About us
The CSR Risk Check
Customers, governments and civil society organisations increasingly expect companies to do business with respect for people and planet. Companies are demanded to conduct due diligence as required by (upcoming) legislation or the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. Part of due diligence is risk management ; companies are required to identify, prevent and mitigate CSR risks in their supply chain, both upstream and downstream. The CSR Risk Check is an online tool designed to assist you in identifying CSR risks . The tool offers you a quick and straightforward overview of potential CSR risks that you may encounter in your supply chain. Tool usage is free of charge.
MVO Nederland
The CSR Risk Check was developed by MVO Nederland. MVO Nederland drives the transition to a sustainable economy with the largest entrepreneurial movement in Europe. This transition requires a shift from the current system. The business community is uniquely positioned to promptly and effectively respond to changing circumstances. MVO Nederland believes that by collaborating with them, good results can be achieved the quickest. MVO Nederland aims to have a minimum of twenty percent of the Dutch economy to be involved in the sustainable economy by 2025. This sustainable economy is based on principles that go beyond financial considerations and operates within the boundaries of nature and society. To measure progress on this ambition, MVO Nederland has developed the New Economy Index (NEx). This index consists of seven themes in which the sustainable business community is active. The CSR Risk Checker falls under the theme ‘transparent supply chains’. The tool was developed in collaboration with Concept7.
Collaboration partners
The CSR Risk Check is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the German Version of the tool, we collaborate with UPJ, being funded by the German Helpdesk on Business & Human Rights at the Agency for Business & Economic Development, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. MVO Nederland is the legal owner of the CSR Risk Check and is solely responsible for the collection and processing of all data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a CSR-Risk?
A ‘CSR risk’ does not refer to a (financial) risk for the organisation, but to a risk related to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We define a CSR risk as the potential damage that companies may cause towards people, the environment and society, either by direct involvement, or by indirect contribution via trade partners. It is therefore an externally oriented interpretation of risk (risks for society) rather than a company risk. Causing damage to society could have a negative effect on the company, e.g. reputational damage or financial liability, but those risks will not be discussed in the CSR Risk Check
Internationally accepted CSR-themes include corruption, human rights and environment. This page provides a complete overview of all CSR theme that are included in the CSR Risk Check.
What is CSR Risk Management?
Governments, NGOs and business partners expect from companies to operate with respect for people and planet. Internationally, this is laid down in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Companies are urged to identify, prevent and reduce CSR risks in their production processes and supply chain. This approach is also known as ‘due diligence’ or ‘CSR risk management’. We have divided the implementation of CSR risk management into a roadmap with 8 practical steps.
What kind of recommendations does the CSR Risk Check generate?
Based on the same sources that we use to summarize risks by product/service or country, we also write brief recommendations. There are considerably fewer recommendations than risks available, so we make sure that for each theme there is always one generic theme-recommendation with general tips for addressing risks related to that theme.
Would you like more advice for your specific situation? Then contact us via the contact form.
What results do I get from the CSR Risk Check?
The results that appear after completing the three steps of the tool are divided into 22 CSR themes. This report includes all the risks and recommendations in the database regarding the 1) selected country; 2) selected product/service; and 3) country-product combination.
Products and services: There are several levels within the product list. For example, one of the main categories is ‘vegetables and fruit’, under which products are divided into subcategories. If you search for a specific product, like oranges, you will get the results of this specific product AND all product categories where this product belongs to. In this case, the CSR Risk Check will also show the category ‘vegetables and fruit’. If you choose a general product category, you will not receive the information about the underlying products.
Countries: If you only search for a country, you will see the risks from the database for only that country. The results that belong to specific products from that country, will not be shown.
Country-product combinations: If you choose a country-product combination, you will get the results for both this combination, the country-results and the product-results.
Where does the information in the CSR Risk Check come from?
The CSR Risk Check shows briefly described risks identified by us related to countries and/or products & services, on 22 themes. We extract the information on risks (and the related recommendations) from public online sources, so we can refer you to the original source for more information.
Information on CSR risks is not (yet) available for all countries and products, but this does not mean that there are no risks. We are continuously working to ensure that the tool is and remains as exhaustive as possible. If you have any suggestions for interesting tools, or relevant sources for specific countries/products that should be included in our database, please fill out this contact form!
