Social Responsibility Participant’s Manual

Social Responsibility
The Responsibility of the Active Citizen
Version 01 January, 2013

JCI Recommended Course

Social Responsibility – General Information 1
 Social Responsibility
JCI Vision Course Summary
.
“To be the leading global network of young active The Social Responsibility Course is a half day course
citizens.” designed to create awareness in Active Citizens that
individuals have responsibility to their community and
the environment, it promotes the principles of United
JCI Mission Nations Global Compact in the practice of business,
encourages individuals to act responsibly in business
“To provide development opportunities that and society and encourages the implementation of best
empower young people to create positive change.” Corporate Social Responsibility practices.

About JCI Social Responsibility is recommended for people who

seek to understand their role as Active Citizens within
JCI is a membership-based nonprofit organization of the community and the environment as well
young active citizens ages 18 to 40 in more than 100 understanding the commitment that individuals can
countries who are dedicated to creating positive change make to ensure the sustainability of our planet, and
in their communities. Each JCI member shares the belief prosperity of people in the community.
that in order to create lasting positive change, we must
improve ourselves and the world around us. JCI
Content
members take ownership of their communities by
identifying problems and creating targeted solutions to
Social Responsibility is a half day course divided in
create impact.
these modules:

Module 1 – Challenges
Module 2 – Principles
Module 3 – Responsibility
Module 4 – Commitment

References:
© Copyright by JCI: All rights reserved.
www.jci.cc and www.un.org
This manual is for the exclusive use of participants
attending the JCI Official Course and can only be
reproduced for this purpose. All JCI Official courses
must be organized online and all participants must
individually register online to qualify for the manual and
to be certified as graduates from the course.

This publication or parts of it may not be translated in

any other language without the express permission of
the JCI Secretary General.

Published by

Junior Chamber International (JCI), Inc.

15645 Olive Boulevard –
Chesterfield, MO 63017, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 (636) 449 3100
Toll free (from USA only): 1 800 905 5499
Fax: +1 (636) 449 3107
.
E-Mail: training@jci.cc - Website: www.jci.cc

2 Social Responsibility – General Information

 Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility
global agenda, they are called the UN Millennium
What is CSR? Development Goals (MDGs) and include eight main
goals:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important
aspect for any organization, be it a new business just 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
starting out or an existing business looking to ensure 2. Achieve universal primary education
that it has a sustainable future and relevance to the 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
community. 4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
It may be implemented into, or be present in, an 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
organization under many names CSR, CR, social 7. Ensure environmental stability
responsibility or just as one of many community 8. Develop a global partnership for development.
programs.
The eight goals provide a framework for governments,
In today’s business climate consumers require more businesses, organizations and citizens to work
from a business than just supplying the product or coherently together towards a common end.
service that they wish to purchase. They require an
ethical and moral organization that uses ethical and
moral means to build its business. The principals of CSR Principles
provide a template for this.
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is
According to the International Chamber of Commerce, strongly affecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
CSR is “The voluntary commitment by business to The debate on CSR in recent years has focused mainly
manage its activities in a responsible way.” on large companies and multinationals.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept that But supply chain relationships, implementation problems,
encourages companies to integrate social and the development of legislation and international
environmental concerns in their business operations and standardization and certification, and notably, the
in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary extension of the United Nations Global Compact
basis. initiative, has brought the debate to the local level.

The spirit of CSR is based on people wanting to be part This means that no matter how small or local a business
of solutions and do something positive for the world. It is is, it is affected by events and decisions sometimes as
not charity or donations, but mostly being part of the far as the other side of the globe. For example, almost
community, where clients and company employees all businesses depend on some kind of supplier, who in
make their living. turn depends on someone else and so on.

