Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Canada

In 2000, BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) published a white paper in Great Britain by Allan White titled: The Stakeholder Fiduciary, CSR, Governance and the future of Boards. The piece looked at questions such as:

• On whose behalf do board as overseers of the corporation, perform their many functions, including those that impinge upon corporate social responsibility?
• How do, could and should boards relate to the CSR agenda?
• As the world changes and becomes more intercultural, should we seek to both position the board as an agent of CSR under current rules and show how to reconstitute to adapt to the chagrining conditions of the 21st century?
• Since the board — knowingly or unknowingly — helps shape the CSR agenda, the values and standards of the organization, should the various stakeholders demand greater transparency, accountability and access?
• How do we reconstitute boards to make them more representative, responsive and responsible to all the stakeholders of the organization?
• How do we all participate in the re-thinking of governance in a dynamic globalizing world where traditional notions of corporate obligations, privileges, boundaries and behaviours are becoming obsolete?
• If corporate accountability is also realized through the other mechanisms of TPM (team production model) — labour unions, employee ownership, consumer protection groups, environmental lobbies — then by the weight of their assets which are also at risk, can they form partnerships with the group normally seen as risk takers, the share holders to enforce real stakeholder governance?

Since the 1980s there have been board governance developments addressing these issues in other countries — the United States (see the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation), Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan. Canada is now grappling with the issues of CSR. Canadian companies like their counterparts internationally, have a profound impact on the communities, in which they operate, source and market.

Stakeholders are increasingly calling upon companies — as powerful societal players — to help develop communities and create economic opportunity. Pressure is growing for companies to engage with communities to include under-served and marginalized groups not just to market their products, but to also to share wealth and skills and improve the quality of life for the residents.

The facilitators and coaches of Diversity Accord Associates Inc. provide governance analysis, strategic planning to maximize ROI for CSR investment, and overall expertise in change management development. We work with both private sector and non-governmental organizations.