Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has today become a legal obligation for certain companies and a quasi-necessity for a large majority of public and private organisations.
The Purchasing Department plays an increasing role in CSR. This heavy responsibility brings up a number of questions:
- What are the main legal obligations concerning CSR? How can suppliers' socially responsible practices be monitored?
- How much of Purchasing should be reserved for disability-friendly companies (Sheltered workshops)?
- What social indicators should be used by the Purchasing Department? How can the Purchasing Department “market” CSR's ?
- What skills need to be developed to respond to these new issues in corporate governance?
In partnership with the students of a specialised MBA program in Purchasing, CKS carried out a proprietary study concerning CSR with a representative sample of large corporations, government authorities and public services
This study was the subject of a conference and debate with representatives from the French Ministry of Finance and Industry, VIGEO (the French Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agency), UNAPEI (a French Parent-Teachers association), SANOFI-AVENTIS and EDF (a French electricity provider).
