Responsabilidad Social Empresarial - RSE

ENGLISH BELOW

La Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE) es la forma como una empresa transmite sus valores básicos. Los público de interés son las personas o grupos de personas que están involucrados con el accionar de la empresa y para quienes los resultados de la empresa respecto de su impacto en el medio ambiente, situación socioeconómica etc. le impacta positiva o negativamente.

El concepto principal de la RSE es que las empresas tienen que una responsabilidad más allá de maximizar sus utilidades financiaras, lo anterior se debe a que como se muestra en la figura 1 son una parte importante de un gran sistema que se encuentra conformado por una serie de actores como las empresas, las familias y el medio ambiente y que operan dentro de un entorno en donde las acciones de unos pueden afectar o beneficiar a otros y por ello a todo el sistema.

 

Historia reciente de la RSE
Del 2006 a ahora es cuando el cambio ha sido astronómico y gigante. En los últimos años el indicador que avisó que algo iba mal, fue la película de , Al Gore, Una Verdad Incomoda, que expuso el problema del cambio climático en el mundo. Hacia anos que los científicos lo venían anunciando. La película abrió conciencia y nos empuja a las personas a obligar a la empresas a hacer algo al respecto. Ya en el año 1999 la ONU pregunto qué se va a hacer para estrechar la brecha entre los que tienen y los que no tienen. El Pacto Global es importante y dice mucho de si la empresa esta comprometido o no. En 1999, se dio el Pacto Global. Entonces se retó a la ONU y se preguntaron qué se haría para estrechar la bre- cha entre los que tienen y los que no tienen. El Pacto Global es importante y dice mucho de si la empresa está comprometida o no. Otras cosas se han hecho para eli- minar la pobreza y la inequidad con otras iniciativas.
En la primera década del 2000, los CEO de empresas como Enron, Volcom, y otras, tomaron decisiones no éti- cas y mucha gente perdió su trabajo, etc. A mitad del principio de este siglo, sucedieron catástrofes naturales, como el Tsumani en Asia; en los Estados Unidos, el aten- tado del 9/11 estremeció al mundo; en ambos casos, la empresa privada quiso hacer algo por los damnificados, usualmente con donaciones de dinero; pero, luego, tam- bién se enviaron personas como un voluntariado de parte de las mismas empresas y se vio la importancia de hacer- lo en forma organizada.. En el 2001, Ford fue la primera compañía que salió con reportes de RS. Ahora, se hace un balance social más frecuente (anual).
El huracán Katrina mostró que en los Estados Unidos también hay pobreza, y surgió la discusión del rol de la empresa en la sociedad y cuál debería ser su accionar en beneficio de las comunidades. Quien respondió primero, en el caso de Katrina, fue la Cruz Roja (que siempre tiene que responder) y de segundo se manifestó la empresa. Federal Express mandó aviones para traslado de sumi- nistros, porque las medicinas no podían llegar a los dam- nificados; Walmart mandó sus camiones. El ADN de las empresas fue utilizado, y estas compañías aprovecharon la oportunidad de de hacerse presentes (posicionarse) cuando ocurren catástrofes ambientales que tienen un impacto importante.

En julio del 2009, Walmart sacó un Índice de sostenibili- dad, algo completamente nuevo. Walmart obliga a des- cribir el efecto medioambiental que utilizó el proveedor de sus productos, para hacer el producto, y le pone una etiqueta que lo informa. Esta disposición se irá implemen- tando a través del tiempo. Walmart se está posicionando, alineando la Responsabilidad Social con el negocio.
Antes, la imagen de Walmart era muy negativa, y se pen- sabaque sus dirigentes no se daban cuenta. Katrina fue el disparador que ayudó a que el CEO de Walmart viera las cosas desde otra perspectiva porque observó cómo la gente dentro de Walmart se aglutinó en una causa común y pensaron que ellos, como empresa, tenían que mirar el concepto de RSE con ojos nuevos.

LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL.

Las empresa modernas han hecho un compromiso de administrar su negocios de forma sostenible, incorporando las variables sociales y ambientales como parte integral de su estrategia de negocios.

