Mission

The mission of this working group is to:

• explore solutions leveraging blockchain to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting and to mitigate greenwashing
• combine the expertise of Hyperledger's Special Interest Groups
• identify the role of open-source technology in blockchain-based CSR reporting

Why now?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the idea that a business has a responsibility to the society and environment in which it operates (acc. to Sustainable Business Strategy). There is a growing demand for CSR reporting and the current state of the art needs to change to address the following stakeholders needs:

People

• "more than 9-in-10 millennials would switch brands to one associated with a cause" - 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study
• "prepared to make personal sacrifices to make an impact on issues they care about, whether that’s paying more for a product, sharing products rather than buying, or taking a pay cut to work for a responsible company" - 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study

Investors

• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing grew to more than $30 trillion in 2018, and some estimates say it could reach $50 trillion over the next two decades (Source)
• “Our conviction is that companies perform better when they are deliberate about their role in society and act in the interests of their employees, customers, communities and their shareholders.” — BlackRock, 2021
• According to the second annual Corporate Social Responsibility Survey from Aflac, FleishmanHillard Research, and Lightspeed GMI, more than 80 percent of professional investors prefer to invest i a company known for its social responsibility

Corporations:

• Being a socially responsible company can bolster a company's image and build its brand.
• Social responsibility empowers employees to leverage the corporate resources at their disposal to do good.
• Formal corporate social responsibility programs can boost employee morale and lead to greater productivity in the workforce.
• Better access to finance when environmental, social, and governance considerations are incorporated into external reporting

Governments: !!!

On 21 April 2021, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which would amend the existing reporting requirements of the NFRD. The proposal

• extends the scope to all large companies and all companies listed on regulated markets (except listed micro-enterprises)
• requires the audit (assurance) of reported information
• introduces more detailed reporting requirements, and a requirement to report according to mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards
• requires companies to digitally ‘tag’ the reported information, so it is machine readable and feeds into the European single access point envisaged in the capital markets union action plan

→ With new developments such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive which extends the scope of CSR reporting and requires the audit of reported information, corporations must seek new ways to capture and share trusted information about their impact. 

Active Members

Workplan for 2021

• Fill out the Value Proposition Canvas from the perspective of a CSR reporting department in an interactive working session with the Social Impact SIG on 12 Oct 2021 
• Fill out the Value Proposition Canvas from the perspective of a CSR reporting department in an interactive working session with the Trade & Finance SIG on TBD
• Identify pain points
• Identify use case
• Publish a blog post about the initiative to increase awareness and participation 19 Oct 2021 

Ways to contribute

• Leave your feedback on the general idea
• Formulate a use case and publish it on our wiki
• List potential partners that are eager to prototype first solutions with us
• Do you know someone to whom should we reach out to (1) for interviewing (2) inviting to join the movement?
• Gather information about the process of CSR reporting of corporations
  • What standards do they follow?
  • How much money do they spend for (1) internal CSR reporting (2) third-party assurance
• Come up with ideas on how to best collaborate cross-SIG