Corporate social responsibility is largely about people. It comes from creating a culture of engagement, where everyone in an organisation is aware of the effect of their actions on others – customers, communities, colleagues and the wider society and environment.

Even a company that has a strong record of good environmental performance, or working with communities, will fail at corporate social responsibility if it does not treat its people fairly, or where management do not lead by example and with awareness of the impact of a changing external environment. The impacts of this failure to act in a joined up manner have never been more visible.

A successful and enduring business requires effective leadership that can harness the skills, capabilities and personal motivation of employees, by providing the right conditions and environment for a positive employment experience.

This means treating employees with fairness and respect, providing a safe and healthy working environment and encouraging, rewarding and recognising success that has been achieved responsibly, with respect for others and within well-managed risk parameters.

Providing a positive employment experience also means developing best practice HR policies, offering market-competitive rewards and driving a strong training and development agenda.

Training and development is crucial to succession planning and preventing future gaps in critical skills. In current economic conditions a strong focus on up-skilling and re-training existing employees, helps to maximise the capabilities of the workforce and provide continuity of employment in a challenging environment. It also limits the costs of re-structuring in challenging fiscal times.

The ability to do all this comes from inspired leadership and effective communication – which must include listening to people and taking on board what they tell us.

A company’s culture is just as important to the corporate social responsibility agenda as its policies. It is the culture that comes from a positive employment experience that drives a shared commitment to doing the right thing – for the environment, our colleagues and society as a whole.

Sheila Duncan, Impact Leader