Hydro has developed a guide for implementing Corporate Social Responsibility. This is an "Invitation to Action" to all Hydro's managers, and is also intended as an inspirational guide for every Hydro employee.
"Invitation to a Dialogue" was Hydro's first publication on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Published in 2000, it was an introduction to the emerging field of CSR, where issues were raised and discussed, and feedback received. Hydro has gradually become familiar with the challenges and opportunities related to socially responsible business conduct, and in response to these, a Social Responsibility Directive and a Code of Conduct have been drawn up.
The new publication, "Invitation to Action", is a tool to help managers include CSR-related issues in business planning and the daily conduct of business.
"It is an elaboration of the CSR directive and helps explain our principles and practices," says Arvid Halvorsen, head of CSR in Hydro.
An innovation
"We have not seen this type of publication from other companies, and we believe Invitation to Action will be of interest to readers in an external audience as well," comments Sverre Bjerkomp, who has been responsible for developing the publication together with Marte Lerberg Kopstad in Hydro's CSR unit.
"This has been an inclusive process. We have tried to respond to needs brought forward by line managers, and we have received input from potential users. We hope managers will find this a useful tool," says Lerberg Kopstad.
The first main chapter identifies key issues and provides examples and dilemmas on the main principles recognized in the CSR directive: human rights, integrity, diversity, dialogue and sustainability. This is followed by a chapter that sketches a framework for implementing CSR.
"We believe this publication will help people to understand that CSR is an integral part of business, and not an add-on. The governance framework and approaches outlined in this publication should form the basis for developing effective CSR practices in our organization in response to the challenges and experience that arise," says Halvorsen.
Read the new CSR publication:
| Invitation to Action (PDF 3.6 MB) |