Definiciones de la RSE :
“El compromiso permanente de las empresas para aumentar su competitividad mientras contribuyen activamente al desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad costarricense mediante acciones concretas y medibles dirigidas a colaborar en la solución de problemas prioritarios del país” (Fuente: Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo). Otra definición puede ser:
“Responsabilidad Social es la forma de conducir los negocios de una empresa de tal modo que ésta se convierta en co-responsable por el desenvolvimiento social. Una empresa socialmente responsable es aquélla que posee la capacidad de escuchar los intereses de las diferentes partes (accionistas, empleados, prestadores de servicio, proveedores, consumidores, comunidad, gobierno y medio ambiente) e incorporarlos en el planeamiento de sus actividades, buscando atender las demandas de todos ellos y no únicamente de los accionistas o propietarios”. Fuente: Instituto Ethos, Brasil.


La existencia de estos actores hace cada vez mas necesario que las empresas como principales generadores de riqueza busquen la manera de involucrarlos de forma más directa en su gestión, buscando así un beneficio mutuo que se vea reflejado tanto en las mejores condiciones de estos actores como en la mayor competitividad de las firmas, entendiéndose por competitividad la capacidad que tienen las organizaciones de poder continuar operando en los mercados.

A pesar de que la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial involucra a todos los actores que participan dentro de una economía, son las empresas las que deben de mostrar mayor interés en que se dé ese involucramiento, esto por que el fenómeno de la globalización ha generado que en los últimos años cada vez mas y mas personas puedan contar con mayor y mejor información, lo que los hace mas críticos en cuanto a la manera de operar de las firmas.
El que una empresa realice sus operaciones de manera poco ética y atente contra la sostenibilidad del sistema, hoy en día no pasa desapercibido tan fácilmente y son las personas y organizaciones las que se encargan de hacer ver tanto lo malo como lo bueno de las empresas. Pudiendo por medio de ello influenciar de forma negativa o positiva en su competitividad, al punto que ha habido empresas que han tenido que cerrar sus operaciones por la presión que ejerce la sociedad.

EL MODELO DE RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL
En cuanto al tema de la RSE existen una serie de modelos, para efectos de este documento el modelo que se usará es el elaborado por la Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo el cual es utilizado por varias empresas de la región Centroamericana, este modelo se muestra en la figura 2.

Modelo de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial


El modelo de RSE muestra como anteriormente se indicó que las organizaciones deben de tomar en cuenta dentro de su gestión a una serie de actores que se ubican en 7 ejes o categorías, los cuales AED los define de la siguiente manera.

Gobernabilidad.
Es el sistema mediante el cual las empresas son dirigidas, determina como los objetivos de la empresa se logran, como se monitorea y evalúa el riesgo y como se optimiza el desempeño. En este eje resultan altamente sensibles los siguientes temas: transparencia, equidad corporativa, cumplimiento de responsabilidades y prevención de conflictos de interés tanto a lo interno como a lo externo de la empresa, por esta razón es fundamental establecer de manera articulada los valores y comportamientos esperados de todos los miembros que conforman la empresa.
Público Interno.
Eje referente al capital humano de la empresa, incluye al grupo de personas que la conforman y que están directamente vinculadas a ella, como los accionistas, directivos, empleados trabajadores y contratistas. El objetivo de la empresa en este eje consiste en la búsqueda de las prácticas laborales óptimas que concilien la alta productividad con el desarrollo humano de su personal, entre estas prácticas se consideran: los procedimientos disciplinarios y la resolución de conflictos, la normalización de la jornada laboral, la capacitación y el desarrollo de habilidades, la contratación y promoción de la mano de obra local, las políticas de salud, seguridad e higiene ocupacional y el reconocimiento de las organizaciones de trabajadores, entre otras.
Medio Ambiente.
Se enfoca en la responsabilidad de la empresa con el cuidado y conservación del planeta, iniciando con el compromiso de la organización. El objetivo de este eje es promover en las empresas su aplicación a través de acciones concretas, como la minimización del impacto ambiental de sus actividades productivas, la responsabilidad por el ciclo de vida del producto, las asociaciones y alianzas para desarrollar iniciativas ambientales, la promoción del uso de tecnologías ambientalmente amigables y la educación ambiental. Ser sostenible en términos ambientales supone que el medio ambiente no se vea afectado negativamente por la actividad de la empresa. Ello implica entonces, que las generaciones futuras encuentren al menos las mismas oportunidades y recursos naturales en cantidad y calidad- que las actuales.
Proveedores.
Pueden ser individuos, empresas u otras organizaciones que proveen bienes y servicios a la empresa. Este eje tiene como objetivo el fortalecimiento de la cadena de valor de la organización, a través del desarrollo de sus proveedores. Algunos de los elementos que promueve este apartado son: la asistencia técnica, el entrenamiento y la transferencia de tecnología y conocimiento y la selección de proveedores basada en criterios formales de escogencia, que consideren aspectos de RSE.
Mercadeo.
Comprende la relación con sus consumidores y clientes, bajo esta premisa la primera responsabilidad de la empresa es ofrecer productos y servicios de calidad que generen valor para estos grupos de interés. Las actividades que incluye este eje abarcan desde la protección de la salud y la seguridad del consumidor, las prácticas de mercadeo justas, el consumo sostenible, la resolución de disputas e indemnizaciones, la protección y privacidad de la información, hasta la claridad en las transacciones comerciales y la atención o servicio al cliente.
Comunidad.
Eje que aborda el comportamiento de la empresa respecto de la comunidad donde esta inserto el negocio. La comunidad puede ser definida utilizando variados criterios, como por ejemplo geográficos, de concentración de clientes, de concentración de colaboradores, de proveedores o de otros actores que se relacionan con el negocio. La relación de la compañía con la comunidad se basa en la corresponsabilidad de ambas partes en el desarrollo local y se concreta a través de la participación directa, inversión social, voluntariado entre otros.
Política Pública.
Contempla las relaciones de la empresa con las Instituciones Públicas del Estado en aras de su fortalecimiento y de la relación de proyectos conjuntos que contribuyan al bienestar de la sociedad en general. La estrategia ideal para obtener impactos significativos a nivel nacional es la llamada Alianza Público Privada y los actores centrales son el Estado, la Empresas Privada y la Sociedad Civil. El eje de Política Pública, se estructura a través de transparencia política y proyectos conjuntos.

