The business sector is an integral part of society and the decisions taken within a corporation have huge consequences on both society and the environment, both good and bad. A firm might be in excellent economic conditions but unless its positive contribution to people and planet is in balance with its profits, it should not be considered a successful venture. Business ethics does not suggest that a corporation generates a ton of profit at the expense of the environment, or at the expense of any group of society.
Today we discuss the need for a well-executed plan to elevate 'Corporate Social Responsibility' in Malta and establish it as common practice. Matteo Privitelli, from CORE Platform, has spent the past 5 years working on a national action plan, and is sharing his findings in today's blog post.
CORE Platform and the NAP on CSR for Malta
Ever
since its creation as the national platform on CSR in Malta in September 2015,
CORE Platform, which is a registered Voluntary Organisation, has grown a lot
and has formed part of numerous CSR initiatives with local councils, NGOs,
businesses, and local communities. Despite still being very small and having
limited resources, the impact the organisation has made, and is making, is
large, particularly in the field of corporate social responsibility and
sustainable development, and its network of contacts is increasing with every
passing day.
CORE
Platform, which is under the patronage of Her Excellency, is made up of the
business institutions in the country, namely the Malta Chamber of Commerce,
Enterprise and Industry; the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA);
the Malta Employers' Association (MEA); the Malta Business Bureau (MBB); the
General Retailers and Traders Union (GRTU); and SOS Malta, which is
representing the NGOs.
CORE
Platform is also member of CSR Europe, which is the largest CSR lobby group in
Europe, which also gave the organisation the opportunity to showcase and
promote CSR initiatives, while also discuss matters related to the subject at a
European level. The organisation also became a member of the European Alliance
for Apprenticeships in May 2017 and in March 2018 CORE Platform became a member
of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Mediterranean and SDSN
Youth.
CORE Platform has been engaged in
a number of local and European projects. Since the organisation is an enabler
and tries to work with as many stakeholders as possible, all of these projects
were done while working closely with other stakeholders. Its most recent
project is the National Action Plan on CSR for Malta. Almost every other EU Member State has a
strategy on CSR and, therefore, it was crucial that work started on creating
such a plan. Thankfully, through the support of the Malta Community Chest Fund
Foundation, the organisation received the funding to embark on this much-needed
project.
The specific objectives of the
project were the following:
1) Finding out which businesses have a
CSR strategy in place and which CSR initiatives or actions are priorities for
Malta. A further objective was then to raise awareness among the business
sector, local government, and civil society on CSR.
2) The research helped in drafting and,
then, finalising a National Action Plan on CSR for Malta. This plan will give
guidelines to Maltese businesses on how to become more engaged in their local
communities and on how to become more responsible and sustainable.
3) The National Action Plan will be made
available to businesses, especially those that have not yet set up a CSR
strategy and will encourage them to change their behaviour and model to favour
a more responsible sustainable approach.
4) For the project to be
successful, an online space in the form of a webpage on CORE Platform’s website
was created. This is accessible to all and will give more insight on the
National Action Plan as well as on any CSR initiatives being done in Malta.
This online space can be used by any entity or business in Malta to post or
comment about any initiatives or ideas they are doing or plan on doing. Apart
from the online space, there was also a campaign that raised more awareness
about CSR and helped get people more involved and engaged in the project.
In addition, a number of stakeholder
meetings with government ministries, local entities and businesses were held,
together with workshops, all of which contributed towards the final development
and creation of the National Action Plan on CSR for Malta. This plan will
ultimately benefit all the business community and society as a whole.
The National
Plan aims to support businesses in Malta to foster a culture of responsible
corporate practices within both the workplace and the marketplace, create
sustainable and fair relationships with employees, clients and suppliers,
embrace diversity, build positive relationships with the community and take due
consideration of their impact on the environment.
These aims are
expected to be met by:
* Building awareness amongst businesses, employers and employees on CSR and
on the benefits of fostering responsible business practices;
* Providing guidelines and supporting resources to develop effective CSR
practices;
* Aligning the goals of this Action Plan to the national objectives and to
the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
Whilst
there is a growing awareness of the demand for responsible corporate behaviour
amongst businesses in Malta, research has shown that one in three businesses
are not aware of the term CSR. Businesses in Malta are already carrying out
activities which could be construed as CSR initiatives, mainly through charity
work. Having said this, there is a lack of understanding that strategic
implementation of CSR within a company leads to enhanced business operations
and gains in competitive advantage.
