• Professor Eric Pezet

• Paris Nanterre University

• eric.pezet@parisnanterre.fr
Introduction: Why is CSR an issue?
Session 1: Managing CSR
Session 2: Institutional standardisation of the CSR
Session 3: Stakeholders
Session 4: NGOs
Session 5: Green supply chain and Proactive environmental strategies
Session 6: CSR reporting
Introduction: Why is CSR an issue?
• CSR is the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society
and, therefore, it should be company led
• Companies can become socially responsible by
• integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer, and human
rights concerns into their business strategy and operations
• following the law

European Commission
• Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development:
Our Common Future (1987)
• Climate change
• Human rights
• CSR Governance
1 Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development: Our Common Future (1987)

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our

Common Future (1987)
Known as the Brundtland Report in recognition of former Norwegian
Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland's role as Chair of the World
Commission on Environment and Development (WCED)
Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development:
Our Common Future-Table of Content

• From One Earth to One World

• Part I. Common Concerns A Threatened Future
• 1.Symptoms and Causes
I. New Approaches to Environment and Development II. Towards Sustainable
Development
• 2.The Concept of Sustainable Development
I. Equity and the Common InterestII.Strategic ImperativesIII. ConclusionIV. The Role
of the International Economy
• 3. The International Economy, the Environment, and Development
• I.Decline in the 1980s II. Enabling Sustainable Development III. A Sustainable
World Economy
Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development:
Our Common Future-Table of Content

Part II. Common Challenges Population and Human Resources

• 4. The Links with Environment and Development
I. The Population Perspective II. A Policy Framework III.Food Security:
Sustaining the Potential
• 5. Achievements
I.Signs of Crisis II. The Challenge III. Strategies for Sustainable Food Security
IV. Food for the Future V. Species and Ecosystems: Resources for
Development
• 6. The Problem: Character and Extent
I. Extinction Patterns and Trends II. Some Causes of Extinction III. Economic
Values at Stake IV. New Approach: Anticipate and Prevent V. International
Action for National Species VI. Scope for National Action VII. The Need for
Action VIII. Energy: Choices for Environment and Development
Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development: Our Common Future-Table of Content
• 7. Energy, Economy, and Environment
I. Fossil Fuels: The Continuing Dilemma II. Nuclear Energy: Unsolved
Problems III. Wood Fuels: The Vanishing Resource IV. Renewable Energy: The
Untapped Potential V. Energy Efficiency: Maintaining the Momentum VI.
Energy Conservation Measures VII. Conclusion VIII. Industry: Producing More
With Less
• 8.Industrial Growth and its Impact
I.Sustainable Industrial Development in a Global Context II. for Sustainable
Industrial Development III. The Urban Challenge
• 9.The Growth of Cities
I. The Urban Challenge in developing Countries II. International Cooperation.
Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development: Our Common Future-Table of Content (2)
• Part III. Common Endeavours Managing The Commons
• 10.Oceans: The Balance of Life
I. Space: A Key to Planetary Management II. Antarctica: Towards Global
Cooperation III. Peace, Security, Development, and the Environment
• 11.Environmental Stress as a Source of Conflict
I. Conflict as a Cause of Unsustainable Development II. Towards
Security and Sustainable Development III. Towards Common Action:
Proposals For Institutional and Legal Change
• 12. The Challenge for Institutional and Legal Change
I. Proposals for Institutional and Legal Change II. A Call for Action
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC)
• Https://www.ipcc.ch/

• United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate

change.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
IPCC report
• Global temperatures will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions
reach net zero.
• For 1.5C (2.7F), this means achieving net zero carbon dioxide
emissions globally in the early 2050s;
• for 2C (3.6°F), it is in the early 2070s
• the right policies, infrastructure and technology…to enable changes
to our lifestyles and behaviour, can result in a 40 to 70 per cent
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
IPCC report 2022
• deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.”
• To limit global warming to around 1.5C (2.7°F), global greenhouse gas
emissions would have to peak “before 2025 at the latest, and be
reduced by 43 per cent by 2030”.
• Methane would need to be reduced by about a third,
• even if this was achieved, it was “almost inevitable that we will
temporarily exceed this temperature threshold”, although the world
“could return to below it by the end of the century”.
The concept of corporate social responsibility and the
application of sustainable development principles to the
business world.(1)

• CSR is a lever for innovation and transformation for the company. A

tool for dialogue, feedback and impact, CSR is above all a spirit, an
approach, a different way of doing business by creating shared value.
The concept of corporate social responsibility and the
application of sustainable development principles to the
business world.(2)
• A tool for dialogue first of all, CSR is part of a dynamic of information
exchange, aiming as much at reducing asymmetries between
stakeholders, creating a shared vision allowing each person to take
responsibility and act accordingly to make a more positive
contribution to the world, a process of feedback, CSR brings about
breakthrough innovations such as continuous progress nourished by
experience and discussion between the actors of the same subject,
the creation of shared value, finally.
The concept of corporate social responsibility and the
application of sustainable development principles to the
business world.(3)

