1. Corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals
Beyond regulation and risk assessment, understanding the responsibility of companies in society

2. Content Corporate Social Responsibility What it is
How it applies to my company
How it links to the EU regulation and my sourcing practices
The Sustainable Development Goals
Capturing the broader impact of my activities
How I can contribute as a SME in Europe

3. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society 1.
Following the law 2.
Integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer, and human rights concerns into their business strategy and operations
Definition European Commission, 2011

4. Defining responsibilities
CSR
Labour
practices
Environmental impacts
Fair operating practices
Human rights
Responsible Sourcing
Customer issues
Community engagement and development

5. Labour practices
Employees and workers represent key
stakeholders for any company. Labour
rights must be respected and the company
should have policies and procedures in
place to ensure so. Labour related topics
include, but are not limited to,:
Fair and adequate remuneration
Fair working hours according to local law and international standards
Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Zero tolerance towards child labour and forced labour
Health and safety
Environment
A company’s operation can affect the
environment in many ways, from air, soil
and water pollution to waste disposal and
use of natural resources. A company is
expected to identify such impacts and risks,
adopt policies, procedures and define how
to best tackle each impact. For example,
companies are making efforts to use
renewable energy sources or implement
programmes of waste recycling.

6. Fair Operating Practices
Human Rights
According to the scope of activities,
companies will potentially have an
impact on human rights of its own
employees, neighbouring communities,
stakeholders along the supply chain.
Key questions:
Who are the rights holders among my stakeholders?
What human rights will the company have a potential negative impact upon? Is it direct or indirect impact?
What are the company’s human rights policy and procedures, including remedy?
Fair Operating Practices
Companies are not only expected to
comply with national, regional and
international regulations, but are also
expected to operate ethically in respect
of accepted norms of behaviour. This
includes, but is not limited to:
Anti-corruption and anti-bribery
Fair and responsible tax behaviour (i.e. payment of taxes)
Respect for property rights
Fair payment practices

7. Responsible Sourcing
Environmental and social impacts can be
identified throughout a company’s supply
chain. For this reason a company should be
able to map its suppliers and identify key
risks and impacts. Some examples:
Respect for human rights
Environmental impacts based on suppliers’ activities (e.g. impacts in extraction, processing and transport of raw materials)
Suppliers’ employees have access to fair wages and other recognised labour rights
Corruption and bribery along the value chain
Consumer issues
A company should recognise environmental
and social impacts related to the use of its
products/services. Some impacts include
but are not limited to:
Health and safety risks for consumers
Transparent and fair product/service presentation and information
Environmental impact of product disposal

8. Community engagement and development
A company’s activity can directly or indirectly have a positive impact nearby communities or communities along the supply chain. Some examples applicable to the mineral sector:
Job creation and skills development
Local procurement to support local business and reduce carbon footprint
Investment in community (philanthropy and beyond)
Cooperation with suppliers and local organisations
Encouraging suppliers to engage communities in the countries they operate
It is very common for companies to identify activities of community engagement as the full scope of CSR, but as you have learned it is much broader. Nevertheless, there is a lot you can do as an SME to support communities linked to your company’s scope of activities. To ensure sustainability actions are taken, take into account the following:
Focus on communities and stakeholders impacted/linked to your company’s operation.
Partner with local and/or expert organisations to better allocate financial support.

9. Useful Guidance ISO 26000 International Standard Local labour law
ILO Conventions
Applicable collective bargaining agreements
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Health and safety national regulations and guidance
The UN Global Compact, Transparency International and the International Business Leaders forum guidance on corruption
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct

10. Towards integrating CSR into your company
Governance, value chain and business model
Stakeholder engagement

11. Governance, value chain and business model
Allocation of responsibility
Who is a decision maker in your company?
Have executives/top managers signed off on CSR impact assessment and related actions?
Who is responsible for implementing CSR related activities (policies, procedures, reporting)
Social and environmental impact assessment
What are the actual/potential social and environmental impacts across your value chain?
Are CSR policies and procedures integrated in your business model?
Companies’ policies, procedures and reporting
Are workers and suppliers aware of your policies and procedures?
Are you being collecting data on your social and environmental impacts?
Are you sharing regular and relevant updates with your stakeholders on your social and environmental impacts?

12. Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement can support a company in:
Identifying current and potential negative impacts and risks.
Increasing a company’s license to operate is a specific region/area.
Informing decision making processes (e.g. expanding a site in a new region affecting local communities).

13. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Corporate responsibility towards the SDGs and understanding business contribution

14. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 17 SDGs were set by the United Nations General Assembly in They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030.

15. The SDGs and business
The SDGs address society and institutions at large, including businesses.
Business’s activities potentially impact a number of goals throughout their value chains.
Companies should assess impact and potential contributions equally.

16. Business impact and contribution
Impacts are linked to a company’s activities and can be both negative and positive.
Negative impacts, refer to risks the company is generating towards the environment and people (e.g. health and safety, pollution, etc.)
Positive impacts refer to beneficial outcomes coming from a company’s activities (e.g. job creation, gender equality policies, etc.)
Contribution refers to what companies can do in addition to contribute to the sustainable development goals. (e.g. investing in local communities, education programs, developing innovative products etc.)

17. Value chain approach (example)
SDG Compass – The guide for business action on the SDGs

18. The SDGs for a company in Europe: questions that can be asked
How can I identify direct links with the 17 goals? (e.g. My company has recently introduced renewable energy sourcing, the impact/contribution to SDG 7 can be: Affordable and Clean Energy)
Who are the vulnerable groups along my value chain to which one or more SDGs could related?
What are the social and environmental impacts that I have identified? How do they link to the 17 SDGs?

19. Example 1
A tin smelter company based in Spain sources most of its raw material from Myanmar. In recent months a worldwide known human rights NGO has published a report highlighting poor labour rights conditions related to mining activities in that country.
Understanding the impact
Actions and questions to be raised
Impact and contribution with SDGs
You identify that the tin you source comes from the region identified in the NGO report.
Are you paying a fair price to your suppliers for their products?
Ask your suppliers about their remuneration policies: are they giving workers at least the minimum wage (ideally the living wage)?
Are your suppliers paying fair taxes?
Are you engaging with stakeholders in the country (NGOs, suppliers, local programmes) to address the challenges identified by the NGO report?
SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
SD8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

20. Example 2
A gold refiner in Poland has decided to start sourcing ASM gold from a recognised international programme on responsible ASM gold from Ghana, Burkina Faso and Uganda. The refiner has engaged with the NGO managing the programme and has identified a business model to separately process and market gold coming from the ASM Sources. Finally, the refiner receives regular updates on the activities with the miners in the field and has prepared informative materials to share with its customers.
Understanding the impact
Actions and questions to be raised
Impact and contribution with SDGs
Deciding to source from ASM can generate positive impacts in the related ASM communities. At the same time, it requires solid processes from the company to ensure risks related to such activity are mitigated.
For further information, please refer to the training module on ASM.
What do I know about the ASM communities and regions?
What is the international programme aiming at and how am I contributing?
What are the risks to people and the environment linked to sourcing from ASM?
What steps am I taking to mitigating such risks?
SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
SD8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
SDG 10: Reducing inequalities.
SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production.

21. Thank you For further information visit the Due Diligence Ready! portal