Worldwide training and advice on CSR

Alongside carrying out research, SOMO regularly gives training and advice to social organisations in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in the context of building capacity and spreading knowledge. In March, SOMO gave a training to Chinese social organisations in order to deploy CSR effectively in the promotion of sustainable agriculture in sectors such as tea. Furthermore, SOMO issued advice to the research of a coalition of consumer organisations. This advice was targeted at their research methodology for a study into the effects of spending at European supermarkets for food suppliers in developing countries.

Training Workshop, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Tools and Strategies for Sustainable Tea and Agriculture
The objective of the training workshop organised by SOMO and its Chinese partner SRI (Social Resources Institute) on March 30 & 31 in Beijing was to increase the capability of Chinese Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to effectively use CSR as a tool to promote sustainable agriculture. The training workshop supported CSOs in finding appropriate and effective approaches by discussing and identifying important concepts, trends, strategies and lessons learned in the field of CSR, building on knowledge from within and outside the agricultural sector. SOMO has planned a similar training in Malawi this summer and others will be organised in other countries next year.

Report on socially responsible procurement by supermarkets in Europe
SOMO has provided consultancy (analysis, research design and methods, back stopping) to a coalition of consumer organizations led by Consumers International (CI). CI published the report Checked out: Are European supermarkets living up to their responsibilities for labour conditions in the developing world in March. The research, which covered eight EU countries, found that overall ‘supermarkets showed a clear lack of policies in this area’.

For more information please visit Consumers International(opens in new window) .