The role of corporate social responsibility reporting initiatives in mission driven organizations

The use of the terms mission and mission statement has moved from the realm of the non-profit into the for-profit sector. Yet, there is little information on what it means for a for-profit company to have a mission and what constitutes a for-profit mission driven organization. There also seems to be little connection to the idea of bringing social good through an organization\u27s mission. Additionally, changing trends and demands for responsible and fair organizational practices have led to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement. CSR has emerged as an important way to develop standards for financial, social and environmental areas of organizational work. Many multi-national corporations (MNCs) are now reporting on their CSR initiatives, but many fail to identify strategic risks and opportunities associated with their reporting on economic, environmental and social performance (Risk & Opportunity, 2004). There is also no clear understanding of how CSR is changing the culture and practices of MNCs.This paper defines the concept of mission driven organization, discusses the most widely used CSR initiatives, and examines the role that CSR initiatives play in moving multi-national corporations toward a more mission driven organizational model. Analysis of the CSR reports of twenty MNCs shows that CSR reporting initiatives are affecting transparency in the areas of environmental and social performance. However, there are several obstacles to moving toward an MDO business model. These include, the degree to which information is reported and the lack of GRI indicators that directly correlate to the MDO characteristics as described here. Overall, while CSR is having some impact on the way organizations do business, it is not necessarily moving such organizations toward a mission driven mode