Dr. Michael Hopkins
The Following is a guest post from Dr. Michael Hopkins, Chair and Partner of MHC International Ltd (MHCi) a research and advisory company on CSR, employment and development. CSRFI is an MHCI subsidiary focusing upon CSR/Sustainability teaching and training. He has worked in and with the corporate sector, the United Nations, Academia and has held a number of professorships.
Harvard Business Review (HBR) is starting to catch up with us at the CSR Finance Institute and found out in January 2015 that CSR has come of age (well Michael was there in 1999 with his book The Planetary Bargain: CSR Comes of Age). But then they state
…there is increasing pressure to dress up CSR as a business discipline and demand that every initiative deliver business results. That is asking too much of CSR and distracts from what must be its main goal: to align a company’s social and environmental activities with its business purpose and values.
I can’t say I agree with that since the business case is paramount for me. They then come up with a four step plan for CSR in business. Well sorry to gloat but we at MHCInternational Ltd/CSR Finance Institute came up with an 11 step plan that we have since updated to 15 in our new work…check out Strategic CSR and Competitive Advantage. Our strategic approach is used to guide both our courses and our advisory services to companies. Our new book, CSR and Sustainability (Springer, 2015 forthcoming) elaborates the 15 point strategy further.
You can also keep ahead of the field, as we do, through our many courses. For instance, check out our January 1st 2015 updated online introductory course on CSR and Sustainability, pass it and get a certificate.
CSR Finance Institute holds CSR Meetups every month in NINE major locations around the world – usually on Tuesdays starting at 1830. Mainly networking events that follow a lively speech. Do join us for an interesting early evening… some have a modest charge to cover drinks and location.
CSR Finance Institute recently became certified to run training courses on Sustainability Reporting following GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines. Next courses in Mauritius, Nairobi, Ghana, Lagos and a special one in Geneva to focus upon integrated reporting with Enrique Torres former Head, Sustainability Reporting, GRI.
Check out our news and activities going back 15 years -such as CSR and Football: A Face Saving Alternative for Qatar.
We are running a number of events where you may find out more as indicated below:
- These issues are covered in CSR Finance Institute‘s Certified Introductory ONLINE course on CSR and Sustainability. Reasonably priced and over 15-20 hours you can take the course where you like followed by a certificate also delivered online.
- CSR Finance Institute has also formed the MHCi Consortium which consists of MHCInternational Ltd (MHCi), Strathmore Business School (SBS) and Apex Porter Novelli (APN) to be GRI Training Partners. MHCi Consortium is proud to announce that we are the first GRI Certified Training Partner to offer the GRI Certified Training Program for all countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Botswana, Cameroun, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sao Tome, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Our next GRI certification course, will be in idyllic Mauritius over 5-6 February…come and join us there and also enjoy the tropical weather in the mid-European winter!
- Compliance Lab who partner with us in Copenhagen updates you on recent CSR developments including UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, EU strategy on CSR, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Danish National Action Plan for CSR 2012-2015.
- A FREE tool to ‘Rate Your Company’ or Institution’s CSR from our holding company MHCi to know the level of CSR of your company or institution…takes 2 minutes and gives you your CSR score!
More details can be found on our website or e-mail us at enquiries@csrfi.com
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