About CROA
CROA members transform ideas into action, advancing corporate responsibility (CR), the profession, and their careers.
As the largest independent CR community, CROA supports the concept that to excel, organizations need to embrace multiple responsibility disciplines including sustainability, governance, social responsibility, and philanthropy.
CROA welcomes corporate practitioners, providers of products and services, academics, governments, and non-profits as equal participants. Read more
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WHAT'S NEW?
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) and the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA) today released a breakthrough business report called The State of the Corporate Responsibility Profession. Among the nine different key findings from the research, BCLC and CROA found that the characteristics that define a mature profession, such as an educational curriculum and a career pipeline, currently are lacking in the corporate responsibility (CR) profession. BCLC and CROA also found that while few of the CR leaders in companies today entered the field deliberately, they have paved the way for “generation 2.0” CR practitioners. Click here to read more.
CROA, ASQ & ISM Launch Survey on Value Chain Sustainability
Click Here to Participate
Do you ever wonder about the best way to achieve the sustainability goals you have for your value chain? Which concrete actions really work (and are worth investing time or money in), and which don’t? Our research project is designed to provide insight in a way they hasn't been done before – ever. And if you help us, we’ll share that insight with you. .
Addressing the sustainability of the whole value chain, we are looking at questions others haven’t, linking them to overall success at meeting your sustainability goals. Get information you can’t get anywhere else and help us improve the state of the art in sustainable value chain.
We hope you’ll be a part of this important research. Simply click click here to get started.
CR Magazine to Announce 100 Best Corporate Citizens
April 17, NYSE Euronext
At a special invitation-only event on the afternoon of April 17th, CR Magazine will announce its 13th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list highlighting leadership in corporate transparency and accountability. The agenda will include a CEO panel on "Enduring Responsibility" honoring CEOs whose companies have appeared on the list for five years in a row.
Click here to view the 2011 100 Best Corporate Citizens List and learn more about the methodology.
White House to Launch Sustainable Supply Chain Community of Practice
March 30, Washington DC
The White House Council on Environmental Quality is teaming up with GSA to create a Community of Practice with a focus on sharing information between industry, non-profits and academic institutions on best practices in leveraging supplier relationships to reduce environmental impacts throughout the supply chain.
Through fostering an inclusive and transparent community, government gains access to information that can improve the sustainability of Federal procurements. The primary engagement platform will be Data.gov with the community broken down into six market sector groups identified by a recent GSA "hotspots" study -- IT, Professional Services, Waste Management, Furniture, Food Services, and Building Services. -- along with an "other" market sector for additional information sharing.
The problem with most science is that it's directed at scientists. After years of frustration with lack of action on the part of national and multi-national governments, Planet Under Pressure has asked a delegation of CROA business leaders to challenge the scientific community assembled to come up with scientifically-backed approaches that individual companies and organizations can take to solving some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Foster a unique multi-sector, cross-discipline dialogue leading to Rio+20 and towards a sustainable and resilient planet.
Click here to request more information on taking part in the delegation or click here to learn more.
Live Webcast: Findings of New Report on the State of the CR Profession
March 30, 11am-12pm ET
The CR profession is stuck in a chicken-and-egg conundrum: before employers establish a CR career path, CR needs a defined curriculum; before educational institutions invest in a defined curriculum, they need to see a clear demand for CR professionals.
Fulfilling CR’s promise as a field and profession requires deliberate action to build a consensus within the field itself and about the field in society. Join BCLC’s Stephen Jordan and the CROA's Richard Crespin as they uncover new findings from recent research into the state of the CR profession. Click here to view the executive summary.
Participate virtually via the live streaming webcast and Twitter chat or in person if you are in the DC area, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Click here to register for this free event!
Save the Date! 3rd Annual ResponsibilityWorks Roundtable
June 14, Washington DC
The annual ResponsibilityWorks roundtable brings together executives from business, government, NGO/nonprofit and academia committed to improving transparency and responsibility in the government contracting community.
The 2012 Roundtable will focus on how sustainable supply chain management can balance your budget, improve mission effectiveness, and save the planet. There is an urgent need for government – federal, state, local – to close increasingly large budget gaps and a call for organizations of all types to engage in more sustainable practices.
Check back soon for online registration!
Join the 2012 COMMIT!Campaign: Make a Commitment to Change the World!
See How to Participate
The COMMIT!Campaign calls on organizations to make commitments that will change the world. 70+ corporate and individual commitments were made in conjunction with the 2011 COMMIT!Campaign NGO partners, and the 2012 campaign is well underway.
