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Assess Your Organization's Level Of Social Responsibility
June 4, 1997; Canadian FundRaiser
Nancy Bradshaw wants us to take a good look at ourselves and the people with whom we do business. Bradshaw is president and a founder of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR), a two-year-old group of Canadian businesses that have joined together to promote corporate responsibility in areas ranging from the environment to employee empowerment. "We are a group of companies who want to implement a plan for social responsibility," says Bradshaw, "not just debate the issue." According to the group, corporate social responsibility encompasses a company's commitment to operate in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, while still acknowledging the interests of its diverse stakeholders.
From the Van City Credit Union and its new affiliate, the Citizens' Bank of Canada, to the Body Shop and commercial real estate developers Pioneer Pacific, 20 Canadian companies have joined CBSR and committed themselves to socially responsible policies and practices that contribute actively to improving the quality of life in our communities. The Canadian organization is affiliated with the American group Business for Social Responsibility, which has more than 1,000 members as diverse as Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Andersen Consulting.

Guidelines help assess your performance
CBSR has just created a guide for companies and organizations working toward socially responsible programs. Believed to be the first such guidelines in North America, Base Level Guidelines for Corporate Social Performance and the Corporate Social Performance Audit help you measure your organization. The guidelines cover eight categories: Community Development, Diversity, Employee Relations, Environment, International Relationships, Marketplace Practices, Fiscal Responsibility, and Accountability.
The guidelines outline the business rationale for each category, and also offer specific actions against which you can measure your organization's performance. For instance, in the Community Development category, a base level guideline for donations includes the following: "Socially responsible companies donate at least 1 per cent of pre-tax profits to charitable organizations (averaged over the three previous fiscal years), of which up to half may be contributed in volunteer time and/or donations-in-kind." Measurable outcomes like this make it easier to accurately assess the performance of your organization, according to Bradshaw.
While some of the guidelines - such at the donations policies - may not apply directly to charities, many have some bearing on nonprofit decisions. Does your organization give priority to local employment and local suppliers? Does it have a policy statement committing it to minimizing its impact on the environment? Does it actively avoid entering into business relationships with firms that use any form of compulsory labour (child or prison labour)? Internally, are there clearly defined opportunities for management/staff communication and feedback?
A yardstick for potential partners
To help assess your organization's level of commitment to socially responsible action, the Corporate Social Performance Audit allows you, or a third party, to rank your performance in these areas. Within each category, you rate your organization from 0-2 based on whether a program already exists, is in development, does not exist, or exists but is not followed.
In addition to measuring your own performance, charities can use the guidelines to assess potential partners in the corporate sector. How well do they measure up to the guidelines? In the Accountability category, organizations following proper socially responsible practices will offer full public disclosure of their performance. This disclosure can be used as a checklist for consumers and potential partners, and as an educational tool for the companies and organizations themselves. As Bradshaw explains, "because the guidelines are measurable, results can be incorporated into the operational plan for the next year. You've got to start at home, with suppliers, staffing, and your own shop, and work out from there."
Copies of the guidelines are available for $25, or $15 per copy for nonprofit organizations.
For more information about the CBSR Guidelines or to order copies, call (604) 323-2714 or write to CBSR, P.O. Box 16036, 3017 Mountain Highway, North Vancouver, BC V7J 2R0.