Corporate Social Responsibility

Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility

Over the past few years, the CSR agenda has moved beyond simply adopting appropriate corporate principles. Investors, employees, consumers and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding that companies integrate their CSR principles into their investment, operational and sourcing practices. Companies are now expected to demonstrate that their actions are making a positive contribution to the world's welfare, otherwise they risk having their 'social license to operate' revoked.

For management, already tasked with a number of complicated and conflicting objectives, the integration of CSR principles can pose a fundamental challenge. eme provides a set of practical management systems for proactive companies to ensure that core principles are embedded throughout all levels of business practices. For more passive companies, we also offer a number of assessment services for measuring social impact and managing country-level reputational risk.

Our Services

Embedding Business Principles: A Systems Approach
To help meet the challenge of ensuring consistent compliance with corporate principles, we can help you put in place measures to embed your business principles across your operations. These range from simple checklists for compliance, policy and procedure manuals, to more formal assurance systems. We have pioneered an assurance system that integrates CSR with other management objectives, using the principles developed by the International Standards Organisation. Systems are designed to make compliance a part of regular processes, and deliver up-to-date information to management on compliance in high-risk areas.

Measuring Economic and Social Impact
The ability to provide quantifiable and credible evidence of economic and social impact can be a valuable tool for companies when engaged in dialogue with government and other stakeholders. It may help strengthen the case for regulatory approval and identify ways to maximise the economic and social contribution to the host community. We use a methodology that has the support of academics and international development agencies, utilising data provided by national statistics agencies.

Adopting a sustainable development approach to doing business in emerging markets
Based on a prearranged assessment of positive and negative impacts, we can help you to develop strategies and implement programmes that will help make you a valued development partner. We specialise in strengthening linkages with local businesses and community programmes to give concrete form to the principles of sustainable development.

A Stakeholder Approach to Social Audits: Beyond Compliance
The ability to conduct cost-effective audits of your suppliers and subsidiaries that are credible in the eyes of internal and external stakeholders is critical, as many companies have found to their cost. Social audits may fail to deliver solid verification and lack credibility in the eyes of stakeholders. As a solution, we combine internal with external verification. Externally, we engage stakeholders at every stage of the audit, which means they can later be involved in on-going monitoring. Internally, rather than simply checking records, we cross-check all systems to assess whether there is a consistent framework of compliance in place. Finally, our country-wide approach to audits builds ownership on the part of employees and creates valuable economies of scale.

Country Risk Assessment Tool
The starting point for managing reputational risk in emerging markets is a thorough understanding of the sources and magnitude of the various risks in each market. Our tool provides an easy to use reference guide to the main sources of risk - human rights, country governance and environmental. It compares the magnitude of such risks in 158 countries, providing monitoring indicators and key risk mitigation measures. It is a simple and cost-effective tool for companies operating in a global context.