CSR spells business at Intel

When it comes to CSR, Intel seems to take the triple bottom line one step further by knocking out the word that many companies depend upon: profit. According to the company, one of the four objectives in its global strategy is to ‘care for our people and our planet, and inspire the next generation.’

For Intel, pictured left, being lauded as the company with the most innovative CSR disclosure policy at this year’s Corporate Governance Awards was quite an accomplishment. Amid the tumultuous economy, many companies started using CSR as a method of communicating with the public and restoring a tarnished reputation. Often, however, a company’s commitment to CSR weakens when soaring costs and labor shortages start coming into play.

But Intel has taken a different approach. According to the company, transparency is fundamental in its overall CSR strategy. In its 2010 CSR report, published in May 2011, the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker covers topics of governance, public policy, environment, workplace, supply chain and societal impacts and other challenges to key parts of the community.

Some new additions and enhancements the report highlights this year include increased disclosure of:
(i) Water footprint analysis and Carbon Disclosure Project-aligned carbon reporting, including supply chain and product impact
(ii) Political accountability and transparency related to trade association dues
(iii) Supply chain audit and assessment findings and the company’s proactive approach to the issue of conflict minerals.

As far as innovation goes, Intel made the report available on its web portal, which includes links to past reports, localized reports, report data and additional resources such as white papers and videos. To meet the needs of various stakeholders, the billion-dollar tech company also made available executive summary reports in both print and electronic formats.

In terms of social media, Intel was one of the first companies to unveil a blog dedicated to CSR and its ongoing commitment to improving society. Within the past year, the California-based company continued to expand the topics and discussions on hot-button issues surrounding sustainability, including posts on energy efficiency, climate change, the UN Global Compact, employee engagement and education issues.  

Cary Klafter, corporate secretary and director of corporate legal, worked with his team and collaborated with the CSR professionals as they sought to expand Intel’s social media presence to include participation in other platforms such as Twitter and OpenEyeWorld. It is through these channels and improved CSR disclosure that Intel managed to engage and connect with community members and other sustainability professionals who see this company as an ethical corporate citizen.

Our judges were impressed by Intel’s leadership in becoming one of the largest purchasers of ‘green power’ in the US, as well as its innovative approach to forwarding sustainability by linking financial bonuses to environmental metrics.