CSR, sustainability, stakeholders, transparency. We read and hear about these subjects constantly, and they carry ever greater weight and meaning in the world we live in. It is plain that companies, governments and civil society need to work together and concentrate their efforts on achieving sustainable development — understood as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). That definition underlines the considerable importance of corporate social responsibility, defined by the European Commission as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society“. It matters, therefore, that companies integrate “social, environmental and ethical concerns, respect for human rights and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy“, in order to maximise the creation of shared value for their stakeholders and to identify, prevent and mitigate any adverse consequences.
Against this background, CSR reports and sustainability reports emerge as instruments of considerable value and transparency, since their content can cover stakeholder inclusion, the analysis of material topics, and the measurement, management and public communication of economic, environmental and social impacts. According to the Global Reporting Initiative standards for sustainability reporting, these “are designed to promote global comparability and the quality of information on impacts, enabling greater transparency and accountability on the part of organisations“.
Conclusions
Analysing the results obtained in this final master’s project makes it possible to draw a number of conclusions.
First, the principal benefits of building the preparation and publication of CSR and sustainability reports into an organisation — whatever its size, industry or sector — are these. Such reports:
- Help to embed and promote the creation of shared value, and strengthen relationships with stakeholders.
- Encourage innovation.
- Help to define and guide organisational strategy.
- Make it possible to identify, measure, manage and communicate impacts in economic, environmental, social and governance terms.
- Improve corporate image and reputation — intangible assets.
- Attract financing.
- Prevent risk, while promoting ethics and good governance.
- Increase loyalty among consumers and clients.
- Help attract and retain talent.
- Improve the working climate and productivity.
Second, carrying out this project and producing the resulting CSR report for a non-profit organisation in Madrid has enabled that organisation to:
- Define the purpose, mission, vision and core values that give meaning to its operations and its impacts.
- Identify, prioritise and select its key stakeholders, analysing the communication channels and engagement approaches it uses.
- Identify, prioritise and validate material or relevant topics through a materiality analysis. This allows the organisation not only to present relevant information in its CSR report but also to direct its efforts and resources towards its most strategic issues, to hold a dialogue with its stakeholders and to involve them in researching good practice.
- Analyse how it might increase its contribution to sustainable development, through new activities and projects framed by the Sustainable Development Goals and the ten principles of the UN Global Compact.
On the preparation of CSR and sustainability reports, I would argue that a certain amount of progress has been made on transparency and communication. Even so, the phenomenon known as greenwashing is still very much in evidence: a commercial practice used by many companies to gain visibility and drive sales through a misleading claim — the “green” or “socially responsible” image. Where such claims do not match the reality of the organisation, they lead in the long run to a loss of trust and legitimacy. This is why I would stress the important part played by independent verification and audit services in validating how transparent and committed organisations really are in managing and understanding their impacts, and therefore their contribution — positive or negative — to sustainable development, so that stakeholders can subsequently assess it.
Finally, there is still ground to cover and progress to be made on standardising sustainability reports. The wide variety of standards, guidelines and norms on CSR and sustainability worldwide, often combined with a lack of resources and training in those tools, means organisations frequently choose to prepare reports according to their own criteria rather than following a standardised structure — one that would allow them to identify, measure and properly manage their economic, social and environmental impacts, and to compare those impacts over time and against other organisations.
Article by María Virginia Piemonte, graduate of the Master’s in CSR and Sustainability (2019–2020), drawn from her final project “CSR and sustainability reports: integrating them into organisational strategy”. Supervisor: Dr Susana Yáñez Gutiérrez.
