Results from new research by our member the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCSR) suggests that the shared value concept is very important in explaining the development of CSR in Australia.

‘The State of CSR in Australia and New Zealand Annual Review 2015’ is an ongoing research study of CSR capabilities and practices in Australian and New Zealand organisations.

The Shared Value Project recently attended the launch of the Review on Wednesday 27 May, which this year is titled ‘Initiators, Integrators, Innovators’, focusing on the cycle of CSR as organisations mature. One of the key highlights we noted was how the advancement and popularity of the shared value concept is working effectively for many companies at the innovation stage.

The report noted how CSR is increasingly becoming a key aspect of strategy to achieve competitive advantage, and to achieve this requires innovation. This year respondents indicated that CSR innovation is more prominent in products and process (69%). Redefining markets and products are one of the pillars of the shared value concept, to link competitive advantage to solutions for social problems. ACCSR’s results suggest that the rising popularity of the shared value concept is very important in explaining the development of CSR in Australia.

ACCSR featured our member Insurance Australia Group (IAG), and how they are focusing on innovation and shared value as part of their overarching business strategy, with their shared value team located within the strategy function. “IAG’s shared value strategy aims to help develop new insurance products and open up new markets,” stated Ramana James, Head of Group Shared Value at IAG. “Anything we do to better understand and manage risk, reduce accidents or the impacts of fire or flood has a positive impact on us. It means less claims and less cost so it’s a virtuous cycle”.

At the launch event Dr Leeora Black, Managing Director of ACCSR, also highlighted some of the other key insights from the report including the dialogue around the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer, governance of CSR, CSR management capabilities, and priorities for the year ahead in which stakeholder engagement remains the biggest priority. Leeora also presented the CSR Top 10, in which we were delighted to see two of our members, IAG and NAB, as part of the ranking of top organisations in Australia based on their scores of CSR management capabilities.

The launch also featured insights from Dr Suzanne Young from La Trobe Business School, and a special panel discussion with Ian Wood, Vice President of Community Relations and Sustainability at BHP Billiton; Andrew MacLeod, Managing Director of Good Super, and Peter Bowtell, Principal of Arup.

We look forward to continuing these discussions with ACSCR and going more in depth into shared value approaches, tools, and perspectives at our upcoming workshop ‘Unlocking Shared Value’, being held in a partnership with ACCSR on 28-29 July. Click here to learn more.

Click here to download ‘The State of CSR in Australia and New Zealand Annual Review 2015’.

 

Image credits: ACCSR