University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

against specific requirements. The most commonly used are the following: ISO 9001
(international standard for quality management, published in its first edition in 1987
by the International Organization for Standardization); EMAS (Eco-Management
and Audit System promoted by the European Commission in 1993); ISO 14001
(international environmental management system published in 1996 by the
International Organization for Standardization); SA8000 (international standard
listing the requirements for ethical conduct of companies with respect to working
conditions across the supply chain, developed in 1997 by the American institute
Social Accountability International); OHSAS 18001 (international Occupational
Health and Safety management system specification published in 1999 by the British
Standards Institution); AA1000 (developed by the Institute of Social and Ethical
Accountability in 1999 with the aim of promoting quality in the accounting, auditing,
and ethical and social reporting processes). ISO is currently working on developing
an International Standard for social responsibility that will be published in 2010 as
ISO 26000.
A fundamental step in implementing a CSR management system, which triggers a
process of learning and continuous improvement, is to define a set of Key
Performance Indicators and a performance measurement system for assessing how
the company is doing along the triple bottom line of economic, social and
environmental performance (O’Brien, 2001; Waddock and Bodwell, 2007). The
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has developed a shared framework for voluntary
reporting of economic, social and environmental performance (the Sustainability
Reporting Guidelines, whose latest edition, G3, was released in 2006), which is
currently the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework.
Data from the responsibility measurement system should be disclosed in
sustainability reports, to guarantee transparency and accountability on the part of the
firm (Waddock and Bodwell, 2007). These reports should be audited by professional,
independent auditors, to ensure fairness (Dunfee, 2003; Lantos, 2001). The AA1000
standard mentioned previously is designed to improve the quality of the accounting,
auditing and ethical and social reporting process, and requires the information in the
sustainability report to be certified by an external entity. This is a necessary
condition for inclusion in ethical indexes, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index,
or the Footsie4Good Index.
Empirical Analysis
Evaluation Variables
Starting from a review of the existing literature, some relevant variables that can be
used to measure how well CSR is integrated into a company's strategy, and whether
the CSR management process is formalized through use of standard systems and
tools, have been identified. These variables constitute the main areas investigated by
the research, and explored more in depth through the case studies. For evaluating the
integration of CSR into a company's strategy, five main variables were identified
which should be considered to characterize the company's approach: vision/mission,
objectives, centrality with respect to the core business, stakeholder involvement, and
strategic partnerships.
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