CSR and Corporate Governance Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering the definitions and principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, Triple Bottom Line Reporting, and the King Codes of Corporate Governance as outlined in the lecture notes.

Management ethics

A code of honourable behaviour guided by a set of moral principles.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Management’s obligation to protect and promote the welfare of all stakeholders, financially or otherwise.

Stakeholder

Any individual or group that has an interest in or that will be affected by a business, such as employees, customers, or the local community.

Corporate Social Investment (CSI)

The resources invested in stakeholders, including money, manpower, products, machinery, and premises.

Triple Bottom Line Reporting

A reporting framework that moves away from profit only to include Economic (profit), Environmental (planet), and Social (people) performance.

Sustainable projects

Processes set up to ensure that a project continues in the long-term and enables communities to become self-sufficient.

Extreme poverty

A state defined by the World Bank as living on under $US1.90$ per person per day.

Moderate or subsistence poverty

A state where individuals have some meagre income but face chronic financial hardship and lack basic necessities like clean drinking water and sanitation.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

An independent institution and widely used sustainability-reporting model that aims to enhance the quality, rigour, and utility of sustainability reporting.

King Code IV

A governance document summarised by the word transparency that differentiates between principles and recommended practices for good corporate citizenship.

Apply or explain approach

The governance framework approach adopted in SA where stakeholders may take a different approach to code recommendations if they provide acceptable reasons.

Transparency

A characteristic of good governance that allows those affected by a business to have facts and understand the mechanisms and processes involved.

Independence

The ethical ability to make correct, uncontaminated decisions free of undue influence from stakeholders or constraints.

Accountability

Taking complete account of an event by providing a clear and accurate description of what happened.

Fairness

The principle of treating groups or entities with equality and avoiding bias.

Integrity

A fundamental principle of the code of ethics involving doing business honestly and truthfully.

Market-discipline

A result of the willingness to invest in a company and social sanctions for bad behaviour.

Regulatory discipline

Rules that reinforce self-discipline and promote high levels of integrity to reduce irrational, high-risk business decisions and fraud.

Social equity

The fair treatment of society as a whole, including fair access to education, income, and well-being.

Fiduciary duty

The responsibility of directors to act in good faith, honesty, and with skill and care when formulating policies.

4 P's of sustainable design

A framework for preserving environmental quality consisting of Product, Processes, Practices, and Premises.

Economic Growth

Physical development in the actual size of the business.

Economic Development

Improvements or the unfolding of potential that leads to success within a company.

FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index

A partnership index between the JSE and FTSE Russell that reflects a commitment to advancing corporate sustainability practices.

FTSE ESG Ratings

The environmental, social, and governance standards adopted by the FTSE/JSE index series to benchmark company disclosures.