Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Who are we?

MHC International Ltd (MHCi) is a social enterprise that focuses upon research and advisory services in four main areas:

CSR and Sustainability

Sustainable development focusing upon Employment and Labour markets in emerging economies

CSR and Financial Training

Sustainability reporting in the financial, ask social, governance and economic areas

What is our model of CSR?

We at MHCi see CSR (and Sustainability) as a systems approach that looks at all material aspects of a corporate body i.e. all its key economic, social, financial and environmental stakeholders. MHCi blogs with CSRwire and in our regular Monthly Features/MHCi Blogs now in their 15th year!MHCi has launched the CSR and Financial Training Institute in partnership with the Triple Bottom Group to offer certified workshops on CSR, Sustainability and Finance right across the world including a top rated online e-course. Now extended to a Certified CSR Diploma that can be taken when you want. CSRFi is a wholly owned subsidiary of MHC International Ltd for CSR education and training strongly linked to the business case.

See a short video on GRI with Maga Ramasamy, Head CSR, Air Mauritius interviewed briefly by Michael Hopkins.

Check out our recent thinking in this interview with Michael Hopkins in the below video!

Dukascopy interviews Michael Hopkins on CSRExecutive education on CSR through our CSR and Financial Institute is our strong point and now has 200 CSR Diploma post-graduates spread right across the world in key executive positions. We also link our training to potential jobs that we track on our CSRFI job page for CSR, Sustainability and SRI openings. Check out what others think of us!

What is CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility is a process that is concerned with treating the stakeholders of a company or institution ethically or in a responsible manner. ‘Ethically or responsible' means treating key stakeholders in a manner deemed acceptable according to international norms.

Social includes economic, financial and environmental responsibility. Stakeholders exist both within a firm or institution and outside.

The wider aim of social responsibility is to create higher and higher standards of sustainable living, while preserving the profitability of the corporation or the integrity of the institution, for peoples both within and outside these entities. The key is how profits are made, not the pursuit of profits at any cost.

CSR is a process to achieve sustainable development in societies. Both CSR and Sustainability address multi-stakeholders and their materiality.

Corporate means any body private, public or NGO [our definition applies neatly outside the traditional private corporate sphere]

Original Source: Michael Hopkins (MHCi): A Planetary Bargain: Corporate Social Responsibility Comes of Age (Macmillan, 1998; updated and re-printed by Earthscan, 2003 and re-printed by Routledge, UK, 2010). Updated Oct 2 2014.

What we do

• Provide clear and simple tools to create CSR/Sustainability in your company or institution based upon our 15 years of experience - Contact us for Free Quote

• Give you clear guidelines for CSR enhancement through practical solutions which reflect your company's specific needs in relation to both the current, and likely future, business environment in which you operate (check out how responsible/sustainable you are on Rate Your Company and also details on its methodology in MHCi Measurement articles);

• Run seminars and train in CSR/Sustainability at all levels of your company from your newest recruit to seasoned executive and help you devise,embed and monitor an appropriate set of values, business principles, and code of ethics (see Executive Training and our Online CSR Course with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research);

• Focus on particular aspects of CSR such as sustainable development, finance, the law, the media, SMEs, sport and sustainable tourism. These areas are indicative of our wide range of business experience and our ultimate aim to add value both to your business and to society as a whole (see our corporate social responsibility Feature Articles as well as our contributions on CSRwire);

• Join with national and supranational organisations to devise and deliver CSR/Sustainability Programmes on behalf of various government institutions and industry sectors (see our wide experience in Programmes).

CSR and Sustainability E-learning Course

The objective of this wholly online e-course is to introduce the participant to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility today, operationalising the term and ensuring a cohesive definition of CSR and its applications to corporate sustainability. The learning materials and tools available through the courses allow participants to acquire the relevant introductory knowledge that will help them and their organizations to better address social responsibility concerns.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to meet the following learning objectives:

• To define and summarise the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability:

• To review alternative definitions of CSR and their strengths and limitations;

• To assess comparative needs for CSR; and

• To distinguish between the applications of CSR in various practical situations.

See details Intel says:

“Excellent layout and content, and the right balance between theory and practice. Congratulations!” Dr. Thomas Osburg, Head, Corporate Responsibility, Intel Europe

Certified by George Mason University George Mason University Partnership with Triple Bottom Line TBLI

Books by Michael Hopkins, CEO, MHCi