The third in the series of 'How to do Corporate Responsibility' guides is now available. The latest guide entitled; A guide to 'How-to' Guides reviews over 60 practical, relevant and timely guides for practitioners in the field of corporate responsibility (CR).

Commenting on the guide, Director of the Doughty Centre, Professor David Grayson said: "It is a reference tool for busy managers who need well-researched and practical syntheses of 'how-to' do something within the field of CR."

"We have been mapping what how-to guidance already exists so that we can focus our energies on filling the gaps. We have now decided that the work we have done for our own needs could also usefully be shared and therefore we have researched, screened, catalogued and now provide reviews of good existing practical guides that advise on 'How-to' do a specific task or challenge within CR."

For inclusion in the review, guides had to achieve the following criteria: Is it practical and relevant?; Is it easily accessible?; Is it up-to-date? The result is a comprehensive synthesis of good resources available for the CR practitioner.

The guide is available at: http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/media/Guide%20to%20Guidesfinal.pdf

Corporate responsibility and the recession: how have we been affected?

The current recession has hit business and society hard - so what impact has it had on CR as an 'emerging' field? Interestingly, research shows that CR is emerging from the recession largely intact, and in some instances in better shape than before.

The latest research from the Doughty Centre looks at corporate responsibility and the recession. Looking specifically at businesses that have successfully embedded CR during the recession, the research highlights how this was achieved and what others can learn from this to inform their own work. The paper also looks forward to the post-recession period and recommends some key strategies that can enable a more successful understanding and embedding of CR.

David Grayson commented: "A key recommendation is that companies need to be more creative in retaining talent in difficult circumstances, for example through reduced hours or sabbaticals, rather than seeing lay-offs as the first option."
The paper 'Corporate Responsibility and the recession: learning from responsible business' is available at: http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/media/Doughty%20Centre%20CR%20in%20recession%20final.pdf

AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS

ESG governance improves business performance

For many years there have been inconclusive attempts to prove that improved ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance positively affects overall business performance. Now a new report released at the EABIS (European Academy for Business in Society) conference in September proposes that companies and investors should focus instead on core elements of non-financial performance.

The research team involving Bocconi and Vlerick business schools, and led by Cranfield's Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, looked in detail at how ESG performance impacts business success; how companies explain these linkages to investors, and how the investment community treats this data.

The report noted how the traditional focus on narrowly defined 'shareholder-value' poses a set of obstacles to assessing the value of ESG activities. To overcome these obstacles, the report proposes that value be redefined as 'sustainable value'; and sets out a 'Value Creation' Framework that can be used both by business and the investment community.

Corporate responsibility and the media

This summer, two high profile stories have brought attention to the corporate responsibility (CR) of the media in the UK. News International was accused by a rival newspaper of being involved in illegal tapping of mobile phones belonging to public figures, and whilst few outside parliament challenged the public service value of the Daily Telegraph’s long expose of MPs' abuse of parliamentary allowances, controversy surrounded the fact that the information was sourced from computer discs which may have been stolen.

A paper by Professor David Grayson, Director of the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management, explores CR in and of the media. The paper looks at both traditional media (print and broadcast) and new media (internet and associated phenomena such as blogging and social networking sites).

David comments that: "Media companies as businesses themselves should behave responsibly. Like any other business in any other sector, they need to understand their environmental, social and governance impacts and issues; and seek to minimise negative environmental and social impacts, and maximise positive impacts."

"Key CR issues for media businesses include transparent and responsible editorial policies; impartial and balanced output; freedom of expression; media literacy and the 'digital divide'."

Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility

Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility

VISION Sustainability and Responsibility at the heart of successful management. MISSION To inspire future and current managers with the passion for, and to equip them with the skills and outlook to, put sustainability and responsibility at the heart of successful organisations. The Centre has been made possible by a personal donation of £3m from Nigel Doughty - one of the Cranfield alumni. Over the next five years we aim to establish a leading European Centre for the research, teaching and practice of all aspects of Responsible Business. VALUES: Be collaborative Be cutting-edge Be candid Be passionate Be integrating Be entrepreneurial

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