by Kate McKee

Created on: November 12, 2009

Socially responsible businesses consider more than just the traditional bottom line of profit. Instead, they work towards a triple bottom line, known as 'people, planet and profit'. This means that a business, while striving to make a profit, will work towards that profit in an ethical way: it will consider the impact its actions are having on the environment, and on all the stakeholders: suppliers, customers, employees, the local community and the global population.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can take on many guises: it can be the driving force of an organization, or it can be a series of small measures that are written into policy. Social responsibility is voluntary, and it is self- regulated. It usually involves a business developing and implementing policies in some or all of the following five areas:

*Employees

How might a socially responsible business treat its employees? Depending on the size of the organization and on its operations, it can do various things. In general, a socially responsible company will pay a fair wage to every employee, irrespective of geographical location. It will ensure that employees have reasonable working hours, paid break times and adequate holidays. It may have a policy on diversity, it may provide health benefits, flexible working arrangements, a promotion from within policy, and supported study opportunities. It may even offer stock options to its employees. For an example of the kinds of benefits that employees who work for socially responsible companies can expect, have a look at the careers site for UPS, which was listed as Fortune 500's most socially responsible company of 2008.

*Suppliers and Ethical Sourcing

A socially responsible business will usually have a policy on how it sources and does business with its suppliers. It will prefer to deal with suppliers who also operate in a socially responsible way. It will pay a fair price to suppliers, irrespective of location or circumstance. It may even support its suppliers in other ways, particularly if those suppliers are in developing countries. For example, Starbucks has set up farmer's support centers in Rwanda and Costa Rica, to ensure that their growers have access to information on modern growing methods and sustainability.

*Local Community

Community is an important feature of CSR: both the local community in which the business operates, and the global community. A socially responsible business will see itself as being an integral part of the

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