CSR Glossary
Accountability 1000 (AA 1000)
Provides a systematic, inclusive and credible approach to improving social and ethical accountability and overall performance. The AA 1000 framework was developed by UK based Accountability to address the need for the organizations to integrate their stakeholder engagement processes into daily activities. The framework provides guidance to users on how to establish a systematic stakeholder engagement process that generates the indicators, targets, and reporting systems needed to ensure its effectiveness in impacting on decisions, activities and overall organizational performance.
UN Global Compact
The Global Compact is a purely voluntary initiative with two objectives :
Mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world
Catalyse actions in support of UN goals.
To achieve these objectives, the Global Compact offers facilitation and engagement through several mechanisms: Policy Dialogues, Learning, Country/Regional Networks, and Projects.
The Global Compact is not a regulatory instrument- it does not "police", enforce or measure the behavior or actions of companies. Rather, the Global Compact relies on public accountability, transparency and the enlightened self-interest of companies, labour and civil society to initiate and share substantive action in pursuing the principles upon which the Global Compact is based.
The Global Compact is a network. At its core are the Global Compact Office and six UN agencies :
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- United Nations Environment Programme
- International Labour Organization
- United Nations Development Programme
- United Nations industrial Development Organization
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The Global Compact involves all the relevant social actors: governments, who defined the principles on which the initiative is based; companies, whose actions it seeks to influence; labour, in whose hands the concrete process of global production takes place; civil society organizations, representing the wider community of stakeholders; and The United Nations, the world's only truly global political forum, as an authoritative convener and facilitator.
Business Case
This is the outcome of cost benefit alliances weighing up commercial grains against losses incurred by a sources of action undertaken by a Company
It is commonly adopted to refer the positive business rationale for working in public interest and includes direct and indirect impacts over the long run.
Benchmarking
Comparison of environmental and social management processes, performance and reporting.
Benchmarking can be used to provide detailed comparisons of operating /divisions within a company or companies within a particular sector.
Benchmarking can also enable comparison of global trends between highly diverse organizations and sectors.
Code of Conduct
A formal statement of the values and business practices of a company and sometimes its suppliers.
It is a statement of minimum standards together with a pledge by the company to observe them and to require its contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and licensees to observe them.
Corporate Citizenship
The management of the totality of relationships between a company and its host communities, locally, nationally and globally.
Corporate Citizenship is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a socially responsible manner.
The aim of Corporate Citizenship is to create higher and higher standards of living, while preserving the profitability of the corporation, for its stakeholders both within and outside the corporation.
Corporate Governance
It is a system by which business corporations are directed and controlled.
The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation, such as board managers, shareholders and other stakeholders and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs.
It also provides the structure through which the company objectives are set and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance.
Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000)
The international standard for social accountability is an initiative by Social Accountability International (SAI) a body created out of the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency (CEPAA) in the US.
The objective of SA 8000 is to ensure ethical sourcing of goods and services. SA8000 is a voluntary standard and can be applied to any size of organization or business across all industries. The standard can replace or augment company or industry specific social accountability codes.
SA8000 sets basic standards for: child labour, forced labour, health and safety, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, compensation.
Social Auditing
The systematic evaluation of an organization's social impact in relation to stands and expectations.
A method to evaluate thenon-financial performance of an organization. Although a voluntary process at present, there is some evidence that it may become a statutory requirement of business in the future.
Social Reporting
Non-financial data covering staff issues, community economic developments, stakeholder involvement and can include volunteerism and environmental performance.
Multinational companies have increasingly started to report on their social impacts in addition to their financial bottom line performance.
With specific indicators more and more on the rise, companies are reporting on the following nine issues: mission, vision and values, workplace climate, social dialogue, human rights, community involvement, local economic development, environment and marketplace.
Social Responsible investing (SRI)
Integrating personal values and social concerns with investment decisions is called socially responsible investing.
SRI considers both the investors financial needs and investments impact on society. With SRI, investors can put money to work to build a better tomorrow while earning competitive returns today. Three key SRI strategies have evolved over the years: screening shareholders, advocacy, community investment and social venture capital.
Sustainable Development /Sustainability
Development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. Sustainable Development is an approach that aims to balance the social, economic and environmental impacts of all our actions, now and in the future.
Triple Bottom Line
The idea that overall performance of a Company should be measured based on its combined contribution to economic prosperity, environmental quality and social capital.
The Triple Bottom Line ( TBL ) focuses corporations not just on the economic value they add, but also, the environmental and social value they add and destroy.
At its narrowest, the term 'Triple Bottom Line' is used as a framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental parameters.
At its broadest, the term is used to capture the whole set of values, issues and processes that companies must address in order to minimize any harm resulting from their activities and to create economic, social and environmental values. This involves being clear the company's purpose and taking into consideration, the needs of all company's stakeholders - shareholders, customers, employees, business partners, governments, local communities and the Public.
Short expression of the Triple Bottom Line referring to the three Ps of people, planet, profit.
Sustainable Development involves the simultaneous persuit of social equality, environment, quality and economical prosperity - People, Planet, Profit.
