Managing Sustainability or Social Responsibility within the organization

The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) has published a series of papers with guidance for directors on a variety of topics. Typically, they suggest 20 questions that directors can ask. I find that their content is valuable to management and others (such as auditors) in understanding the key issues in the areas.

Rather than 20 questions, a new paper on Sustainability from the CICA has 23 questions.

Whether you believe that Sustainability or Social Responsibility (CSR) should be a priority or not, the questions work for me. They start in the right place – with identifying which aspects of CSR apply and are significant to the organization. The questions continue through risk assessment, reporting, and governance.

The only question I can think to add is how assurance is being obtained that external reporting (in particular) on CSR is complete and accurate. That might be a role that internal audit can play.

I have questions for you:

1. How important should Sustainability be in driving the actions of corporations?
2. Should this be a factor in assessing the performance of the CEO and other top executives? If so, what are the metrics?
3. Do you like these 23 questions (24 with my addition)?

I welcome your comments.

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