How can you set up an effective and sustainable CSR strategy? Which sustainable development commitments should you choose? How can you make your CSR policy credible in the eyes of your stakeholders? Here is our advice on CSR and sustainable development.
Advice for implementing a CSR initiative
A CSR approach must be implemented in a six-step, structured manner:
- Conduct an audit
- Designate a CSR project manager
- Establish an action plan
- Engage the teams
- Train employees
- Communicate actions
These steps are covered in more detail in our article: ” Steps to setting up a CSR initiative in your company”
To ensure that your social responsibility approach runs smoothly, it can be beneficial to seek the assistance of a CSR consultant, such as a specialised consulting firm or an interim CSR manager. These service providers can carry out CSR audits, train and unite teams, and even manage the entire CSR process.
Tips for choosing your CSR commitments
Corporate social responsibility is a very broad topic, and a wide range of measures can be implemented as part of a company’s CSR policy. It is therefore essential that a company targets the sustainable development issues on which it wishes to focus its efforts (ethical and social, environmental, economic, etc.).
The choice of CSR commitments is primarily made in accordance with a company’s business sector. For example, a company specialised in the retail of textile products may first take measures that concern the ecological quality of its products, and environmental protection in the production chain. A company specialising in digital technology, on the other hand, could opt to use cleaner technologies. It is therefore crucial to take the time to carry out an in-depth inventory and produce a benchmark to analyse the practices most favoured by the players in the field of activity in question.
Another essential factor to take into account is the return on investment of CSR practices. Indeed, implementing CSR measures can represent a certain cost, hence the importance of prioritising those actions that ensure the greatest ROI (e.g. reducing water or energy consumption).
Further, a company should consider discussing with its stakeholders, both internal (employees, managers) and external (customers, suppliers, local authorities), in order to target their expectations and respond as well as possible to their social, environmental and economic concerns.
CSR commitments must, of course, be aligned with the company’s values.
Tips for sustaining your CSR approach
One of the major challenges for most companies is to integrate their CSR policy into a continuous improvement process. To ensure the longevity of CSR measures, it is particularly important to ensure the support of employees, to train them and to involve them in the reflection on sustainable development. Employees are the keystone in a CSR approach, and their commitment is essential if sustainable measures are to be carried out.
Ultimately, the objective is to integrate the new responsible values into the corporate culture, by progressively deploying increasingly ambitious measures. Here again, it is crucial to maintain regular dialogue with internal and external actors to solicit feedback and better understand stakeholder expectations.
Lastly, rigorous monitoring and regular analysis of the impact of the measures using CSR performance indicators is an essential step in sustaining a CSR strategy.
Tips for a credible CSR approach
Rendering a CSR policy credible in the eyes of customers, employees, partners and the general public inevitably requires transparent internal and external communication through various channels (social networks, website, press, etc.). A company can communicate its actions, commitments and future projects through reporting, assessments or CSR reports, for example.
However, care must be taken not to fall into the trap of greenwashing: sustainable development commitments must remain realistic, and actions must be reported honestly and without exaggeration. To reinforce credibility, it may be worthwhile obtaining CSR certifications, such as the AFNOR label for gender equality and diversity, the LUCIE 26000 label, or the B Corp label.
Calling on an interim CSR manager
CSR is a relatively complex field, governed by a large number of principles, standards and regulations. In order to ensure the smooth running of a CSR approach and the maintenance of measures over the long term, calling on an expert in social responsibility can be a strategic choice.
At WAYDEN, we can mobilise an interim CSR manager with solid expertise in this field, and extensive knowledge of the various standards, labels and CSR practices. This expert will help you deploy a relevant, rewarding and impactful CSR strategy.