Se debe aclarar que la RSE no significa llevar a cabo acciones filantrópicas como anteriormente muchos lo veían. La importancia que se le asigne a cada eje así como la escogencia de los públicos de interés por parte de las organizaciones, y la manera de cómo son mayormente involucrados en su gestión es totalmente estratégica, por lo que dependerá de la naturaleza y características de cada una de las organizaciones.

La idea que hay detrás de los modelos de la RSE parte de que son las empresas las que deben de interesarse en identificar a sus públicos de interés, para luego buscar la manera de mejorar las relaciones con estos, y así obtener resultados que beneficien a todas las partes.

BENEFICIOS GENERADOS DE LA RSE

La aplicación de practicas responsables por parte de las empresas es cada vez mas un factor que influye de mayor manera en su nivel de competitividad, esto se muestra en la figura, la cual deja ver como el aplicar RSE genera beneficios como: el Incremento de los ingresos, la reducción de los costos, un incremento en el valor de los activos y una mejora en la gestión del riesgo.

Estos beneficios pueden deberse a que la RSE mejora aspectos de las empresas que tiene que ver directamente con la estructura de la industria en que ésas desarrollan sus actividades, como también aspectos que ver con la configuración de las actividades y la eficiencia operativa propia de la empresa.

ISO 26000
Definición Responsabilidad Social (ISO 26000)
Es la responsabilidad de una organización ante los im- pactos que sus decisiones y actividades ocasionan en la sociedad y el medio ambiente, mediante un comporta- miento ético y transparente que:
– contribuya al desarrollo sostenible, incluyendo la salud y el bienestar de la sociedad;
– tome en consideración las expectativas de sus partes interesadas;
– cumpla con la legislación aplicable y sea coherente con la normativa internacional de comportamiento; y
– esté integrada en toda la organización y se lleve a la práctica en sus relaciones.

ISO 26000:La noma ISO de la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial

 

 

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - CSR

CSR is how a company transmits its basic values. The stakeholders consists of people or groups of people who are involved in the sphere of activity of the business and for whom the results of the business, which have a bearing on the environment, socioeconomic situation, etc., have a positive or negative impact.

This is why the third sector should facilitate processes of participatory construction in order to find solutions to the different problems that Civil Society has decided to influence. In 1999 the United Nations asked what could be done to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots. The Global Pact is important, and says a lot about whether a business is committed or not. Later, different companies began announcing sustainability indicators, best labor practices, etc. Today we find ourselves discussing the ISO 26000 standard, which addresses social responsibility in very broad terms, as, for example, the topic of which environmental law should be applied to all species. Fritjof Captra tells us that we are all the same on the subatomic level and that we are actually made up of behavioral patterns, which define us.

