About CROA
CROA members transform ideas into action, advancing corporate responsibility (CR), the profession, and their careers.
As the largest independent CR community, CROA has become the professional society for practitioners in this field, supporting the concept that to excel, organizations need to embrace multiple disciplines including sustainability, governance, social responsibility, and philanthropy.
CROA welcomes corporate practitioners, providers of products and services, academics, governments, and non-profits as equal participants. Read more
****************************************
WHAT'S NEW?
CROA Launches Job Resources Page
Check it out!
Seeking Your Commitment to the Sustainable Supply Chain CoP
Commitment Form
CROA is partnering with GSA, the sponsor of the Sustainable Supply Chain CoP on data.gov, to solicit active participants in and contributors to this new online community. If you have sustainable supply chain practices to share -- e.g. a supplier code of conduct, checklists or tutorials for your suppliers, research or tools that quantify the impact -- click here to make your commitment.
1. Advocate for sustainable supply chain practices within their organization and their market sector(s)
2. Share their sustainable supply chain practices on the Sustainable Supply Chain CoP on, at minimum, a quarterly basis
3. Support and help build the capacity for sustainable practices by suppliers
In return, Champions: receive public recognition for their good work, featured in the COMMIT!Campaign; can accelerate their results via collaborative best practices building; and can reach success by driving adoption throughout their supply chain.
Initial Findings of Sustainable Value Chain Research Released
View the Overview
Do you ever wonder about the best way to achieve the sustainability goals you have for your value chain? Which concrete actions really work (and are worth investing time or money in), and which don’t? In 2012 CROA launched a multi-year research project with ASQ, ISM, and with the help of Deloitte designed to pr
ovide insight in a way they hasn't been done before – ever.
The first phase was a survey addressing the sustainability of the whole value chain by asking questions others haven’t and linking practices to overall success at meeting sustainability goals, receiving 1000 responses.
Click here for an overview of the survey findings or visit the Research page for additional analysis including 10 management practices that can improve sustainable value chain effectiveness and 5 management practices that reduce operating cost.
An integral part of the CROA, the Advisory Board oversees the primary objectives of the Association – to promote the practice and profession of corporate responsibility as a driver of business and social value. It helps set the overall direction, ensuring CROA delivers on its mission and provides value to its members and society.
Public Comment on Proposed Changes to CR Magazine's Corporate Citizens Research Methodology
CR Magazine and theCROA share a common purpose in advancing corporate accountability and responsibility. Each year we engage with the CROA’s Ratings and Rankings Committee (formerly Methodology Committee) and other stakeholders in a comprehensive review of the methodology. The output of that review is a “Methodology Change File” which is now available for public comment.
The changes indicated will take place with the list released in the spring of 2014, research for which will begin in January 2013. We are currently proposing changes in the following areas:
· Human Rights
· Corporate Governance
· Category Weightings
· A detailed overview of the methodology
· A full listing of the 318 data elements
· A changes file for the 2014listing
Help ensure these data elements reflect best thinking by reviewing the changes documents and providing comments no later than December 14th.
CR Magazine Honors Responsible CEOs & Top 10 Best Corporate Citizens
CR Magazine highlights the most socially responsible chief executives each year with its Responsible CEO of the Year Awards, presented at the 2012 COMMIT!Forum to:
- Hikmet Ersek, Chief Executive Officer & President, Western Union Company
- Bob Moritz, US Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC
- Jeffrey Ettinger, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hormel Foods
- Gale Klappa, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wisconsin Energy
Click here to read the full press release.
CR Magazine also honored Stanley Bergman, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein, Inc. with the second annual Corporate Responsibility Lifetime Achievement Award. Click here to read the full press release.
The Magazine also announced the second annual set of “Industry Sector Best Corporate Citizens” to identify publicly traded companies that are leading the way in industry sectors with high representation among the Russell 1000. Click here for the full Top 10 by Industry lists.
CROA Professional Development Committee Seeks Input from CR Education Providers
New online tool being developed!
CROA in collaboration with a number of other organizations focused on the development of the profession – ACCP, Aspen Institute, BCCCC, BCLC, BSR, CECP, and Net Impact – is creating a compendium of CR education providers to be made available to professionals interested in advancing their knowledge and skills. Educators in this field are invited to complete this form for each course they offer that provides significant education or training in CR. This data will be used to populate an online tool, now in development.
CR Magazine Releases 3rd Annual Best Corporate Citizens in Government Contracting List
This 3rd annual list highlights companies that know that how they provide products and services to government is just as important as the successes they achieve. CR Magazine research shows that overall disclosure performance improved by 5% over the prior year. Performance improvements are particularly strong among government contractors outside of the "best" -- while performance remains strong among the "best, the "rest" showed 11% improvement. At the same time, 3-year average returns to shareholders outpaced the rest by over 50%, demonstrating the benefits of transparency.
