White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility Launched
North Kildare Chamber has today (20/12/11) reported that 92% of businesses feel that having a Corporate Social Responsibility agenda will help to improve Ireland’s global reputation.
The findings of a survey conducted amongst CSR stakeholders were unveiled at the launch of Chambers Ireland’s White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility in Chambers Ireland Head Office.
Allan Shine, CEO of North Kildare Chamber said, “CSR embraces responsibility for a company’s actions and encourages a positive impact of its activities on the environment and its stakeholders beyond financial or legal requirements. It is about doing business in a fair manner and highlights the role business plays in contributing to a better society for all.”
Shine continued, “Despite the current economic climate, CSR in Ireland continues to grow. It has become a mainstream activity as more and more companies realise that by implementing responsible and sustainable business practices will set them apart from their competitors. It can help the future growth of a business with 83% of survey respondents believing that a CSR agenda is important to attract potential customers and employees.”
Other key findings include:
According to the 2002 Edelman Strategy One Survey of Opinion Leaders 75% of respondents reported they would give a company engaged in CSR the ‘benefit of the doubt’ if the company was subjected to negative publicity;
Forbes Magazine’s CSR Pays for Itself: Here’s The Evidence found that shareholders reward companies for environmentally responsible activities;
IBM’s Global CEO Survey 2008 found that customer expectations around CSR are increasing with demand for socially-minded products and services growing; and
Business in the Community Ireland’s 2011 CEO Survey found that 61% of CEO’s believe that responsible business strategies give them a competitive advantage and 71% believe that Ireland should aim to become a global centre of excellence for responsible business practice.
Together with a review of the issues currently facing CSR in Ireland the White Paper provides examples of some of the activities being undertaken by businesses in Ireland including: An Post; ESB; IBM; KPMG; McDonald’s; and Vodafone.