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Global Health and Safety Initiative

Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Policy Workgroup

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the concept of leveraging organizational assets in ways that promote economic, social and environmental health. The Global Health and Safety Initiative (GHSI) provides an avenue to advance CSR concepts by integrating safety and sustainability into members' business strategies and operations. Our objective is to redefine the health care sector's perspective in this arena from one focused primarily on providing charity to the poor to one that includes improving health care's impact on worker safety, patient safety, and sustainability. By working together we can develop policies and structures, common language, tools and templates, and public reporting mechanisms that enhance existing activities and models. The potential for positive change is enormous.

The public policy component of GHSI will allow us to agree on a collective strategy for pursuing responsible public policy that supports safety and sustainability in health care. Our objective is to explore policy opportunities and forward recommendations to the GHSI Advisory Council for action. Examples of the types of policies that will be explored include policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and policies to encourage the development of materials that contain low or nontoxic chemicals.

Project Components

  • Eco-Health Footprint Toolkit for Health Care
    We will create a tool that will measure health care's impact on the environment at the individual (facility/ministry) level and at the collective (industry) level. This tool will be extremely useful in creating a shared understanding of health care's environmental performance, and in identifying the root causes of the largest impacts. For example, health care is a large user of energy, and energy derived from fossil fuels results in carbon dioxide pollution, which is linked to global climate change. By fully understanding our impacts, GHSI members, partners, and the broader health care sector can better prioritize environmental improvement efforts. By using a standardized measurement tool for health care, we can consistently capture, compare and share our performance metrics with stakeholders. Read the latest overview and update on the Eco-Health Footprint Toolkit for Health Care project.
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Assessment Tool
    We will use a tool (developed by the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College) for individual systems/organizations to assess their current management of CSR. Many systems/organizations that define their work in terms of "community benefit" are actually already performing many components of CSR. The assessment tool will aid health care organizations in developing the business case for CSR, understanding financial considerations, and determining priorities for safety and sustainability performance in the context of CSR. This collaboration also gives GHSI members an opportunity to work with a knowledgeable and credible partner to build and disseminate knowledge of best practices in the health industry in this area.
  • Criteria for Public Policy Decision Making
    To ensure careful consideration of public policy opportunities for GHSI members, the work group will develop criteria for use in determining appropriate strategies and responses. We will look broadly at public policy to include proposed laws/regulations, endorsements and pledges, as well as principles that we may want to advocate for inclusion in legislative actions. The CSR/PP work group will engage other GHSI work groups and the Advisory Council in establishing GHSI priority public policy topics. In collaboration with others we will then prepare analyses and recommendations regarding public policy opportunities for decision/action by the GHSI Advisory Council.
  • Education and Communication Related to CSR and Public Policy
    In alignment and coordination with overall GHSI education and communication programs and strategies, we will develop education and communication on a wide range of CSR activities, and we will also identify and standardize the most prevalent terms and concepts. Programs for various levels of health system personnel will be developed and shared. We will explore education and communication required for the eco-footprint to support the use of that tool. The public policy work will also require education and communication.

Outcomes and Benefits

  • Measure environmental and public health impacts of health care, and implement programs to reduce negative impacts through the eco-footprint tool.
  • Address heightened consumer and customer concerns about environmental and social considerations of their health care purchases.
  • Demonstrate societal and environmental contributions of GHSI members.
  • Promote responsible public policy around safety and sustainability by creating advocacy opportunities for GHSI partners to support issues that impact safety and sustainability within health care.

Specific First-Year Objectives for the CSR/PP Work Group

  • Conduct an assessment of the GHSI community regarding current and prospective CSR efforts. (Use the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship assessment tool.
  • Individually and collectively measure health care's impact on the environment by developing an eco-footprint tool.
  • Engage other GHSI work groups and the Advisory Council in establishing GHSI priority public policy topics. In collaboration with others, prepare analyses and recommendations regarding public policy opportunities for decision/action by the GHSI Advisory Council.
  • In alignment with the overall GHSI program, educate and communicate with members regarding CSR and public policy.
  • Collaborate with other GHSI work groups to leverage shared opportunities and to maximize resources.

CSR/PP Workgroup Resources

Examples of CSR/Public Policy leadership already exist among many of the GHSI members. In fact, there are several useful CSR paths that GHSI members have taken to develop and communicate their commitment to environmental and social issues. For example:

  • Catholic Healthcare West endorses the Ceres Principles, uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as its framework for CSR reporting and has posted reports on the Corporate Register.
  • Catholic Healthcare West, Kaiser Permanente and St. Joseph Health System are members of the California Climate Action Registry, which in turn is a part of The Climate Registry.
  • The Cleveland Clinic signed on to the United Nations Global Compact.

All of the sites listed below provide useful resources to help organizations understand the basic concepts of CSR and reporting. In addition, these sites provide a window into how sectors, companies, government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are addressing CSR. These resources can be used to help identify leadership examples among industry peers, as well as conduct a cursory CSR analysis of major suppliers.

For instance, sites like the UN Global Compact and the Corporate Register maintain searchable databases with literally thousands of CSR statements and reports from organizations. The following “How To” guides, also found on the Resources page, provide details for quickly accessing these sites and find specific details about how organizations report their CSR activities.

The following organizations are recognized resources for CSR-related information:

  • Ceres
    Ceres is the largest North American network of investors, environmental organizations, and public interest groups dedicated to addressing sustainability challenges. Ceres and its coalition encourages companies to improve their sustainability performance and holds them accountable for engaging with stakeholders and publicly reporting their performance on environmental, social and governance issues. Regarded by Directorship Magazine as one of the 100 most influential players in the corporate governance movement, Ceres launched the GRI and the Investor Network on Climate Change (INCR) by leveraging the collective power of investors and key stakeholders.
  • Corporate Register
    The Corporate Register is a repository for over 16,000 CSR reports, representing over 4,000 companies worldwide. The organization collaborates with AccountAbility, the UN Global Compact (UNGC), and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to provide company CSR reports adhering to these and other standards. Users may freely access the reports in Corporate Register’s database with an array of search engines. In addition, the site also provides news, research services, and resources for reporting agencies.
  • Global Reporting Initiative
    The GRI is a not-for-profit multi-stakeholder network committed to promoting routine economic, environmental, and social performance reporting alongside traditional financial reporting. It has developed a standardized reporting framework that evolves constantly through consensus-seeking activities. These guidelines, currently in their third iteration (known as G3), constitute the world's most widely-used sustainability reporting framework. It is administrated by a Board of Directors, a Stakeholder Council, a Technical Advisory Committee, Organizational Stakeholders, and an Amsterdam-based Secretariat.
  • The California Climate Action Registry and The Climate Registry
    The California Climate Action Registry is a non-profit organization formed by the State of California to protect and promote pre-emptive action to reduce GHG emissions. As a voluntary GHG registry, they develop and promote sound reporting standards and tools for measurement, monitoring, verification, and reduction of emissions. Members actively participate in the development of solutions to climate change issues, and are well prepared for regulation. In May 2007, the California Climate Action Registry launched The Climate Registry to support emission reporting for companies across the continent.
  • United Nations Global Compact
    Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact brings business together with UN agencies, labor, civil society and governments to advance ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to mainstream these ten principles in business activities around the world and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With over 3,600 participating companies and hundreds of other stakeholders from more than 120 countries, it is the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative.
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