Synergist - October 2011

and CSR quickly encompass areas in the organization well beyond EHS. The C-suite (Corporate Suite) needs to consider how to identify and develop the people who lead and manage sustainability/CSR. These skills go beyond the solid technical foundation of EHS professionals.

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship provides a guide companies can use to develop their sustainability/ CSR departments.1 Corporate Citizenship in the 21st Century: A Competency Model for Today’s Leaders is geared toward CSR but is equally applicable to sustainability and EHS professionals. The report shows that sustainability/CSR leaders come from both the corporate and operational functions. A common characteristic is that they have a “deep knowledge of the business and business culture.” In many companies the EHS department is at the top of the list for candidates to staff the sustainability/CSR function, or to be the foundation for a new sustainability/CSR department.

The Boston College Center identifies three main attributes of sustainability/ CSR leaders:

Leadership capabilities: CSR leaders have the initiative to make change happen and move people to support the CSR agenda.

Social traits: CSR leaders bring fresh, original and broad insight to CSR and business issues. They view CSR and society as an interrelated system, and they maintain empathic collaborative relationships with individuals and groups.

Personal enablers: CSR leaders are constantly curious and eager to learn about many issues and trends in the world. They are optimistic—they have faith in, and commitment to, the idea that CSR can make a positive difference for business, society and the environment. They also have “ego maturity,” the ability to achieve satisfaction by empowering others.

Global Reporting Index

Founded in 1997 by U.S. nonprofit organizations, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme, GRI released the draft version of its framework in 1999. The following links contain information about the latest version, G3: Sustainability reporting guidelines:

Industry Sector Supplements:

www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/SectorSupplements

National Annexes:

www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/NationalAnnexes

marily about operational reality and secondarily about public perception. When these issues get mixed up, companies risk being characterized as “green washers.” Second, because there is little agreement on the meaning of sustainability, it is much more ambiguous than most corporate initiatives. Third, because sustainability cuts across all departments and functions in an organization, it “ requires widespread operational as well as cultural changes,” according to an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review.2

If you are asked to help develop your organization’s sustainability/CSR program or system, a good place to start is to leverage your existing integrated EHS management system and audit program. Develop the sustainability/CSR policy first, and then plan activities that include identifying risks and legal and other requirements. Next, develop the operational elements and evaluation criteria. Consider augmenting your program with recommendations found in ISO 26000 on Social Responsibility and ISO 31000 on Risk Management. Each of these ISO standards can help make the program more robust.

through decades of practice are transferable to sustainability/CSR efforts and can make a difference.

The OHS and EHS functions have developed robust systems and structures, such as integrated EHS management systems and audit programs, which can assist in this burgeoning area. OHS and EHS executives are also well positioned to help make the case for CSR and sustainability to their boards and directors.

To learn more about the Center, visit www.centershs.org. In addition, if you have comments or issues that you would like the Center to consider, please let us know.

Charles Redinger, PhD, MPA, CIH, is with Redinger EHS, Inc. in Harvard, Mass. He can be reached at (978) 772-8105 or cfr@redingerEHS.com.

Zack Mansdorf, PhD, CIH, CSP, is a consultant in EHS and sustainability. He can be reached at (561) 212-7288 or mansdorf@tiac.net.

Implementation

Traditional implementation techniques at large corporations differ significantly from those needed for sustainability initiatives. A common mistake is to approach a sustainability implementation with the same tools and mindset used in the past.2

Sustainability initiatives are different in three ways. First, sustainability is pri-

Call to Action

The sustainability/CSR train has left the station. The Center for Safety and Health Sustainability provides tools, knowledge and a unified voice for OHS professionals in the standards development arena.

For those who view these developments with trepidation, we suggest that you consider them an opportunity to achieve OHS goals. Sustainability/CSR is closely aligned with OHS values and principles. In addition, many of the skills OHS professionals have developed

Resources

1. Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship: Corporate Citizenship in the 21st Century: A Competency Model for Today’s Leaders. Boston College, Center for Corporate Citizenship. July 2009.