Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Challenges Facing Businesses in Relation to Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility: Discussion
Ms Bernadette Phelan:
The Business Working Responsibly mark is modelled on the ISO. It is a "plan, do, check" act. It is a management structure around corporate responsibility. We designed the mark with our members and it is about ten years in operation. It is a robust framework to develop a strategic, holistic view of sustainability.
Not having corporate social responsibility as a stand-alone part of the business means that it can be, dare I say, chopped off in difficult times. It should be integrated into business decision-making. It is a framework we use with our companies to help them understand how decision-making can be influenced by sustainability parameters and really get it into the DNA of companies. A large part of the focus of it is around the governance structure and the responsibility of the board and senior team. It looks at governance, environmental practice and social practice.