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HOW TO EMBED CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITY ACROSS DIFFERENT
PARTS OF YOUR COMPANY

Winning methods for encouraging

and monitoring corporate responsibility

REPORT SUMMARY
Full report available at:
www.ethicalcorp.com/csr

© Ethical Corporation 2009

Call to order on +44 (0) 20 7375 7500

 How to embed corporate responsibility across different parts of your company

ABOUT THE REPORT

This report describes winning methods for encouraging and monitoring
corporate responsibility (CR) in operational departments.

In this essential management guide you’ll find:

• Five practical guides that you can share with other departments, covering:

• Procurement
• Human Resources
• Communications and Marketing
• Finance and Accounting
• Facilities, Logistics and Operations

• Methods for engaging internal stakeholders through leadership and reporting

• Instruction for designing CR metrics that are department-specific

• Expert advice on tackling common challenges faced by senior CR managers, including:

working with minimal budgets, getting buy-in, decentralising CR and coordinating disparate data

• In-depth case analysis on strategies from leading companies including:

Alliance Boots, BT, Campbell Soup, Green & Black’s, HP, Innocent Drinks,
Man Group, Novo Nordisk, PepsiCo, Sedex, Starbucks, Tata and Vodafone

❜❜
HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR REPORTS

“Our expectations of the report were exceeded by its focused

content and relevance to the issues we were facing.”
– Dr. Kevin R Gordon, Chief Research Officer, Xyntéo Ltd

❜❜ “[The report] has helped to define what current good practice is,
enabling us to develop processes to exceed it.”

❜❜
– Oliver King, Sustainable Development Group, Faber Maunsell

“Ethical Corporation’s China report is a huge help for companies doing business in China,
or companies intending to enter the Chinese market…It gave me helpful insights and case studies and it
provides tools to maintain and improve your compliance standards in such a difficult market.”
– Tonnis J. Poppema, Director of Compliance, Hasbro International Holdings B.V.

“Whenever I need to research CR issues, I always include EC and its invaluable resources.
❜❜ The alternative is to be less informed than I could or should be…and I owe it to my company, employees,
customers and other stakeholders to be totally informed.”

❜❜
– Jeff Curtis, Director of HR Shared Services, MTS

“A detailed report giving an overview of tactics for engaging different business units, then drilling down
specifically into five typical departments and what within their operations they should focus on relevant
to CR. Each section provides real case studies to illustrate points.”
– Naden Exter, Manager, Doughty Centre, Cranfield University School of Business

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 How to embed corporate responsibility across different parts of your company

A FEW OF THE REPORT’S KEY FINDINGS

Our research indicates a number of key steps that companies are taking to embed corporate responsibility and sustainability
in different departments and functions. Companies who have proven to successfully embed responsible practices into their operations
recognise that the following basic steps must be met:

• Include corporate ethics, and a focused strategy to develop sustainable practices, in the company’s legal structures
• Get senior management on board as early as possible and try to develop CR champions at the top of the company
• For global companies operating in different countries and cultures, regional relevance to employees is crucial
– developing a ‘one size fits all’ approach will be less effective
• Spell out how CR programmes and a sustainable agenda benefit your colleagues: explain what’s in it for them
• Move from risk avoidance to taking advantage of the opportunities available from CR

By decentralising CR activities, CR professionals can access the diverse skill set required for a successful corporate approach to
responsible business. Ethical Corporation asked our delegates – a range of senior CR professionals and executives from multinational
companies – Which topics will you need to learn more about to succeed in your job? Results indicated that corporate responsibility
requires a very diverse skill- and knowledge-base.

