Work Style - Great Place to Work Institute

The potential of corporate
social responsibility
As employers, taxpayers and providers
of goods and services, companies
a key role in addressing the
economic, social and environmental
challenges that our societies face.
The idea that companies can contribute
to societal wellbeing (even
beyond their legal obligations) is
not new, but in recent years more
and more companies have started
to explore the potential of corporate
social responsibility (CSR) as a
driver of both business success and
societal progress. Moreover, in the
current economic context, rebuilding
trust in business and shaping a
more sustainable global economy
is an urgent challenge for companies
in all sectors.
A way of doing business
Over the years, the concept of CSR
has come a long way: it is no longer
seen as an add-on to the core business,
but a way of doing business.
In short, corporate responsibility is
about placing social and environmental
considerations at the very
heart of the company’s strategy
and operations. While CSR is still
often seen primarily as an element
of reputation and risk management,
forward-looking companies
are today increasingly leveraging
sustainability as a source of innovation
and new business opportunities.
Great Place to Work Italy
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list of 350 candidates, we wrote
to all of them for information
about themselves and their employee
policies. We received a
wide range of responses.
Sifting through this material and
listening to what people told us,
we narrowed our candidate roster
to 135 companies. But we
quickly realized that the material
was thin and rather lifeless, and
that the only way to get in-depth
information and lend substance
to hearsay was to look for our-
A Collective Effort
CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility
By Laura Maanavilja*
A real example
What does this mean in practice?
To take an example, in Europe,
demographic change is a pressing
issue for both the public and the
private sector. Over the next decades,
many European regions will
face major challenges associated
with an ageing and stagnating or in
some cases declining population.
Compared to other continents, Europe
already has the oldest population:
19 of the world’s 20 “oldest”
countries are in Europe. In terms
of CSR, companies have to take
into account the characteristics of
an ageing workforce, for example
in areas such as enabling lifelong
learning and promoting health and
wellbeing in the workplace. On the
other hand, demographic change
can also trigger business innovation
in products and services that
help address changing consumer
needs and expectations.
Governance and CSR
However, in today’s complex world,
business action on its own has only
limited impact. Bringing about real
societal change requires active cooperation
between companies and
other players. Indeed, various stakeholder
groups – such as public authorities,
civil society organisations
or investor coalitions – are playing
an increasingly visible role in the
CSR debate. For example, European
governments both at the national
and the EU level are increasingly
looking at CSR as an innovative
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means to contribute to achieving
policy goals in a broad range of areas.
Recently, the European Commission
stressed the importance of
CSR in building smart, green and inclusive
growth in Europe as part of
its new EU 2020 strategy. To build
inclusive workplaces and fair markets,
we all have a role to play. As
employees, consumers and citizens,
it is our responsibility to define the
values we want our society to live
by and work together towards a
more sustainable future. •
a What next?
• From add-on to built-in CSR: Integrating
social and environmental considerations
into strategy and operations
instead of developing CSR initiatives unrelated
to the core business
• From reactive to proactive stakeholder
engagement: Involving stakeholders
throughout the process instead of reactively
responding to stakeholder concerns
• From value protection to value
creation: Exploring CSR as a driver of innovation
and competitive advantage instead
of focusing only on risk and reputation
management z
* Laura Maanavilja, Communications
Manager, CSR Europe. CSR Europe is the leading
European business network for corporate
social responsibility.
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twsm — GPTW Special Issue 2010