Of course a company can cause impact and make a big Any change in rules or offer and demand will affect the
difference by direct donations or projects, but the entire chain, not only the part affected, but mainly small
essence of CSR is the participation in the solutions with and medium enterprises because of implementation
the community and interacting with the society to find the challenges for new processes.
best solutions for the challenges.
International legislations and standards are also
affecting the way small and medium enterprises are
The United Nations Millennium conducting their businesses and finally, the UN Global
Development Goals Compact initiative is aimed to bring some standards and
values to businesses of all sizes and levels, society and
In September 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit, world governments.
leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable
goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger,
disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and
discrimination against women. Placed at the heart of the
Social Responsibility 3
 Social Responsibility
succinctly describes the triple bottom line (results) and
CSR Principles the goal of sustainability.
With Corporate Social Responsibility a business has "People" (human capital) pertains to fair and beneficial
many responsibilities with society but mostly the ones business practices toward labor and the community and
below: region in which a corporation conducts its business.
 Behave ethically: Respecting business ethics and A company using the three Ps (also called Triple Bottom
personal values. Line – TBL, in business language) conceives a
reciprocal social structure in which the well-being of
 Contribute to the economic development: This corporate, labor and other stakeholder interests are
does not happen by handing out money, but by interdependent.
generating products, jobs and economic
development. Businesses also seek to "give back" by contributing to
the strength and growth of its community with such
 Improving quality of life: For the employees, their things as health care and education.
families, the local community and for the society at
large. "Planet" (natural capital) refers to sustainable
environmental practices to benefit the natural order as
Business ethics is about having a clear mission, vision much as possible or at the least do no harm the
and values, transparency in business practices, anti- environmental.
corruption policies, etc.
Currently, the cost of disposing of non-degradable or
Working environment involves selection and recruitment toxic products is borne financially by governments and
practices, anti-discrimination policies, training and environmentally by the residents near the disposal site
incentives, human rights, health and insurance policies, and elsewhere.
and a pleasant place to work.
A company which produces and markets a product
Environment is the internal and external practices and which will create a waste problem should bear part or
actions to protect and prevent damages to the the total cost of its ultimate disposal. Ecologically
environment. destructive practices such as endangering resources
should be avoided by companies.
Community development is not only charity and
donations, but a concrete plan to support or sponsor a Often environmental sustainability is the more profitable
specific cause that will bring some kind of improvement course for a business in the long run. Arguments that it
in the community. costs more to be environmentally sound are often
specious when the course of the business is analyzed
People, Planet and Prosperity over a period of time.

Based on the CSR principles, doing business means It may cost more to a business to adopt environmental
placing attention in three major areas, the 3 Ps: sustainability practices but these are the companies that
will eventually be preferred by the public in the near
 People are all the people inside and outside your future when everyone will have a more ecological
approach to buying.
company. Social well-being and equity.
"Prosperity" is the profit shared by all commerce,
 Planet means the consequences for the
conscientious or not. The concept, within a sustainability
environment. Environmental protection and resource
framework, needs to be seen as the economic benefit
conservation.
enjoyed by the host society.
 Prosperity is the economic effect of products and
It is the lasting economic impact the organization has on
services. Economic prosperity and continuity.
its economic environment.
"People, planet and prosperity" (in business circles,
Prosperity not only emphasizes the company gain, as
prosperity is also known and referred to as profit)
well as the social and human gain in society, which
4 Social Responsibility
 Social Responsibility
comes from responsible choices regarding making and current partners. Your business is only as strong as the
spending “profit”. image investors have of it.

