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Book review
Business Social
Responsibility:
CSR for SMEs
Author: Sana Khan,
Barrister-at Law
NuBooks ISBN 9781846211775
PDF / 1782 ePub
Published February 2016
7.98

Brendan OBrien, Solicitor of

Ireland, England and Wales,
qualified STEP practitioner,
and Vice President, Legal
Counsel, Barclays Bank,
provides an overview of this
new practical business book

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2

C O M P L I A N CE & R I S K

With the forthcoming EU Directive

on Disclosure of Non-Financial Information (the Directive), Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) has
become crucial now that organisations
meeting certain thresholds must publicly disclose their investments in CSR.
This Directive is to come into place by
the 6th December 2016, and companies concerned will start reporting as
of their financial year ending in 2017.
The directive requires large publicinterest entities (such as listed companies, banks, and insurance undertakings) with more than 500 employees
to disclose in their management report
relevant and useful information on
their policies, main risks and outcomes
relating to environmental matters,
social and employee aspects, respect
for human rights, anti-corruption
and bribery issues, and diversity
in their board of directors.
The option to carry out CSR on a
voluntary basis during the course of
business is quickly changing to being
a legal and regulatory requirement.
Sana Khans Business Social Responsibility: CSR for SMEs is an
expertly written book providing an
authoritative and clear road map for
the multitude of small and medium
enterprises who are currently engaged
establishing CSR indicatives. Many
organisations would like to implement
CSR but are unsure where and how
to start. This eBook aims to assist
organisations, regardless of their size,
the resources available to them, or
the industry sector, to start developing
CSR initiatives.
The authors background as a Barrister-at-Law working within the corporate and commercial sector, together
with her current position as in-house
counsel actively working with businesses in the area of corporate governance and CSR, means she is able
to provide clear and practical illustrations of the issues raised in the eBook.
The eBook is intended not only to enable readers to understand the essence
of CSR, but also to provide key tools
and solutions to help businesses
develop CSR initiatives in the most
efficient manner. In this regard,
the text marries both the practical and
academic sides of CSR as a concept.

The author does not only want her

readers to understand major aspects
of CSR, but also to be in a position
to learn from existing CSR initiatives
by analysing them.
This text offers accessible and analytical commentary from both a domestic
and international perspective, coupled
with inclusive practical guidance that
will be useful for individuals of diverse
backgrounds and business sectors.
The stated aims of this eBook are:

to highlight how organisations,

regardless of size or the resources
available to them, can be sociallyresponsible;

to explain how businesses can

create a BSR initiative;

to explain how to evaluate that

initiative; and

to suggest potential BSR ideas

that organisations can implement.

In conclusion, Business Social Responsibility: CSR for SMEs is comprehensive in its up-to-date coverage
of CSR. Within the general area of
corporate governance and CSR, this
seminal text has undoubtedly created
a niche that will continue to expand.
Since the author has adroitly managed
to produce a book that strikes a good
balance between being academically
authoritative and practically accessible, this text is likely to become
an influential must have for the
ever-expanding body of people
and organisations engaged with,
or simply interested in, corporate
social responsibility.

Brendan OBrien
Vice President, Legal Counsel
Barclays Bank