Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability

The corporate social responsibility course (CSR) provides a concise introduction to the complex and increasingly important subject of corporate sustainability and its link with business strategy. Participants will obtain a clearer understanding of sustainability and the various parallel terms and concepts that are in use. The crucial link between Corporate Social Responsibility and stakeholder management is examined alongside good practice in stakeholder engagement and measurement of outcomes. Important concepts such as corporate philanthropy, ethical consumerism, social capital and socially responsible, investment, resource efficiency and global codes of conduct are considered and how they impact upon business strategy. The course explores topics that are often discussed in the news media and highlighted within corporate and NGO reports but are often poorly understood. Key social and environmental issues are reviewed to clarify understanding and correct misrepresentations.

One of the special features of the course is that it gives participants an up-to-date explanation of topics that are frequently misunderstood or misrepresented, such as climate change, global warming, biodiversity, resource accessibility, food security and eco-tourism. The shift from pure communications towards performance management in CSR is explored along with managerial impact. Green marketing and environmental issues are covered along with innovative green technologies. Open Source strategies and the influence of social media is also tackled together with how sustainability campaigns are influenced by the use of online advocacy campaigns.

Throughout the course, concepts will be supported by recent examples and relevant case studies to help further refine and define concepts covered.

1. The purpose of CSR or corporate sustainability: what CSR is and what it is not
2. Drivers and benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility: economic context and business case
3. Impact of social media and influence on CSR: platforms of social and environmental activism
4. Parallel terms: CSR; corporate citizenship; corporate social responsiveness; corporate social investment (CSI), socially responsible investment (SRI) corporate social performance; corporate sustainability; accountability; corporate shared value
5. Arguments for and against CSR: shareholder return evaluated
6. CSR and philanthropy
7. Stakeholder management
8. Risks ,disclosure issues and legal considerations
9. Governance and non-financial reporting
10. The role of NGOs and iNGOs

1. The importance of strategic CSR: why CSR ideas must align and integrate into organisational values and strategy
2. NGOs and social partnerships
3. Brand considerations: values, architecture and communications
4. Shift from communications to performance
5. Stakeholders – who are they?
6. What is stakeholder management?
7. Importance of policy development in CSR
8. The process of identifying and mapping stakeholders; risk involved
9. Ways to engage stakeholders and handling stakeholder conflict
10. Examples of successful multinational engagement tactics: communicating CSR

1. Key facts and issues in environmentalism: climate change; global warming and ozone depletion; deforestation; biodiversity loss and invasive species; pollution; water; energy consumption
2. The importance of environmental interdependence within ecosystems
3. Terminology reviewed: resource efficiency; carbon terminology; eco-tourism; eco-efficiency; recycling and renewables; supply-chain; fair trade etc
4. Overview of challenges to: fishing industry; airlines; chemical and agricultural sectors
5. Carbon issues: footprints, trading, credits tax, offsetting, sinks, carbon markets
6. Environmental audits, certification schemes and green procurement
7. Importance of traceability
8. Global Reporting Initiative and other reporting/verification schemes
9. Innovative green technologies
10. The future of waste management

1. Overview of the key social issues: child labour; exploitation of third world labour; disease and poor health conditions; land use; mining; economic inequalities, Human Rights violations; corruption; fair trade and ethical consumerism
2. Links with social marketing: health care examples
3. Fair trade: what is it, does it work? Certification and auditing
4. Ethical consumerism
5. Supply chain management, traceability and CSR
6. Social partnerships
7. Social accountability: social reporting and auditing
8. Socially responsible investment (SRI)
9. Examples of MNEs engaging in good social investment and practice
10. The role of social media in advocacy for current and emerging social issues

1. The role of management in CSR: legal and ethical considerations
2. Corporate governance and CSR
3. Alignment with corporate values and mission
4. Targets and performance in CSR: narrative reporting 
5. Linking targets to financial rewards
6. M&S: Plan A: retail success story
7. CSR and the role of HR, employee engagement and internal marketing
8. CSR and strategic risk and planning
9. Performance targets and CSR: CSR and the bottom line
10. CSR and corporate culture.

In order to obtain the Advanced Certificate in Corporate Sustainability participants are required to complete:

• an assessment (during the course)

The assessment is based on a document from which participants are asked questions to evaluate their understanding and comprehension of key concepts from the course.

The purpose of the assessment is to test, at one level, factual recall of critical concepts, and at a higher level, to allow participants the chance to apply knowledge assumed by the syllabus to completely unfamiliar situations e.g. a scenario. Less emphasis is placed on factual recall and greater placed on critical thinking and the application of concepts.