CSR or Social Impact?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has long been the dominant approach for evaluating and addressing a company's social and environmental impacts. However, growing evidence suggests that more than CSR is needed in today's increasingly complex and interconnected world. To truly understand and address the impacts of a company on society and the

environment, it is necessary to move beyond CSR and promote the use of social impact indicators.

One of the main limitations of CSR is that it is typically focused on the actions and initiatives a company takes to address its social and environmental impacts. While these actions can be substantial, they only sometimes provide a comprehensive understanding of a company's overall impact. For example, a company might engage in philanthropy or sustainability reporting, but these activities do not necessarily reflect the company's overall performance regarding its impact on stakeholders.

In contrast, social impact indicators provide a more holistic and objective measure of a company's impact. These indicators can be used to assess a company's performance in terms of a wide range of social and environmental impacts, including economic, social, and ecological outcomes. This allows us to understand a company's overall impact better and make more informed decisions about its performance.

Third-party organizations should manage and monitor social impact indicators rather than by the company its

elf. This helps to ensure the independence and credibility of the indicators, as they are subject to different biases and pressures than in-house CSR initiatives.

Overall, I think the case for promoting social impact indicators over CSR is strong. What type of indicators should we consider to build a robust framework? Please share them and be part of a positive change