A new UK report spells out the advantages of being a socially responsible business. Winning with Integrity, published by the Business Impact Task Force, explains the commercial benefits of corporate social responsibility in relation to the workforce, the marketplace, the environment, the community, human rights and other key areas.
The report says that social responsibility can help your business to succeed in three ways:- by building business sales, motivating the workforce, and building trust in the company as a whole. It provides indicators for businesses to assess their own impact on society and suggests an action plan to help them improve. "This will always involve setting priorities among competing demands. There will be trade-offs and dilemmas. But the key point is that behaving in a socially responsible way is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense." For companies to be successful in these activities, they also need to communicate and share the social and environmental impact of the business. This means deciding what a company should report and how.
Corporate Social Responsibility Minister Kirn Howells hailed the report as an important milestone in developing the business case for corporate social responsibility. "The government is keen for as many businesses as possible to be exposed to the message that CSR can be a 'win-win' strategy."
The Business Impact Task Force's aim was to bring together the best advice on the whole range of CSR activities. Bill Cockburn, the managing director of British Telecom pie, led the task force. Its other members included business chief executives, the British Quality Foundation, the European Foundation for Quality Management and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
www.business-impact.org .
