COPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CORPORATE SOCIAL DISCLOSURE CSR Corporate

COPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CORPORATE SOCIAL DISCLOSURE

CSR • Corporate Social Responsibility is the reporting and acting with a consideration of societal impacts and environmental impacts of the business activities. • Stakeholders, Lenders, owners and shareholders, suppliers, customers, employees, governments, the general public

CSR • • Assessment of business ethics Regulation of behaviour Code of ethics and behaviour for accountants. Assess each situation, possible effects on stakeholders, possible actions, reassess options, decisions

CSD • Corporate Social Responsibility is about how a business goes about it’s business operations while they have an acceptable impact on the community. • Corporate Social Disclosure is the reporting on the Corporate Social Responsibility in response to a changed role of the accountant as stewards of “sustainability” as well as financial growth.

CSD • Reports on the Triple bottom line- Economic, environmental and social. • Economic- Traditional financial reports. • Social- Diversity of employees, health and safety, treatment of minorities, community activities, training, support for developing countries and source of materials. • Environmental- Deals with the air, water, land, natural resources, how the firm is affecting these aspects of the natural environment and how we are working towards being sustainable.

CSD Current requirements • CSD reports on the companies efforts towards addressing CSR. This is in response to an increase in public scrutiny and concern over the whole actions of a business. • Mining companies and those involved in the extraction of natural resources have reporting requirements and this is spreading to all firms.

CSD • Corporate Social Disclosure refers to the publication of economic, environmental and social information in an integrated report. It is about how a company reports on it’s performance in its relationship between itself and the community and environment.

CSD in Australia • Globally CSD Is on the increase. In 1995 an urgent Issues committee of the AASB indicated that extractive companies must report on rehabilitation. • The Corporations Act also states that companies must provide a true and fair view of the performance- this is being taken to include environmental performance as well.

CSD in Australia • 94% of top 100 companies report. Can take the form of annual report inclusion, website, reports, newsletters or press releases. • The Inventory approach-How it has acted in the last year. • Target based approach- how far it ahs progressed towards a target – reduction in emissions. • Achievement against social indicators- to national health safety records • Cost approach- how much each initiative costs. • Cost benefit approach- how much each activity or initiative costs and the benefits received.

The Global Reporting Initiative 2002 • • • The U. N. set up a council in 2002 to indicate what should be included in CSD. To enhance the quality, utility and rigor of reporting. It set 10 principles of reporting: Transparency Inclusiveness Auditability Completeness Relevance Sustainability context Accuracy Neutrality Comparability Clarity Timeliness • • The GRI is the most widely cited benchmark in what should be included in a CSR report. The St James Ethics Center , the Prince Charles Foundation are all initiating guidelines. •

Reasons for CSD Pre - emptive strike Nullify lobby groups forestall government action Financial benefit, customers, employees, marketing. • Banks finance higher fees for those not acting ethically, government reviews to see who gets licenses • •