NGO Guide to Tools for CSR

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CSR Tools Reports Press Release

ifPeople announces a series of reports with clear and practical information about the tools for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). These freely available online resources offer information about tools and their use. The objective of this report is to give civil society organizations and business access to and an understanding of the tools that foster CSR.

AA1000

Accountability 1000 (AA1000) is an accountability standard, focused on improving the quality of social and ethical accounting, auditing, and reporting. AA1000 is a process standard, not a substantive performance standard. It specifies processes that an organization should follow to account for its performance, but not the levels of performance the organization should achieve in social, environmental and economic indicators. To be accountable means to explain or justify the acts and omissions for which one is responsible to those with a legitimate interest. Accountability includes transparency with stakeholders of the organization, responsiveness (responsibility for the organization's acts and omissions and developing the processes and goals to continually improve performance), and compliance (adhere to legal requirements regarding the organization's policy and reporting).

UN Global Compact

Global Compact is a voluntary standard of nine principles in the areas of human rights, labour, and the environment. The principles are drawn from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Rio Principles on Sustainable Development, and the recommendations of the International Labour Organization.

Codes of Conduct

A code of conduct is intended to be a central guide and reference for employees in support of day-to-day decision making. It is meant to clarify an organization's mission, values, and principles, and to link them with standards of professional conduct. Codes of conduct typically set guidelines on issues including child labor, forced labor, wages, benefits, working hours, disciplinary practices, freedom of association, and health and safety.

Forest Stewardship Council

The Forest Stewardship Council encourages consumers to reward exemplary management of industrial, private, governmental and community-owned forests. It is an international initiative that can be applied in diverse ownership, ecosystem or political conditions. The FSC criteria are comprehensive and address an array of environmental and social aspects of sustainable forestry.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade is a growing, international movement which seeks to ensure that producers in developing countries get fair treatment within trade relations. Fair Trade seeks to challenge conventional wisdom about trading relations by establishing a partnership between the producer and buyer based on long-term commitment, stable prices and greater producer involvement in marketing. The Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) is the worldwide Fair Trade standards setting and certification organization.

Global Reporting Initiative

The Global Reporting Initiative is an multi-stakeholder, international initiative established to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. These Guidelines are for voluntary use by organizations for reporting the impact of their activities, products, and services. The GRI seeks to elevate the quality of sustainability reporting and to achieve greater comparability, consistency, and usefulness of the reports. The 2002 GRI Guidelines consist of 54 core indicators and are organized into environmental, financial, and social dimensions. To produce a GRI-compliant report a business must report on all core indicators or provide a reason why they did not do so. The indicators are extensive and cover such issues as economic impact, natural resource consumption, impact on biodiversity and wetland, training and education, and child labour.

Conventions of the International Labor Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations (UN) agency that promotes social justice and internationally recognized and respected human and labour rights. Within the UN system, the ILO has a unique tripartite structure with workers and employers participating as equal partners with governments. One of the primary roles of the ILO is to formulate international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations. These minimum standards of basic labour rights cover: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across a wide spectrum of work-related issues.

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies

(OECD) Guidelines are voluntary, non-binding recommendations made by government to companies. The Guidelines are standards for multinational companies that were multilaterally agreed upon. They cover a range of issues including human rights, labour, environment, taxation and bribery. The Guidelines are applicable to all multinational enterprises and all their entities, regardless of where they do business, including in countries that do not adhere to the Guidelines. The Guidelines do not empower citizens because they do not endow them with any rights. However, any interested party can file a complaint against a company that does not adhere to the guidelines. Complaints are filed with National Contact Points located in OECD and signatory countries.

International Right to Know Initiative

The International Right to Know legislation proposed by a diverse coalition of organizations is an effort to create a uniform standard for transparency and community right to know for US companies operating abroad. When major corporations operate in the United States, they are required by law to disclose basic information about the impacts of their business. Companies must provide details about their pollution discharges, the kinds of chemicals they use, and the number and cause of workplace injuries. IRTK is advanced by a coalition of 200 organizations that push to require public disclosure of security arrangements, human rights practices, labor standards, environmental policies and toxic releases, and locations of operations.

Socially Responsible Investing

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is a broad term that refers to many investment practices that consider not only the financial aspects of an investment by also social and environmental issues. SRI helps investing be used as a tool for improving business practice and community development. Although not an appropriate tool for all situations, SRI can be an effective means of promoting CSR when there is money to invest, a methodological approach, and an understanding of traditional investment good practice. SRI is a growing field, but is relatively nascent in Latin America. Businesses and civil society in Latin America will find that there are limited resources (qualified professionals, indices, case history, and documentation) to assist them with socially responsible investing.

Social Accountability 8000

Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) is an international standard for social accountability initiated by Council on Economic Priority Accreditation Agency (CEPAA) in order to ensure the standards for the technical production of goods and services. It is a voluntary standard and can be applied to any organization or a business in any industry. SA 8000 sets basic standards for: child labour, forced labour, health and safety, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, discrimination, disciplinary practices, working hours, and compensations. The requirements of the standard are based on the recommendations of International Labour Organization, the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Convention of the Rights of the Child of the UN, and other conventions. In addition to performance standards, an organization must introduce a Social Management System (SMS) to assure compliance and continuous improvement in social performance in the mentioned practices. SA 8000's SMS is based on the ISO 9000/14000 management system. Aspects of the management system include a social policy, a planning process, and a designated senior manager to assure SA8000 standards are met.

Tripartite Declaration of the ILO

The Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and Social Policy is the first successfully elaborated and universally applicable instrument on the subject of MNEs. It was adopted by the Governing Body of the ILO in November 1977. The Tripartite Declaration seeks to encourage the positive contribution and minimize or resolve difficulties that multinational enterprises make to economic and social progress. The Declaration is reinforced by a number of ILO Conventions and Recommendations which define rights and obligations in more specific terms.