Corporate social responsibility plays a large role in the overall sustainability initiative. It involves the commitment of an organization to consider its operation’s impact on all environment, social and cultural aspects, including its contribution towards improving the social conditions of people. This includes issues such as human rights, community and citizenship activities, and the environment. The goal would be to balance a positive relationship with society, the economy and the environment.
Organizations should develop an overall policy that includes measurable corporate policies and procedures, as well as the resulting behaviors, that will benefit the workplace, individuals, the organization and the community. Acceptable social responsibility practices can differ from one country or continent to another, but areas typically included in a corporate social responsibility policy are:
Many guidelines exist for organizations to model their corporate social responsibility policies after. Probably the most well-known and all-encompassing is the United Nations Global Compact.