Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the framework through which a company takes responsibility for its impacts on people, communities, and the environment, beyond what the law requires. It reflects the principle that businesses have responsibilities beyond generating profit.

CSR is typically organised around four pillars:

• Environmental: managing a company's impact on the natural environment, including carbon emissions, energy use, waste, and resource consumption
• Ethical: conducting business with integrity, including fair labour practices, supply chain standards, human rights, and anti-corruption policies
• Philanthropic: contributing to communities through charitable giving, volunteering, or social investment programmes
• Economic: ensuring the business operates sustainably and creates value for employees, suppliers, and the broader economy, not just shareholders

Historically, CSR was voluntary and reporting was largely self-directed. That is changing. Regulations such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) now require large companies in the EU to disclose their impacts on people and the environment in a structured, verifiable format. What was once a reputational choice is increasingly a legal obligation.

CSR and ESG are related but distinct:

• CSR - refers to a company's activities, commitments, and values. It is the substance of how a business takes responsibility for its impacts.
• ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) - refers to the criteria used to measure and report on those commitments, particularly for investors and financial markets.