L3. Sustainability in Company (ISO 26000 & SDGs)

Question 1

Sustainability in a Corporate Context

Answer 1

For the business enterprise, sustainable development means adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.

Question 2

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Answer 2

CSR is a concept that encourages organizations to consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of its operations. It goes beyond statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations as voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for:
* Employees and their families
* Local community
* Society

Question 3

Social Responsibility Strategies

Answer 3

• Reactive Strategy: Deny or ignore responsibility
• Defensive Strategy: Put up a fight
• Accommodation Strategy: Accept social responsibility in response to pressure
• Proactive Strategy: Take the initiative; establish a positive model for the industry

Question 4

Benefits of Social Responsibility for an Organization

Answer 4

• encouraging more informed decision-making processes
• supporting an organization’s social licence to operate
• improving the competitiveness of the organization, including access to finance and preferred partner status
• improving the organization’s relationship with its stakeholders
• achieving savings associated with increased productivity and resource efficiency, lower energy and water consumption, decreased waste, and the recovery of valuable by-products

Question 5

Importance of Sustainability Reporting

Answer 5

Reporting on sustainability performance is an important way for organizations to manage their impact on sustainable development.
* Self-assessment tool
* Management system
* External monitoring mechanism
* Action plan
* Business development tool
* Communications vehicle

Question 6

Corporate Social Responsibility and Protocols

Answer 6

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines
• UN Global Compact
• ISO 26000

Question 7

UN Global Compact

Answer 7

The Global Compact describes itself as the largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative in the world. It has its origins in a speech by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, where he called on the business community to join with the UN in helping to put a human face on globalisation. It contains 10 principles on Human Rights, Labour Standards, Environment, Corruption.

Question 8

The ten Principles of the UN Global Compact

Answer 8

Human rights
1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
2. Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses

Labour relations
3. Uphold freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
4. Elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
5. Effective elimination of child labour
6. Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

Environment
7. Support for a precautionary approach to environmental challenges
8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility
9. Encourage development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies

Combatting Corruption
10. Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.

Question 9

The UN Global is not…

Answer 9

• … a legal instrument, or a code of conduct
• … a prescriptive instrument linked with external monitoring or auditing of company efforts
  → Instead, it creates a forum for learning and sharing experiences in the promotion of the ten principles

Question 10

Current issues of the Global Compact

Answer 10

• Loss of focus: Global Compact has moved away from focusing on the principles and engaging through the responsible UN agencies, to being a multi-stakeholder, open-based platform covering a range of issues (e.g. the engagement in the SDG debate)
• Stronger formalisation: Reporting requirements
• Lack of Governance: Many governance bodies, such as GC Leaders’ Summit, Local Networks, Local Networks Forum, GC Board, GC Donor Group, but no clear governance
• Efforts to establish Local GC Networks as the recognized national business voice, instead of national Employers and business federations

Question 11

Global Reporting Initiative

Answer 11

The GRI Standards enable any organization to understand and report on their impacts on the economy, environment and people in a comparable and credible way, thereby increasing transparency on their contribution to sustainable development. In addition to reporting companies, the Standards are highly relevant to many stakeholders. GRI can be used by an organization of any size, type, sector, or geographic location. It is a useful tool to set and prepare a sustainability report.

Question 12

Sustainability Reporting

Answer 12

Is an organization’s practice of reporting publicly on its economic, environmental, and/or social impacts, and hence its contributions – positive or negative – towards sustainable development. Through this process, an organization identifies its significant impacts on the economy, the environment, and/or society and discloses them in accordance with a globally-accepted standard.

Question 13

GRI Standards for sustainability reporting

Answer 13

1. Universal Standards:
   - GRI 1: Foundation
   - GRI 2: General Disclosures
   - GRI 3: Material topics
2. Sector Standards
3. Topic Standards

Question 14

GRI 1: Foundation

Answer 14

• Sets out the Reporting Principles for defining report content and quality
• Includes requirements for preparing a sustainability report in accordance with the GRI Standards, and describes how the GRI Standards can be used and referenced.
• Includes the specific claims that are required for organizations preparing a sustainability report in accordance with the Standards, and for those using selected GRI Standards to report specific information.

