Understanding CSR: definition and implementation
CSR and sustainability
What is the definition of CSR?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the integration of social and environmental concerns into a company’s various business activities.
Every company that practices CSR has a positive impact on society while contributing to sustainable development and environmental stewardship. This ethical and transparent approach is reflected in organizations’ decisions, their business activities, and their relationships with stakeholders…
As a true source of added value and a driver of economic success, an increasing number of companies are incorporating CSR into their strategic planning.
ISO 26000 defines CSR as: “an organization’s responsibility for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, expressed through ethical and transparent behavior that—contributes to sustainable development, including the health and well-being of society;—takes into account the expectations of stakeholders; complies with applicable laws and is consistent with international standards of conduct; and is integrated throughout the organization and implemented in its relationships.”*
How can a company implement CSR?
To implement a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, it is essential to take a step-by-step approach:
Conduct an audit and assessment of the company’s current situation to identify its various needs, challenges, opportunities, and existing measures… It’s also a good idea to benchmark your competitors’ CSR initiatives.
Identify and map out the company’s various stakeholders. You can then involve them in your corporate social responsibility strategy. At this stage, it is helpful to appoint a CSR Director to oversee the strategy.
Set clear and specific CSR objectives that are relevant to each stakeholder.
These first three steps help you lay the groundwork for developing your CSR strategy. You should then rely on a common framework, such as the ISO 26000 standard, which outlines commitments and the implementation of a concrete action plan. Once the CSR initiative is underway, you will then be able to:
- Train employees to foster a culture of engagement.
- Make public commitments and ensure the sustainability of the CSR initiative by prioritizing actions that deliver a return on investment. For example, reducing paper printing, switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, expanding remote work to limit employee travel and CO2 emissions, improving waste sorting, strengthening local ties, promoting diversity and accessibility, refining the company’s purpose, and implementing responsible procurement practices, …
- Develop a non-financial reporting system to measure, track, and communicate your results transparently. For companies with fewer than 500 employees and less than €100 million in revenue, this reporting is not mandatory. However, we recommend that you create one to highlight the efforts of each stakeholder and track the effectiveness of your CSR initiatives!
You can also check out our guide on developing a CSR strategy
Is the Pacte Act a corporate social responsibility law?
The Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation… Have you heard of it?
The PACTE Act is a finance bill passed in 2019. It targets small and medium-sized businesses and the self-employed. The goal is simple: to enable these businesses to innovate, transform themselves, and create jobs… in order to put these small businesses and SMEs back at the heart of France’s economy.
Among the dozens of measures that were passed, we find:
- Streamlined and simplified procedures to promote business growth
- More attractive employee savings plans for small and medium-sized businesses (exemption from the social security contribution, new calculation of the workforce threshold for profit-sharing, etc.)
- A strengthening of corporate social responsibility (CSR), with the definition of a business now including consideration of social and environmental issues. Companies are encouraged to reflect on their “purpose” and to incorporate it into their articles of incorporation. This corporate purpose and its contribution to society enable a company to obtain “mission-driven company” status, provided that the measures regarding social interest and the consideration of social and environmental issues defined in the PACTE Act are complied with.
The PACTE Act is therefore not primarily a CSR law. However, it incorporates a CSR approach that emphasizes social and environmental considerations. While this law is not mandatory and is based on voluntary participation, it does help raise awareness of CSR initiatives to contribute to the common good.
What is non-financial reporting?
Do you remember the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report? It has now been replaced by a non-financial performance statement, known as non-financial reporting.
Non-financial reporting is a strategic management tool. It outlines the company’s CSR initiatives and the results achieved.
It also serves as a communication tool: it provides transparency and visibility to all stakeholders regarding how the company addresses the social and environmental impacts of its operations.
For many years, reporting focused exclusively on financial matters. Today, non-financial impacts—including social, societal, and environmental factors—are growing significantly. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN are proof of this: many companies are developing non-financial reporting that contributes to one or more of the 17 SDGs.
When preparing non-financial reports, companies are expected to provide a list of relevant information across three areas: social, environmental, and societal. To elaborate on the content of their non-financial reports, companies can refer to national standards such as ISO 26000.
Non-financial reporting is mandatory for large companies listed and unlisted companies (SA, SARL, limited partnerships with share capital). However, any company, regardless of its size, legal status, or industry, can voluntarily implement non-financial reporting.
