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GLN Launches Online CSR Strategic Planning Tool
February 2008
Businesses in emerging markets - China, India, and Brazil among others - are recognizing the value of corporate citizenship and are beginning to pursue options that help them integrate responsible practices into their operations.
One option is the GLN OpenAccess tool developed by the Global Leadership Network (GLN), a joint venture of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, AccountAbility and a consortium of global companies.
The GLN OpenAccess tool, available at www.gln-openaccess.org, is the product of a partnership between GLN, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the UN Global Compact. Launched at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in July 2007, the partnership hopes to use GLN’s framework and tools to support Global Compact signatories, IFC clients and the wider private sector with the implementation of responsible business practices into their business models.
The GLN OpenAccess tool, which was co-developed with IBM, is an interactive self-assessment and planning platform to help companies align corporate citizenship with business strategy. It helps companies effectively identify, assess, and plan around issues of public concern in a way that makes sense to their business.
Open to IFC clients, UN Global Compact signatories and the wider private sector, the tool helps companies to:
• identify those social, environmental, ethical and governance issues that are most important to their business
• evaluate the company’s performance and its readiness to manage vital issues effectively
• create simple and effective action plans to engage the business, build strong internal teams and productive stakeholder relations, design goals, targets, and indicators for success.
GLN believes that by translating key societal issues into business objectives the tool will help companies become more strategic and successful in their overall performance. With the tool, the partners hope to promote a common understanding across business units regarding strategy and corporate citizenship while building a global learning community to address key societal challenges.
Additionally, GLN, IFC and the UN Global Compact will continue working closely on the ground with companies and CSR organizations in emerging markets, to build local capacity and help companies with their implementation challenges. Building on support from local GLN networks and partners initially in Brazil and India, GLN will be offering a range of services to help companies map their CSR priorities, engage business areas and stakeholders and build effective, value-creating CSR strategies.
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