CSR

What do we mean by "CSR"?

At CARE Laurie Lee worked with ten of the UK’s largest FTSE100 companies, here he reflects on all of those experiences and distils the key lessons for companies to have a positive impact on poverty and the environment, and how companies, charities and governments can work well together.
Companies in the richest countries have still not agreed to climate measures that are in line with staying below 1.5 degrees. Danielle Smith and Hilde Stroot welcome new guidance from a UN panel, released at COP27, to push action by firms on corporate net-zero plans – and set out five key ways in which its recommendations will lead to climate justice.
Can for-profit businesses really aid in preserving the environment? The practice of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment has long been plagued by the question. You could have assumed the answer was Yes based on the euphoric increase in everything ESG. But when attention turns from words to actions, the inconsistencies in ESG are becoming glaringly obvious.
There is a clear and deepening frustration amongst some with the rhetoric of “purpose”. For those of us who believe in the power of business to do good, this is an opportunity for some honest self-reflection. But ultimately purpose is still worth believing in for three good reasons.