Finding value in CSR
Proekspert commits to the development of the Responsible Business Index 2020.
A socially responsible business has a competitive advantage, says Kristiina Kokk, Project Owner at Proekspert. “It reduces entrepreneurship risks, strengthens the company’s market value, and helps keep the best employees.”
The Estonian Responsible Business Forum, in cooperation with a number of organizations including Proekspert, has committed to develop a methodology to measure CSR using the sustainability goals of the United Nations. The CSR score will enable the shaping of leadership decisions so that an organization and its customers and stakeholders may benefit.
Getting your company’s score requires the completion of a survey at the Responsible Business Index website. The survey allows a participating company to be certified, earning a certificate and label which may be used in the company’s marketing and communications materials.
“In order to set meaningful CSR targets for the company, you first need to measure your current status. The Responsible Business Index is a self-assessment tool, verified by third parties, that enables the comparison of your activities to both a market standard and to the activities of others,” says Merili Vares, Index Development Lead at the Responsible Business Forum.
Contributors to the project are SDG Lead from Denmark, plus a number of Estonian organizations, including BaltCap, Coop Pank, EuroPark Estonia, Lindström, Miltton New Nordics, Sustinere, Telia Eesti, Utilitas, as well as Proekspert as an investor member. The Estonian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, Estonia’s Ministry of the Environment, Estonia’s Ministry of Economics and Communications, plus the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia also support the project.
“The Forum is interested in new members who are willing to lead the way in corporate social responsibility,” says Proekspert’s Kokk. “It’s a great way to have a say in creating a market standard that will promote a responsible way of doing business in Estonia.”