• CSR is credible and only takes on its full meaning when it allows the
company to have a positive and lasting impact on the sustainable
development agenda as well as on its own strategic and operational
realities (opening a new factory, launching a new product, selecting a
new supplier, explaining figures, investor, etc.)
• and when this impact is recognised as such by the multiplicity and
diversity of its stakeholders
2 Climate change
• The example of an agri-food SME producing banana juice.
• The problems it has to face are typical: finding bananas in sufficient quality
and quantity, and at a good price, is as vital for it as being able to innovate
in recipes and secure the right distribution channels.
• Climate change, in particular, raises several questions for this SME.
• Customer expectations:
• the idea of climate change is widely accepted and awareness of the carbon
impact of products has become widespread. However, banana juice
production generates a large carbon footprint. How will acceptability
change?
• Won't the carbon footprint gradually make the product less attractive to
the consumer, who will prefer more local, more competitive products with
a lower carbon footprint?
• Distribution:
• over the last 10 years, the price of fuel has considerably increased logistics
costs. The price of fuel may well fluctuate in the short term, the trend is
heavy and rising.
• In fact, this price reflects the daily price of a raw material whose use will
cost our society more and more to use and which must imperatively adapt
to the consequences of climate change.
• How can we remain competitive and absorb the rise in costs? It will
necessarily be necessary to renew oneself: invent new recipes, move
upmarket and sell at higher prices to more sophisticated consumers,
innovate in logistics processes, identify opportunities to reduce costs and
move towards a less energy-intensive business model…
• Supplies:
• In some tropical regions it is becoming difficult to produce bananas in
quantity and quality at a competitive cost.
• Thus, either producers will have to change their production
techniques, or supplies will have to be directed towards new
production basins, which do not necessarily offer equivalent know-
how.
3 The link between business and human rights
The impact of the private sector
• Globalization has led to the emergence of multinational companies
whose turnover is equivalent to the GDP of states. For example, in
2012 the turnover of Exxon Mobil is equivalent to the GDP of Norway,
that of Toyota is equivalent to the GDP of Greece, while the turnover
of Samsung is as high as the GDP of Qatar. It is the private sector, and
not governments, that holds more than half of the world's largest
budgets.
• The impact of the private sector on human beings and their rights is
very important not only in terms of labour law, but also in terms of
other rights, as shown, for example, by the various cases of
accusations related to the violation of freedom of expression,
environmental and health problems, cases of rape and sexual assault.
The link between business and human rights 2
• Human impact
• The human rights NGO Amnesty International considers that the impact
of the private sector on human beings and very often disproportionate to
the disadvantage of individuals and populations:
• Businesses have far greater political and economic power than the
individuals and populations whose lives it conditions.
• They enjoy much stronger legal protection than the individuals they may
endanger through their activities.
• Rights holders do not have access to essential information.
• States fail to protect victims from the harmful actions of multinationals.
• Since 2011, the UN Guidelines have helped to clarify the responsibility of
companies to respect human rights.
What is the responsibility for companies?
• The United Nations Guidelines on Business and Human Rights are
based on three pillars: protect, respect, remedy.
International law and corporate responsibility

• The 3 pillars: protect, respect and remedy

• Protect: State obligation to protect against human rights abuses. This
requires policies, rules and appropriate remedies.
• Respect: the company's responsibility to respect human rights. This
includes a duty of care to proactively identify and mitigate risks.
• Remedy: Providing more effective access to redress (judicial or
otherwise) for victims of corporate abuse.
Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights

