The future of corporate responsibility codes, standards and frameworks

This brief examines the relationship between the many existing corporate responsibility standards, and offers a perspective on how these tools might evolve and converge in the future. It is aimed at Executives to help them understand better which codes to use, and also in what combination.

The briefing divides existing standards into three different types of categories:

• Normative Frameworks: provide substantive guidance on what constitutes good or acceptable levels of performance. They include the UN Global Compact Principles or the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• Process Guidelines (i.e. how to measure and communicate ): enable measurement, assurance and communication of performance. They include the AA1000 Assurance Standard or the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
• Management Systems: provide integrated or issue specific management frameworks to guide the ongoing management of environmental and social impacts.

The briefing suggests a number of actions companies can undertake in order to drive convergence around a set of generally accepted standards, tools and guidelines. These include:

• adopting standards that are most likely to make up tomorrow’s global sustainability architecture
• promoting the mainstreaming of these standards, tools and guidelines by investing in their further development and adoption by others
• supporting work that enables companies to integrate their use of the key standards, tools and guidelines in order to enhance cost effectiveness and create value
• participating actively with the various organisations driving the standards forward, and ensuring they have a broad based legitimacy through their own governance and accountability.