Corporate Social Responsibility and Governance.

Corporate responsibility refers to the way an organisation does business to ensure that employers are operating responsibly and in a sustainable, accountable and transparent way.  At Humba-HR-Consultants we believe responsible organisations conduct business ethically and takes account of its economic, social and environmental impact. Governance is about supervising the management of a company and managing risk, so that business is done competently, with integrity and with due regard to the interests of all stakeholders.
   

There are many available definitions of CSR and they are consistently referring to five dimensions. Although they apply different phrases, the definitions are predominantly congruent, making the lack of one universally accepted definition less problematic than it might seem at first glance.
The CSR definitions are describing a phenomenon, but fail to present any guidance on how to manage the challenges within this phenomenon. Therefore, the challenge for business is not so much to define CSR, as it is to understand how CSR is socially constructed in a specific context and how to take this into account when business strategies are developed.
The corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement has been instrumental in raising awareness that firms have responsibilities other than to their owners and 'the bottom line'. Yet despite all the talk about the importance of stakeholders, transparency, corporate citizenship and sustainability, the developmental and regulatory impacts of CSR remain highly questionable. Humba HR Consultants assesses the global rise of private regulation and CSR from the perspective of social and sustainable development. By adopting a multidisciplinary lens, it examines why the experience of CSR pales in comparison with the promise, what needs to be done to address 'the intellectual crisis' of CSR, and forms of corporate accountability and regulation more conducive to inclusive patterns of development.
This timely and important collection addresses many of the critical shortcomings in conventional approaches to CSR by emphasizing issues of power and the role of regulatory governance in promoting corporate responsibility, and restraining acts of corporate irresponsibility. Ongoing and recent crises have raised profound questions about the effectiveness and virtues of corporate social responsibility and deregulation. However, concerns about the difficulties and costs of developing adequate, appropriate and effective regulation continue to command attention. This volume sheds much light on these complex issues. CSR has become the dominant framework within which business and civil society struggle over corporate practices and governance structures.

General requirements:
The organisation shall establish, document, implement and maintain a CSR/CG management system and continually improve its effectiveness in accordance with the requirements of this publication. The organisation shall:
• identify the processes needed for a CSR/CG management system and their application throughout the organisation;
• determine the sequence and interaction of these processes;
• determine criteria and methods needed to ensure that both the operation and control of these processes are effective;
• ensure the availability of resources and information necessary to support the operation and monitoring of these processes;
• monitor measure and analyse these processes;
• implement the actions necessary to achieve planned results and continual improvement of these processes.
These processes shall be managed by the organisation in accordance with the requirements of this publication.

Corporate Governance principles:
The organisation shall ensure that the CSR/CG management system incorporates the principles of sound corporate governance. The organisation shall demonstrate that:
• it is supervised by an effective Board that balances executive and non-executive directors including independent non-executives or provide adequate evidence showing why it has chosen not to;
• The effectiveness of the Board performance is measured;
• No individual or small group can dominate the Board’s decision;
• There is an established formal and transparent procedure for appointment and re-election of the Board;
• A remuneration policy for directors is in place;
• Levels of remuneration are sufficient to attract and retain directors yet structured to link individual and corporate performance;
• The Board maintains a sound level of internal control;
• The organization’s annual report contains a statement of remuneration policy and details of the remuneration of each director;
• The organisation treats its shareholders equitably and protects their rights;
• The organisation complies with regulatory requirements in countries where it is registered and within which it operates.
• It meets the Corporate Governance requirements and relevant codes of conduct appropriate to the countries in which it operates or has an impact.