with stakeholders can be considered as part of PR communication aimed at establishing contacts with selected target groups. Fixing the course of the meeting on audio and photo. Preparation of materials for informing stakeholders at the second meeting following the results of the first. Internal evaluation of the results of dialogues with stakeholders. Availability of an independent meeting moderator. The number of participants is limited to no more than 20-25 people. Organization of feedback directly at the event - questioning. Proper organization of space - the format of the "round table". When organizing interaction with stakeholders, the emerging communication risks should be taken into account, the main of which are: Incorrect identification of stakeholders. Wrong choice of form of stakeholder involvement. Lack of understanding of the purpose and format of the event. Sharp remarks that company representatives are not ready for. Problems of attendance at the dialogue. Unpreparedness of company representatives and stakeholders. Lack of interest from stakeholders. Stakeholder involvement is fragmented. In general, the effectiveness of interaction with stakeholders can be assessed in the context of several aspects: firstly, in terms of providing information to stakeholders for making decisions and actions that affect both the company and society as a whole; secondly, from the standpoint of the ability to pool resources (knowledge, personnel, money and technology) for joint problem solving; thirdly, dialogues with stakeholders contribute to more equitable and sustainable development by providing an opportunity to be heard by those who have the right to it; Fourth, working with stakeholders allows for a better understanding of stakeholders and economic conditions, including the market situation, and manage risk and reputation more effectively. More detailed descriptions of stakeholder engagement can be found in the Social Reporting Standards and the Stakeholder Engagement Practice Guide published by the UN and AccountAbility. This manual has been developed for use both within organizations as a whole and for the implementation of individual projects or processes. The company can customize it to its individual needs, arising from the specifics of the project or the needs of the organization, based on documents and materials posted on the www. accountability. org. uk, you can also make changes. The global practice of social reporting implies independent validation of the procedure and content of a corporate social report. |
