The Australian leaders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been named in a comprehensive report on CSR in Australia and New Zealand.

The ‘Annual Review of the State of CSR in Australia and New Zealand’ has revealed the top 10 rated CSR organisations in Australia, and the top three for New Zealand, they are:

Australia

1. Abergeldie,
2. Deloitte,
3. Ebm-papst A&NZ,
4. KPMG,
5. National Australia Bank,
6. PwC,
7. South32,
8. WaterAid,
9. Westpac, and
10. Yarra Valley Water.

New Zealand

1. Bank of New Zealand,
2. Toyota NZ, and
3. Z Energy.

The review revealed the most important goals for Australia and New Zealand CSR organisations are gender equality, good health and wellbeing, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation and infrastructure, and climate action.

The review, for the first time this year, aims to understand and evaluate responses regarding 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) which were adopted as a worldwide benchmark in 2015.

The full list of goals covered in the study includes: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequality, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace, justice and strong institutions and partnerships for the goals.

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Related: Learn how social enterprises and established brands are partnering for shared value, and why  many businesses are choosing to pursue B Corp certification »

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The review also reveals the top three goals by sector, to give an understanding of which industry is focussing on which causes:

• Communication services: good health and wellbeing, quality education, and climate action.
• Accounting and professional services: Gender equality, quality education, and decent work and economic growth.
• Accommodation and hospitality: responsible consumption and production, health and wellbeing, and work and economic growth.
• Education: quality education, peace, justice and strong institutions, and partnerships.
• Government, administration and defence: Work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and life on land.
• Health and community services: health and wellbeing, education, and industry, innovation and infrastructure.
• Banking: gender equality, work and economic growth, and climate action.

Engaging in strategic partnerships was the most common plan to undertake in relation to addressing the goals, with 60-80% of respondents undertaking partner engagement on most goals.

The next most popular was reporting on progress, followed by ‘assess impact and performance’ and ‘introduce action plan’.

The least commonly undertaken strategy was ‘announcing policy commitment.’

The review sampled 1080 respondents and was generated in partnership with La Trobe Business School, Massey University, the New Zealand Sustainable Business Council, Sustainable Business Australia, Engineers Without Borders, and Wright Communications.

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For more information on responsible consumption, social enterprise, shared value and B Corporations, check out Marketing‘s Social Enterprise Trend Briefing.

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