Corporate Social Responsibility is enshrined in each one of our company values, which guide us in everything we do.

The Executive Team is committed to CSR – doing business responsibly to achieve sustainable growth and to protect and enhance the reputation of ScottishPower and the wider IBERDROLA Group in the UK.

Management of CSR issues advanced at group level during the year when the IBERDROLA Board of Directors approved the establishment of a CSR Committee, which is responsible for driving the company’s CSR policies and ensuring the best corporate governance practices are followed. This is a Committee of the main IBERDROLA Board. The UK is represented by Samantha Barber.

Our Head of CSR now represents ScottishPower on the IBERDROLA International Reputation Committee, which act as a focus for discussion and policy development for a range of CSR issues at group level, as well as chairing ScottishPower’s CSR Steering Committee. We have now been invited to help IBERDROLA USA establish a similar committee.

The CSR Steering Committee, made up of senior representatives from across all the functions in ScottishPower, provides a link between the Executive Team and business operations.

The Committee, which meets quarterly, is responsible for policy development and review and advising business heads on Corporate Social Responsibility.

Through our CSR Steering Group we ensure that CSR is integrated into the company’s strategy for sustainable growth and that social and environmental issues are given full consideration in our business decision making.

A key part of our CSR framework is on-going consultation with stakeholder groups, listening to and considering their feedback and, where appropriate, addressing the issues they raise in the way we do business.

We have a distinct framework for environmental governance, as it involves an increasing number of mandatory demands and legislative compliance. This is described in the Environment section.

ISO 26000

ISO 26000, the standard for Corporate Social Responsibility was published in November 2010.

ScottishPower's CSR Steering Group discussed the standard at various stages in its development, produced briefing packs for key personnel on its use and last year invited our businesses and key departments to assess their approaches to all relevant key issues against an advanced draft of the standard before its official launch.

From this initial exercise we confirmed that the vast majority of our processes are in line with the guidelines documented in the standard. However, following publication of the standard in its final form, we have embarked on a more detailed programme of education and scrutiny of our approach against ISO 26000 guidelines, to see if any further improvements can be made.

The standard comprises a set of guidelines, rather than requirements, and is not subject to audit, nor certification. As such, it is not about setting, monitoring and measuring performance against key indicators, but ensuring that we follow sound CSR principles and management approaches. Our businesses already operate robust certified environmental, health & safety and quality management systems (that are subject to external audit) and used as vehicles for continuous improvement.

ISO 26000 will integrate social responsibility, providing an international consensus on what it means, what issues an organisation needs to address in order to operate in a socially responsible manner, and what is best practice in social responsibility.

The standard was developed over five years with input from 91 countries and 42 organisations, including the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Labour Organization, Consumers International, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development and the Global Reporting Initiative.