Sustainability is therefore a topic about respect; about consideration for the other species that we interact with. It is part of our DNA. Civil society organizations, the State, and business must contribute to this objective because it is synonymous with sustainability, the end pursued by all of us who live on this planet. The subject that unites us is the endeavour to construct sustainable forms for reaching our individual and sectoral objectives.


Social Responsibility:
Social Responsibility is entering one of its first stages of development. NGOs, governments and businesses have linked with different groups of interest, including environmental groups, communities and governments, and are redesigning the role of development with regard to the critical social problems that have emerged.

Social Entrepreneurs:
Social entrepreneurs are individuals who engage in efforts of a social nature to help the community through different types of projects. The social entrepreneur generally works with a non-governmental organization, development corporation or other community assistance entity. Social entrepreneurs must identify a social problem and then develop a project.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):
For some time, businesses have been in the spotlight for their continuous support to the development of their communities. The new CSR agenda, which includes themes such as governance, environment, ethical marketing, the supplier chain and many other issues of importance, poses a challenge for the companies and drives them to improve their social performance.

CSR and stakeholders:
CSR is the way a company transmits its basic values. The target public is the people or groups of people who are involved in the business’s sphere of action and for whom the results of the impact of the business on the environment, socioeconomic situation, etc., is positive or negative.

For example, the community is a target public when a business installs a new processing plant, and the community (where the workers come from) and the environment (which will be affected by residues from industrial processes) are target publics, since they end up being affected in some way.

Thus, when an organization goes into operation, it identifies its target public by mapping who is going to be affected in the zone and how. CSR mitigates negative impacts and positive ones are maximized for everyone that is involved in some way. This is achieved by carrying out CSR projects that allow us to improve our ROI or develop the Business Case for our organization.

CSR aims at being considered within the business strategy. For this, it is necessary to develop projects focused on return on investment (ROI). CSR should be synonymous with ROI.


Concepts of Social Responsibility:

Concept 1: Minimize damages from your operations

The first concept is that you have to minimize damages from your operations. It is necessary to observe the damages that the business causes because to its nature or activity. It is also necessary to make an analysis of the risks that exist in the organization’s operations and how these can be reduced by implementing CSR projects.

Concept 2: Increase benefits to society

The aggregated or total benefits for society should be evident and multi-sectoral. Because of the nature of its business, Chevron, for example, must have an employee safety program, but if it pays its employees badly or pollutes rivers, there is no point to an employee safety program being an example of its CSR project.

Concept 3: Develop relationships of trust with target publics, i.e., one of RESPECT with those interested in the results of its activities.

Concept 4: Integrate CSR at every level of its business

To be successful, CSR must be integrated at every level of the business. In other words, CSR cannot be applied to one
sector alone (environment), but not others (employees, community, etc.)

Concept 5: Supports the business strategy

CSR can start in-house, inside management, and then be applied toward the outside, but it must be comprehensive, and it may be undertaken from the inside out. At times, our initiatives have to start on the inside with the employees, but they must be integral and also take the target public into account.

The company has to consider that, how the CSR is managed has to help it improve its return on investment (ROI). Consequently, the Business Case has to be developed, which means asking what additional gain in our profitability do we receive from implementing CSR programs.

Recent history of CSR:

If we look at the last three years since 2006, many things have happened to accelerate the CSR movement. Movements in Europe are environment-based, while those in the USA are based on philanthropy. As CSR continued to develop, by the end of the 1990s it started to strengthen and have a more unified dialogue.

In 2001, Ford was the first to come out with CSR reports. Now social balance sheets are more frequent (yearly).

In the 1999 Global Pact, the UN challenged itself and asked what it was going to do to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots. The Global Pact is important and says a lot about whether business is committed or not. Other things have been done to eliminate poverty and inequality through other initiatives.

By 2000, the CEOs of companies such as Enron, Volcom, and others, made unethical decisions and many people lost their jobs, etc.

By mid-decade, natural catastrophes, such as tsunamis, starting occurring. For us in the USA, 9/11 was a terrible disaster and private business wanted to do something for the victims, usually sending money. But later, when people were also sent as volunteers (by business), the importance of a well-organized and correctly executed effort was observed.

