Corporate social responsibility is considered as a set of obligations. Modern trends in the development of csr. Key Conceptual Components

2.1. Definitions of the concepts "social responsibility of business" and "corporate social responsibility". The constituent components of CSR: social obligations, social response, social responsibility, etc.

To date, there is no single approach to the definition of CSR. Some scholars and practitioners interpret this concept broadly, and almost any company action involving the participation of personnel is regarded as a form of CSR manifestation. Others reduce it to its specific activity. In table. 2.1. various most well-known definitions of the concept of CSR are presented.

Table 2.1 - Approaches to the definition of the concept of CSR

An approach	A source
From a practical point of view, the corresponding groups of requirements are in conflict with each other and cannot be satisfied all to the same extent. The choice of objectives should be limited to those requirements that management believes the firm must meet and is best prepared to do so. The performance of non-economic tasks depends on the solvency of the firm. Whatever non-economic goals are added to the list, if the firm does not achieve adequate profits, its survival will be in jeopardy and one of the goals will not be achieved.	Ansoff I.
CSR is the responsibility of an organization for the impact of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior that: - promotes sustainable development, including the health and well-being of society; - takes into account the expectations of interested parties; - complies with applicable law and is consistent with international standards of conduct; - integrated into the activities of the entire organization and applied in its relationships	International standard ISO 26000 "Guidelines for social responsibility"
CSR means doing business in a way that meets or exceeds ethical, legal and societal expectations.	"Business for Social Responsibility", USA - (Business for Social Responsibility)
Socially responsible business undertakes to conduct activities in accordance with ethical standards and contribute to economic development by improving the quality of life of both its own employees and their families, and the entire local population and society as a whole	1998, First WBCSD CSR Dialogue, Switzerland (1st WBCSD CSR dialogue)
Corporate corporate responsibility is a social movement of citizens that requires companies to take full responsibility for how their activities affect the world around them. Consumers, investors and company employees are beginning to realize the power of modern corporations and are trying to use this power to make the planet a better place for everyone	"Corporate Social Responsibility", Teletype News, USA (CSRwire)
CSR is inherently linked to the concept of sustainable development; companies need to integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions into their operations; CSR is not an arbitrary addition to a company's core business; it is a method used in the management of companies	PricewaterhouseCoopers Company
The social responsibility of business is a voluntary contribution to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, which is directly related to the company's core business and goes beyond a certain legal minimum.	Association of Russian Managers, Russia
The social responsibility of business is defined as a broad concept that includes the complex responsibility of a business partner, employer, citizen and participant in social relations.	Institute of Urban Economics Foundation, Russia

Thus, CSR is considered, on the one hand, as an integral element of competitive strategy. And on the other hand, it is a manifestation of the company's ethical behavior in the market in relation to the subjects of the external and internal environment, or based on the triune approach of "economics, sociology and ecology" as a factor in the sustainable development of society.

social response is the ability of a corporation to adapt to changing social conditions. In the process of social response, organizations are guided by social norms, the great importance of which lies in the fact that they can serve as convenient and useful guidelines for managers in the process of making managerial decisions. The importance of social response lies primarily in the fact that it replaces general reasoning with practical actions. Proponents of the concept of social response consider their theory more realistic and feasible than just social responsibility.

Social responsibility- the obligation of the organization to pursue long-term socially useful goals, accepted by it in excess of what is required of it in accordance with the law and economic conditions. Hence the concept of social responsibility is characterized by certain moral and ethical emphases: the organization must do what is aimed at improving society, and not do what can lead to its deterioration. Therefore, the activities of an organization that manufactures products that are essentially harmful to the health of any person (production of weapons, alcohol, tobacco products, etc.) will never be considered socially responsible, despite significant amounts of social investment in staff development, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and treatment, such as drug addiction. These corporations can only be classified as socially responsive.

social obligation- the obligation of a business entity to fulfill its economic and legal obligations to society. If an organization links its activities with the fulfillment of certain social obligations, then it pursues goals only to the extent that the latter contribute to the achievement of its economic goals. In contrast to social obligation, both social responsibility and social responsiveness go beyond the simple fulfillment by organizations of basic economic and legal requirements.

Relationships between social responsibility and social responsiveness are shown in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2 - Comparative characteristics of social responsibility and social response

The events of recent years - the refusal of many consumers to purchase products of socially irresponsible companies, the bankruptcy of the largest corporations Enron, World Com, failed mergers due to a low level of trust - have shown that issues of social responsibility and business reputation come to the fore in the activities of any company. Therefore, it is so important to understand what CSR is and how socially responsible business behavior affects the process of forming a corporate image and business reputation.

First of all, it is necessary to define such concepts as "corporate image" and "business reputation". It should be noted that at present there is no single, generally recognized algorithm for building the image and reputation of an organization. At the same time, the formation of a positive business reputation is closely related to the creation of a sustainable corporate image.

Corporate image: the general idea (consisting of a set of beliefs and feelings) that a person develops about an organization.

Business reputation: value characteristics (such as authenticity, honesty, responsibility, decency, etc.) caused by the established corporate image.

Corporate image is a set of beliefs and feelings that the company wants to create in the audience. In the US, many companies use in their activities the criteria formulated by Fortune magazine when compiling a rating of the 500 largest companies: quality of management; product quality; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; financial strength; efficient use of corporate assets; long-term investment attractiveness; propensity to use new technologies; responsible attitude towards society and the environment.

Improving the corporate image of the company depends on the improvement of all elements of corporate governance, including corporate culture, transparency of activities, public awareness of the company. One of the results of improving corporate governance and culture is the growth of business reputation, an increase in the size of intangible assets that depend on the positive image of the company, the presence of stable business ties, the popularity of the company name and brand. Recently, the dependence of business reputation on the nature of relations with the company on the part of not only buyers, partners and clients, but also society has increased, which is far from indifferent to the means by which the company's strategic goals are achieved, how it fulfills its obligations and what social principles it adheres to. The presence of social programs, sponsorship, the quality and effectiveness of relationships with authorities and the local community increasingly affect the company's business reputation, determine its investment attractiveness and competitiveness. Thus, in the report "Return of Reputation", published by the consulting company Hill & Knowlton, more than 90% of the polled stock analysts agreed that a company that does not monitor its reputation will inevitably face financial collapse.