Media: Mass media has great influence in the public

The CSR Stakeholders opinion. By establishing an effective public and media
relations program your business can project the correct
Stakeholders are groups of people directly influenced by image and inform the public about your actions and
the activities of your business. business ethics.
They may also be parties making demands on behalf of Environment: Implementing environmental friendly
other groups or the environment which are unable to systems will bring a good image and can also save you
safeguard their own interests. money.
Internal Stakeholders: Innovation: Are there any environmental or social
problems which your products or services may help
Owners: Your own image in the community, your alleviate?
participation in the society and your actions as a citizen
will have an influence on how others see your business. Of course, not all stakeholders apply or are of equal
importance to your business. Some stakeholders are
Management: Using good management ethics and a relevant to most businesses (employees, authorities and
fair share of profits and transparency of the finances, customers) and others may in some situations be of
participation of partners or managers in decisions will overall importance (mass media, interest groups, etc.).
bring the support from them.
Many small or medium-sized businesses have close
Employees: Diversity management, training employees connections to many of their stakeholders. In a strategic
to perform higher skilled tasks, share decisions and keep stakeholder dialogue you have to determine which
information flowing both ways. stakeholders are of most importance to the continued
existence of your business and give them priority.
Families: The opinion or attitude families have towards
your business or products can have a direct influence on
the employees’ attitude and behavior while working or The Ten UN Global Compact
outside the company’s environment.
Principles
Customers: Labeling your products can make them
stand out in the view of concerned customers. This may The United Nations (UN) implemented the Global
be a pre-requisite for entering a particular market, such Compact, one of the Millennium Development Goals
as detergents, paper, cleaning products, etc. (MDG’s) in July 2000 with the aim to bring together
companies, UN agencies, labor and civil societies to
Suppliers: Knowing how your suppliers work and their support universal social and environmental principles.
business ethics in relation to the environment and
community is indispensable to ensure your products are The Global Compact consists of ten defining principles
what you are labeling them. which are derived from key UN platforms and the
continuing need for organizations to be ethically
External Stakeholders: upstanding. The principals are:

Government: Following government standards, rules Human Rights

and regulations and knowing their plans can help you to
get financial aid and promotion from government. 1. Business should support and respect the protection
of internationally proclaimed human rights
Community: Contributing to local community activities,
educational institutions and employees participating in  The core value of international human rights law
community voluntary organizations will create a good is the notion that all human beings are born
image for your business. free and equal in dignity and rights.

Investors: This can involve banks, new partners or  It is up to you to make sure that people are

Social Responsibility 5
 Social Responsibility
treated respectfully in your company, 8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater
association, society, etc. environmental responsibility.

 Companies should voluntarily promote human  Contributing voluntarily can establish a culture
rights. that achieves more than legislation demands.

2. Make sure that they are not complicit in human  Protection the environment by polluting less, use
rights abuses. resources in a more sustainable manner and
recycle more.
 Complicit means knowing and accepting or
covering human rights abuses. 9. Encourage the development and diffusion of
environmentally friendly technologies.
 Can be in your own environment or with
customers, suppliers, etc.  Pursue and encourage the development and
diffusion of environmental friendly technologies.
 Companies should avoid being complicit.
Anti-Corruption
Labor Standards
10. Business should work against corruption in all its
3. Business should uphold the freedom of association forms including extortion and bribery.
and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining;  By global standards, it means trading in
influence, abuse of functions, illicit enrichment,
 Respect for the right of employers and workers obstruction of justice, laundering and
to join associations of their choice concealment of ill-gotten gains.

4. The elimination of all forms of forced and  Corruption can take many forms that vary in
compulsory labor; degree from the minor use of influence to the
institutionalized bribery.
 Eliminate forced work for debt, identity papers,
by threat of firing or other forced ways of work.  Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for
private gain. This can mean not only financial
5. The effective abolition of child labor gain but also non-financial advantages.

 Minimum age of admission after completion of  Extortion is the solicitation of bribes

compulsory schooling (average 15 years) accompanied by threats that endanger the
personal integrity of the life of the private
 Light work (13 or 14) in developing countries persons involved.

 Hazardous work (18 years)  Bribery is an offer or receipt to or from any

person as an inducement to do something which
6. The elimination of discrimination in effect of is dishonest, illegal or a breach of trust.
employment and occupation.

 Eliminate preference based on race, color,

United Nations Declaration of
political opinion, religion, sex or origin. Human Rights
Environment All human beings are born with equal and inalienable
rights and fundamental freedoms. Adopted and
7. Business should support a precautionary approach proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of
to environmental challenges. 10 December 1948. United Nations Department of
Public Information.
 Lack of full scientific certainty should not be a
reason to postpone cost effective measures.