Katrina proved the fact that poverty also exists in the United States and discussion arose about the role of business in society and what business’s role in society should be. The organization that responded first in the case of Katrina was the Red Cross (which always has to respond) and business was second. The role of business is important. Because medicine couldn’t get in, Federal Express sent planes and Walmart sent its trucks. Business’s DNA was put to use. Companies’ eyes were opened to the opportunity to have a presence (to positioning themselves) when significantly important environmental catastrophes occur.

From 2006 to date, the change has been astronomical and gigantic. Over the last three years, the indicator that warned us that something was going wrong, was the movie “An Inconvenient Truth”, by Al Gore, which exposed the problem of climate change in the world. Scientists have been announcing this problem for years.

The movie created awareness and drove people to force companies to do something about the issue. Another event was the awakening of Walmart.

Walmart used to have a very negative image and people thought it “didn’t have a clue”. Katrina was the trigger that helped Walmart’s CEO to see things from another perspective, because he saw how people in Walmart joined together in common cause, and he thought they needed to look at the concept of CSR with new eyes.

Walmart is an expert at saving money and raised the flag for environmental impact. That is important because Walmart is going to be able to influence the thousands and thousands of suppliers around the world who sell their products to it. For this reason, it is going to ask its suppliers to adhere to environmentally friendly practices, which has a multiplier effect.

In July 2009, Walmart issued a sustainability index, which is something totally new. Walmart is requiring its suppliers to provide a description of the environmental effect of manufacturing their products and to put this information on a label. Walmart will implement this over time. Walmart is positioning itself, aligning its business with social responsibility.

Goldman Sachs started looking at companies’ performance and noticed that share prices rises if they align to environmental practices and the CSR.

Dimensions of CSR:

1. CSR Concept
2. Strategy
3. Leadership
4. Structure (formal or informal) Does it have a budget?
5. Issue management (defensively, reactively or proactively)
6. Target public relations (important for creating dialogue)
7. Transparency (showing reality)

Levels of CSR:

I. Marginal Level

The key is the way we conceptualize CSR without knowing exactly why we do it in that specific way, which makes it informal. Nike is a typical case. Early in the 1990s, Nike was involved in a child labor scandal in a factory in Indonesia . One local NGO realized what was happening and knocked at Nike’s door. Nike said that it was “not my problem… I have nothing to do with the factory or how it treats is employees”. There was widespread scandal. Nike had not realized that an emerging issue – human rights – was taking center stage. Nike was criticized by other organizations and we can now see how it acts defensively.

II. Commitment

This state may occur reactively. There are different types of philanthropy. Reactive philanthropy is gradual and no longer works because its not focused, and also because it has no impact on companies, in view that it should only focus on one or two topics.

When a company changes from reactive to strategic, it is probably in response to an incident that was reactive, but which brings change and a causes a commitment. Chiquita is one example, when it changed its methodology with respect to how employees were being treated. But it needed a slap in the face to open its eyes. On this subject, there are already some environmental activities underway and specific things that are being done inside companies. We started talking with the target public, but only showed them the good side of the issues. The challenge is not to get sidetracked.

III. Innovation

Innovation recognizes the existence of the target public and provides a communications system. We allow ourselves to be influenced by others. A transversal group is created and its integration begins. The ROI also has plays a role here. We begin to consider a Matrix (measurement) and to introduce the social report. The challenge here is to ensure coherence, because a consistent story has to be created that does not divert from the subject.

IV. Integration

The key is the moment of integration of the theme in the business units. Here we start to see how good things and bad begin to appear on the Social Report and the solutions that are sought to solve them. The challenge here is integration, how to integrate it on every level of the company.

V. Transformation

Here you see CSR as the DNA of the company. For example, the company that sells cleaning products, which only uses friendly practices to produce them. These products are proactive. The key is intra-sectoral alliances, because companies cannot make the change by themselves. In this state, the social report dictates the good and the bad, and additionally there is an outside group that assesses it.

Visions of CSR

Business for Social Responsibility publishes three CSR scenarios:

The first scenario states that nobody knows why CSR exists, so it dies out.

The second scenario is more positive and says that CSR is implanted in the company; it begins to be used by company; it is integrated and coherent; it survives because the company understands that it is necessary.

The third level proposes that CSR is like an explosion which transforms the purpose of the existence of the company.

Levels of CSR

CSR management is divided into three levels indicating the level of maturity of the organization with respect to its involvement in improving the interests of all the target publics.