Company executives, major business associations and the Russian government are equally responsible for improving the realities and perceptions of the Russian economy, its financial markets and investment attractiveness. Judging by the results of the survey, the leaders of Russian companies are ready to take steps to improve their corporate reputation. They see building relationships with the media, financial market participants and other external audiences as their main strategy (63%). Two-thirds of respondents consider sponsorship and participation in charitable programs as a way to improve their image. A third of survey participants are going to increase spending on reputation management.

In accordance with the theory of stakeholders, the corporation actively manages relationships with individuals and other entities (including future generations), and in terms of CSR, primary and secondary stakeholders are distinguished.

Figure 2.1. Stakeholder Model.

In accordance with the stakeholder model, corporations are inherent in social responsibility; already at the time of its inception, the corporation was an integral social organism with its own culture of production with intra-corporate relationships, its own corporate spirit and ethics. The social aspect should be taken into account when forming a corporate strategy, in addition, it is necessary to isolate the social strategy. This contributes to the creation of favorable conditions for the development of human capital, the formation of a holistic lifestyle and the improvement of the individual, which predetermines the formation of the competencies of the individual and the key competencies of the company.

Table 2.3 presents the needs and expectations of the corporation's stakeholders and mechanisms of influence.

Table 2.3 - Needs and expectations and mechanisms of influence of the company's stakeholders

Parties concerned	Needs and expectations	Mechanisms of influence
Primary stakeholders (who affect or may have a significant impact on the company's activities or who are affected or may be affected by the company's activities)
Owners (shareholders, participants, other investors)	Growth in company value, receiving dividends	Corporate control
Top managers, middle managers	Income growth, satisfaction of professional interests	Authority within the company
Company employees and their families, former employees and their families	Salary, social package; working conditions, confidence in maintaining the workplace in the future; satisfaction of professional interests	Own efforts and labor discipline; maintaining at the proper level (as well as mastering new ones) knowledge, skills, abilities
Consumers	Ability to obtain adequate and accurate product information; freedom of choice	Consumer Protection Law, Antitrust Law
Public authorities (Federal Tax Service, state statistics authorities, etc.)	Preservation of jobs, payment of taxes and fees, compliance with the legitimacy of business	Regulation of companies' activities to improve the efficiency of the economy; regulation of relations between business and consumers; regulation of actions in relation to the natural environment
Secondary (the influence of the company is negligible)
Lenders (banks and other credit organizations)
Suppliers and contractors	Stable partnerships	Compliance with contractual relations
Competitors	Development of partnerships	Choice of means in competition
Political parties	Reduction of social tension in the region of presence	Conquest of the electorate
Media	Informing stakeholders	Advertising, PR companies
local community	Economic stability	Joint social projects
Associations, unions, associations	Maintaining a positive image of the industry, regulating relations between companies and associations, unions, associations	Activities of professional communities
Religious groups	Decrease in prices for goods, works, services	Lobbying
Subsidiaries and affiliates	The right to reasonable initiative to make effective decisions	Corporate control
Trade organizations	Price reduction, stable partnerships	Competition
The poor	Price reduction	–
Environment	Environmental protection	Accidents at facilities signal the need for improvement
Future generations	Sustainable development	NLA aimed at preserving resources for future generations

Effective interaction of a corporation with stakeholders to conduct a civilized business involves its mutual dialogue with its stakeholders, implemented on an ongoing basis on the basis of equality, respect for the interests of the parties. The map of stakeholders developed by the corporation involves: formalization of all stakeholders of the corporation, consideration of their possible needs and expectations, analysis and evaluation of the corporation's activities in terms of making changes to the existing map. An example of a stakeholder map is shown in Figure 2.2. The corporation maintains a dialogue with representatives of stakeholders on an ongoing basis, including: on the implementation of CSR programs and projects within the framework of strategic cooperation, as well as in the course of preparing non-financial reports of the corporation in order to take into account the interests of each stakeholder in future periods.

Figure 2.2. Stakeholder Map

The implementation of CSR in the context of its types, forms and methods for each corporation is determined primarily by the needs and expectations of stakeholders, and, on the other hand, depends on the pace and direction of development of the institutional environment. At present, new forms of CSR implementation have appeared, which make it possible to strengthen control over the spending of funds allocated for CSR activities (creation of a corporate charitable foundation, patronage, social entrepreneurship, volunteering, venture philanthropy, etc.).

Identification of stakeholders in the context of CSR is carried out based on the following factors: the role of the company in the socio-economic development of the state (territory, industry); the level of its responsibility for current and past activities and future impact on the external environment; the degree of influence of the subjects of the external and internal environment on the company; government social, environmental and other programs implemented in the industry, etc.

In order to develop CSR programs and their implementation, corporations seek to engage in mutual dialogue with their stakeholders as part of their activities, and a feature of socially responsible corporations is the continuation of such interaction during the preparation of non-financial or even integrated reports for the corresponding period. In this case, information on the interaction of the corporation with its stakeholders is one of the sections of such a report (for example, an integrated report of the State Corporation Rosatom, JSC FGC, etc.).

2.3. Basic principles of CSR: consistency, balance, satisfaction of interests of stakeholders, accountability, transparency, feedback principle, principle of ethical behavior, etc. Best practice of CSR principles.

Principles- this is the starting position of any theory, doctrine, science. CSR principles are the guidelines and rules underlying the solution of tasks related to the implementation of the mission (vision) of the company, its strategic goals and priorities, taking into account their social aspects and interaction with stakeholders.

One of the primary stakeholders of a corporation is shareholders, so the quality of corporate governance becomes an important issue in the manifestation of CSR. The best world practice is the principles of corporate governance of the OECD (Principles of CG OECD), adopted in 1999 and became the methodological basis for analyzing the quality of corporate governance of individual companies. The OECD CG principles represent an important first step in developing a common international understanding of the elements of a good corporate governance regime and can be used by the private sector involved in the development of corporate governance systems and the development of best practices (Table 2.4).

