CSR comes of age with launch of first professional institute

Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of London, hailed the recent launch of the Institute of Corporate Resposibility and Sustainability (ICRS) as "a giant step forward for CSR from being 'nice to have' to 'must have'.

The ICRS is the UK's first professional body for people working in corporate responsibility (CR) and sustainability. It aims to professionalise the sector by providing a recognition framework, code of conduct and CPD guidance. Members will be entitled to use letters, such as MICRS, after their names.

As a purely online organisation, the ICRS also offers members to exclusive ICRS webinars, mentoring, events and resources, including award-winning online learning materials from Ashridge Business School.

Rowena Webster, project director of the not-for-profit ICRS, said at the launch: “Our mission is to support people to be brilliant in their CR and sustainability work. We want to help and provide those in the sector with the skills and development opportunities to raise their ambition and achievement.

“As well as supporting individuals, we will work to ensure corporate responsibility and sustainability is recognised as a profession and provide it with a single voice. We believe the importance of the Institute is reflected by the fact that attendance at today’s launch was restricted only by the size of the room – we had a significant waiting list of people wanting to attend. We look forward to welcoming them all as members in the coming weeks and months.”

The Institute is open to everyone working in CR and sustainability who meets the membership criteria, including in-house professionals, consultants, academics and students. Affiliate membership is open to anyone with an interest in CR and sustainability.

The cost for Affiliates is £120 a year with Associates costing £144 and Members £164. Student Affiliates can join for £30 a year. There is a one-off joining fee of £50 which is waived for Student Affiliates.

For more information see here.