BACKGROUND
Shareholder value is increasingly linked with societal value and this is rapidly becoming a dominant reality across industries, geographies and sectors; the space where business meets society is growing in importance and is becoming a key source of competitive advantage for organizations of all types.
In todays economic and social environment, issues related to social responsibility and sustainability are gaining more and more importance, especially in the business sector.
Business goals are inseparable from the societies and environments within which they operate. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be understood as a management concept and a process that integrates social and environmental concerns in business operations and a company’s interactions with the full range of its stakeholders. To achieve sustainable improvements in business and social development and welfare, sustainable solutions must be found that provide to the society new opportunities and tools to achieve goals of development and growth up. CSR is an increasingly important tool to maximize the positive development impact of corporations and commercial activity in the developing world.
Businesses everywhere are responding to the challenge of becoming more sustainable and CSR reflects the social imperatives and the social consequences of business success. Is now important for individuals, professionals and companies to find out what CSR and Sustainability are all about; to understand alternative definitions of CSR and their strengths and limitations; and to understand why there is a need for CSR.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING COURSE
The objective of this course is to introduce the participant to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility today, operationalising the term and ensuring a cohesive definition of CSR and its applications for corporate sustainability. The learning materials and tools available through the seminar allows participants acquire relevant introductory knowledge that will help them and their organizations to better address social responsibility concerns through a new perspective and from there in promote and accelerate adherence to the CSR principles and progress on the Millennium Development Goals.
The seminar aims to address the needs of professionals in private companies, NGOs, International Organisations and Governments who are currently involved in CSR, or would like to be involved in CSR, and wish to apply and embed the concept of CSR in their institution. By the end of this seminar, participants are expected to meet the following learning objectives:
- To define and summarise the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility;
- To review alternative definitions of CSR and their strengths and limitations;
- To assess comparative needs for CSR; and
- To distinguish between the application of CSR in various practical situations.
Participants will develop an understanding of the forces driving change by CSR, how key stakeholders are responding and what they and their organizations can do to transform these challenges and risks into strategic opportunities. The seminar aims to provide to the participants, with a practical introduction to the concept of sustainability and an exploration of how to apply it to a business through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and effective Employee engagement.
TOPICS OF THE TRAINING COURSE
- CSR – What is it? Concrete and operative definition of Corporate Social responsibility and its business application
- CSR – Fundamentals of Sustainability: A general introduction to current issues in corporate social responsibility, sustainability and the regulatory context – including the new ISO 26000 international social responsibility standard.
- Meaning and significance of corporate social responsibility
- The scope of CSR
- Appreciate the ethical dimensions of business activity
- Critical evaluation of the role of consumers in driving CSR forward
- Applying Definitions in Practice – Practical Examples of CSR
- Successful Stakeholder Engagement: Covers the rationale for stakeholder engagement and how to undertake it successfully. Includes detailed examination of Account Ability and stakeholder engagement methodologies.
- Understand and be able to articulate external and internal considerations of CSR
- The attractions of CSR for business
- Know how to identify their own key CSR stakeholders
- Benefits and added values of implementation of CSR for Business development
- Integration of CSR on the Business activities – how to integrate and work with CSR principles inside the daily corporate processes and business activities
- Responsible Communication – a new way to communicate in business using CSR
- Corporate Strategy – CSR and implementation of a new successful business strategy
STRUCTURE OF THE TRAINING COURSE AND METHODOLOGY
The programs focus is essentially on experience and will be interactive with the audience involved in building scenarios, sharing experiences and knowledge and bringing participants’ ideas to the table. Learning takes place more readily with a practical, hands-on approach, rather than using traditional teaching methods. Participants will analyse concrete realities, diagnose problems, contrast and debate different points of view and interact with other participants. The seminar is structured as intensive training activity to make this focus more plausible. The program dedicates significant time to analysing both national and international case studies, carrying out simulations, teamwork and open debates.
Through a unique approach to planning assessment, implementation and communications, the seminar builds an interactive training style to meet participants’ needs and enhance their understanding, supported by case studies, providing them with methods to assess, implement and link their brand to CSR, manage risks and develop a CSR strategy.
The training course will provide a specific assessment process, during the implementation of the training activities, to undertake assessments to check progression of the participants of learning and achievement of competencies. At the end of the course, a specific quiz will be used in order to help the participants to self-assess his/her level of comprehension.
DURATION
The training course has a total duration of n.3 days.
Maximum Participants: 25