Table 2.4 - Comparison of OECD CG principles and principles of the Corporate Conduct Code

Principle	OECD interpretation
Shareholder rights	The corporate governance structure must protect the rights of shareholders
Equal treatment of shareholders	The corporate governance structure should ensure equal treatment of shareholders, including small and foreign shareholders. All shareholders should be able to obtain effective protection in case of violation of their rights
The role of stakeholders in corporate governance	The corporate governance framework should recognize the statutory rights of stakeholders and encourage active collaboration between corporations and stakeholders to create wealth and jobs and ensure the sustainability of financially sound businesses.
Disclosure and transparency	The corporate governance structure should provide timely and accurate disclosure of information on all material matters relating to the company, including the financial position, performance, ownership and management of the company.
Responsibilities of the Board	The corporate governance structure should ensure the strategic management of the company, effective control over the administration by the board, as well as the accountability of the board to the company and shareholders

In accordance with the Code, the main purpose of applying the standards of corporate conduct is to protect the interests of shareholders, regardless of the size of their block of shares. In joint-stock companies, ownership is separated from management, so conflicts related to corporate behavior are likely to arise. One of the conditions for the inclusion of issuers' securities in the quotation lists is that the issuers of securities provide the organizers of trade in the securities market and stock exchanges with information on compliance with the provisions of the Code, which is a condition for the inclusion of securities in the quotation lists.

Table 2.5 presents general and specific CSR principles.

Table 2.5 - General and specific principles of CSR organization

Principle	Content
General
Consistency	The principle of consistency implies the unity of CSR in the space of the company and its integration into all business processes
balance	The need to comply with this principle is due to the consideration of the "business-state-society" system in terms of formalizing the company's AP, meeting their P&E, but within the limits established by the state and society.
Satisfaction of interests of interested parties	It is an important point in corporate governance, since it is necessary to respect, take into account, observe the interests of all interested parties who have their own P&E
Accountability	The company must be accountable for its impact on society, the economy and the natural environment. The degree of accountability can be different and depends on the stage of the company's life cycle. At the same time, accountability implies accepting responsibility in the event of harm, taking appropriate steps to eliminate the harm and taking measures to prevent it in the future.
Professional Competence and Integrity	The activity of the company in the field of CSR involves the implementation of actions in the direction of CSR in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards, having for this purpose special professional knowledge and skills and maintaining them at the proper level
Transparency	CSR must be transparent to all stakeholder groups in the company. From the position of information law, the main component of transparency is accessibility, which is ensured by the openness, publicity and publicity of the company
Feedback principle	A change in strategy (including social) affects all other functional areas and aspects of the company's activities, its business processes
Specific
Principle of ethical behavior	The conduct of the company is based on honesty, fairness and integrity.
The principle of matching the level of CSR to the stage of the company's life cycle means	A clear understanding by the company's managers that the strategy (including in the direction of CSR) varies significantly depending on one or another stage of the life cycle (business cycle) of the company.
Compliance of the level of CSR with the industry specifics of the company is	Understanding the company's activities, understanding the amount of harm it causes to the environment, first of all, is the key to success in promoting CSR
The principle of human capital development	The acquisition by people of greater freedoms and opportunities to lead a life that they value and have reason to value. It is about expanding the choices
The principle of reducing the level of negative impacts	Understanding by the company of responsibility for the negative impact of its activities on society and for reducing the level of negative impacts

2.4. Types of CSR. Triune result: the voluntary contribution of the corporation to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres.

The concept of "corporate social responsibility" can be interpreted in two aspects:

- as a philosophy behavior of a corporation in society, the fundamental concept of the relationship between a corporation and other entities (as social groups), individuals, specifying the goals, principles, methods, tools used by the company to meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders, which are decisive in ensuring sustainable development, taking into account limited available resources and organizational capacity;

– systematized and multidimensional corporation activity, affecting the quality of life of members of society through the implementation of consistent economic, social, environmental measures aimed at meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders.

Today, many developed business structures are clearly aware of their importance as a socially responsible partner in relation to both internal and external stakeholders. At the same time, there is still no clear identification of areas and forms of CSR implementation. That is, there is no classification based on objective criteria. Today there is a wide variety of different elements of CSR. Therefore, their classification in terms of the formation of a system of social responsibility of a particular company is a necessary condition in accordance with the main market trends and social requirements.

Firstly. CSR can be differentiated in three areas of its implementation: internal; external; combined:

1) in relation to personnel, shareholders, to the development of human resources in the enterprise as a whole;

2) to the development of the local community and society as a whole;

3) both internal and external stakeholders.

This division is necessary for a clearer understanding of the consistency, complexity of CSR, its forms of implementation and, ultimately, for a comprehensive consideration of the interests of the main internal and external stakeholders in order to obtain the maximum possible socio-economic effect.

It is also possible to distinguish between the concepts of CSR, which is implemented outside the requirements of the law, and CSR, which is implemented within the framework of the current legislation.

In this case, the social responsibility of business should be understood as the activities of the company, which is implemented in relation to all interested parties (both internal and external). This is a formal part of CSR, the implementation of which is regulated by law. Consequently, the informal part of CSR involves the business taking responsibility for the fulfillment of some obligations beyond the limits of legally established norms.

As a rule, the activities of a socially responsible corporation aimed at achieving sustainable development are viewed from the perspective of a “triune outcome” ( Triple Bottom Line): corporate economics, production ecology and social policy. The selection of three separate aspects is conditional - when preparing corporate reports, they should be considered in conjunction.

Corporate reporting is also considered in three aspects: economic performance indicators, environmental performance indicators and social performance indicators. The best practice for preparing corporate CSR reports is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

2.5. Forms of manifestation of CSR: by the scope of actions, by types of assistance, depending on the time of action, depending on the effectiveness, on the mandatory manifestation, on the areas of social programs. Tools for the implementation of social programs.