• The pillar "respect" clearly recognises the responsibility of companies

with regard to human rights by introducing principle of due diligence.
• This principle states that companies have an obligation to avoid
human rights abuses and to report on how they avoid negative
impacts. In the event of human rights abuses, companies must
compensate victims or contribute to the reparation mechanism.
• This applies to the company, its subsidiaries and its entire value
chain (customers, business partners, suppliers and subcontractors).
•
• Businesses should avoid undermining human rights and address
negative human rights impacts in which they have a stake.
• The corporate responsibility to respect human rights refers to
internationally recognized human rights, to sat least those contained
in the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles relating to
fundamental rights set out in the Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour
Organisation.
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises were updated in
2011, in particular to strengthen the human rights component and
bring it in line with the expectations of the UN Guidelines.
• The 43 adhering governments representing all regions of the world
and 85% of foreign direct investment are committed to encouraging
companies operating in their territories to respect, wherever they
operate, a set of widely recognized principles and standards aimed at
ensuring responsible behaviour.
• In practice, every company must ask itself the following questions:
• The scope of the company's responsibility goes beyond purchases and
employees and includes all business partners.
• Thus customers, investors, joint ventures and the authorities are
stakeholders to be included in a discussion on the same level as
employees (employability, skills development, social dialogue,
discrimination, etc.) or subcontractors and suppliers (working conditions
in particular).
• The issue of due diligence :
• in good faith and in a reasonable manner, every company must think
proactively about how to identify its impacts and reduce any risk of
breach. To say I didn't know without being able to demonstrate good
faith is an unacceptable response.
• The question of the impact of the measures :
• Necessary stakeholders (affected by the human rights issues at stake)
should be consulted to check whether the measures deployed are
effective in reducing the risk.
• The question of influence
• If the stakes go beyond what the company is capable of acting on,
then it must use its influence to change the thinking and practices of
other stakeholders. This can take a long time, but the company must
then make the decision that if it fails to make the other players
change, it must withdraw from the market so as not to be complicit in
violations.
Business and human rights: making sense 1

• The benefits for companies that are committed to integrating respect

for human rights into their processes include the following:
• Restoring meaning to activities in the eyes of employees, by bringing
good conduct and company values to life in concrete and operational
situations.
• Minimize the possibility of litigation, shareholder resolutions and
activist campaigns that threaten the social acceptability of the
company's activities.
• Reduce overtime, turnover and occupational health costs
Business and human rights: making sense 2
• Strengthen brand value with shareholders, investors, governments,
media
• Initiate a human rights approach.
• In order to initiate a process of respect for human rights, which will
ultimately enable better control of risks and enhancement of
opportunities, it is first necessary to have a clear understanding of the
United Nations Guidelines on Business and Human Rights, and then
the company must acknowledge its commitment by identifying the
strategy and actions to be implemented.
• sustainable development today invites the company to position itself
on a much wider range of environmental, social and societal issues.
• For companies, this field brings a new complexity that needs to be
deciphered, analysed and integrated into strategic and operational
decisions, in the same way as a whole set of more traditional market
data that feeds the daily life of departments, production managers,
marketing, commercial and financial activities…
• Acceptability, competitiveness, risk management and innovation of
multinational companies or SMEs must today seriously consider the
issue of climate change and ask themselves the right questions to
ensure at least the sustainability of their activities.
• Climate change can also offer new levers for innovation. This subject
is an integral part of the factors shaping these markets.
 Session 1: Managing CSR

• Monitoring and anticipating regulations

• Environmental and social regulations are highly complex and are prompting
companies to rethink their approach to their business, particularly in order to
respond to major trends :
• Transparency: ever better control of the traceability and environmental and
social composition of products and services and the supply chain is essential
to facilitate compliance.
• Breakthrough innovation in processes: environmental regulatory
pressure is constantly increasing, particularly on issues of energy use,
carbon, water and biodiversity. Adapting increasingly means radically
changing processes.
• Managerial innovation: in response to a working environment in
which the company sees the boundaries between private and
professional life being blurred by new technologies, while managing
emerging issues in the world of work, such as stress, mental
workload, harassment, burn-out, under cost constraints and
difficulties in recruiting the profiles sought, innovation in managerial
practices is required to find the necessary balance.
• Monitoring and anticipating the activity of competitors
• Without necessarily calling it CSR, competitors who are able to provide
guarantees at equivalent cost on environmental and social issues can gain a
decisive advantage. This should be monitored and can be quantified in
discussion with marketing and sales teams as follows:
• Which environmental and social issues are increasingly coming up in
tenders? Which recent tenders have been lost from?
• How much weight was given to environmental and social issues in its
tenders?
• What was the quality of the company's response compared to that of its
competitors?
 What was the return on investment?
• Access to capital: Banks and other investors are increasingly asking
companies and the project to be financed to provide guarantees in terms
of CSR thinking.
• Operational efficiency: different operational areas of CSR reflection will
allow a new look at processes and identify ways of optimising margins
and costs. For example, a carbon footprint makes it possible to question
purchasing procedures, the use of processes that consume a lot of
energy and thus reduce costs.
• Employee loyalty and productivity: employees are looking for meaning in
their professional life –
• this may involve the ability to find a good balance between professional
and private life - this may also involve questioning the social utility of the
company, i.e. questioning the contribution of a company to society, beyond
its ability to create jobs –
• this may also involve questioning the company's social utility, i.e.
questioning the company's contribution to society, beyond its ability to
create jobs –
• this may also involve questioning the company's social utility, i.e.
questioning the company's contribution to society, beyond its ability to
create jobs.
• Risk management: CSR allows to enrich the company's risk thinking
and to better anticipate risks. It is then possible to approach
traditional tools in terms of risk qualification and quantification to
give a dimension of avoided costs to the CSR investments under
consideration.
• Innovation and penetration of new markets: CSR is a fortiori in the
extension of the social business movement and is a lever of
innovation allowing to feed strategic and marketing reflections able to
identify and penetrate new markets.
•.
• Reputation: finally, a response to all the other axes, a company
capable of showing maturity in its understanding of its CSR issues,
performance and transparency in the way these CSR issues are dealt
with and integrated in the long term, whose impact is recognised by
the stakeholders, can benefit from a reputation in the long term.
However, it takes years to build a reputation and minutes to destroy
it. CSR is a long-term process, driven above all by concerns other than
reputation
Standards
• Yet the company can provide guidance in finding its way and defining
its approach. If, for example, Directive 2014/95/EU or the
implementing decree of Article 225 of the Grenelle 2 law impose
social and environmental reporting on many companies, it is still up
to them to make it a tool for decision-making and economic steering.
• While many standards, such as ISO 26 000, define a consensual
framework within which a coherent approach is articulated and
provide useful support to companies, here again, the company
remains alone in embodying its approach and writing its roadmap.
The Sustainable Development Department

