Analysis and report of a CSR

initiative
What are the core building blocks of a successful CSR
strategy and how has Telstra applied these concepts
towards their strategy.

Declaration
Student:

Nathaniel Parry-Selmes

Student number:

10405064

Lecturers Name:

Thomas Clarke

Due Date:

24 June 2013

DECLARATION: I certify that this is entirely our own work, except where I have
given fully documented references to the work of others, and that the material
contained in this essay has not previously been submitted for assessment in
any formal course of study. I understand the definition and consequences of
plagiarism

Nathaniel Parry-Selmes - 10405064

Introduction:
A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy will be successful if it aligns a
business operations with social values, it will positively impact society and
achieve business success in uncertain conditions. CSR is very diverse and can
take on many illusions of best practice without actually providing an economic,
tangible or intangible return to the company. A successful strategy can be
broken into 5 key requirements that must be addressed in order to successfully
generate a return for the company and positively impact society. The five
requirements to a CSR strategy are; Leadership needs to be engaged with CSR,
develop CSR goals in line with business objectives, align CSR activities with
core competencies, integrate CSR within the company culture, and finally
successful CSR is underpinned by clear, accurate and genuine communication
both internally and externally.

Leadership needs to be engaged with CSR

The CSR strategy, like all successful business strategies should be engaged
and directed by the Executive Leadership teams. Leadership-level lead CSR
programs will most likely directly reflect what the business is and what is does
and leverage of its core competencies. A clear vision of CSR should be
embedded into and reflect the core values of the company. These values and
mission should recognise that it creates social and environment value as well
as business value. Telstras leadership team is publicly committed to CSR and
the companys approach reflects the core values and core objectives.
Telstras CEO, David Thodey is actively involved in the Telstras approach to
CSR. As the CEO he chairs Telstra Sustainability Council which is comprised of
Telstras Executive Leadership Team. They also have a Chief Sustainability
Officer who is responsible for implementation of the approach and programs.
With regular reports to the CEO and the board, the Leadership team is actively
participating and engaged in driving social, environmental and business value
through a clear and genuine leadership involvement to develop the CSR
strategy in line with other core business strategies.

Develop CSR goals in line with business objectives

The development of a CSR strategy includes choosing which of the top
business objectives that the strategy will support. CSR can be utilised as a
marketing an PR tool, by engaging in programs that are attractive to staff
engagement HR costs are likely to decrease and potentially productivity
increased as employee turnover is reduced and their satisfaction is increased.
The priority of business objectives should be derived by the companys mission
and driven by the Executive Leadership Team. Telstras 2013 CSR approach
were aligned with the top 3 objectives. By doing this the CSR has resulted in
supportive revenue, cost reduction, social impact and business value.
Telstras approach to CSR is to embed social and environmental consideration
into the heart of our business in ways that create value. Their ambition is to
develop innovative business offerings, reduce ecological impacts and build a
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reputation that reflects who we are and what we stand for as a company 1.
Their three strategic priorities we focused within Employee Involvement,
Everyone Connected and Environmental Leadership. These priorities supported
their key business objectives of customer, revenue and profit growth. Through
proactive focused and innovative approaches the three CSR priorities directly
supported the Leadership Teams mission.

Align CSR activities with core competencies

A successful CSR strategy must align the core values and objectives with that
of the company. Many corporations execute ad hoc CSR programs. CSR
initiatives can find their inception from all facets of the company and are rarely
linked to what the firm knows. To create social and business value, the
businesses should aim to create social and environment strategies where they
own part of the solution. This requires focus and discipline to stay within the
companys core strengths.
Telstra deliver several high and low profile CSR programs to a spectrum of 5
focused areas; Responsible Business, Customer Experience, Our People (staff),
Community Impact and Environmental Impact. The programs that address
these areas are achieved through Telstras core strengths of technology,
telecommunications, education and corporate governance. A key example of
an activity is the access & digital inclusion which Telstra assists people on a
low income or facing financial hardship to stay connected; Also of note the
Remote indigenous communities programs which aimed to deliver mobile
coverage to eight remote communities and fixed broadband services. These
programs are just some of the few to deliver valuable outcomes within Telstras
core services.

Integrate CSR within the company culture

For a CSR strategy to be successful and generate an environmental or social
and business return, it must be integrated fully and engaged with by
employees and leadership of the company. This requires that CSR must be
integrated into performance reporting at all levels. The strategy and purpose
must be communicated internally at all levels and be reflected in the
companys branding and actions of those inside it.

Clear, accurate and genuine communication

The CSR strategy can be utilised to mitigate risk, maximise opportunity or
both. The only way that the company will truly be successful in their execution
of the strategy is by ensuring that there are clear KPIs reporting mechanisms
that staff will be measured, held accountable and rewarded against. It is
through this uptake that the companys culture will truly become a part of the
CSR change and embrace it realising the value to the business.
Telstras activities, inclusion and governance are aligned toward building and
maintaining performance momentum. To achieve this Telstra has a large
1 Telstra annual report 2013
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employee involvement emphasis, building a great workplace environment and

integrated incentives and reporting factors. Telstra also have comprehensive
and transparent reporting through the Telstra Sustainability Council, which is
chaired by the CEO. The leadership is the driving force and motivation for the
culture change within Telstra with great impact and alignment of CSR and
business objectives.

Nathaniel Parry-Selmes - 10405064

Conclusion
CSR is an evolving methodology that needs to be included in the development
of the business strategy in order for the company to maintain a legitimate,
genuine, transparent, successful and sustainable approach to CSR. A
companys strategy must be driven from the Leadership Group, develop the
goals in line with business objectives and align core strengths with the
activities. The company will succeed in these actions with the support from
within, integrated CSR goals into the culture and branding through reporting
internally and externally. Telstra has been working to deliver tangible results
over the last decade. Under the leadership of David Thodey Telstra has begun
to achieve and align their business goals and success with support from their
CSR programs and strategy.

References
Allen, Fredreick, The Five Elements of the best CSR programs, Forbes Online, April
2011
http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2011/04/26/the-five-elements-of-the-best-csrprograms/
Jerome, d, & Kleinbaum, R, 7 steps to developing a profitable CSR strategy,
GreenBiz.com, December 2012
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/12/13/seven-steps-developing-profitable-csrstrategy
Bansal, T; Maurer, C; Slawinski, N, Beyond good intentions: strategies for managing
your CSR performance, Ivy Business Journal, Feb 2008
http://iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/social-responsibility/beyond-good-intentionsstrategies-for-managing-your-csr-performance#.UtpU5PR9KIVr
McElhaney, Kellie, A strategic approach to corporate social responsibility, Leader to
Leader, Spring 2009
http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu/documents/Strategic%20CSR%20(Leader
%20to%20Leader,%20McElhaney).pdf
Dellaripa, Sondra, & Nolan, Robert, Corporate Social Responsibility: The renewed era,
http://www.slideshare.net/sondrad/corporate-social-responsibility-3459216, April 2005
Sustainability - Telstra Annual Report 2013,
http://telstra.interactiveinvestorreports.com/annualreport2013/#sustainability