2018 brings new opportunities, advances and challenges to manage from a Social Responsibility (CSR) perspective. A good time to put focus on what will happen in the calendar of the next 12 months without losing the medium and long term perspective.
January: Risks
Creating a shared future in a fractured world will be the theme of the Davos Forum that will bring together world leaders from January 23 to 26 and that this year will be co-chaired only by women. The Global Risk Report 2018 will be announced, which will probably not bring many surprises and climate change, inequality or challenges of the digital economy (from cybersecurity to speed in the transition) will be part of its conclusions. A good time to inspire us, strengthen our management and refine the social, environmental and good governance risk maps of our companies. If that is not enough, watch out for the traditional and influential annual letter from Blackrock's chairman setting the tone for progress from an investor perspective.
February: Diversity
And within diversity management, gender will be high on the agenda of companies seeking to exercise responsible leadership. A gender pay gap of 23%, a greater presence on boards and management bodies or the emergence of well-known challenges such as harassment through campaigns such as #metoo will lead to adjustments in codes of conduct and greater legal requirements, such as those starting in the United Kingdom with the regulation of Gender pay Gap reporting and soon in Spain.
March: Transparency
The era of extra-financial transparency begins. The directive on disclosure of non-financial information has been transposed and this month the companies affected will need to have it ready. Some will still choose to explain as they are not ready to comply, but it will undoubtedly mark a milestone in the quality of management of many organizations in the eyes of investors and society, which will not hesitate to include the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board this year.
April: Social impact
From April 16 to 19, companies and national organizations from around the world that belong to the WBCSD will meet in Montreux. Among the conclusions will be the launch of the Social Impact Cluster, making tools such as the Social Capital Protocol available to companies. It will also be a good year to participate in the international initiative of reference in the collaboration between companies and NGOs, the Give&Gain, which will be held this month in Spain together with thousands of companies and social organizations in dozens of countries.
May: Training
If by the month of May we have not made progress in our goal of improving our skills and knowledge during the year, the new edition of the CSR Academy may be a good recommendation. Fortunately, the offer of CSR masters and courses is getting better and better, so we just have to choose the one that best suits our needs.
June: Circular Economy
The Circular Economy will continue to attract the interest of companies. The European momentum is making several countries are moving forward as in the case of the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy. Leading companies are already working along these lines and the results can already be seen, for example, in the Circular Economy Action Group.
July: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In July, Spain will present its first national voluntary national review against the SDGs at the High-Level Political Forum. In 2017, 43 countries already presented their so-called VNRs. The opportunity to see how our country is facing the SDGs as well as the leadership of our companies. It would be very relevant to bring together the State CSR Council in the first half of the year to prepare this milestone as well as align it with the Spanish CSR Strategy, will we see any progress?
August: Human rights and value chain
August marks one year since the adoption of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights and we don't want anyone that this issue has gone on vacation. Let's not forget in the drier months about water and share our knowledge later this month at World Water Week in Stockholm.
September: CSR Spain
As every year in September, and after the annual review of the DJSI, all professionals working in sustainability and CSR have their meeting point in CSR Spain. News, international trends, the best cases and a lot of exchange in a year that will present, as every three years, the new edition of the Foretica Report and check the integration of CSR in the Spain Brand.
October: Future of work
The future of work is on the agenda of companies and major institutions such as the ILO on the eve of its centenary in 2019. In Europe, the major initiative linking it to CSR is the Pact4Youth led by the European Commission and CSR Europe in collaboration with thousands of companies. The impact of robotization, artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change on the jobs of the future from a CSR perspective will be on the agenda this month.
November: Biodiversity and Cities
The link between responsible business and biodiversity will be on the agenda in November at the 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference, an opportunity to also observe the progress of the Natural Capital Coalition. The Smart City Expo will also showcase this month the opportunities for collaboration with companies to make Sustainable Living in Cities.
December: Climate change
In December in Katowice (Poland) the COP 24 will take place. After the advances of the COP 23 and the announcement of the US exit, this is a fundamental summit to close agreements to which we hope Spain will arrive with the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law already in force.
As Henry Ford said "nothing is difficult if we divide it into small jobs". I hope that this brief agenda from the perspective of Forética will help us to prepare ourselves (the only secret of success). Surely there are many aspects left that we should not miss and I have not been able to incorporate so I encourage you all to share them starting today. A great 2018 to all, let's enjoy and move forward the 365 days!
Published on January 14, 2018 in Responsible Journal.