• The sustainable development department has the mandate to bring

CSR into the company, and to ensure a balance between economic,
environmental and social performance, with a focus on the following
points:
• (a) the company's CSR policy,
• (b) the company's environmental performance,
• (c) the company's social performance,
Director of Sustainable Development
Chief Sustainability Officer
• from the 2000s, the function begins to appear in major groups.
• He/she initiates, steers, supervises, controls, develops represents the
sustainable development strategy of his company or organization.
He/she strives to advance the environmental, ethical, social and
governance aspects at all levels of the structure".
Chief Sustainability Officer
• This position may have other names, but the important thing is that
the person occupying this position is responsible for integrating
sustainability and CSR into the heart of a company's strategy,
activities and processes.
• She sometimes reports directly to the CEO and sits on the executive
committee of his or her company to disseminate the sustainable
development strategy to other departments: marketing and sales,
finance and HR, IT, etc. by capillary action.
The CSR governance structure
• CSR governance structure is an important issue, since sustainable
development is supposed to permeate the entire strategy, activities,
products and services of companies.
• This depends on the initial culture of the company and its maturity
with regard to the implementation of sustainable development
principles in its activities.
• CSR governance is organized around 3 major bodies: the CSR steering
committee, the department where the sustainable development
team is based and the network of correspondents.
A CSR steering committee
• The CSR Steering Committee is a management body that generally
brings together the leaders of the various key functions of the
company, who are brought around the table to advance sustainable
development in all of the company's activities.
• The CSR steering committee must report to the executive committee,
even if the ideal is of course that CSR issues relating to the company's
overall strategy are debated and dealt with directly by the executive
committee itself.
The department: the sustainable development team
• In general, the team that makes up the sustainable development
department is relatively small but is essential to the steering and execution
of the company's CSR strategy. Its role is:
• to establish a strategic watch and define the CSR strategy to implement
and develop CSR policies
• to deploy CSR programs in the company, at group, business unit and site
level to set up and manage CSR reporting for performance monitoring
• to communicate internally (animating a network of correspondents) and
externally (engaging in dialogue with stakeholders) correspondent network
Network of CSR correspondents
• The network allows to establish a relay between the head office and the
local field and to act in support of the deployment of the strategic CSR
orientations at all operational levels of the company.
• The role of correspondents is:
• to contribute to the local collection of reporting information
• to disseminate information from headquarters
• to animate the CSR approach by adapting it to local contexts
• to share good practices
• to contribute to regulatory and sectoral monitoring developing external
relations, including managing interactions with stakeholders
Conclusion
• Mastering the fundamentals: using concepts, standards and reference
systems
• Aiming for relevance: defining and integrating a CSR approach by
asking the most relevant questions in order to identify priorities and
draw on feedback.
• Measuring impact: measuring and reporting in order to steer,
dialogue and improve the impact of actions.
• Hoang, T. C., Abeysekera, I., & Ma, S. (2016). Board diversity and corporate social disclosure: Evidence from
Vietnam. Journal of Business Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10551-016-3260-1.
Session 1: Managing CSR
Session 2: Institutional standardisation of the CSR
Session 3: Stakeholders
Session 4: NGOs
Session 5: Green supply chain and Proactive environmental strategies
Session 6: CSR reporting