COMMIT!Forum Announces Addition of Dov Seidman, Author of HOW to Agenda
Named one of the “Top 60 Global Thinkers of the Last Decade” by The Economic Times and “the hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit” by Fortune Magazine, CEO, author and thought leader Dov Seidman has built a career, and pioneered an industry, around the idea that the most principled businesses are the most profitable and sustainable.
He joins Phillip K. Howard, founder of The Common Good, Duncan Neiderauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, and James Quigley, CEO Emeritus of Deloitte and author of As One, in headlining the program.
CR Magazine, NYSE Euronext & CROA Reveal Results of 2nd Annual CR Best Practices Survey
Executive Summary of Findings
The findings of this second annual survey of CR professionals, performed earlier this year, provide the CR community with important insights on the state of corporate citizenship, how this has changed year-over-year, and some of the field's best practices. Click here for an executive summary of the 2011 survey results or CROA members click here to log in and download the complete report.
The 2011 survey results, with responses from 300 companies from across 20 industries, build upon the inaugural 2010 survey that set a baseline as the broadest sampling of how companies plan, structure, and budget for corporate responsibility programs ( click here for the 2010 survey results).
CROA recently launched a multi-faceted research and development program on the CR profession. This report summarizes the findings of a specific phase of that program; formulating a snapshot of where the CR field stands today and providing insights on how to mature it. CROA Executive Director Richard Crespin presented the preliminary findings from this report at the BCLC 2011 Citizen Awards finalists lunch on November 17th.
Click here for an overview of the report results. CROA members will be notified once the full report is available online. This report builds off of the Structuring & Staffing CR Guidebook that the CROA Professional Development Committee released earlier this year, available here.
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Outcomes of 2nd Annual Government & Industry Roundtable
Administrator Dan Gordon, head of federal procurement policy for the White House, challenged participants from across government, industry, non-profit/NGOs, and academia at the July 20th roundtable on how best to account for corporate responsibility in government purchasing in a way that does not disadvantage small businesses or cause disruption to the procurement process.
Click here to join the ResponsibilityWorks LinkedIn group and participate in this important conversation on improving transparency and sustainability in the government supply chain. Join CROA to become a part of the ResponsibilityWorks working group consolidating this input into recommendations.
Click here to learn more about ResponsibilityWorks.
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Hear From Our Members
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RESOURCES...
CROA Empowers Individuals at All Levels to Take Action & Improve CR
Join today!
CROA has expanded to engage individuals at every level of an organization to enhance the role of businesses in society, transitioning from an organization-focused membership to a professional society with individual memberships and organizational underwriters.
This change helps focus the work of the association on the individual corporate responsibility practitioner and allows for strengthening of the profession, in recognition of the increasing interest in and proliferation of this role. CROA will for the first time allow aspiring practitioners to engage as general members, retain its close ties with CR practitioners as practicing members, and continue its multi-stakeholder involvement of corporations, non-profits, government and academic institutions.
Organization members continue to be essential to the ongoing success of CROA as their support provides access to important services and programs. For more about Underwriter Options, please click here.
To join CROA now, please click here.
The single largest gathering of leaders improving business and society!
The 2011 COMMIT!Forum was a great success! Click here to view the media coverage.
Click here to view the 'big ideas' that attendees shared from the show floor!
Make plans now to join us for COMMIT!Forum 2012, October 2-3 in New York City.
Register today!
 Research Alerts
Sign Up now to receive Research Alerts with analysis of the successful practices of these top performers in:
- Climate Change & Environment
- Employee Relations & Human Rights
- Finance & Governance
- Philanthropy
In 2010, CROA sent surveys to every publicly traded company on the NYSE Euronext Exchanges plus CROA members and CR Magazine subscribers seeking their answers to questions about how they budget, structure, and plan for their CR Programs. Simultaneously, the CROA’s Professional Development Committee engaged in a structured review of how companies organize the function and the responsibilities they delegate to CR professionals. This Guidebook brings these efforts together in a helpful resource.
 Twitter Chat: Results of COMMIT!Forum Debate on Value of CR
Recap Available!
CROA Joins Consortium Focused on Development of the CR Profession
CROA has joined forces with a number of other associations and organizations focused on the development of the CR Profession with CROA representing the perspective of the individual CR practitioner. The consortium has identified the following five areas to work on over the coming year:
- Developing information on CR career path and training
- Mapping CR curriculum, skills and competencies
- Capturing CSR expertise and insights from the first generation of CR leaders
- Looking at future CR trends
- Operational coordination
CROA will share the valuable work of this consortium with its members and beyond.
CROA Partners with EF
CROA is excited to partner with EF, a non-profit public charity on a mission to encourage, empower and enhance corporate philanthropy, corporate community involvement and corporate social responsibility.
