3 Key Lessons on CSR from Swedish Companies

One of the reasons for the success of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Sweden is that big Swedish companies are taking responsibility, because they understand that they have to build trust among stakeholders if they wish to continue doing business in the long run, and they also see CSR as a business opportunity.

What can Singapore companies learn from the businesses in Sweden? The following 4 Swedish companies – Swedbank, ICA, Scania and SEK, provide some lessons on embracing and implementing CSR, including 3 key lessons:

1. Understanding that CSR is a journey and not a destination
2. CSR must be integrated into the business
3. Follow international guidelines on CSR principles and reporting Read more

Learning from Sweden’s success and experience in embracing CSR

Sweden has the reputation of being a leader in actively promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR), and Swedish companies such as H&M, IKEA, Ericsson, ICA, Swedbank, and Scania are known to be leaders in sustainability and corporate responsibility.

The recent KPMG International Corporate Responsibility Reporting Survey 2011 found that 95% of the 250 largest global companies has undertaken Corporate Responsibility reporting. This widespread adoption by top companies is encouraging, however, the survey also shows the difference in the level of reporting among the 3,400 companies across 34 countries.

For example, Sweden is one of the leading countries, with 72% of its top 100 companies now reporting on their corporate responsibility initiatives. On the other hand, there are countries lagging behind, such as Singapore with only 43% of its top 100 companies with corporate responsibility reporting.

Another previous Responsible Competitiveness Index ranking published in 2007 by AccountAbility ranks 108 countries on how they are performing in their efforts to promote responsible business practices. Sweden emerged as the top country while Singapore is number 15.

What can Singapore learn from Sweden’s success and experience in embracing CSR? It seems that Sweden’s success in CSR is mainly due to the government leading and coordinating, and big companies taking responsibility. The cultural context in Sweden could also helped to play a part. Read more

Much progress made in sustainability in Asia [News]

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times, 15 Nov 2011.

Sustainability advocates are the first to admit, rather candidly, that the sustainability journey in Asia is one barely out of its infancy.

While that may be so, they are equally quick to point out that much progress has been made.

‘I definitely think companies in Singapore are more aware of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In fact, I don’t think there’s any room for companies to ignore it,’ says Jenny Costelloe, country director of CSR Asia (Singapore). ‘With SGX (Singapore Exchange) encouraging listed entities to produce CSR reports, there’s definitely heightened awareness.’

Noting that the way businesses operate can have long-term effects on the environment and society, and that global investors and other important stakeholders have called for companies to espouse sustainability and report on such initiatives, SGX released a policy statement and guide to sustainability reporting in June this year, part of a move to encourage ‘green reporting’. Read more

Still some way to go for sustainability reporting here: poll [News]

By Jamie Lee, The Business Times, 16 Nov 2011.

When it comes to corporate responsibility reporting, Singapore companies not only lag their global peers in numbers, they are also falling behind in certain standards, according to a KPMG survey.

Singapore was included for the first time in KPMG’s International Corporate Responsibility Reporting Survey – a global study conducted once in three years that reviews the corporate responsibility reporting of the top 100 companies in 34 countries between mid- 2010 and mid-2011. More than 3,400 companies were surveyed.

Of the top 100 Singapore companies by revenue, just 43 offered reporting on their corporate responsibility, or matters relating to the environment, society or governance.

This puts Singapore among the bottom 20 per cent of the countries surveyed – a group that includes New Zealand and Chile, India and Israel – and offers a telling sign that Singapore needs to play catch-up, and fast. Read more

NTUC FairPrice leads with more strategic approach through measured goals and indicators to track CSR contributions [Press Releases]

Singapore, 17 October 2011 – NTUC FairPrice (FairPrice) today held its second Partners Convention where over 300 supply partners attended. Themed “CSR – The new norm for retail”, the half day convention focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and included new data from a consumer survey in Singapore. FairPrice also became the first supermarket and hypermarket chain in Singapore to declare its CSR measurable goals and targets as well as outline its strategic pillars.

