Content
Aspect 1 raise their awareness of public contribution Aspect 2 employment creation and skill
5.4 Construction of CSR database in China and Japan
5.4.1 Structure of CSR database
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. It is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Compared to the service industry, agriculture and trade, manufacturing has a close relationship with the employment, environment pollution, and resource degradation. Therefore, the study on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in manufacturing will play active roles in environmental protection, sustainable use of resource, society harmony and so on. In 2005, the first CSR report came to the world, and then Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2006 and China Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2008 issued respectively the regulations to require listed companies to disclose the corporate social responsibility information using the standalone CSR report or annual report. Economics Division of China Academy of Social Sciences issued the Guideline of Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CASS-CSR1.0) in December, 2009 and issued the CASS-CSR2.0 in March, 2011, it promotes quickly the quality of Chinese CSR report.
Therefore, the name of Chinese corporate social responsibility report is unified, named mostly as the Corporate Social Responsibility Report. In fact, many different types and names of reports exists under the umbrella of CSR reporting, such as ‘environmental reports’, ‘social reports’, ‘climate change reports’, ‘carbon reports’, ‘environment reports’ and ‘sustainability reports’ and others. For example, In Japan, many companies issued the relative reports named as sustainability report, environmental＆Social report, CSR report and so on. After World War Ⅱ, the idea of corporate social responsibility was introduced to Japanese business society from United States. The Japan Society for Business Ethics Study was established in 1993.5-20) In 2003, Keizai Doyukai which is composed of top managers and corporate executives published The 15th Corporate White Paper on "Market Evolution' and CSR Management: Toward Building Integrity and Creating Stakeholder Value" after investigating European CSR situation. More Japanese companies have set up division of CSR and published CSR report since 2003. By 1 March, 2012, 806 Japanese companies issued the environmental report or CSR report for fiscal 2011. This study established database of CSR practice to promote CSR in China and provide suggestion for Japanese company in China as shown in Fig 5.4.
Database includes two parts, one part is CSR guidelines and compact for different aims, it includes content of various CSR guidelines and compact. Another part is about CSR practice.
Because standalone CSR report can disclose CSR information as much as possible and as
good as possible, more and more companies choose to issue the standalone CSR report, This study chose at random 20 standalone CSR reports in China and 20 independent CSR reports in Japan, and classified and recorded the action of companies according to 50 indicators. On the other hand, because the amount of the standalone CSR report in one sector is limited, it is difficult to collect 20 CSR reports in one sector in China and Japan, we select CSR reports coming from different sectors like Electronic, Food and drink, Metal casting and working, Transportation facilities, Plastics, Chemical industry, petroleum product, Com sector, Paper, Textile.
For every company, database record three part：basic information of company, information of CSR report and CSR action. Basic information of company includes company name, industry, report year and location. Information of CSR report includes CSR guideline, period of report, name of report and third part check.
Fig 5.4 Image of database of CSR 5.4.2 Content of CSR database
1) CSR guidelines and compact
This paper sorted the CSR standards according to their main content：CSR compacts and guidelines with emphasis on the human right; comprehensive CSR guidelines, CSR compact
or code of conduct in sectors or supply chain.
A. CSR compacts and guidelines with emphasis on the human right
In recent years, organization and council have drawn a lot of compact or international code of conduct to guide and audit the conduct of corporate social responsibility. These compact and the code of conduct emphasis mainly on responsibilities relative with human like respecting human right and enhancing the labor standard and environment. Several global conventions and principles become the foundation of these compacts and codes of conduct.
They are the convention of International Labor Organization (ILO), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN), SA8000, and Global Sullivan Principles and so on. And, SA800O (USA) drew by the Social Accountability International is the first international standard of social responsibility for third-party certification. Opportunities of an organization to support human rights will often be greatest among its operations and employee. However, based on these international compact and convention, many different codes of conduct or alliances are established to promote enterprise to take the social responsibility both in the inner of enterprise and in the supply-chain, such as the Worker Rights Consortium (US), Initiative Clause Social (France), ETI Base Code issued by the Ethical Trading Initiative of UK, ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development, Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series 18000 (OHSAS18000), BRC Global Standard – Consumer Products (UK), Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (UK), and so on. These compact and principle emphasize mainly on human right.
Human right is the basic rights to which human being are entitled. It concerns civil and political right such rights as the right to life and liberty, equality before the law and freedom of expression. It also concerns economic, social and cultural right such as the right to work, to food, to highest attainable standard of health, the right to education and the right to social security.
Generally speaking, these principles include no exploitation of child labor, payment of a living wage, no excessive working hours, safe and healthy working conditions, employment free, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
B. Comprehensive CSR guidelines
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises were developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1976. The Guidelines were updated in 2011 for the fifth time. They provide non-binding principles and standards for responsible business conduct in a global context consistent with applicable laws and internationally recognized standards. The Guidelines are the only multilaterally agreed and comprehensive code of responsible business conduct that governments have committed to promoting.5-13)
The United Nations Global Compact, also known as Compact or UNGC, is a United Nations initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. It was officially launched at UN
Headquarters in New York on July 26, 2000.