Figure 2.2 - Classification of CSR forms according to various criteria

Currently, there are many examples of social activity by a company in various sectors of the economy, when social needs are met when commercial goals are achieved. Of the foreign companies, it is necessary to name such large companies as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Ford, General Motors, etc. Among the Russian companies are the State Corporation Rosatom, OJSC Norilsk Nickel, OJSC Gazprom, OJSC Lukoil, OJSC Russian Railways, JSC FGC UES, JSC INTER RAO, etc.

As shown by domestic and foreign experience in implementing the concept of CSR, today there are many forms of manifestation of CSR (Fig. 2.2).

Charitable donations. Sponsor help. The role of sponsorship and charity in shaping the business reputation of a corporation. Foreign and Russian experience of sponsorship. Problems of sponsorship development in Russia.

Charitable donations.

Benefactors– persons making charitable donations in the form of:

– disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) transfer of ownership of property, including monetary funds and (or) objects of intellectual property;

- disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) granting the rights of possession, use and disposal of any objects of property rights;

- disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) performance of work, provision of services.

Benefactors have the right to determine the purposes and procedure for the use of their donations.

Charity- Providing gratuitous (or on preferential terms) assistance to those who need it. The main feature of charity is the free and unconstrained choice of the form, time and place, as well as the content of assistance. The concept of charity is given in Art. 1 of the Federal Law of August 11, 1995 No. 135-FZ "On charitable activities and charitable organizations".

Charity- voluntary activities of citizens and legal entities for the disinterested (gratuitous or on preferential terms) transfer of property to citizens or legal entities, including funds, disinterested performance of work, provision of services, provision of other support. At the same time, the goals of charitable activities are listed in Art. 2 of Law No. 135-FZ, and this list is closed. It includes, for example: promotion of the protection of motherhood, childhood and fatherhood; promotion of activities in the field of education, science, culture, art, enlightenment; promoting the development of scientific, technical, artistic creativity of children and youth.

By providing financial support, for example, to the organization of a children's creative competition, the company, in fact, participates in charitable activities. But in order to finally be convinced of the correctness of the classification of financial assistance, one question must be answered: to whom exactly is financial support provided? The fact is that the direction of cash and other material resources, the provision of assistance in other forms to commercial organizations, as well as the support of political parties, movements, groups and campaigns are not charitable activities (paragraph 2 of article 2 of Law No. 135-FZ). Therefore, if the competition is held by a non-profit organization, then the provision of financial assistance will be a charitable activity, but if a children's creative event is organized, for example, by a political party, then there can be no talk of any charity.

The concept of sponsorship is given in the Federal Law of March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ "On Advertising". That is, it is used in the framework of advertising activities. Sponsor (from lat. spondeo - I vouch, I guarantee)- a person who provided funds or ensured the provision of funds for organizing and (or) holding a sports, cultural or any other event, creating and (or) broadcasting a television or radio program, or creating and (or) using another result of creative activity. Sponsored advertising- this is an advertisement distributed on the condition of the obligatory mention in it of a certain person as a sponsor.

The essence of sponsorship, in fact, lies in the fact that for the financial support provided, the sponsor must receive advertising services from the sponsor in return. At the same time, not only the person providing sponsorship in exchange for disseminating information about themselves, but also providing it free of charge.

The role of sponsorship and charity in shaping the business reputation of a corporation. In Russia, as elsewhere, sponsorship and charity serve mainly to develop a positive corporate image. But, despite the awareness of the importance of charity to enhance the corporate image, in many companies charity is not really used to achieve this goal, the top officials of organizations often do not consider charity at all as an opportunity to promote the company's image. In companies where only CEOs responded to the questionnaire, in many cases charitable events are covered only within the company.

In the same number of cases, media coverage of these programs does not matter to them. However, for large companies, internal coverage of charitable initiatives is sometimes more important than external coverage, since it helps to improve the climate in the team and create a sense of security among the staff. In companies where the questions of the questionnaire were answered by directors of PR departments, the general public does not learn about charitable events only in 6% of cases. These managers are absolutely convinced that media coverage of a company's charitable activities is very important for building relationships between business and society, and they try to use charitable events as a striking element of event communication, effectively positioning the company in the eyes of the public. Experienced public relations specialists try to carry out charity events within the framework of a general image campaign. Heads of PR services willingly engage third-party PR agencies to cover charitable events (39% of cases), actively prepare and promote such events using their departments (53% of cases).

Foreign and Russian experience of sponsorship. A distinction is made between sponsored events (when a corporation is one of its sponsors) and named events. In the second case, brand exposure increases in direct proportion to the coverage of this event in the press. For many corporations, the global nature of the associations caused by the target segment is important. To declare the globality of the brand, corporations associate it with a truly global sponsorship object (World Cup, Olympics). Large corporations with extensive sponsorship experience: Coca-Cola, Panasonic, McDonalds, etc.

Problems of development of sponsorship and charitable activities in Russia. When sponsoring in Russia, corporations face the following problems: the wrong choice of a sponsor (an oil company, regardless of whether it sponsors football or not, will not pump more oil); there are still no corporations in Russia that, according to their potential, could become powerful sponsors (of a separate sports team or even a separate sport); development of non-commercial sports: sports in our country for many years (with the exception of football, hockey, tennis) have been developing with only one goal - to win the Olympics.

There are typical threats when forming a sponsorship package that you need to be able to neutralize:

– “mass grave” (more than 10 sponsors);

– the values ​​that the brand “carries” have little in common with the values ​​of the event;

– the sponsored event is liked by the top manager of the sponsor’s company;

– the event may not take place due to force majeure circumstances;

– journalists do not write about event sponsors.

All these threats can be neutralized, which will contribute to the growth of sponsorship and increase its role in creating the corporate image of the company.

When carrying out charitable activities, Russian corporations have to overcome many serious obstacles: low reputation and bad image of charitable organizations; indifferent and inflexible attitude of the state towards charitable organizations; high taxes (there is no preferential taxation in Russia). The main sources of motivation for business representatives to philanthropy are the administrative pressure of the authorities and the good will of the top management. Another problem of Russian charity is the low activity of individuals, the reasons for this are the loss of traditions, spiritual emptiness and indifference of a significant part of the population.