This
Action plan develops guidelines to support businesses in the effective
development of their CSR programmes, by providing examples of CSR activities.
These examples are not intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all of
Malta’s needs but rather to provide guidance on how CSR can be embedded within
the business decisions and day-to-day activities.
This tool uses the UN SDGs as a framework for
objectives to formulate CSR approaches to ensure that businesses operate within
an inclusive and fair society and a prosperous economy, mitigate climate change
and its impacts, and protect the environment.
Under each one of the 17 SDGs, examples
of CSR practices are provided to identify desired outcomes that can be achieved
through initiatives undertaken by businesses, and the impacts expected to arise
from them.
These activities target four main
dimensions of CSR: the workplace dimension to engage with the needs of
employees, the marketplace dimension to address the company’s
interactions with clients and suppliers, and the environment and community
dimensions to enhance its wider impacts.
In
order for an enterprise to engage in CSR, it must carry out a thought process.
This would involve:
* Priority
Area – Identifying an SDG or a few SDGs that the enterprise would focus on.
* Desired
Outcome – Defining the outcomes that the enterprise wants to achieve by the
initiative.
* Initiatives
– Developing initiatives that enable the enterprise to meet the expected
impacts. Setting timelines, deadlines, and targets will allow for this to be
more successful.
The
Government plays an important role in serving as a facilitator of CSR by
encouraging businesses, through its national policy and programmes, to adopt
CSR practices within their operations.
Whilst CSR activity is primarily industry-driven,
measures to be implemented by the Government are aimed to support the adoption
of socially responsible practices by businesses. In this regard, local councils are
important stakeholders in communities as they have good understanding of the
local concerns and priority areas, whilst being able to build effective
relationships with the business community and with Non-Governmental and
Voluntary Organisations in the locality.
Measures to support the
implementation of the Action Plan
Implementing Body
- Set up an implementing body for the
measures in this Action Plan, which is to develop a programme to drive and
support the Plan.
Communication
- Identify existing and emerging
Government policy relevant to CSR to examine ways in which such policies
can be supported by businesses through their CSR activities.
- Communicate the National Plan with
businesses and employers representative bodies to encourage and support
their members to develop CSR initiatives.
- Raise awareness of CSR and its
benefits through the relevant Government departments and through
businesses and employers representative bodies.
Supporting and Promoting CSR
- Create supportive information
material on CSR to be disseminated to businesses through business and
employers representative bodies.
- Develop a platform for businesses
to cooperate on CSR activities, in a manner which creates the necessary
critical mass for initiatives to have sustained impacts over the longer
term:
· The platform would highlight the
priority needs for the country and main areas of interest currently covered by
CSR activities;
· It would identify gaps in CSR activities
relative to national needs;
· It would enable the measurement of
achievement of CSR initiatives and highlight needs for corrective action over
time.
- Encourage the participation of
large businesses in CSR practices and raise awareness of the value of
responsible corporate practices to attract and retain valuable talent
towards the company as well as their positive impact on the wider
community.
- Encourage and promote good
governance practice in the reporting of CSR activities in the Annual
Reports of large businesses. Inform large businesses with over 500
employees on the obligations of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, and
encourage them to align their CSR programmes with international guidelines
and principles.
Supporting and Promoting CSR
- In liaison with the relevant
Ministries, organise an event for the official launch of the National
Action Plan.
- Establish a programme to identify
and reward CSR activity amongst enterprises, with awards being presented
in a variety of areas of CSR in a National CSR Awards Ceremony.
Mentorship
- Implement a Start-Up Mentoring
Programme to support entrepreneurs in building profitable ventures and to
realise the benefits of social and environmental responsible business
practices.
Monitoring
- Monitor evolving trends in the
implementation of CSR in businesses and identify best practices through
relevant tools and studies.
You can also watch a presentation video about the CSR National Action plan published during Earth Week Malta here.