KNOWLEDGE AREAS CR PROFESSIONALS NEED TO DEVELOP (level of need indicated per topic area)

■ Performance measurement & reporting

13% 11% ■ CR reporting
2% ■ Partnerships & collaboration
2% 10%
■ Community engagement
3%
■ Assessing environmental & CR risk
3% ■ Internal marketing & employee engagement
9%
4% ■ Rebuilding corporate reputation
■ Managing supply chains
■ External marketing & consumer engagement
4% ■ Energy efficiency
7% ■ Water ethics & stewardship
4%
■ Compliance with legislation
4% 6%
4% ■ Dealing with climate change
5% 5% 6%
■ Anti-corruption & business ethics
■ Gender & diversity in the workplace
■ Other
■ Resource efficiency & waste
Source: Ethical Corporation survey, May/June 2009. ■ Biodiversity

Furthermore, 46% of respondents to our survey have a CSR team of between 2 and 4 people, while nearly half, 46%, have recently
experienced a budget reduction. A small team and budget makes it even more pertinent that other departments be accountable for
implementing corporate responsibility practices.

SIZE OF BUDGET
24% ■ over £30,000
■ £20,000 to £30,000
8% ■ £10,000 to £20,000
■ £5,000 to £10,000
20% ■ £1,000 to £5,000
■ under £1,000

20%
Source: Ethical Corporation survey, May/June 2009. Results from the 50% of
respondents willing to respond to the question, for the 12 months, beginning
June 2009.
28%

Ethical Corporation survey results indicated a significant division between CR departments, with a distinct disparity between CR professionals’

budgets: 48% falling under £5,000 and 24% budgeting over £30,000.

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 How to embed corporate responsibility across different parts of your company

Measurement and accountability are critical. Vodafone’s Joaquim Croca says “Reporting our efforts and committing to doing something in

the following year pushes everyone in the company.” Yet, only 32% of respondents to a recent Ethical Corporation survey have a
company-wide framework for monitoring social or CR impacts per department.

REAL EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL METHODS FOR EMBEDDING CR IN OPERATIONAL

DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES
This is the one and only report on the topic of on embedding responsible practices into daily operations, presenting information in
department-specific, stand-alone guides. Learn about successful strategies from leading multinational companies. Here are a few
excerpts from the report:

The next step for Alliance Boots was to split the company’s CR into four
strands: community, environment, marketplace and workplace. Because the
company seeks to respond to local requirements, they manage a process of
ongoing stakeholder dialogue. They started a ‘CR Action Group’ in each
country that meets on a quarterly basis to review ongoing programmes.
Current year and five-year objectives are established, with responsibility
resting on operational staff and directors.
Many companies are making certification easier for their suppliers by joining
multistakeholder initiatives: “If you can make it easier and less resource-
intensive for suppliers to provide data, then you and they can concentrate
on the real work of getting them to improve and make the corrective action
plans required” says Tom Smith of Sedex. Jorgette Marinez, senior
manager, global supplier CSR assurance, PepsiCo, global procurement says
that there was a collective “lightbulb” moment for a lot of companies.
“Many of our peers were addressing the same issues as us … We were
asking similar questions in terms of labour standards, health and safety,
environmental standards and integrity.”
Novo Nordisk has revised their employee CR objectives in order to better-
reflect their job responsibilities. For example, they recognised that focusing
the production department on patients, the end-users of the products, is an
appropriate way of tying CR objectives into production goals.
Ian Wood, performance and reporting manager in BT’s corporate
responsibility unit says: “Communicating with 100,000 colleagues across
the world is a challenge … You can talk about BT saving millions of tonnes
of carbon, but if you can demonstrate the savings from someone turning off
the lights at a particular office then you are showing people that they too
can make a worthwhile change.”
“To overcome the difficulties of language and cultural differences,” Bonnie
Nixon, HP’s director of sustainability says, the local human resources
department was able to help refine the sustainability message and ensure
it was delivered in a sensitive and effective manner.

Read more about metrics, incentives, enforcement, and coordination of disparate data in Part I of the full report.

DEPARTMENT-BY-DEPARTMENT GUIDES
Everyone is taking about it, but what does corporate responsibility (CR) mean for an HR professional? A procurement manager? A marketing
expert? A floor or store manager? An accountant? Find out about winning approaches by companies that have had proven, positive impacts.

Raise corporate responsibility to the top of everyone’s agenda in your company. Share this information with other department managers,
and they will receive simple tactics and strategies that they can implement tomorrow.

