While CSR practices are voluntary, firms are not left without guidance when they engage in CSR: They can draw on a series of standards and guidelines, some of which have become a global benchmark over the years, such as: 

  • The United Nations Global Compact, call to  companies to voluntarily align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Since its initiation in 2000, the number of signatories has steadily grown from 44 to about 10,000 in 2019 (of which around 14% are publicly listed).***
  • The guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative, which currently constitute the most popular CSR reporting framework. About three quarters of the highest-revenue companies use them in their CSR reporting.**** 

Other prominent international standards providing guidance for effective CSR management are the Integrated Reporting Initiative and Framework that was launched in 2011, the AA1000 Series of Standards, the ISO 26000 norm, and the SA8000 certification standard for socially acceptable practices at the workplace. 

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