What is good Corporate Citizenship ?
Our four dimensions for good Corporate Citizenship
The approach developed by Wider Sense and goetzpartners to assess Corporate Citizenship analyses performance on the basis of twelve questions across four dimensions :
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Strategy |
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1 |
Are activities clearly focused on a manageable number of issues ? |
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Ressources |
2 |
Does Corporate Citizenship focus on issues which are material to core business ? |
4 |
Does the company make substantial financial resources available for Corporate Citizenship ? |
3 |
Is Corporate Citizenship used to address problems within or through the value chain ? |
5 |
Are employees and their professional skills integrated into the activities ? |
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Implementation |
6 |
Does the company provide substantial and impact-oriented in-kind donations ? |
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8
Is Corporate Citizenship close to C-level and sustainability departments in the organisational structure ?
Are processes and responsibilities clearly defined ?
Result
10 Does the company take a public stance on its focus issues ?
9 |
Is there regular reporting in the form of clear KPIs ( against defined targets )? |
11 |
Does the company actively participate in relevant networks and collaborations ? |
12 Is demonstrable impact achieved ?
We are aware that our assumptions about what constitutes a good Corporate Citizenship strategy are not unanimously shared – neither among companies nor in civil society . They derive primarily from the practice of Corporate Citizenship management . With this study , we aim to make a practice-relevant contribution to a dynamic debate .
In the near future , however , strategic Corporate Citizenship could also receive a significant boost from official sources . There are early indications that it could also play an important role in the future social taxonomy of the EU . 17 In this context , it remains to be seen whether the current creative leeway in terms of strategy , resources , implementation and results will become more narrowly channelled in the future as a result of regulation .
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