Working for the greater good?

Altman, Wilf. "Working for the greater good? [corporate social responsibility]." Engineering Management 17, no. 6 (December 2007): 12-15.

Even in these most difficult of economic times CSR is becoming a key component in business contributing to the competitiveness and creating new opportunities. It is moving companies past a base of legal compliance to integrating sustainable behavior into their core values because they are realizing the benefits of doing so. Companies today such as Caterpillar are demonstrating that a strong focus on social responsibility and sustaining the environment can contribute to delivering strong financial results and create profitable growth opportunities. Caterpillar was recently added to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index which recognizes companies that led their industries in corporate social responsibility. Another sign of the growing interest in CSR is the formation of the European Alliance for CSR, launched by the European Commission. Another indication that adoption of CSR practices is spreading is that many of the most admired companies according to Fortune are those which take CSR most seriously. CSR social responsibility reports are increasingly demanded by customers and investors who want to understand financial risk and opportunities but also how the company conducts its business. CSR activities are increasingly seen as a way of managing risk and protecting corporate reputations. Effectiveness and success of CSR initiatives is based on gaining a commitment at all levels of the company, from the ground up. There has recently developed a CSR Academy in the UK which, in turn, developed the CSR Competency Framework. It is a structure by which companies can use to integrate CSR, or to review its CSR processes.