Global Report Initiative (GRI) is a non-profit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability. It issued many guidelines of sustainability report, like Environmental Social Governance (ESG) reporting, Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting, Corporate Social Responsibility reporting (G1, G2, G3). Among which, G1 or G2 or G3 of Global Reporting Initiative (USA) is used most widely for the draw of CSR report.
Accountability 1000 (AA1000) developed by ISEA, also known as AccountAbility, in the UK. The AA 1000series of standards are audit and management standards for the CSR. The AA1000 Series consists of: the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Standard (2008)(AA1000APS) , the AA1000 Assurance Standard (2008) (AA1000AS) and AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (2005) (AA1000SES).
The SIGMA Project - Sustainability - Integrated Guidelines for Management - was launched in 1999 with the support of the UK Department of Trade and Industry. It is a partnership between the British Standards Institution (the leading standards organisation), Forum for the Future (a leading sustainability charity and think-tank), and AccountAbility (the international professional body for accountability).
ISO 26000 is an ISO International Standard giving guidance on SR. ISO 26000 will help all types of organization – regardless of their size, activity or location – to operate in a socially responsible manner by providing guidance on:
a. Concepts, terms and definitions related to social responsibility.
b. Background, trends and characteristics of social responsibility.
c. Principles and practices relating to social responsibility.
d. Core subjects and issues related to social responsibility.
e. Identifying and engaging with stakeholders.
f. Communicating commitments, performance and other information related to social responsibility.5-1)
The Connected Reporting Framework was first set out in a report by The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) in 2007. It was updated in 2009. A4S says that a shift to a reporting model that supports the information needs of long-term investors, such as pension funds, and reflects the interconnected nature of financial, environmental, social and governance factors, is an essential step towards the creation of a sustainable economy.
Sustainable Development Key Performance Indicators (SD-KPIs) are the three most important sustainability indicators for the financial performance of 68 industries. SD-KPIs have been called a "minimum reporting standard" for sustainability information in annual reports/management commentaries of companies by the German Federal Environment Ministry according to the EU accounting directives and several laws of member states.
Chinese CSR Report Guideline was issued in 2009; it identified the environment, market and society responsibility of corporation and CSR management.
In a word, the framework and guidelines have promoting and supporting CSR from the CSR report, audit, and implementation and so on. These guidelines identify the social responsibility core subjects differently, but basically they all include the responsibility for the environment, customer, employee, partner, supplier, community, and society and CSR management. Therefore, these standards are referred by enterprise to develop the CSR strategy and draw CSR report; they can give a clear and comprehensive guideline or requirement to enterprise.
C. CSR compact or code of conduct in sectors or supply chain
To promote CSR, some alliance or council compact are designed to promoting responsible ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices in industries or in supply chain.
These specific standards are shown in the Table 5.11. Enterprise actively jointed into these alliances or programme to show themselves action in CSR.
Table 5.11 CSR compact or code of conduct for sectors
Name Sectors
Forest Stewardship Council principle and criteria Wood manufacturing Certification system of Responsible Jewelry Council Jewelry supply chain Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition Electronic industry Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) initiative Textiles industry
Global Social Compliance Programme Retailer
Fair Wear Foundation Fashion industry
International Council of Toy Industries Toy Industries Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production Fashion industry
Equator Principle Financial industry
Oil and Gas Industry Guidance on Voluntary Sustainability Reporting
Oil and gas industry Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification Building industry Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production Fashion industry 2) Database of CSR practice
This database recorded 50 indicator and more than 300 actions as shown in Table 5.12
Table 5.12 Amount of CSR action of indicators
Indicator Action Indicator Action
1.CSR or ecology version and strategy 2 26. Improvement of environment management 3
2. Risk or sustainability analysis 3 27. Water pollution prevention 3
3.Compact or other responsibility commitment 19 28. Solid pollution prevention 4
4. C5SR organization or Committee 4 29. Air pollution prevention 3
5. CSR policy and plan 4 30. Noise pollution prevention 3
6. CSR education 5 31. Logistical CO2 emissions reduction 4
7. Promote partners or sub company to take responsibility 5 32. Promoting Efficient Energy Use at Sites and energy saving
10
8. Ensuring respect for law 2 33. Use of Renewable or new Energy at Sites 4
9. Audit and monitor the progress 2 34. Energy conservation in office or life 10
10. Response to responsibility requirement of shareholder 3 35. Saving resource 3
11 Outer CSR communication 3 36. Recycling 5
12. Adopt product quality management 9 37. Biodiversity 3
13. Ensure the safety of product 4 38. Human right of employee (labor law) 20
14. Technique innovation 1 39. Equal opportunity for all workers 3
15. Satisfied Sale service 4 40. Employee care 11
16. Satisfied after-sale service 4 41.Fairness of evaluation and compensation 4
17. Maintaining and enhancing corporate value 3 42. Work-life balance 5
18. Tax payment 2 43. Communication between employer and employee 4
19.Disclosing information in a timely and appropriate way 2 44. Occupation health 7
20. Anti-corruption 4 45. Safe production 8
21. Fair competition 30 46. Career development 4
22. Promoting social responsibility in the value chain 3 47.Community involvement to be a good citizen of community
20
23. Plan of environment management 3 48.Solve social problem or support society development
30
24. Action of environment management 8 49. Raise their awareness of public contribution 3
25. Check of environment management 3 50. Increasing employment 3