6 Social Responsibility
 Social Responsibility
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/education/training/  Involves a close understanding of and
udhr.htm involvement with appropriate stakeholders. CSR
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/ is also the actual process of including relevant
stakeholders in the decision on which activities you
Responsibility plan to undertake in relation to people and the
environment.
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is
strongly affecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). CSR Implementation Process
The debate on CSR in recent years has focused mainly In order to implement CSR as a natural part of your
on large companies and multinationals. organization you need to develop a program that is the
correct fit for your organizations values and goals.
But supply chain relationships, implementation
problems, the development of legislation and This means that not only are you ensuring your
international standardization and certification, and organizational practices are CSR compliant but you also
notably, the extension of the United Nations Global ensure that they are a good fit to your employee/
Compact initiative, has brought the debate to the local member and organization values. This will mean that
level. they are actively undertaken and practiced by your
employees/members.
This means that no matter how small or local a business,
it is affected by events and decisions sometimes as far A. Understanding and awareness of CSR
as the other side of the globe.
Before we can even implement a CSR program into
For example, almost all businesses depend on some an organization, we need to ensure that all members
kind of supplier, who in turn depends on someone else understand what it is. This is important if we are truly
and so on. going to integrate a CSR program into an
organization rather than have it as window dressing.
Any change in rules or offer and demand will affect the
entire chain, not only the part affected, but mainly small B. Identify your organizations CSR goals
and medium enterprises because of implementation
challenges for new processes. Your organization’s CSR goals need to be
something that all members have contributed to and
International legislations and standards are also relate to. The organization’s CSR goals must be
affecting the way small and medium enterprises are decided by all members (employees, managers, and
conducting their businesses and finally, the UN Global partners) not only by the president or owner. They
Compact initiative is aimed to bring some standards and must be aligned with the corporate philosophy
values to businesses of all sizes and levels, society and (mission, vision and values).
governments.
C. Develop your CSR plan
How does CSR work? Once you have the decided the goals you need to
work with the employees to develop the CSR plan.
 Involves voluntary initiatives by enterprises By involving all members of your organization you
which go beyond compliance with the law. CSR will help to solidify understanding and awareness.
is the business voluntary effort to include the society, This will also ensure that all members have
the environment and your stakeholders in the ‘ownership’ of the plan.
context of the businesses activities and operations.
D. Communicate the CSR plan
 Involves the whole business process rather than
simply focusing on philanthropy or charity. CSR The plan must be communicated to all stakeholders
includes activities which make a difference to people to gain support, customer loyalty, and employee
and the environment. motivation.

Social Responsibility 7
 Social Responsibility
E. Implement your CSR plan
Key Success Factors
There is no use in having a plan if it is just a written
document and no one does anything with it. Give The implementation of the UN Global Compact
your employees or members full ownership of it and principles include:
ensure that they gain the satisfaction from the
achievement of the CSR goals. • Making them your own principles. You must
believe in the principles and be ready to follow them
F. Follow up and evaluation in your daily life.

As important as the actions and execution of the • Willingness and ability to learn and adapt. Things
plan, is the follow-up and constant revision of the are or seem different for different people, so you
progress and from the results adapting and updating must also understand the actions and behaviors of
the plan. A periodic evaluation will show mistakes to other people.
avoid and will show results that can be used for
marketing and government reports. • Communicate and promote principles. Don’t miss
any opportunity to communicate and promote the
principles.
People, Planet and Prosperity
• Dedication to practical action. Words and good
The concept of TBL (Triple Bottom Line) demands that a intentions will not make any change. You must act at
company's responsibility be to stakeholders rather than home, at your office or job, in the community and
shareholders. with your Local Organization.

