Coro Strandberg, a member of the Canadian Co-operative Association and Editor of the Association's newsletter, Concern for Community examines the future of CSR; the trends and opportunities that lie ahead for those concerned with integrating social and environmental responsibility into business operations.

September 11, 2001, collapses of the corporate giants such as WorldCom and Enron, HIV-AIDS, global warming, the Kyoto Protocol and WTO protests have affected us all. Strandberg believes that we are in the midst of some profound social, economic, and environmental dislocations that are changing the way we view the world and our role in it.

He claims these events are challenging the way we think about business, society, and the environment and that co-operatives, grounded as they are in concern for community and working for the sustainable development of their communities, are particularly attune to these issues and their impact on people. However, co-operatives and businesses around the world are struggling to understand the implications of these changes on their operations.

Strandberg conducted interviews with nearly 50 CSR experts around the developed world, including Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, Europe, and Hong Kong. He refers to them as 'thought leaders', representing CSR networks, consultancies and think tanks, academia, business, the financial industry, NGOs, media, and he includes authors. They were asked, where they thought CSR would be in five to ten years, to gauge the likely impact on business and CSR stakeholders. The methodology and findings of the study are described in this issue: http://www.coopscanada.coop/newsletter/csr/winter2003/

CSR has been discussed for some time in Australia. It has been argued that the focus on CSR arises from the growing roles of business in social relationships, in a free market environment. CSR was an emerging set of new business systems that attempted to capitalise on the importance communities attach to business. Some businesses argued that they already manage their social relationships and the threat of re-regulation would focus too much on social positioning of business.

In January 2003, Standards Australia published a document on CSR. The document proposes essential elements for establishing, implementing and managing an effective CSR program within an organisation and provides guidance in using these elements.

Recent failures of large businesses in Australia have put the spotlight on the wider topic of corporate governance. In March 2003, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) published Principles of Good Corporate Governance and Best Practice Recommendations, which outlines 10 fundamental principles as best practice in governance. The principles cover establishing the roles of management and the board; meeting the information needs of a modern investment community; managing uncertainty and risk; and recognising the legitimate interests of all stakeholders. ASX concede that there is a basic need for integrity among those who can influence a company's strategy and for responsible and ethical decision-making.

Under Principle 10, the document asserts that "Companies have a number of legal and other obligations to non-shareholder stakeholders such as employees, clients/customers and the community as a whole. There is growing acceptance of the view that organisations can create value by better managing natural, human, social and other forms of capital. Increasingly, the performance of companies is being scrutinised from a perspective that recognises these other forms of capital". In the Guidelines for the content of a code of conduct, ASX recommends: "Responsibilities to the community. This might include environmental protection policies, support for community activities, donation or sponsorship policies".