Looking at CSR 2.0

While surfing on Internet, I found an old article on CSR 2.0 dated from May 2009.

The concept of CSR 2.0 is quite interesting in addition of refreshing CSR practices. CSR 2.0 looks at upscaling the positive impact of CSR practices based on 5 new principles as follows:

Creativity: with a better integration in the whole management system of the company, a better participation of stakeholders, etc.

Scalability: instead of working on punctual actions, CSR 2.0 will be integrated in every supply chains, product lines of the company, this starting step by step. The article gives good examples of Sainsbury and Unilever commitments.

Responsiveness: ensuring yet more transparency with the participation of the stakeholders, using new tools as Web 2.0 and social media, using a monitoring and evaluation system that allow to measuring the impact of these practices.

Glocality: The idea is to “understand local contexts and find the appropriate local solutions they demand, without forsaking universal principles.” This could happen thanks to the participation of local stakeholders (NGO, Institutions, etc.), through cross cultural HR policy, publicly commit to international CSR or equivalent standards (e.g Global Compact, ISO 26000, etc.).

Circularity: following the expression “Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme” (Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything turns) from Antoine Lavoisier (Chemist 1743-1794).

This is a short summary of the article, to read more about this CSR 2.0, please click here.

What I thought while reading it is that the work done by ISEAL Alliance and some of its members to upscale their impact is reflected in this CSR 2.0 principles. And I am happy to see that the way this is presented looks like how the Union for Ethical BioTrade wants its member to embrace biodiversity management.