Question 15

GRI 2: General Disclosures

Answer 15

• Used to report contextual information about an organization and its sustainability reporting practices
• Includes information about an organization’s profile, strategy, ethics and integrity, governance, stakeholder engagement practices, and reporting process

Question 16

GRI 3: Material topics

Answer 16

• Explains the steps by which an organization can determine the topics most relevant to its impacts, its material topics, and describes how the Sector Standards are used in this process
• Contains disclosures for reporting its list of material topics; the process by which the organization has determined its material topics; and how it manages each topic

Question 17

GRI Sector Standards

Answer 17

GRI Sector Standards intend to increase the quality, completeness, and consistency of reporting by organizations. If an applicable Sector Standard is available, an organization is obliged to use it when reporting with the GRI Standards. The Standards list topics that are likely to be material for most organizations in a given sector, and indicate relevant disclosures to report on these topics. The Standards will be developed for 40 sectors, starting with those with the highest impact, such as oil and gas, agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing.

Question 18

GRI Topic Standards

Answer 18

Topic Standards contain disclosures for providing information on topics: waste, occupational health and safety, and tax. An organization selects those Topic Standards that correspond to the material topics it has determined and uses them for reporting. Each Standard incorporates an overview of the topic and disclosures specific to the topic and how an organization manages its associated impacts.

Question 19

GRI Reporting Principles

Answer 19

• Accuracy
• Balance
• Clarity
• Comparability
• Completeness
• Sustainability Context
• Timeliness
• Verifiability

Question 20

Structure of the GRI Standards for Sustainability Reporting

Answer 20

Requirements
* mandatory instructions
* presented in bold font and indicated with the word ‘shall’

Recommendations
* Cases where a particular course of action is encouraged, but not required
* The word ‘should’ indicates a recommendation

Guidance
* Include background information, explanations and examples to help organizations better understand the requirements.

Question 21

ISO 26000

Answer 21

International Standard giving guidance/recommendations about how any organization can improve its Social Responsibility. It is designed to work in all organizational and cultural contexts – in any country or region.
* not certifiable, as it does not contain requirements
* Its appeal is to those who seek to improve their operating processes and impacts through socially responsible behaviour
* Internationally negotiated through ISO’s consensus method, using a multi-stakeholder approach, and balance to reflect global diversity
* Incorporates the real-life experiences of its many contributors, and builds on international norms and agreements related to Social Responsibility

Question 22

Social Responsibility (According to ISO 26000)

Answer 22

Social responsibility refers to the responsibility of an organization for the impacts (positive or negative change to society, economy or the environment) of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that:
* contributes to sustainable development, including health and the welfare of society
* considers the expectations of stakeholders
* follows applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour
* is integrated throughout the organization and practised in its relationship

Question 23

Application of ISO 26000 in an Organization

Answer 23

• Setting the direction from the top → building SR into governance and procedures
• Determining relevance and significance → establishing priorities: matrix, mapping, gap analysis
• Assessing companies’ responsibilities in their sphere of influence (range/extent of relationships through which an organization has the ability to affect the decisions or activities of individuals or organizations)
• Performing due diligence
• Reporting and other communications with stakeholders

Question 24

Due Diligence

Answer 24

Due diligence is the process to identify the actual and potential negative social, environmental and economic impacts of an organization’s decisions and activities, with the aim of avoiding and mitigating those impacts.

Question 25

Principles of Social Responsibility (ISO 26000)

Answer 25

• Accountability
• Transparency
• Ethical Behaviour
• Respect for Stakeholder Interests
• Respect for the Rule of Law
• Respect for International Norms of Behaviour
• Respect for Human Rights

Question 26

The 7 Core Subjects of ISO 26000

Answer 26

• Organizational Governance
• Human Rights
• Labour Practices
• Environment
• Fair Operating Practices
• Consumer Issues
• Community Involvement and Development

Question 27

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Answer 27

The SDGs are a set of 17 Global Goals, which are measured by progress against 169 targets covering the three dimensions of sustainability. They are known as “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and were developed to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Itis a non-binding document released as a result of Rio+20 Conference held in 2012. A goal contains multiple targets which again consist of multiple indicators.

Question 28

Challenges in operationalizing the SDGs

Answer 28

• Implementing the SDGs in an integrated manner: requires organizations to change from working in a “silo” or sectoral approach, and to work instead across sectors
• Measuring and monitoring progress: data and indicators needed to follow-up on implementation and the types of institutional structures and mechanisms
• Communication and outreach: most people outside of the UN have never heard of the SDGs even though the Goals “represent everyday problems”

Question 29

5 Steps to Implement the SDGs

Answer 29

1. Understanding the SDGs
2. Defining priorities
3. Setting goals (Key Performance Indicators)
4. Integrating
5. Reporting & Communicating