15 May 2007
Ethics central to corporate comms, survey says
Study reveals companies are stepping up corporate responsibility communication.
Companies in Australia and New Zealand are working hard to communicate corporate responsibility issues to employees, according to a report on 34 companies from ethics advice forum, the St James Ethics Centre (SJEC).
The center's Corporate Responsibility Index 2006, a voluntary benchmarking survey carried out annually, in partnership with professional services organization, Ernst & Young, has found that 92% of the firms studied communicate with staff about corporate responsibility issues through training and other channels.
Australian businesses no longer ask if they should be responsible; only about how best to be so.
Human rights policies
The survey also found that 73% of the businesses surveyed have companywide policies on human rights which they talk to their employees about, and most have set up and regularly review more general official workplace objectives for corporate responsibility.
"Corporations only flourish in flourishing communities. Australian businesses no longer ask if they should be responsible; only about how best to be so," says SJEC's executive director, Dr Simon Longstaff. "The Corporate Responsibility Index isn't a tool of measurement for measurement's sake. First and foremost, it's a management tool – a roadmap for building sustainable prosperity."
There's still work to be done, some of the key tasks for companies remain in engaging their suppliers in sustainable practices.
Highly responsible employers
Top scorers on the index, including car maker, Toyota, banking corporation, Westpac and mining firm, Rio Tinto, will all receive awards during the 8th National Business Forum on Sustainable Development Dinner on May 21.
"For the 2007 index we'll be engaging with these top-performing Corporate Responsibility Index companies to look at what the next challenges on the journey towards sustainability might be," says Emily Albert, Corporate Responsibility Index manager at SJEC. "There's still work to be done, some of the key tasks for companies remain in engaging their suppliers in sustainable practices."
Hub discussion forum
So, do you think the Index has got it right? Is corporate responsibility becoming a core theme for communication in your organization? Or is it all overblown? Please post your thoughts to the Hub Discussion Forum.
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