Advanced Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Description

By attending this course, you will consider the principles and practices of corporate responsibility, looking at how it has evolved from philanthropic and religious roots into an enterprise-wide philosophy and a call to action for sustainability. It will consider why adopting a sustainable approach makes business sense for companies today, how it applies to different sectors, and why organizations need to take account of their various stakeholders when developing a sustainability plan.

This course will consider the “people dimension” in sustainability. This includes the staff, customers, suppliers and communities that the organization is involved with and who benefit or suffer from its business practices. The course also examines sustainability within supply chains from a materials management perspective. Sustainability reporting is now an important way for companies to demonstrate transparently that they are taking non-financial measures into account when pursuing their business strategies. And we will apply the principles of risk management to corporate behaviour which could be seen as irresponsible.

The course will wrap with a summary of the key learning points, followed by an action planning exercise with a view to apply the acquired knowledge and skills immediately upon your return to work. Post-course support is also available in relation to the implementation of your action plan, up to six (6) months following course completion.

What you will learn

Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

• From CSR to Sustainability
• Beyond philanthropy and charitable giving
• Criticisms of CSR

Business Drivers for Sustainability & Responsibility

• Why is sustainability good for business?
• The Language of Sustainability
• Sectoral issues in sustainability
• Planning for sustainable business practices

Engaging Stakeholders to Build a Sustainable Plan

• The Materiality assessment – what are the key issues?
• How do we impact our stakeholders?
• Stakeholder engagement
• Developing and implementing a sustainability plan

Sustainability – Measuring Stakeholder Impact

• The CSR Project – how it contributes to corporate sustainability.
• What projects are taking place?
• What is the value of such projects?
• Is sustainability and CSR the same thing?

The Responsible and Ethical Corporate Board

• Sustainability – the ‘people dimension’
• Sustainability and the Community
• Sustainability and our employees
• Sustainability and customers

Green Strategy and Sustainability

• Is my supply chain sustainable?
• Hallmarks of a responsible supply chain
• Typical supply chain abuses
• How supply chain irresponsibility can damage the company

Sustainability Reporting Standards

• Purpose of Sustainability reporting
• Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting standards
• Other International Reporting frameworks: ISO26000 Guidance, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• UN Global Compact and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Sustainability – External Assurance Assessment

• The risks of irresponsibility.
• Principles of managing risk.
• What are the key risks that can prevent companies being considered sustainable?
• How should companies identify, assess and respond to sustainability risks?

Course Review

• Summary and recap of key learning objectives
• Action Planning