Human resources, IT, communication… By 2030, companies “will fully integrate social, societal and environmental responsibility at all levels of their organizations, activities, businesses and practices“, predicts a study carried out by PWC, the Institute of Enterprise and the National Foundation for Business Management Education. In other words, CSR will no longer be the work of a single department but will concern the companies must prepare for this and train their employees for this (r)evolution.
The 20th century company is slowly dying out, long live the “full CSR” company of the 21st century! This is essentially the message delivered by the study coordinated by the Institut de l’Entreprise, the National Foundation for Business Management Education (FNEGE) and PwC, entitled “the full CSR company, from prospective to practice, the vision of professionals”.
“Since the 19th century, nature, people, society, science, culture, freedom have been seen as resources for business. Today, on the contrary, we expect companies to be at their service, and that they play a full part in solving the challenges that concern us.“, says the study. To do this, companies must integrate social and environmental responsibility (CSR) policies more fully into their strategy, practices and businesses. “The Full-RSE Company is the company of tomorrow, spearheading a French business model“, launches the report which is based on the expertise of professionals and academics.
Companies will have toprove their usefulness“
A total of 100 companies, 10 professional associations including Entreprises & Médias, France Supply Chain, the French Institute of Directors (IFA) and the Observatory for Corporate Social Responsibility (ORSE) and 30 academic experts contributed to this prospective report. , based on feedback from people interviewed and encouraged to project themselves into “plausible futures”.
As a result, in this new business model, “the functions collaborate more with each other and the governance is less pyramidal“, indicates the report. In addition, in 2030, companies will be more anchored in the territories and they will interact with a multitude of actors and collectives, further underlines the study. In 2030, companies will also have “a more political role“. While the model of the mission-based company is already developing, the latter will have to “prove their usefulness” and establish a common framework with stakeholders to act on the transformation. “The company must be driven by a very strong conviction, the corporate culture revolution is very important “, underlines Hélène Valade, president of ORSE.
Skills shortage
The report’s findings also imagine companies that “integrate CSR into each of their functions: human resources, marketing, finance, information systems, communication, supply chain, purchasing, general management, administrator, etc.“. For example, the IT department is closely associated with strategic decisions and the teams will have to deploy and master the eco-design of digital systems and the new regulatory frameworks. The purchasing function will also have to evolve with a account of eco-design and a redefinition of logistics circuits which are becoming more circular.As for the finance department, it will have to assess extra-financial data and use the carbon price.
These developments requirenew and constantly evolving skills“, thus notes the report. Thus, for the imagined scenario to come true, it is necessary to massively train the living forces of the groups. Problem, companies are already confronted with a shortage of qualified labor in the field of CSR To the point that, in a column published in the World, nineteen sustainable development consulting and recruitment professionals call on companies to go beyond the clichés about the expected profile of CSR manager professionals. In effect, “the demand for recruitment to carry out “positive impact” missions far exceeds the supply of candidates“, underline the signatories of the forum. They thus call on companies to open up to diversity, to self-taught people, to “seniors” but also to men who will soon lack representativeness, for once!
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