In 1953, G. Bowen's work "The Social Responsibility of the Businessman" was published. This monograph brought the author the well-deserved fame of the “father of corporate social responsibility”. Through his work, Bowen set the framework and set the main directions for the subsequent discussion on CSR.

Currently, in the world scientific and business literature devoted to the problems of social responsibility of business, many scientific areas are used that are included in the scope of corporate social responsibility. The most famous of them are the following: "corporate social responsibility", "corporate citizenship", "business ethics", "corporate philanthropy", "corporate social activity", "sustainable development", "corporate sustainability" and etc.

The abundance of concepts has given rise to an abundance of interpretations of the concept of corporate social responsibility, its essence and goals.

Such uncertainty is exacerbated by the fact that CSR issues attract a wide range of specialists with different professional backgrounds - philologists, sociologists, psychologists, economists - everyone interprets this concept in their own way, depending on the subject field and focus of a particular scientific discipline. Undoubtedly, economists have played a huge role in the development of CSR theory. Currently, there are 18 economic concepts of CSR, the last of which - the concept of sustainable business development - was developed only after 2005.

Let's consider various definitions of CSR from the standpoint of basic concepts: corporate selfishness, corporate altruism and reasonable selfishness.

The leading association of corporations in the United States, engaged in the development and promotion of the concept of corporate social responsibility, defines it as .

Corporate social responsibility policy according to Business for Social Responsibility is . It includes responsibility for the current and past activities and the future impact of the company's activities on the external environment.

The concept of CSR in companies of different levels, different business areas includes different components. But the broadest interpretation of CSR includes:

§ corporate ethics;

§ corporate social policy in relation to society;

§ policy in the field of environmental protection;

§ principles and approaches to corporate governance;

§ issues of observance of human rights in relations with suppliers, consumers, personnel;

§ personnel policy.

At the World Business Congress for Sustainable Development, in their report "Making Good Business Sense" (Creating meaning for business), Lord Holm and Richard Watts used the following definition: “Corporate Social Responsibility is the ongoing commitment of businesses to conduct business ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life for their employees and their families, and for society as a whole.”.

The modern concept of CSR widespread in the West shows the desire of companies to voluntarily and independently solve the most pressing problems of society. For example, the European Commission defines CSR as follows: “Corporate social responsibility is, at its core, a concept that reflects the voluntary decision of companies to participate in improving society and protecting the environment”. This definition emphasizes the voluntary, altruistic nature of socially oriented events held by companies.

The Green Paper of the European Union defines corporate responsibility as "a concept in which companies voluntarily integrate social and environmental policies into business operations and their relationships with the full range of organizations and people associated with the company".

The social responsibility of business is a multifaceted phenomenon and can be integrated into the activities of a corporation at completely different levels and in different volumes. It can be implemented at the level of philosophy (mission, code of business conduct), at the level of strategic management (long-term setting for the level of social stability), at the level of management decisions (holistic management system), and can be used as a risk assessment and forecasting system (analytical activity).

Domestic researcher A.D. Krivonosov considers corporate social responsibility from the standpoint of public relations. As a result, in his work “PR-text in the system of public communications” (St. Petersburg, 2002, p. 5.), he defines CSR as "the formation of an effective system of communications of a social subject with its public, ensuring the optimization of social interactions with segments of the environment that are significant for it".

Indeed, the social responsibility of business is a concept that reflects the voluntary decision of companies to participate in the improvement of society and the protection of the environment. CSR is based on interaction with stakeholders: employees, shareholders, investors, consumers, authorities and non-governmental organizations. Thus, one of the most important tasks of CSR is communication, connected with finding out the opinions and interests of all interested parties in order to take them into account as much as possible in their subsequent activities.

All of the listed definitions of CSR can be classified based on their compliance with the basic concepts (Table 1).

As the data in the table show, most experts hold views that can be attributed to the third basic concept of CSR - reasonable egoism. However, trends in global business and social movement give reason to talk about the prospects of the second concept - corporate altruism. The prospects of this direction lies in the fact that public opinion is now increasingly affecting the formation of the image of the organization and, as a result, the value of its shares in the market. Public opinion is directly related to the activities of the organization aimed at solving public needs and protecting the environment. Moreover, the actions of companies in these areas, behind which there are only selfish interests of business owners, are easily defined as “camouflage” for charity or “environmental camouflage” and cause even more damage to the image of the organization.

Corporate Social Responsibility means the ethical conduct of business towards the human community. A growing number of companies are realizing that their business activities have a direct impact on the society in which they live, and future business success is closely linked to key societal values.

The implementation of corporate social responsibility policy is recognized a factor that increases the profitability of companies. In this regard, business is responding to the calls of investors, governments and society to clarify the extent of the impact of their main production on the outside world. Currently, there are many ratings of such impact for companies in various industries. Much more important is not what companies do with the money they make, but how they make that money.

Table 1

Classification of CSR definitions

No. p / p	Basic concept	Definition of CSR
	Corporate selfishness	Business for Social Responsibility: an interconnected set of policies, practices and programs that are integrated into the business process, supply chains, decision-making procedures at all levels of the company.
	Corporate altruism	European Commission: the voluntary decision of companies to participate in the improvement of society and the protection of the environment.
	Reasonable selfishness	1) United States corporations: achieve commercial success in ways that are ethical and respectful of people, communities, and the environment. 2) L. Holm, R. Watts: an ongoing commitment by businesses to conduct business ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life for their employees and their families, and for society as a whole. 3) European Union: companies voluntarily integrate social and environmental policies into business operations and their relationship with the entire range of organizations and people associated with the company. 4) Krivonosov A.D.: formation of an effective system of communications between a social subject and its public, ensuring the optimization of social interactions with segments of the environment that are significant for it.

The benefits to companies of implementing corporate responsibility strategies include increased employee satisfaction, reduced employee turnover, and increased brand value. Companies that do not join this game are missing out on business opportunities, losing competitive advantage, and falling behind in management. Without implementing CSR strategies, they, firstly, do not monitor and control the impact of their production on society and the environment, and secondly, they do not fully realize their economic potential.

In this regard, we can talk about two main components of the concept of CSR. The first is the minimization of business risks, i.e. the identification and filling of all the gaps that exist in the relationship between the company and society.

