Stephen
Timms, corporate social responsibility (CSR) minister, launched a dedicated
academy today that aims to increase support for CSR across the UK.
The
academy, which was developed following research on more than 400 individuals
and organisations already active in CSR, will provide a central source of
information for training and development with the aim of integrating CSR into
day-to-day business practice.
Timms
said the CSR academy would enable businesses to embed CSR principles into the
education, training and development of staff throughout an organisation.
“I
am confident it will go a long way to help companies put into practice the core
principles of corporate social responsibility and make it a reality," he
said.
The
academy provides a CSR Competency Framework – a template designed to help
managers integrate CSR within their organisations.
It
consists of six core characteristics:
–
Understanding society: understanding the role of each player in society –
Government, business, trade unions, non-governmental organisations and civil
society
–
Building capacity: external partnerships and creating strategic networks and
alliances
–
Questioning ‘business as usual’: openness to new ideas, challenging others to
adopt new ways of thinking and questioning ‘business as usual’ attitudes
–
Stakeholder relations: identifying stakeholders, building relations externally
and internally, engaging in consultation and balancing demands
 – Strategic view: taking a strategic view of
the business environment
–
Harnessing diversity: respecting diversity and adjusting the approach to
different situations.
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