Passive Recipient     Stakeholders   Co-Investor
 1 ------>                     2------->          3------->

A CSR management model:

• Guides and inspires strategic and effective planning in order to incorporate CSR in all areas of the company

• Is compatible with the language already existing in companies

• Links to existing standards

Analysis of the results and choice of priorities

The main idea behind CSR is that company responsibility encompasses more than the maximization of profits. As shown in figure 1, this is because they are an important part of a large system made up of a series of actors, such as businesses, families, and the environment, and operate in a setting where the actions of some can affect or benefit others, and therefore the entire system.

Part I

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Modern companies have made a commitment to administer their businesses sustainably, incorporating social and environmental variables as an integral part of their business strategy.

CSR Definitions:

“The ongoing commitment of companies to increase their competitiveness while actively contributing to the sustainable development of Costa Rican society through concrete and measurable actions aimed at collaborating in the solution of the country’s priority problems.” (Source: Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo).

CSR has also been defined as follows:
“Social responsibility is the way for a company to conduct business such that it becomes co-responsible for social development. A socially responsible company is one that is able to listen to the interests of different parties (shareholders, employees, service providers, suppliers, consumers, community, government and environment) and incorporate them in the planning of its activities, endeavouring to address all of them, not just those of shareholders and owners.” (Source: Instituto Ethos, Brazil)

The existence of these actors makes it increasingly necessary for companies, as the main generators of wealth, to look for ways to involve actors more directly in their dealings in search of mutual benefit, reflected in the improved conditions of the actors and the improved competitiveness of the firms, wherein competiveness is understood as an organization’s capacity to continue operating in markets.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE COMPANY

Although Corporate Social Responsibility involves all of the actors who participate in an economy, it is the companies which must show a greater interest in this involvement taking place. This is because in recent years, the phenomenon of globalization has meant that more and more people can access more and better information, making them more critical about the way firms are operated.

Nowadays company operations that are not very ethical and work against the sustainability of the system do not go unnoticed very easily, and people and organizations are the ones in charge of making visible both the good and bad of companies. This can have a negative or positive effect on their competitiveness, so much so that some companies have been forced out of business by the pressure exerted by society.

 CSR determines how company objectives are achieved and monitored, how risk is assessed, and how performance is optimized. Certain themes become highly sensitive within this category: transparency, corporate equity, compliance with responsibilities, and prevention of conflicts of interest both inside and outside the company. It is therefore essential that the expected values and behaviours of all members of the company be established and well articulated.

Internal Public (employees) 
This category has to do with the company’s human capital and includes the groups of people comprising and directly connected with it, such as shareholders, board of directors, employed workers and contractors. The company’s objective in this category is the pursuit of optimal labour practices that reconcile high productivity with the human development of staff. Such practices include disciplinary procedures and conflict resolution, rules and regulations about work schedules, training and skill building, hiring and the promotion of local labour, policies on health, occupational safety and hygiene, recognition of worker organizations, and others.

Environment
This category focuses on company responsibility toward the care and conservation of the planet, beginning with the commitment of the organization. The objective here is to promote company application through concrete actions, such as minimizing the environmental impact of their productive activities, responsibility for the product life cycle, associations and alliances to carry out environmental initiatives, promoting the use of environmentally-friendly technologies, and environmental education.

In environmental terms, being sustainable means that the environment is not affected adveCSRly by the company’s activity. This consequently signifies that future generations will have at least the same quantity and quality of opportunities and natural resources as current generations.

Suppliers
These can be individuals or companies and other organizations that provide goods and services to the firm. The objective of this category is the strengthening of the organization’s value chain through the development of its suppliers. Some of the elements that foster this area are: technical assistance, training and technology transfer, and knowledge and choice of suppliers based on formal selection criteria taking CSR aspects into account.

Marketing
Involves the company’s relation with its consumers and customers. Under this premise, the company’s first responsibility is to offer quality products and services that generate value for these target groups. Activities in this category range from protection of consumer health and safety, to fair marketing practices, sustainable consumption, resolution of disputes and indemnizations, protection and privacy of information, clarity in commercial transactions, and customer service or attention. Community
Company behaviour in relation to the community where the business is inserted. The community can be defined using a variety of criteria, such as geographic, or the concentration of customers, collaborators, suppliers or other actors related to the business. The company’s relation with the community is based on the co-responsibility of both parties in local development and is concretized through direct participation, social investment, volunteering, and others.