FairPrice was established by the Labour Movement in 1973 to ensure that essential items were available to all Singaporeans at affordable prices during a time of economic and social turbulence. Through the years, FairPrice has remained true to its social mission through various initiatives to moderate the cost of living. While this social mission has remained its fundamental focus, it also recognises that there are other important aspects of CSR that it can contribute towards. Read more

Using Social Media to Transform Capitalism

In his book, We First: how brands and consumers use social media to build a better world, author Simon Mainwaring proposes the transition from Me First capitalism, the traditional free market and profit driven capitalism, to We First capitalism, where businesses and consumers use capitalism as a driver of prosperity for the greater good.

We First is about corporations creating value and building a better world, and consumers accepting a higher level of responsibility for creating the world they want. The transition to We First is realistic and possible today with the rise in social media, which gives consumers more leverage to persuade businesses to accept greater social responsibility for their behaviours, and offers businesses more opportunities to have real-time dialogues with their customers.

Simon argues that while some companies are embracing elements of corporate social responsibility and triple bottom line accounting, the overall progress of integrating sustainability into the fundamental principles of free market capitalism has been irresponsibly slow and not deep enough. To put business on the We First path, he proposes seven values: Sustainability; Fairness of Reward; Fiscal Responsibility; Accountability; Purposefulness; Engagement; and Global Citizenry. Read more

Green at the heart of business [News]

By Mindy Tan, The Business Times, 4 Oct 2011.

WHILE some companies tag on green initiatives as part of their corporate social responsibility spiel, Rigel Technology, a green restroom provider, not only bases its business model on it, the company says that its model is viable, and indeed profitable.

The company, which opened its doors in 1991, is the brain child of Christopher Ng, managing director at Rigel Technology.

He says: ‘I lived in a kampung in Malaysia when I was young, so I have always been close to nature. As I came of age and started to develop a business, I understood the importance of fulfilling our corporate social responsibility to the environment that has nurtured our growth.’ Read more

More companies taking up CSR [News]

By Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia, 5 Sep 2011.

More companies in Singapore are taking up Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Singapore Compact, which is the national organisation promoting CSR, says it now has 60 per cent more members compared to two years ago, with 366 members.

In his address at the start of the third International Singapore Compact CSR Summit, Minister in the Prime Minister’s office S Iswaran, urged more companies to embrace CSR, given its huge benefits.

Mr Iswaran said CSR initiatives will take on added significance as the footprint of operation of Singapore-based companies grows regionally, while small and medium enterprises too can reap benefits. Read more

International Singapore Compact CSR Summit 2011 takes off [Press Releases]

Focus on youth, launch of CDL-Singapore Compact Young CSR Leaders Award

Singapore, 5 Sep 2011 – Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, launches the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit 2011 today, against a backdrop of CSR gaining momentum in Singapore.

Singapore Compact for CSR, the national organisation charged with promoting CSR, has reported a 60% increase in the number of members over the past two years, with 160 new members since May 2009. This is the fastest growth experienced since the body was set up in 2005, reflecting an increase in CSR awareness. Its membership now stands at 366.

The spurt in growth is directly attributable to the greater awareness and the intensified efforts by Singapore Compact to push the CSR message island-wide. This will be further impetus for the body to increase its resources and strengthen its services and training programmes. Read more

CSR movement turning to young people [News]

By Michelle Yeo, The Business Times, 25 Aug 2011.

Young people are becoming the focus for promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the time comes to build a new generation of CSR-oriented business leaders.

Singapore Compact for CSR, the national organisation responsible for pushing the CSR movement, is redirecting its focus to the nation’s youth. The highlight of this redirection is the launch of the inaugural Young CSR Leaders Award together with City Developments Limited (CDL) earlier this March.

Open to tertiary students between the ages of 17 and 30, this year’s competition saw a total of 27 teams working with 10 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a range of different industries to help analyse and implement CSR programmes for these businesses. Read more

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