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Implementing a CSR / Sustainability Programme
 When considering a CSR/Sustainability reporting project and environment, the company should consider the initial project to establish the process, and should do so with careful consideration of how to imbed CSR/Sustainability into the fabric of the company. The following process model was developed by the author as a methodology for the implementation of a CSR / Sustainability program.
For simplicity, we will merge both the initial project initiation with the ongoing program, using three phases:
Alignment, in which the organization makes the commitment to the introduction of a CSR/Sustainability program, establishing the team for the initial reporting cycle, establishing baselines and setting targets, aligning management and the organization around the goals of CSR/Sustainability, and identifying an assurance provider if desired.Implementation, in which the program is introduced to the organization, objectives are set or confirmed, plans are approved and begun (or continue), progress is reviewed and the assurance provider executes their program sufficient to provide management with assurance in the results.Confirmation, in which results will be compiled and internal reports created and disseminated, and external reports are produced and provided to external stakeholders.
Implicit in these three phases is recognition of the cyclical nature of the process. Lessons learned during Alignment carry forward into Implementation and Confirmation, and those learned in Implementation carry forward into the upcoming Confirmation and the next Alignment phases. What changes are the elements of each phase as the company moved from initial program establishment to ongoing operations of the CSR/Sustainability program.
While it is possible to identify those three phases, it is much more difficult to rigidly apply any single activity to only one phase. Certainly many functions of the program are applicable to only one phase, but many activities span phases, with some spanning the entire process. Some activities may be sequential, while others are continuous, making a linear project or program an inappropriate model.
Program Streams
The processed has been mapped on the following page, based on project/program activity areas and responsibility or participant type. Our activities include:
• Establishing the Program
• Setting benchmarks and targets
• Performing
• Internal reporting
• External reporting
As stated above, some of these activities are sequential, some ongoing, some are one-time activities and others occur through each CSR/Sustainability reporting cycle or event.
Participants
Again for simplicity, our CSR/Sustainability process includes five key sets of participants, representing both internal and external parties. The range of participants is significantly greater, but for our purposed we have grouped them to include:
• Oversight/Authorizers:
• Project/Program team
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Operations, External Experts
• Stakeholders & Stakeholder Council
• Audiences/Consumers
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