What is the 2030 Agenda?
The 2030 Agenda is an action plan based on five pillars: the planet, people, peace, prosperity, and partnerships.
Adopted in September 2015 by the 193 UN member states, the 2030 Agenda is a comprehensive sustainable development plan designed to transform the world by 2030.
The 2030 Agenda sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to bring the program’s vision and mission to life. This 29-page document is based on three pillars: economic, social, and environmental. Key priorities include strengthening global peace, ending poverty, and protecting the planet.
The 2030 Agenda is universal and applies to all countries. In France, the SDGs are shared by all stakeholders and citizens of the signatory countries. Achieving the goals will only be possible by first identifying key areas for progress within France. To achieve this, a roadmap has been defined: it details the challenges, France’s implementation of sustainable development, and concrete levers for action that ensure the long-term commitment of French stakeholders.
What are the 17 SDGs?
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were defined and adopted by the UN in September 2015. Outlined in the 2030 Agenda, these goals are broken down into 169 targets to be achieved by 2030.
They provide a roadmap for ensuring a better and more sustainable future. These goals address environmental, social, and economic dimensions. They are interconnected, and each must be achieved, leaving no one behind.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are:
- Eradicate poverty
- Combating hunger by ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture
- Enable healthy lives and promote well-being for all
- Ensuring access to quality education
- Achieving gender equality
- Ensuring access to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Make clean energy accessible at an affordable cost
- Ensuring access to decent jobs and sustainable economic growth
- Building resilient infrastructure and promoting innovation and sustainable industrialization
- Reducing inequality within and between countries
- Ensuring sustainable cities and communities
- Promote responsible and sustainable consumption and production
- Combating climate change
- Protect and sustainably conserve aquatic life
- Conserve and restore terrestrial life in a sustainable manner
- Ensuring peace, justice, and effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions
- Form partnerships to achieve our goals
For example, a company can…
- Contribute to SDG 5: “Gender Equality” by promoting a policy of equal opportunity for men and women , for example, regarding access to leadership positions.
- Contribute to SDG 3, “Good Health and Well-being,” by implementing remote work to limit the risk of spreading a virus such as COVID-19 and enable employees to work remotely while protecting their health.
- Contribute to SDG 12, “Responsible Consumption and Production,” by reducing waste and recycling as much as possible.
- Contribute to SDG 16: “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions” by fighting corruption in all its forms, for example by following the best practices outlined in the ISO 37001 standard.
To better understand the challenges posed by the SDGs in relation to a company’s operations and CSR approach, AFNOR Certification has established guidelines under the Engagé RSE label. This Engagé RSE label helps organizations adopt best practices that contribute to the SDGs.
How do ISO 26000 and the SDGs relate to one another?
ISO 26000 is the only international standard that sets out general guidelines for CSR . Under ISO 26000, each organization structures its CSR approach around seven key issues.
These seven key questions were developed with the input of 450 experts from 99 countries and 42 international organizations, in accordance with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the conventions of the International Labour Organization.
With its universal nature, its vision of corporate social responsibility, and the framework it provides for adopting CSR practices… ISO 26000 aligns very closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It even includes more than 450 recommendations for becoming a socially responsible company!
A company can contribute to the SDGs through its CSR strategy and the initiatives it implements. If these initiatives align with the recommendations of ISO 26000, the company is necessarily contributing to one or more SDGs.
Aligning your CSR approach with the ISO 26000 standard means being “SDG-compatible”! See for yourself by downloading our white paper “CSR Commitment Label: How Does a CSR Approach Contribute to the SDGs?” "
How does the Engagé RSE label help measure a company’s contribution to the SDGs?
The Engagé RSE label developed by AFNOR Certification covers the key principles and central issues of ISO 26000. This label builds on the organization’s vision and the maturity of its CSR strategy to implement best practices and identify areas for improvement.
The model aims to understand how the CSR approach is implemented, how it is applied in human resources and business processes (production and consumption), and finally, how it ensures a strong local presence.
The "Committed to CSR" model consists of evaluation criteria which enable a cross-cutting approach to CSR: any company can request an assessment to measure its contribution to the 17 SDGs.
Based on the ISO 26000 standard, this certification is centered on the Sustainable Development Goals: it therefore helps achieve them!
