Business in society Making a positive and responsible contribution A ...

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Nine practical steps to responsible business conductIf a company is considering whether to develop its own business principles or to supportexternal codes of conduct, the following steps are suggested.Confirm CEO/board commitment to give priority to responsiblebusiness conductA basic requirement is the commitment of senior management to treat responsible businessconduct as a corporate priority. Rather than reacting to outside pressures, a company’s voluntaryadoption of its own business principles should be motivated by the desire to express the valuesthat guide its approach to doing business.State company purpose and agree on company valuesResponsible business conduct is built upon the values and goals of the company itself, as wellas on legal requirements and stakeholder expectations. Business principles commonly include astatement of mission, values and operating principles. All companies should consider articulatingtheir core values as an underpinning for their own principles.Identify key stakeholdersBusiness principles set out what companies see as their responsibilities to employees,shareholders, customers, business partners and other groups in society. Finding out fromstakeholders what issues are important to them is therefore essential. Stakeholders — defined asthose constituencies that have a direct stake in a company — typically can include shareholdersand investors, company employees, trade unions, client companies and consumers, and localcommunities directly affected by a company’s operations. A company may also wish to broadenits consultations to include other participants in the production chain, as well as governmentauthorities, the media and non-governmental organizations. Companies should be mindful of the
differences that may exist within stakeholder groups, such as local communities, who arebecoming increasingly emphatic about their concerns and with whom it may be useful toestablish a dialogue.Define business principles and policiesEach company needs to think through its principles for itself (rather than just take an existingcode off the shelf). Some companies choose to do this through open dialogue and collaborationwith selected stakeholders. Some companies’ business principles are high-level statements ofprinciple; some contain more detailed statements of policy, while others prepare separatematerials on policies, management systems, implementation and monitoring procedures. Theunderlying reasons why business principles make good economic sense should be borne inmind in defining the principles. Companies should consider legislation, social expectations,reputation indicators, risk management, bottom-line benefits, corporate and product image andstrategic advantage.Establish implementation procedures and management systemsCompanies must raise awareness among their own personnel and other stakeholders if businessprinciples are to be effective and command wide support. Processes or formal managementsystems for developing, adopting and implementing individual principles should thereforeinclude internal consultation and communication. Companies offer many examples ofmanagement systems covering areas ranging from health, safety and the environment to businessintegrity, human resources and sustainable development. There are also international standardsfor these systems, such as those of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Insome sectors, management processes and guidelines also apply both to joint ventures and tocontractors and suppliers. The range of issues covered varies between sectors but continues todevelop to include, for example, diversity of the work force, climate change, biodiversity, wastemanagement and recycling. In order to implement its business principles effectively, a companyshould define objectives and targets and a structured programme to achieve them.
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Page 4 and 5: What is corporate responsibility?Th
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Page 8 and 9: Although ICC does not formally endo
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Page 16 and 17: ConclusionThis document sets out wh
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Business in society Making a positive and responsible contribution A ...

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