Identifying these gaps is the first step towards CSR implementation. To some extent, it is an insurance policy that protects the company from surprises and problems in the future. For example, in the context of the global fight against obesity, the food and beverage industry has been knocked off its feet in trying to meet society's expectations. At the moment, the time and resources spent on changes in key business processes cost a fortune, although CSR activists predicted this many years ago. Thus, one of the additional functions of CSR is to provide early warning of problems that may arise and take the company by surprise.

The second component of CSR is the transformation of social and environmental problems into business opportunities. For example, in Ghana, where the population suffers from iodine deficiency, the Unilever company has created a special iodized salt. In order to produce and sell it, the company has rebuilt its entire business model in this country. Production was moved to rural areas, creating jobs there. Distribution was taken up by sellers on bicycles. Salt began to be packaged in smaller, more affordable packages. Thus, by meeting social and medical needs, the company created a new brand and a new market.

Another example is JC Johnson (insect control chemicals), which has shown a commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its products for many years. The company's specialists studied and classified their products according to the degree of harmfulness and focused their efforts on the release of the least harmful, forcing suppliers to follow suit.

So, we see that companies can use their core business to solve social problems. And this is not charity or philanthropy - this is a social innovation.

A more extended classification of CSR types is presented by Kotler. He identifies six types of corporate social initiatives that are generally consistent with the basic concepts:

1) promotion of a socially significant problem;

2) corporate social marketing;

3) charity marketing;

4) corporate philanthropy;

5) volunteer work for the benefit of the territorial community;

6) socially responsible approaches to doing business.

An example of an initiative to promote a socially significant issue is the One Sweet Whirled campaign run by Ben & Jerry's with the Dave Matthews group and Save Our Environment to bring global warming to the attention of the general public. At the same time, information is presented in such a way that the essence of the problem becomes clear even to children, who can also join in solving it. During 2002 alone, 53,236 large and small businesses signed a pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (in practice, this means that CO2 emissions into the atmosphere decreased by 85 thousand tons).

Initiatives in the category "corporate social marketing" are aimed at changing social behavior. For example, Home Depot, America's largest home improvement retailer, is implementing a water conservation program. The 100 Ways to Reduce Water in 30 Days initiative, which included water-saving recommendations and product offerings from the company, resulted in a reduction in consumer water use and increased sales at Home Depot. And 7-Eleven (this American company is the author of the “restaurant driving” idea) managed to contribute to incredible social progress by supporting the Texas Department of Transportation in the fight against those who like to throw scraps, cigarette butts and other muck out of cars. The company literally flooded consumers with all sorts of "anti-garbage" information: both reminders of fines (neither more nor less - $ 500), and all sorts of "visual campaigning". As a result, the roads are much cleaner and 7-Eleven regulars are much more numerous.

By implementing the charity marketing initiative, companies undertake to take part in solving socially significant problems by making appropriate contributions or transferring certain percentages of sales. For example, the Avon Together Against Breast Cancer campaign in the UK (since 1993) and the US (since 1994) is perhaps one of the most successful examples of long-term charity marketing programs. Proceeds from the sale of pink ribbon products go to the Avon Foundation, which funds medical research, diagnosis, and treatment for people with the disease. The total amount of net deductions (as of the beginning of 2003) exceeded $300 million.

The essence of corporate philanthropy is that the company makes contributions directly to support a charitable organization or program (this can be cash, goods or services). For example, several large-scale philanthropic initiatives implemented by General Motors are aimed at improving road safety. The company donates equipment (such as car seats for children from low-income families) and money for related activities (training, inspections, etc.).

The meaning of volunteer work is that the company supports and encourages the efforts of employees, partners or franchisees to help local community organizations or residents of the regions in which the company operates. Dell, for example, has a so-called "eco-efficiency group". Its task is to embody the ideas of employees who want to do something to improve the environmental situation. For example, the company's volunteers are engaged in the disposal of old computer equipment in a number of American cities. This is both a help to local residents and a confirmation of the seriousness of Dell's intentions to protect the environment.

And, finally, the last type of corporate social initiatives identified by Kotler is socially responsible approaches to doing business. Some companies have significantly reduced their operating costs by implementing environmental initiatives. For example, Du Pont's energy savings program since 1990 has saved it $2 billion. And Mc Donald's has reduced its solid waste by 30% by switching to recycled unbleached paper packaging.

DEFINITION OF CSR

Over the years, many definitions of social responsibility have been proposed, however, after the release in 2010 of the International Standard ISO 26000 "Guidelines for Social Responsibility", most experts agreed that the definition given by this particular standard is by far the most accurate and complete:

"Social responsibility"- the responsibility of the organization for the impact of its decisions and activities on society and the environment through transparent and ethical behavior that:

Promotes sustainable development, including the health and welfare of society;

Takes into account stakeholder expectations;

Complies with applicable law and is consistent with international standards of conduct;

Introduced throughout the organization”2. Social responsibility applies to all organizations, but it has become most widespread in the business community called "corporate social responsibility (CSR)".

The main goal of corporate social responsibility is to achieve the goals of sustainable development of society, which means meeting the needs of the present generation, without creating threats to meet the needs of future generations.

Corporate social responsibility should take into account the interests and improve the quality of life of the main stakeholders of companies, which include employees, shareholders, investors, public authorities, customers, business partners, professional communities, society as a whole, etc. At the same time, companies need to develop continuous interaction with stakeholders in order to take into account their opinions and expectations in the process of making and implementing decisions.

The theme of social responsibility in recent years has become increasingly strong sounding in business and scientific circles in Russia.

is the ongoing commitment of companies to conduct business ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life for their employees and their families, and for society as a whole.

Managing the social responsibility of an enterprise means optimizing the balance of efforts and resources directed towards achieving commercial goals and paying for social obligations.

In modern Russia, corporate social responsibility (CSR) pays special attention to relations with employees: and, the use of motivational remuneration schemes, the provision of a social package, the participation of employees in decision-making, and the maintenance of internal communications. But this point of view is not correct. The social responsibility of an industrial enterprise should be considered comprehensively and not be fixed only on one or another aspect of its activity.