Public Policy & Government relations
The company’s relations with State public institutions for their strengthening, and joint projects contributing to the welfare of society in general. The ideal strategy for obtaining significant national impacts is the so-called “public-private partnership", with the central actors being the State, private enterprise and civil society. The public policy category is structured through political transparency and joint projects.

It should be clarified that CSR does not mean carrying out philanthropic activities, as many previously considered. The importance assigned to each category and choice of target publics are totally strategic, as is the main form of being involved in their dealings, so this depends on the nature and characteristics of each organization.

The basis for the idea behind CSR models is that companies are the ones who should be interested in identifying their target publics in order to find the best way to improve relations with them and therefore obtain results that benefit all parties.

BENEFITS GENERATED FROM CSR

The application of responsible practices by companies is increasingly a factor with ever-greater influence on their level of competitiveness. This is demonstrated in the figure above showing how the application of CSR generates benefits: it increases revenues, lowers costs, raises the value of assets and improves risk management.

These benefits may occur because CSR improves aspects of companies related directly to the structure of the industry where they carry out their activities, as well as those having to do with the actual operating efficiency of the company.

ISO 26000 norm
Definition Social Responsibility (ISO 26000): Responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities onsociety and the environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that
• contributes to sustainable development, including health and the welfare of society;
• takes into account the expectations of stakeholders;
• is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour; and
• is integrated throughout the organization and practiced in its relationships

1. Organizational Governance
System whereby an organization may take and implement decisions in order to achieve its objectives.

2. Human Rights
Issue 1: Due diligence
Issue 2: Human rights hazard situations
Issue 3: Avoidance of complicity
Issue 4: Resolving grievances
Issue 5: Discrimination and vulnerable groups
Issue 6: Civil and political rights
Issue 7: Economic, social and cultural rights
Issue 8: Fundamental rights at work

3. Labour practices
Issue 1: Work and employment relationships
Issue 2: Conditions of work and social protection
Issue 3: Social dialogue
Issue 4: Health and safety and health at work
Issue 5: Human development and training in the workplace

4. Environment:
Issue 1: Pollution prevention
Issue 2: Sustainable resource use
Issue 3: Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Issue 4: Protection and restoration of the natural environment

5. Fair Operating Practices
Issue 1: Anti-corruption
Issue 2: Responsible political involvement
Issue 3: Fair competition
Issue 4: Promoting social responsibility in the sphere of influence
Issue 5: Respect for property rights

6. Consumer Issues
Issue 1: Fair marketing, information and contractual practices
Issue 2: Protecting consumer health and safety
Issue 3: Sustainable consumption
Issue 4: Customer service, support and dispute resolution
Issue 5: Consumer data protection and privacy
Issue 6: Access to essential services
Issue 7: Education and awareness raising

7. Active Community involvement and development
Issue 1: Active involvement in the community
Issue 2: Education and culture
Issue 3: Employment creation and skills development
Issue 4: Technology development
Issue 5: Wealth and income generation
Issue 6: Health
Issue 7: Social investment

 

Bibliography

1. Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo, AED. CSR. Costa Rica, 2009.

2. IDB Course on Logical Framework for Projects http://www.iadb.org/int/ecursos/logical.cfm?language=sp&parid=1&item1id=2

3. Brandt, Maximiliano. Responsabilidad Social. WSPA. Costa Rica, 2009.

4. Brandt, Maximiliano. Responsabilidad Social. Diario La Discusión. Chile, March 24, 2004

5. Capra, Fritjof, The Tao of Physics, Shambala, Boston, 2000.

6. Capra, Fritjof. The Web of Life, Anchor Books, New York, 1996.

7. Hyland, Bruce. From material by Edgar Dale Woods, Donald, R. “Cómo desarrollar las habilidades del estudiante para solucionar problemas.”
Revista del College Science Teaching. Vol.: 13 (2) 1989.

8. NHBSR. ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility http://www.nhbsr.org/uploads/iso-26000/iso-26000.pdf

9. Sánchez Sánchez, Alexander. Metodología para el planteamiento de una estrategia por medio de la cual organizaciones que requieren apoyo puedan buscarlo de empresas por medio de los modelos de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial de empresas diversas. Costa Rica, 2009.

10. Sapag Chain, Nassir and Reinaldo. Preparación y Evaluación de Proyectos. McGraw Hill, 1994.

Author: Maximiliano Brandt
Editing: Apedela