In this case, 'stakeholders' refers to anyone who is • Lead by example, practice principles. Good
influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the actions of examples are contagious. Lead by example with
the company. According to the stakeholder theory, the good actions and examples.
business entity should be used as a vehicle for
coordinating stakeholder interests, instead of maximizing
shareholder (owner) profit.
Principles, Values,
Circumstances and Needs
In order to achieve results in CSR and the UN Global
Compact Principles, all three aspects must be treated as Any principle, rule or standard must be evaluated from
one because they are interrelated. different aspects, such as our values, the
circumstances, and our needs, but we always must
A company can no longer work towards prosperity of know what is right and wrong, establish personal
profit because prosperity with affect people and planet principles and values and make wise decisions based on
and vice-versa. these personal principles and values.

For example, an action related to the environment can  Adopting the principles and acting responsibly
have a positive or negative effect on prosperity of profit. will not be as easy as it seems.

The action may cost money which will affect the Many times you may have to challenge your values
company’s results and maybe the cost of products. and face circumstances and have needs that seem
to make the implementation of the CSR and UN
On the other hand, an action on saving energy will Global Compact principles very difficult.
benefit both the environment and the company’s
financial results.  Until the majority becomes part of the chain and
acts responsibly you may face challenges.
If many actions are combined the company may see its
costs being reduced which can result in lower prices Depending where you live and have your business,
which will result in more sales and end up with more the common sense may not be totally in accordance
profits and the circle goes on. with the CSR and UN Global Compact Principles,
but sooner or later, every person or business will
have to act responsibly.
8 Social Responsibility
 Social Responsibility
 As a responsible and active citizen you must But the reality is that we, as the current users of earth
always know what is right or wrong and act we are supposed to be the ones who are shaping it
responsibly. when we hand it over to our children or to the next
generation.
Even if sometimes you cannot act completely in
accordance to the principles, you must always know The same way we may blame past generations, our
where to go to become right and avoid getting children and their children may blame us for what we did
deeper into the wrong side. or for what we could have done to leave a better world
for them.
You need to be creative and very analytic to
implement a CSR plan that follows your principles
and values and adapt it to the circumstances and
The Starfish story
needs.
There was once a writer who used to go to the ocean to
get inspirations for his writing. One day as he walked
The Need for Action along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a
person throwing something into the ocean.
Making wise and timely decisions about our challenges
will set the course of global development and societal As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man, and
achievements in the years immediately ahead. the young man was reaching down to the shore, picking
up starfish, and very gently throwing them into the
As active citizens, we cannot expect and wait that all ocean.
challenges be addressed by any government or
institution acting alone. Active citizens and organizations - Good morning young man! What are you doing?
must be involved and act. Asked the wise man.

Here is where JCI members and Local Organizations The young man paused, looked up, and replied:
can have a great impact in the local communities by
acting with authorities, business and society in the - Don’t you see? I am throwing starfish into the ocean.
solution of the long-term challenges for humanity. And The sun is rising, and the tide is out. And if I don’t
CSR can be just the beginning. throw them back into the ocean, they’ll die out here.

No matter where you start, if you know what to do and - But, young man, don’t you realize that there are
are committed to action! miles of beach and thousands of starfish all along it?

 Action in the Local Organization - You can’t possibly make a difference or save them
 Action at the workplace all! The man told the young boy.
 Action in the community and friends
 Action at home The young man, listening politely, bent down and picked
up another starfish, throwing it into the sea past the
breaking waves.
The world is not ours
Turning to the old man, he modestly replied,
Sometimes we tend to think that we received this world
from our ancestors. “It made a difference for that one.”

Many times we even blame previous generations for No matter how big or small our actions are, they will
giving us the world that we think could be in a better always make a difference for someone and add to the
shape. global efforts to solve the world’s challenges.

Social Responsibility 9
 JCI Vision
.
“To be the leading global network of young active citizens.”

JCI Mission

“To provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change.”

About JCI

JCI is a membership-based nonprofit organization of young active citizens ages 18 to 40 in more than 100
countries who are dedicated to creating positive change in their communities. Each JCI member shares the
belief that in order to create lasting positive change, we must improve ourselves and the world around us. JCI
members take ownership of their communities by identifying problems and creating targeted solutions to create
impact.

10