Second contribution to Quick Pick resources for IABC/ Toronto's Communicator

"Because hundreds of thousands of business communicators worldwide engage in activities that affect the lives of millions of people, and because this power carries with it significant social responsibilities, the International Association of Business Communicators developed the Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators." - Introduction to the International Association of Business Communicators' (IABC) Code of Ethics.

CSR-- Corporate Social Responsibility
QUICK PICKS: A BRIEF GUIDE TO SOME ONLINE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) RESOURCES 
It is almost a cliché to talk about the post-Enron era and corporate social 
responsibility (CSR). Whether or not corporate scandals actually have 
heralded a new era of corporate responsibility is debatable, but certainly there 
is enough interest in CSR to warrant the attention of business communicators.
The following is a brief list of some free resources on the Web, which allow 
you to learn more about CSR and keep abreast of developments in research, 
news and opinions around the world.

Building Confidence: Corporate Sustainability Reporting 
in Canada (2003)

www.stratos-sts.com/pages/publica012.htm
Published by a consulting firm with support from corporate and government 
sponsors, this report contains the results of an annual benchmarking survey of 
Canadian companies’ sustainability reporting practices. It profiles and 
assesses how companies report on their performance in this area, including 
several useful appendices for companies looking for models or lists of 
performance indicators. The full report and a summary of key findings are all 
accessible without cost.
  
 
Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
www.bsr.org/BSRResources/index.cfm
Unfortunately, many of the resources on this site are now restricted to members only, but this is still one of the best sites for practical, research-based information related to CSR. The Issue Briefs (Formerly called White Papers) section is particularly useful. BSR provides in-depth reports online—on almost 70 key business ethics and CSR subjects in eight categories—including
corporate governance, philanthropy and the marketplace.

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR)
www.cbsr.ca/
CBSR is an organization of 140 businesses from across Canada committed to corporate social responsibility. Perhaps its most useful content is found in the section “CBSR Support,” which aggregates a range of resources, including reports and presentations. Plus a summary of the CBSR’s Good Company Guidelines, which assist companies in assessing and reporting on their social, environmental and financial performance.

Conference Board of Canada
www.conferenceboard.ca/GCSR/research/default.htm
The Conference Board of Canada is a respected, not-for-profit organization that shares its applied research in areas such as corporate governance and CSR. Board-wise is the e-Library of all Conference Board research documents since 1998. While there is no charge to register for the e-Library, only some of the documents are free. Most of the (excellent) research documents on
this site cost anywhere from $125 to $800 each. Please note that some Conference Board publications may be available for loan from InfoSolutions;
please contact them about titles of interest to you.

Corporate Social Responsibility
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incsr-rse.nsf/en/Home
Developed by Industry Canada, this portal endeavours to define CSR, and support and enhance the performance of Canadian businesses in this area. The CSR Tools module provides links to principles and guidelines, management systems, and tools for reporting and benchmarking CSR performance. Also accessible on this site is the Sustainability Reporting Toolkit, an online
resource that provides step-by-step instructions, templates and best practices for producing a sustainability report.
 
Ethical Corporation Online
www.ethicalcorp.com
The online version of Ethical Corporation Magazine, this site offers a wealth of articles relating to corporate social, financial and environmental responsibility. From news items to case studies, to reporting on CSR conferences, this site provides the reader with valuable insights into what’s going on in the world of CSR. Ethical Corporation also offers a free monthly e-newsletter and a weekly
e-mail summary of news headlines, with links to the full articles.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
www.globalreporting.org/
The GRI offers a common framework for economic, social and environmental sustainability reporting that has been adopted by many companies around the globe. The GRI’s core guidelines were released in 2002 and will be updated in 2006. The guidelines, together with technical indicator and sector-specific documentation and other materials that support the application of the GRI framework, are all available for free download on GRI’s site.

Imagine
www.imagine.ca/index.asp
Imagine promotes collaborative partnerships between the corporate and charitable sectors in Canada. The “Resource Centre” of the Imagine site has a variety of useful information, including statistics on corporate charitable donations in Canada since 1988, various documents relating to the business case for CSR, extensive links to other CSR-related sites and the results of various polls on corporate social responsibility topics.

Mallen Baker
www.mallenbaker.net
This is the personal site of Mallen Baker, the development director for Business in the Community (cited earlier in this article). Baker does a good job of framing CSR issues in a business context. The site contains an extensive archive of bite-sized news articles, larger articles and case studies, annotated links and more. The section titled “Arguments against Corporate Social Responsibility” is particularly helpful.

This Quick Picks project is a dual commission of the Toronto Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators and the Certified General Accountants of Ontario, to serve the corporate social responsibility research needs of both communicators and professional accountants. In the March 2003 issue, the co-authors undertook a similar project in regards to online ethics resources.

Helen Kula is a business information specialist with InfoSolutions, the corporate research and information service affiliated with the Business Information Centre, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. InfoSolutions can be reached at 416-978-1912 or infosoln@rotman.utoronto.ca.

Dean Williams is president of Toronto-based Williams Savvy & Associates, Strategic Communications Counsel and Support. He can be reached at or 416-596-1707 or dean_williams@savvypr.com.

 

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