Maximising CSR initiatives the STING way

STING’s Ruchi Gunewardene

Despite companies trumpeting their CSR projects in the media, few companies do it well, and even fewer know how to effectively leverage their CSR strategy and initiatives with their stakeholders—customers, shareholders, suppliers, and employees. These companies are missing significant opportunities for building reputation, branding, talent management, and cutting costs according to STING Consultants who recently carried out the first ever Corporate Accountability survey, the headline results of which were published in the January 2009 issue of LMD.
STING Consultants have been presenting their findings to several companies including Eagle Insurance, Brandix, Unilever, Peoples’ Leasing and MAGA Engineering to name a few, with considerable positive feedback.
The feedback highlights how companies were incurring costs to implement CSR initiatives, while also offering practical suggestions on how to ensure that those activities are effectively leveraged both internally and externally. By looking at CSR through a strategic approach it enables businesses to reduce costs as well as risks whilst creating new opportunities, resulting in enhancing brand reputation or image, as well as motivating employees.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of CSR, businesses must be accountable to their stakeholders. This in turn requires that they must be transparent. Reputed organizations adhering to this approach achieve this transparency and accountability by showcasing their achievements, as well as their impacts, in sustainability reports.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) based in Amsterdam now offers a globally applicable sustainability reporting guideline for organizations to follow. These are aimed at assisting organizations – regardless of size or industry – in reporting on the social, economic and environmental performance and impacts of their operations. Now, more than 1500 companies around the globe, including many of the world’s leading companies, have declared their voluntary adoption of these guidelines. A few Sri Lankan companies have also set themselves up to do so.
Through STING Consultants’ knowledge in this field, they are able to assist companies in reporting in line with the GRI guidelines, thereby positioning the company as socially responsible, operating in line with a global standard.
GRI also encourages companies to have an independent third party offer an opinion in order to increase credibility of the adopted reporting standard. STING Consultants are now able to certify that a company’s sustainability report has been third party checked and meets the reporting criteria of the different GRI levels. This enables the company to use the GRI ‘Third party checked icon” in their sustainability report.
STING Consultants’ CSR consulting services also include reviewing and certifying sustainability reports, auditing CSR programmes and developing strategic CSR plans.