EF works with companies large and small that want to make a difference by providing guidance and expertise to those that haven’t yet adopted a community, philanthropy or CSR program. CROA will add to this good work by sharing best practices and tools with EF members, at the same time giving its own membership the chance to learn about and receive a discount on EF events and membership while helping to shine a spotlight on the great forays small and mid-sized companies are making into CSR, leading the way for others.
CROA and CR Magazine have partnered with Causecast, the premier cause integration platform for nonprofits and brands, on launching the public beta of Cause Integration Profiles to promote and syndicate the listings of socially responsible companies such as CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. These Cause Integration Profiles are open to any company interested in enhancing the visibility of their CSR initiatives, the causes they support and the grants offered by their foundations.
The idea of saving on energy can seem like an abstract and daunting concept. Where do you begin?
Enter EDF Climate Corps. Every summer, the EDF Climate Corps program trains and places highly-qualified MBA students in leading companies to turn this seemingly overwhelming task into tangible, clear tips everyone can use in the workplace. See the top 12 energy efficiency tips EDF fellows have identified over the past three years.
Call for CROA Committee Members...
CROA Members have the opportunity to join one of our active committees, let us know if interested!
- Rankings & Ratings Methodology Committee provides input into CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking methodology.
- Research Committee working groups advise on research initiatives such as the Responsible Supply Chain Research Study or CR Best Practices Survey.
- Professional Development Committee is developing the CR practitioner body of knowledge, looking at the knowledge, skills and attributes required and their prevalence, as well as exploring a CR professional code of ethics.
- ResponsibilityWorks Government Roundtable is focused on improviding transparency and responsibility in the government supply chain.
Click here to learn more.
Hear how best in class organizations measure impact and performance to accelerate their sustainability strategy. Many organizations today find that financial reporting alone no longer satisfies the needs of investors, governments, supply-chain partners, and other stakeholders for information about overall organizational performance. This requires companies to become increasingly transparent with their sustainability business practices and accountable to performance targets.
Join Brown Flynn and sustainability professionals from IT services company Atos International and SAP on best practices in sustainability reporting, how to efficiently gather sustainability data & disclose performance, and more.
Click here to register for the archived webinar.
CR Best Practices
Results of the 2nd Annual CR Magazine/ NYSE Euronext Survey
We surveyed every publicly traded company on the NYSE Euronext indexes as well as the CROA and CR Magazine databases...the results are in! Learn how: CR leaders are structuring, staffing and funding their programs; CEOs and boards are engaging in CR; and how CR is impacting profitability and competitive advantage.
Hear the findings from this FREE webinar now!
How can companies organize CR for success?
What kinds of leaders hold CR positions?
What knowledge, skills, and attributes should those leaders possess?
View FREE webinar online now!
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CR Magazine Announces Responsible CEO of the Year Award Winners
CR Magazine Announces 10 Best Corporate Citizens Rankings by Industry
CR Magazine Releases Best Corporate Citizens in Government Contracting List
100 Best Corporate Citizens List Announced - CROA in partnership with CR Magazine announced its 12th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List in March. The list in known as the world’s top corporate responsibility ranking based on publicly-available information and recognized by PR Week as one of America’s top three most-important business rankings. Read more
Second Annual Corporate Responsibility Black List Released - CR Magazine’s list highlights the lack of transparency within Russell 1000 companies. Read more
ResponsibilityWorks Government Roundtable Featured on Federal News Radio The DorobekINSIDER program interview with CROA Executive Director, RIchard Crespin, focuses on the impetus behind this initiative. We have measured the effectiveness of corporate responsibility in industry for over ten years, with research showing that companies really can do well by doing good. CROA members now want to put those data, practices, and insights to work for government. Listen to the interview
Collaboration: Can you work together? President Obama has made open government a pillar of his administration, calling for increased transparency, enhanced collaboration, and improved citizen engagement. The CROA spoke on a panel exploring this theme at the Excellence in Government conference.
CROA convenes European Steering Committee - The CROA seeks European corporate leaders to serve as Steering Committee Members to help share European CR practices with our growing global association. Read more
Making the CR Business Case to C-Suite - Speakers from Washington Gas and Bank of America discussed how to demonstrate to the CEO and CFO that CR & Sustainability make good business sense. Read more
NYSE Euronext and CROA Unveil Corporate Responsibility Best Practices - NYSE Euronext and CROA developed the first comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Best Practices study. Drawing on survey data gathered from across publicly traded companies, this landmark study provides a baseline for measuring and sharing practices. Read more
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