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Big problems like climate change and inequality require big, systemic solutions. Companies that don’t take action risk losing investment opportunities and market shares. A goal-driven #corporateresponsibility strategy can help companies challenge themselves to do more while also increasing their #accountability to stakeholders. As setting #corporateresponsibility goals are something different for every company, the six tips to consider to develop a goal-driven corporate reasonability strategy that suits your organization are:

1. Get Buy-in from Your Executives: executive support of the strategy will communicate its importance to employees and other stakeholders, facilitating a successful companywide implementation.
2. Determine Your Material Issues: the areas that matter most to stakeholders, and where your company can deliver the most impact through its operations, products, and services.
3. Align Goals to Company Values & Culture: after determining the material issues, it is fundamental to discuss how to approach these issues in a way that is authentic to your company’s purpose, values, brand, and culture.
4. Establish Your Goal Framework: a framework organizing and communicating the goals in a memorable, effective way.
5. Create a System of Implementation and Accountability: achieving corporate responsibility requires consistent effort and collaboration across an organization. Establishing a corporate responsibility council of executives and senior managers that is accountable to the board of directors is a concrete approach to create such a system.
6. Deliver Transparent Reporting: the three principles that must be applied to corporate responsibility reporting are #honesty, #transparency, and #repetition. Publish your goals and then regularly report challenges and progress.

Don’t forget to be proud of the work you’ve done! You may not have a €100 million budget to pledge, but you have something just as valuable to share: an authentic, research-based corporate responsibility strategy. No matter how big or small the company, we can all use our unique gifts for good!

Article available at https://hbr.org/2021/09/your-csr-strategy-needs-to-be-goal-driven-achievable-and-authentic