There are currently no laws which define Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Organisations adopt CSR principles voluntarily in order to build and maintain their relationships with stakeholders
This is on the basis that the brand value of an organisation is higher if it operates ethically with consideration towards the social and environmental impact of its activites.
The term CSR is often interchanged with triple bottom line for public organisations and NGOs, Triple bottom line is embodied in three streams, people, planet and profit. The underlying principles are designed to encourage companies to operate in a way which is not just profit focused and instead encompasses the much wider impact of their purpose.
At Anekanta Consulting, we align with the concept of stakeholder capitalism rather than anachronistic shareholder capaitalism which, we believe is out of step with modern times.
Current company law does not go far enough to codify ethical practice which results in some company behaviours just scraping through and avoiding legal consequences because they did not break the transactional elements of the law. Soon we hope CSR will become a measurable legal requirement which if not met is punishable by law, in the way that duty of care requirements for health and safety are now a high level legal responsibility not just for businesses but their leaders too.
Search for the truth
The search for transparency and the most complete version of the truth is at the heart of Anekanta Consulting‘s values.
Too often, leaders manipulate facts, intentionally or unintentionally in order to create a version of the truth based on their cognitive biases. According to Cognitive bias researcher Buster Benson, there are over 180 cognitive biases conveniently displayed in the Cognitive Bias Codex by Terry Heick. Awareness of the potential of bias in a decision making process is crucial. This awareness can lead to action which may be to seek independent unbiased perspectives which in turn may lead to a more complete and balanced version of the truth.
This is important in business to ensure inclusivity, diversity, balanced judgements and ethically applied technology.
Anekanta Consulting is committed to eliminating bias of any kind. We formalise our commitment to this through our policies, including our CSR policy which is outlined below although we are constantly reviewing them to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with new research.
Anekanta Consulting CSR Policy
We are an organisation which is at the cutting edge of technologies which push against the boundaries of current practices. CSR is therefore very important to us. We are committed to ethical and sustainable business practices and ethical and sustainable implementations of technology. We take account of our social, economic and environmental impact and the impacts of our clients. We vet our clients and supply chain to ensure alignment with our policy.
CSR is critical to the sustainability and diversity of our planet, our employees, customers and communities.
1. Environment
We’re committed to reducing our direct impact on the environment by reducing our emissions, encouraging and supporting home working, and reducing our consumption of natural resources. We take an interest in environmental issues and provide information to our employees about environmental initiatives around the world, including the best use of technology to preserve endangered habitats and species e.g. through the use of satellite technology.
2. People
We aim to create a diverse and inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all. We actively encourage professional development and support employee health and wellbeing. Our team is globally dispersed and we operate a distributed business model. We are therefore aware of time and cultural differences and do our utmost to adapt and help our people feel part of the Anekanta Consulting community regardless of where they are based.
3. Stakeholders
We map our stakeholders and communicate with them in order to understand their needs and respond in a way which creates the maximum benefit for all. We actively monitor stakeholder engagement and quickly adapt our approach to minimise any impact.
4. Procurement
We seek out the most ethical procurement route for the life of a project. This means that we check and audit our supply chain to ensure they operate with values aligned with our own, instituting the highest ethical and legal standards.
5. Community
Although we are a commercial organisation, not everything we do is for profit. We play a positive role in society. We provide high level expertise and contribute to standards groups and Associations. Those who are driving ethical and legal frameworks for the good of society by promoting the safest use of technology without an impact on the environment or on people.
For further information about our corporate social responsibility please contact us at ask@anekanta.co.uk.