Corporate Social Responsibility in the Road Sector

1. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Road Sector Dr Andy Southern - Atkins (UK) Alexander Walcher - Asfinag (Austria)

2. Presentation • What is CSR? • What role does it/can it play in the Roads sector? • Results of the PIARC survey of road administrations and suppliers • What is the future for CSR?

3. PIARC's Sustainable Development Committee and the CSR Project Aim: provide an overview and dialogue on sustainable infrastructure projects in member countries Including: • Best practice examples • Comparison of different management cultures • Learning and knowledge exchange CSR was a central strand of research

4. Economic financialperformance staff diversity, welfare, community support Impacts on environment & energy use Social Environmental What is CSR? A broadening of responsibilities Philosophies and values underpinning an organisationsbehaviour The “triple bottom line”

5. Evolution of CSR • Pre 1970: narrow focus on financial performance • 1970s: recognition of sustainable development principles • 1990s: environmental reporting broadened to include social and economic reporting (balanced score-cards) • Post 2000: majority of top 250 global companies producing CSR reports • CSR starting to become embedded in some organisations values and behaviours

6. The business rationale for roads administrations and their partners to adopt CSR • CSR helps planning and stakeholder engagement • CSR helps reduce planning costs • CSR helps reduce conflict costs • CSR helps create sustainable solutions • CSR helps to create positive impact for future projects • CSR creates a different corporate culture

7. To what extent has CSR been adopted in the road sector? PIARC Literature Review & Peer Group Exercise • Private companies faster to adopt CSR than public sector administrations • Public sector organisations remit embodied in government objectives and, hence, need for explicit CSR policies/reporting not given the same priority

8. To what extent has CSR been adopted in the road sector? PIARC Literature Review & Peer Group Exercise • Good examples of CSR in the road sector across western Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa • Some road administrations adopting annual sustainability reports and actions plans But • Emphasis on environmental aspects

9. CSR is of growing importance to how road administrations conduct their business • Transport increasingly set within broader environmental, economic and social agendas • Compulsory reporting • A means of aligning objectives in public/private partnership agreements • Sustainability moving from a 'fluffy' concept to a harder edge currency of 'economic productivity' and 'carbon'

10. Objectives of the PIARC CSR study • Confirm the growing importance of CSR • Evaluate what is already done in the road sector • Identification of effective CSR strategies for PIARC-members

11. Content of Questionnaire Members were questioned on: • 5 key areas: business ethics, employee relations, human rights, community investment, environmental sustainability • existing procedures, e.g. policies, standards, management structures, reporting, implementation etc.

12. Initial Overall Results • Generally high standards in place • Top priorities: business ethics, environmental sustainability, employee relations (chart) • Other areas show room for improvements

13. Business ethics Employee relations 100% 90% 90% 80% 80% 70% 70% 60% 60% 50% 50% 40% 40% 30% 30% 20% 20% 10% 10% 0% 0% compliance legal compliance with measures are top priority - very compliance legal compliance with top priority - very measures are requirements national standards exceeding the specific measures legal requirements national standards specific measures exceeding the legal requirements in place in place requirements Priorities 100%

14. Community investment Environmental sustainability 100% 100% 90% 90% 80% 80% 70% 70% 60% 60% 50% 50% 40% 40% 30% 30% 20% 20% 10% 10% 0% 0% compliance legal compliance with measures are top priority - very compliance legal compliance with measures are top priority - very requirements national standards exceeding the specific measures requirements national standards exceeding the specific measures legal requirements in place legal requirements in place Priorities

15. Human rights 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% compliance legal compliance with measures are top priority - very requirements national standards exceeding the legal specific measures requirements in place Priorities

16. Current CSR measures • Respondents have CSR related measures in place • Some also publish "sustainability reports" • However, there are no truly integrated CSR policies

17. CSR policies • Such CSR policies could be easily formulated and formally adopted based on the generally high standards that currently exist • 3 respondents were working (at the time of the survey) on the implementation of a CSR system and hence, take-up of formal CSR processes will already be more advanced

18. Existing Standards • Internal CSR responsibilities are not always clear (improvements possible) • High amount of stakeholder involvement • Especially concerning environmental issues • Manuals and guidelines exist - but there are not consistent standards & approaches to implementation • Controlling and auditing are taken seriously • However, there is no uniform system established • External auditing is rare

19. Motives/Results • There are strong motives for implementing CSR • For respondents, benefits of CSR programs are: • Corporate image is enhanced – vision is becoming clearer • Stakeholder expectations can be better managed • Cost efficiencies • Improves legal compliance

20. Published articles ROUTES / ROADS, Nr. 333, p. 32-41 ROUTES / ROADS, Nr. 335, p. 78-87

21. CSR in the road sector Dr. Andy Southern ATKINS Managing Director Transport Planning & Management Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Walcher ASFINAG Managing Director alexander.walcher@asfinag.at andy.southern@atkinsglobal.com