IBM, Accenture and HP held on to their top positions in 2012, demonstrating their long-term commitment to openness in reporting.
3rd Annual Roundtable: If Sustainability Costs You More, You're Doing it Wrong
View the discussion outcomes
80 executives from across business, government, NGO/nonprofit and academia committed to improving transparency and responsibility in the government contracting community came together on July 18th for the 3rd Annual ResponsibilityWorks Roundtable, this year focused on the topic of sustainable value chains.
Click here for the roundtable outcomes.
The State of the Corporate Responsibility Profession
View the Webcast & New Report
The CR profession is stuck in a chicken-and-egg conundrum: before employers establish a CR career path, CR needs a defined curriculum; before educational institutions invest in a defined curriculum, they need to see a clear demand for CR professionals.
Fulfilling CR’s promise as a field and profession requires deliberate action to build a consensus within the field itself and about the field in society. Watch this webcast where BCLC’s Stephen Jordan and the CROA's Richard Crespin uncover new findings from recent research into the state of the CR profession. Click here to view the full report.
Outcomes of June 12 Sustainable Supply Chain Leadership Summit
CROA helped convene 30 supply chain leaders from across industry, government, and non-governmental organizations to advance the state of sustainable supply chain management and prepare delegates to actively shape the dialogues taking place on the global stage at the Rio+20 meetings. GSA asked for specific input on the formation of a new Sustainable Supply Chain Community of Practice on data.gov and the United Nations Global Compact solicited recommendations on how to engage businesses of all sizes in this important work.
Click here for the outcomes of this event.
Click here to learn more about ResponsibilityWorks. Contact Kim Gilliam to learn more about this effort.
CR Magazine Announces 100 Best Corporate Citizens
At NYSE on April 17th, CR Magazine announced its 13th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list highlighting leadership in corporate transparency and accountability and honoring CEOs whose companies appeared on the list for 5 years in a row.
Click here to view the 2012 100 Best Corporate Citizens List and learn more about the methodology.
White House Launches Sustainable Supply Chain Community of Practice
The White House Council on Environmental Quality is teaming up with GSA to create a Community of Practice with a focus on sharing information between industry, non-profits and academic institutions on best practices in leveraging supplier relationships to reduce environmental impacts throughout the supply chain.
Through fostering an inclusive and transparent community, government gains access to information that can improve the sustainability of Federal procurements. The primary engagement platform will be Data.gov with the community broken down into six market sector groups identified by a recent GSA "hotspots" study -- IT, Professional Services, Waste Management, Furniture, Food Services, and Building Services. -- along with an "other" market sector for additional information sharing.
|
****************************************
RESOURCES...
CROA Empowers Individuals at All Levels to Take Action & Improve CR
Join today!
CROA has expanded to engage individuals at every level of an organization to enhance the role of businesses in society, transitioning from an organization-focused membership to a professional society with individual memberships and organizational underwriters.
This change helps focus the work of the association on the individual corporate responsibility practitioner and allows for strengthening of the profession, in recognition of the increasing interest in and proliferation of this role. CROA will for the first time allow aspiring practitioners to engage as general members, retain its close ties with CR practitioners as practicing members, and continue its multi-stakeholder involvement of corporations, non-profits, government and academic institutions.
Organization members continue to be essential to the ongoing success of CROA as their support provides access to important services and programs. For more about Underwriter Options, please click here.
To join CROA now, please click here.
Join the 2013 COMMIT!Campaign: Make a Commitment to Change the World!
See How to Participate
The 2012 COMMIT!Forum agenda covered a broad range of topics through plenary sessions, working groups and—new for this year—the UnConvention. Held October 2-3 in New York City, this annual conference brought together the world’s leaders shaping the face of corporate responsibility to tackle the tough issues surrounding the role of business in society and recognized the important commitments that companies and their NGO partners are making to change the world.
 Click here to view the Video for Good interviews of 2012 COMMIT!Forum Speakers & Attendees
Click here to view the Planet Forward interviews from the 2011 COMMIT!Forum
Make plans now to join us for COMMIT!Forum 2013, being planned for October in New York City (dates and location TBA)
Click here to lear more!
 Research Alerts
Sign Up now to receive Research Alerts with analysis of the successful practices of these top performers in:
- Climate Change & Environment
- Employee Relations & Human Rights
- Finance & Governance
- Philanthropy
In 2010, CROA sent surveys to every publicly traded company on the NYSE Euronext Exchanges plus CROA members and CR Magazine subscribers seeking their answers to questions about how they budget, structure, and plan for their CR Programs. Simultaneously, the CROA’s Professional Development Committee engaged in a structured review of how companies organize the function and the responsibilities they delegate to CR professionals. This Guidebook brings these efforts together in a helpful resource.
