Corporate Social Responsibility in United Kingdom

What is CSR?

“The guiding principle in corporate responsibility is to ensure that doing the right thing is at the heart of every decision and that includes the strategic approach we take to delivering shareholder value” (National Australia Bank and Social Outcomes, ‘Shared Value in Australia’, 2015).

How does CSR work?

Social responsibility is the responsibility of an organization for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behavior that contributes to sustainable development, including the health and the welfare of society. Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility, ISO 26000, 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Kingdom.

Though none of the Corporate Governance Code of the UK is concerned with corporate social responsibility in specific, there are some acknowledgments that the duties of a company extend beyond the shareholders. According to these beliefs, a board should set the values of a company and make sure that that the obligations towards its shareholders and the others are met in a proper way.

In another instance, the Turn bull Guidance clarifies that the risk assessment must look for the financial risk and should also consider the safety, health, reputation, environment, al and business probity issues at the same time.  In Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Kingdom, CSR is increasingly becoming a part of the practice by the general public as well as the government. The association of British insurers has also published a guidance memo on Corporate Social Responsibility that discusses issues related to the implementations and processing of corporate social responsibilities for both investors and the companies.

According to the guidelines published in the year 2007, to implement Corporate Social Responsibility the companies must address the environment of the company, and the social as well as governance risks. Nowadays, many companies are focused to talk about environmental issues in their annual reports. It is also argued that corporate social responsibility is becoming a commercial necessity in these days and the coming future. At the same time, the increasing numbers of ethical and green investments need to find ethical and green business opportunities to invest.

Future of CSR in the United Kingdom:

The corporate entities that are passionate about Corporate Social Responsibility issues need to formulate better strategies to implement the idea. The government also needs to embed equitable protocols to serve the needy citizens in a better way. At the same time, the non-profits need to set-up better initiatives and find ways to represent the needs of the local communities. The organizations need to be open to new cross-sector collaborations and keen to find ways of directing the expertise alongside the capabilities and resources of the private sector. It is also necessary to invest purposefully and contextualize the issues related to Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Kingdom.

Once understood properly, Corporate Social Responsibility can help in identifying the solutions and raising the standards of a social setup. However, the main necessity is to focus on the proper implementation of the idea and its appreciation in every social attire. Only then it can be helpful in making UK a better market for the world as well as the society in and out of the companies in the UK.

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