There is no specific standard for conducting CSR across the world. It varies from country to country depending on different economic, social, environmental status. For instance, in INDIA according to Companies Act, 2013 a company having Net Worth Rs. 500 cr (INR) or Turnover Rs. 1000 cr (INR) or Net Profit Rs. 5 cr (INR) have to be incur at least 2 % of their average three years Net Profit for CSR activity. For further details please go to "Indian Companies Act, 2013" on GOOGLE

Hi Linda,

If by "model of best practices" you mean generally accepted standards around corporate responsibility then I would say take a look at the Global Compact, the Guiding Principles for the Responsibility to Protect, Respect and Remedy, the ILO's Guidelines for MNE's and the OECD's Guidelines. You can also take a look at the Global Reporting Initiative for an idea of how these are measured.

Best practices depend on the industry you're researching. I suggest reading reports from leading industry consultants like Business for Social Responsibility; and the corporate responsibility reports of industry leaders. If they take corporate responsibility seriously, they are usually at the cutting edge of these best practices. You'll find that particular practices / projects / initiatives are repeated over and over again - these are often the "best practices." 

Hi Linda,

If you are referring to CSR principles and guidelines, I would suggest that you have a look at my blog post: http://drmarkcamilleri.com/2015/09/14/valuable-tools-and-instruments-for-csr-engagement/ I have made reference to intergovernment policies and instruments (e.g. OECD, ILO, Global Compact, EU) as well as on NGOs' reporting guidelines e.g. Accountability, Social Accountability, ISO, Fair Labor, GRI amongst others.

I have also contributed about CSR reporting in Europe in this paper: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/SAMPJ-10-2014-0065

Should you require any advice, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Regards,

Mark

For more details please visit "Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)".

As you can see Linda there are models and frameworks available to identify CSR strategies and reporting. However in the Anglo-American governance model it is for individual boards to determine the strategies of the companies they direct. Much is available on governance which incorporates this role, but directors as a group must chose to engage with any existing framework or create their own "best practice" which is of course only best practice for now - best practice is a dynamic concept, and that is something boards must grapple with as well. The Indian model certainly has its limitations, which concern the list of "approved" CSR activities in the relevant legislation. Those companies which have not actively progressed their legal obligations have a "last minute" option available under the legislation. In the UK section 172 of the Companies Act requires directors to take account of a non-exhaustive list of stakeholders when making decisions for the company, and there is a reporting requirement from the board in the annual report. But the manner in which the section is written leaves shareholder interests as the primary consideration. Stakeholders have no accountability provisions available to them other than the court of public opinion when disagreeing with the manner in which directors have exercised their discretion which is why it is called "enlightened shareholder value", not "enlightened stakeholder or long term value".

And Mark thank you for the links - my Phd concerns s172 with a comparison to Australia where the push to CSR is principles based. I am looking to see if there are, in reality, any differences or similarities between them.

Hi Linda,

I hope that this note finds you well.

Valuable topic. If you are discussing standards I would say that ISO 26000 and the growing number of national standard .  My work is on this topic. GRI has sustainable reporting guidelines focused more on outcomes.  ISO is more SR practice based for "all" organizations.  Although "rules"/laws refer to these two documents they are the most global in my opinion and have broad "legitimacy"

There are a broad range of organizational, industry, and professional codes associated with CSR. It's going to very much depend on the level of analysis you are studying to determine what the best "model" is.

I wish you the best on this topic! I've added some papers on CSR standards.

Article A critical look on quality through CSR lenses: Key challenge...

Article Classification of CSR standards in the light of ISO 26000

Article The Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards

Article Antecedents of Settlement on a New Institutional Practice: N...

Wes I am saying thank you  - these papers will be added to my Phd collection, and I appreciate you posting them in this discussion.

Glad they were helpful and best wishes for the PhD!

Wes

Thanks for these contributions. They are very useful insights.

Frank

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means responsibility for the impact of its action or lack of action not for donating to society at free of cost.

For more details go through the attached file herewith.

Hi

Here is a study I did on best CSR and Sustainability indicators.

Hope you find it useful.

Article Designing a General Set of Sustainability Indicators at the ...

Research Designing a general set of sustainability indicators at the ...

Hi,

I think that this paper could be of some  interest for you:

D R Jamali, A M El Dirani, A Harwood, "Exploring hiuman resource management roles in corporate social responsability: the CSR -HM co-creation model", Business Ethics: A European Review ,Vol N°24, N°2, April 2015, p 125 -143.

Best regards