Added Value for Business and Society

Lisa Weber

In the last ten years, CSR (corporate social responsibility) has become an integral part of the corporate missions of today’s businesses, both large and small. Is this just a hype, aimed at improving companies’ images?

Or is there something more behind it, a concept that can considerably raise a company’s value both in business and in society?

The European Commission defines CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. CSR is thus a contribution by companies to sustainable development, aimed at improving the living conditions of all people – and thereby also their own framework conditions. In this connection, the concept of diversity management also gains considerable significance. Diversity management is seen as the systematic management of workforce diversity with respect to the so-called core dimensions¹ , to the benefit of the enterprise and also of society.

Objective: “Shared Value”

Companies bear responsibility in a number of spheres of action: organisational leadership, the marketplace, the workforce, the environment and society. In all these areas, they have to demonstrate successful management, taking all their stakeholders into consideration. If they master this challenge, they not only make valuable societal and ecological contributions, but also achieve a variety of benefits for the company itself. An increasing number of businesses are engaging in strategic partnerships with the players of civil society, not only in order to support these players’ projects but also in order to profit from such partnerships themselves. Companies participate, for example, in corporate volunteer programmes in order to enhance the social competences of their staff members. The wide diversity of their employees’ social, ethnic and religious backgrounds, in turn, generate additional perspectives within the company and thereby strengthen its innovation potential.

Positive Developments

In recent years, the CSR concept has become increasingly well-established and professionalised. Whereas in 1997, sustainability reports were published by only five companies worldwide, by 2007 there were 1,100 such reports. In 2020 it will most likely be a matter of course for companies to issue annual reports not only on their business development but also on their contributions to society and the environment.

Numerous companies – from multinational corporations to medium-sized enterprises – have learned to use the concept of CSR not only for short-term image-polishing but also as a strategic management tool. On other words: If a company wants to get ahead and stay ahead in the future, it has to set its course in the right direction today.

Lisa Weber is the project director of respACT – austrian business council for sustainable development, the leading platform for CSR and sustainable development in Austria.
www.respact.at

¹ Gender, ethnicity/skin colour, age, religion, mental/physical abilities and sexual orientation