➤ THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT GUIDE TO CR ➤ THE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Procurement professionals can learn how responsible business
practices can help to achieve consistent quality, reliable shipments and
top notch suppliers. Find out how leading companies have introduced
processes and tactics such as fair contracting terms, air tight verification
system, and streamlined processes.
Includes detailed analysis of strategies by: HP, Green & Black’s, Innocent
Drinks, Sedex, Starbucks and PepsiCo
GUIDE TO CR
This guide on CR and communications addresses key questions by
communications, marketing and PR professionals. How can I obtain more
interest and feedback from our stakeholders and customers? How do I get
others to spread the word about our great CR impacts?
Includes detailed analysis of strategies by: BT, Vodafone, Starbucks, Man
Group, HP and Novo Nordisk

➤ THE HUMAN RESOURCES GUIDE TO CR

➤ THE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
Find out exactly how CR is critical to all human resource activities.
Learn specific CR tactics that contribute to attracting and developing a
GUIDE TO CR
motivated, productive workforce with high morale. The finance function is often forgotten in the CR debate. This guide
examines where company accountants can influence CR and how their
Includes detailed analysis of strategies by: HP, Campbell Soup, Alliance
role is changing as companies embed sustainability throughout their
Boots, Starbucks and Novo Nordisk
processes.
Includes detailed analysis of techniques suggested by: leading industry
associations; how the behaviour of the finance and accounting function
➤ THE FACILITIES, LOGISTICS AND OPERATIONS can impact CR, from Pinnacle360; and detailed analysis of strategies by:
GUIDE TO CR Novo Nordisk, Starbucks and BT
Learn how to achieve cost savings, motivated staff and products that you
can be proud of.
Includes detailed analysis of strategies by: Alliance Boots, HP, Innocent
Drinks, BT, Novo Nordisk and Vodafone

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 How to embed corporate responsibility across different parts of your company

REPORT CONTENTS
➤ Acknowledgements

➤ Executive summary

➤ Introduction and methodology

➤ PART I. CRITICAL INFORMATION FOR EXPERIENCED CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND

SUSTAINABILITY PROFESSIONALS

This opening section is written for experienced CR managers. Its purpose is to highlight best practices and
effective tools and processes for convincing departments to embed CR, monitor company-wide progress, and
work with other departments to collect data and set meaningful indicators on social and environmental impacts.

i. Embedding corporate ethics: some key steps

ii. Clarity of internal communications
iii. Measuring success: designing CR metrics and selecting tools
iv. Addressing common challenges
v. Trends in CR leadership and organisation

Part I includes detailed analysis of strategies used by Tata, BT, Novo Nordisk, Alliance Boots, Man Group,
HP, Starbucks, PepsiCo and Vodafone

➤ PART II. STAND-ALONE DEPARTMENT GUIDES

1. Procurement Guide – how to embed CR in sourcing and supply chain activities

Includes detailed analysis of strategies used by: HP, Green & Black’s, Innocent Drinks, Sedex,
Starbucks and PepsiCo

2. Human Resources Guide – how to embed CR, and improve productivity and staff morale
Includes detailed analysis of strategies used by: HP, Campbell Soup, Alliance Boots, Starbucks and Novo Nordisk

3. Communications Guide – how to embed CR in reporting, marketing, and internal and external
communications
Includes detailed analysis of strategies used by: BT, Vodafone, Starbucks, Man Group, HP and Novo Nordisk

4. Facility, Logistics and Operations Guide – how to embed CR into daily operations
Includes detailed analysis of strategies used by: Alliance Boots, HP, BT, Novo Nordisk and Vodafone

5. Finance and Accounting Guide – how to embed CR into daily processes

Includes detailed analysis of techniques suggested by leading industry associations; how the behaviour of the
finance and accounting department can impact CR, from Pinnacle360; and examples from Novo Nordisk,
Starbucks and BT.

➤ PART III. BEST PRACTICES AND KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMBEDDING CR

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