There are more than a dozen areas for the implementation of the social functions of business, which are the sources of modern social and labor relations. Priority among them are: support for the education and training system, the health care system, and other areas of social services; support for various initiatives to finance specific social projects of municipal authorities and civil society organizations. One of the indicators of the growth of the social responsibility of business is its socialization, the assumption of a significant part of the functions associated with the professional and general development of employees.

The characteristics of the new approaches of companies to the development of the social sphere are: the presence of well-thought-out priorities in corporate social policy and a clear appeal to audiences; combination of policy and treatment of the company's product or business; competitive selection of social investment programs; connection of corporate social programs with the image and brands of companies. The business community of Russia, improving its social strategy, develops and implements mechanisms for coordinating interests in the dialogue "business-society-state", enters the stage of forming a consolidated position of socially responsible business.

In this way, corporate responsibility today it is becoming a modern style of business activity, which has a significant impact on the process of making managerial decisions, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. Corporate social programs are becoming a necessary condition for sustainable business and at the same time a factor in improving social stability and living standards.

All types of responsibility are manifested not only in the internal organization of management, but also in the relationship between the organization and society, which are of great importance in the development of both. In modern conditions, the social responsibility of corporations plays a decisive role. With the development of production, scientific and technological progress, the urbanization of life, new, extremely complex problems arise and become more acute: environmental, socio-economic, technical, informational, urban, cultural, etc.

The future of civilization depends on a comprehensive solution of these problems. But their solution is largely determined by the activities of modern corporations, their responsibility to society and the future. That is why the problem of corporate social responsibility is becoming the central problem of management today. Its solution in the economic, scientific, technical, socio-political perspective excites the minds of many representatives of politics, science, business and management.

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) is the realization of the interests of the company (corporation) by ensuring the social development of its team and the active participation of the company in the development of society.

The concept of CSR includes:

Responsibility of the organization to partners;

Social aspects of interaction with suppliers and buyers of products and services;

Corporate development - carrying out restructuring and organizational changes with the participation of representatives of the top management of companies, personnel and public organizations;

Health and safety of personnel in the workplace;

Responsible employee policy, personnel development management;

Environmental responsibility, environmental policy and use of natural resources;

Interaction with local authorities, state structures and public organizations to solve common social problems;

The responsibility of the organization to society as a whole.

Corporate social responsibility, in contrast to legal responsibility, implies a certain level of voluntary desire to allocate financial and material resources to solve social problems on the part of the organization's management. This desire is in relation to what lies outside the requirements defined by law or regulatory bodies or in excess of these requirements.

The life support of society is determined in the processes of life by the level of consumed resources and the production of material goods. The totality of territories, natural resources, the population in the environment of its residence constitutes the living space of society, the space for the activities of organizations.

The social responsibility of corporation managers (top managers), therefore, consists in the organization and successful management of business, in the constant search for beneficial interactions with the state. The fruits of this cooperation are a balanced and dynamically developing society, in which the work of each member of society is a prerequisite for general well-being.

In Russian management, the number of participants is increasing, who believe that social responsibility to their own staff and to society is not something exceptional, generated only by special circumstances, but a norm arising from the very essence of the organization's activities. The social aspects of activity become as inseparable from it as the economic aspects.

The objects of corporate social responsibility are: ecology, demography, safety, health, education, culture, science, information, recreation (Fig. 1.1). These areas of human and social development need business support, primarily economic support, as well as political and organizational support.

Rice. 1.1. Objects of social responsibility

To build a system of responsibility, taking into account its diversity, it is necessary to know the characteristics of responsibility in their full composition and scope.

Responsibility has the following characteristics:

1) Typological affiliation responsibility - is manifested in a combination of different types, and not just in belonging to one of the above. The art of implementing responsibility in management processes is to build this combination.

2) Measure Responsibility - reflects the degree of censure, encouragement, the strength of punishment or approval of the results of work. Here it must be borne in mind that responsibility in management acts not only as a factor of restraint or limitation, but also as a factor of motivation. The effectiveness of these factors is determined by both the type and the degree of responsibility.

3) Targeting- to whom the responsibility is intended, who and how should take it into account.

4) Organizational form implementation - fixed in regulations, instructions, agreements, contracts, etc.

5) Conditional character- can act under certain conditions set in advance.

6) A source implementation. For the internal organization of activities, this is the level of the management system, in accordance with the distribution of powers. For external relations - the organizations specified in the contract or agreement, as well as state regulatory bodies.

7) Temporary characteristics. There is always a time for its onset and implementation. Moreover, responsibility can change over time - weaken or worsen. This can happen when situations, conditions, needs, organizational positions change.

Tumilevich Elena Nikolaevna, cand. economy in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Enterprise Economics and Management, Khabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law, Russia

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Annotation:

The article considers the conceptual foundations of the system of organizational support for corporate social responsibility in a company. In accordance with the level of responsible behavior of the company, two options for building a system of corporate social responsibility are proposed: with the allocation of an independent link that implements the principles of corporate social responsibility, and with a high level of centralization of this scope of work in the top management link and delegation of authority to lower levels for the relevant departments .

JEL classification:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Russia today is not just a newfangled concept underlying the PR activities of companies. This is a necessary component of any successful company whose goal is to achieve and maintain a leadership position in the market. CSR is a voluntary contribution of business to the development of society, carried out through social investments aimed at professional development and social protection of personnel, support for healthcare, sports, culture, education, environmental protection, etc. . Activities in this area should be systemic and consistent with the interests of all stakeholders.

The solution of any issue of the company requires the implementation of organizational, technical, methodological and information support. The concept of CSR also implies the need to form a certain composition of links, services, divisions, endowed with appropriate tasks and powers. To do this, it is necessary to build a system of organizational support for CSR, which is a functional subsystem of the entire enterprise.

The system of organizational support of corporate social responsibility is an interconnected set of internal services and divisions of the enterprise that ensure the development and adoption of management decisions on certain aspects of its social activities and are responsible for the results of these decisions.