 Twitter Chat: Results of COMMIT!Forum Debate on Value of CR
Recap Available!
CROA Joins Consortium Focused on Development of the CR Profession
CROA has joined forces with a number of other associations and organizations focused on the development of the CR Profession with CROA representing the perspective of the individual CR practitioner. The consortium has identified the following five areas to work on over the coming year:
- Developing information on CR career path and training
- Mapping CR curriculum, skills and competencies
- Capturing CSR expertise and insights from the first generation of CR leaders
- Looking at future CR trends
- Operational coordination
CROA will share the valuable work of this consortium with its members and beyond.
CROA Announces Alliance with EF
CROA is excited to partner with EF, an alliance intended to provide both organizations' networks access to companies who focus on social impact as a core value of their business. The relationship between EF & CROA also allows companies access to a larger network of peers and experts in corporate citizenship, corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy, and community involvement. Earlier this month, EF and Silicon Valley Community Foundation announced they would combine the corporate philanthropy services of both organizations to better serve companies that want to give back.
Through this alliance, EF & CROA will help companies interested in developing and enhancing both corporate philanthropic initiatives and a corporate culture of responsibility.
The idea of saving on energy can seem like an abstract and daunting concept. Where do you begin?
Enter EDF Climate Corps. Every summer, the EDF Climate Corps program trains and places highly-qualified MBA students in leading companies to turn this seemingly overwhelming task into tangible, clear tips everyone can use in the workplace. See the top 12 energy efficiency tips EDF fellows have identified over the past three years.
Call for CROA Committee Members...
CROA Members have the opportunity to join one of our active committees, let us know if interested!
- Rankings & Ratings Methodology Committee provides input into CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking methodology.
- Research Committee working groups advise on research initiatives such as the Responsible Supply Chain Research Study or CR Best Practices Survey.
- Professional Development Committee is developing the CR practitioner body of knowledge, looking at the knowledge, skills and attributes required and their prevalence, as well as exploring a CR professional code of ethics.
- ResponsibilityWorks Government Roundtable is focused on improviding transparency and responsibility in the government supply chain.
Click here to learn more.
Hear how best in class organizations measure impact and performance to accelerate their sustainability strategy. Many organizations today find that financial reporting alone no longer satisfies the needs of investors, governments, supply-chain partners, and other stakeholders for information about overall organizational performance. This requires companies to become increasingly transparent with their sustainability business practices and accountable to performance targets.
Join Brown Flynn and sustainability professionals from IT services company Atos International and SAP on best practices in sustainability reporting, how to efficiently gather sustainability data & disclose performance, and more.
Click here to register for the archived webinar.
CR Best Practices
Results of the 2nd Annual CR Magazine/ NYSE Euronext Survey
We surveyed every publicly traded company on the NYSE Euronext indexes as well as the CROA and CR Magazine databases...the results are in! Learn how: CR leaders are structuring, staffing and funding their programs; CEOs and boards are engaging in CR; and how CR is impacting profitability and competitive advantage.
Hear the findings from this FREE webinar now!
|
CR Magazine Announces 2011 Responsible CEO of the Year Award Winners
CR Magazine Announces 2011 10 Best Corporate Citizens Rankings by Industry
CR Magazine Releases 2011 Best Corporate Citizens in Government Contracting List
100 Best Corporate Citizens List Announced - CROA in partnership with CR Magazine announced its 12th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List in March. The list in known as the world’s top corporate responsibility ranking based on publicly-available information and recognized by PR Week as one of America’s top three most-important business rankings. Read more
Second Annual Corporate Responsibility Black List Released - CR Magazine’s list highlights the lack of transparency within Russell 1000 companies. Read more
ResponsibilityWorks Government Roundtable Featured on Federal News Radio The DorobekINSIDER program interview with CROA Executive Director, RIchard Crespin, focuses on the impetus behind this initiative. We have measured the effectiveness of corporate responsibility in industry for over ten years, with research showing that companies really can do well by doing good. CROA members now want to put those data, practices, and insights to work for government. Listen to the interview
Collaboration: Can you work together? President Obama has made open government a pillar of his administration, calling for increased transparency, enhanced collaboration, and improved citizen engagement. The CROA spoke on a panel exploring this theme at the Excellence in Government conference.
CROA convenes European Steering Committee - The CROA seeks European corporate leaders to serve as Steering Committee Members to help share European CR practices with our growing global association. Read more
Making the CR Business Case to C-Suite - Speakers from Washington Gas and Bank of America discussed how to demonstrate to the CEO and CFO that CR & Sustainability make good business sense. Read more
NYSE Euronext and CROA Unveil Corporate Responsibility Best Practices - NYSE Euronext and CROA developed the first comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Best Practices study. Drawing on survey data gathered from across publicly traded companies, this landmark study provides a baseline for measuring and sharing practices. Read more
|