In practice, companies have different approaches to the formation of the CSR subsystem. It depends on many factors, among which are the following: the size of the company; organizational and legal form; the level of diversification of the company, including in relation to business lines and products, sales markets, financial portfolio; state of resource and staffing; system of legal regulation of CSR; the company's CSR policy; support of CSR principles by the company's personnel and its management.

Levels and principles of building corporate social responsibility

The main factor influencing the system of organizational support for CSR is the level of social responsibility of the company. At the same time, three levels of responsible behavior of the company can be distinguished, according to the United Nations Development Program.

1. Basic level, where all companies that comply with applicable law are located. The organizational support of a company of this level is not specific, since, in fact, there is no question of implementing CSR principles.

2. Second level social responsibility of business involves the use of tools aimed at improving the quality of the internal environment for employees of the enterprise: providing voluntary medical insurance, opportunities for advanced training, providing housing, kindergartens for children of employees, etc. This type of liability has been tentatively referred to as "corporate liability".

3. Third - the highest level responsibility implies a focus on the development of society, improving the quality of life of the population of the territory where the enterprise operates.

For the second and, to a greater extent, the third level of social responsibility, the problem of forming a system of organizational support for the implementation of CSR principles in a company is acute.

An enterprise that is at the last two levels of applying CSR practices when building an organizational structure that ensures the implementation of the concept, in our opinion, should adhere to the following principles:

− complexity: implementation of CSR principles into the overall strategy of the company;

− consistency: support of CSR principles by all members of the company and taking them into account when making managerial decisions;

− openness and information transparency in activities;

− formalization and regulation: clear regulation of procedures and business processes;

− portfolio social investment (comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of CSR);

− the principle of analyzing and monitoring the results of CSR implementation in the company's activities in order to develop solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of the company's activities.

That is, we adhere to the point of view that CSR should not be an end in itself, but a tool for the strategic sustainable and successful development of the company.

The algorithm for the formation of a corporate social responsibility management system is shown in fig. one :

Two approaches to building a system of corporate social responsibility

Let us pay attention to the construction of the organizational structure within the framework of the corporate social responsibility management system.

The social management service, the CSR service should organically fit into the overall structure of enterprise management. At the same time, in our opinion, it is possible to implement two approaches to building a system of organizational support for CSR.

1. H independent operation of functional control centers(production activities, personnel, sales activities and finance), with the allocation of a social responsibility management center. At the same time, it is assumed that there is a limited, clearly defined information link between the main divisions in the organizational structure of the company's management on issues of corporate social responsibility.

The main areas of work within the framework of the CSR subsystem include the solution of the following range of tasks.

1. Definition of functional tasks:

− information for the formation of projects;

− general scheme of the project within the framework of CSR;

− detailing of the project scheme.

2. Staff:

− subsystem of recruitment, accounting of personnel, access to information;

− subsystem of workplace organization, wage conditions (salary, interest);

− job descriptions;

− internal interaction (document flow, control system).

3. Subsystem "Personnel motivation":

− study of the CSR project;

− planning and marketing (planned and emergency events);

− preparation of plans - planned result;

− approval of plans – operation or modification;

− analysis of the results.

4. Improving the efficiency of work in the direction of CSR:

− optimization of costs for the implementation of CSR principles;

− identification of the use of new means, methods, CSR techniques;

− increase in effective operating means.

When building a CSR subsystem in a company, it is also important that they implement supporting elements, among which are software support, legal and methodological support for the CSR system, information support, etc. (see fig. 2).

For example, there is a CSR manager at Kyivstar. He works in the Corporate Communications Department (reports to the CEO) and his main responsibilities include the development and implementation of a CSR strategy. Also engaged in this area is another employee of the department - a specialist in social communications.

2. Interconnected activities of organization control centers. It is assumed that most of the specific decisions are made by independent dedicated centers within their functional powers, and a number of synthesizing management decisions are developed and adopted collectively, together with other interested enterprise management centers. As a rule, specific performers responsible for such communication with other departments are allocated, and the list of relevant decisions is determined in advance by top management. This approach to a large extent eliminates the contradictions in the tasks that often arise between individual divisions of the company. In this case, the activities of all departments are focused on achieving the highest goals of the entire company, and not a separate section. On the other hand, top management is overwhelmed when adding tasks and functions related to the implementation of CSR principles.

This approach is used in many companies with the allocation of structural elements depending on the stakeholders with whom work is carried out within the framework of the structural element. The main stakeholders of the company are the following target groups:

− shareholders (usually a department for work with shareholders is formed, which reports to the board of directors, the chairman of the board);

− investors (an investor relations department is being formed, which reports to the board of directors);

− employees (department for personnel management, reports to the general director);

− state structures (department for work with authorities of the Russian Federation, reports to the general director);

- consumers (individuals and legal entities) (department of marketing, sales, work with clients, commercial department, etc., report to the general director);

− partners (Department of Prospective Development, Strategic Management, etc., reports to the General Director).

That is, within the framework of this structure, the bearer of CSR principles is the highest level of management, CSR principles permeate all the activities of the company, the main relationships with dependent parties are built by the relevant departments and divisions.

In order to create an effective corporate governance system in a company with the introduction of CSR elements, it is necessary to determine the appropriate procedures for the functioning of the organization at the following levels:

− meeting of shareholders;

− board of directors;

− top management (first and second levels).

Conclusion

In conclusion, we note that most Russian companies have not yet managed to manage CSR at a strategic level. Although there are already signs of progress along this path. For example, in OAO LUKOIL, the principles of environmental activities are defined in the "Policy in the field of industrial safety, labor protection and the environment in the 21st century." To implement the principles and goals of this document, in turn, programs are being developed in the field of environmental protection, industrial safety and labor protection. The unified corporate management system for industrial safety, labor protection and the environment of the company is certified in accordance with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

3. Morozova I.S. Corporate social responsibility in the information society // Humanitarian information portal “Knowledge - Understanding. Skill". -2011. − No. 6.
4. Social responsibility of the company: practical benefits for business. / methodical guide. - M .: Association of Managers of Russia, 2002.
5. Official site of Kyivstar company [Electronic resource].
− Access mode: http://www.kyivstar.ua.