DiagRS, a method to help INRAE research units assess and develop their Corporate Social Responsibility in order to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The ISO 26000 standard (Social Responsibility, SR) published in 2010 provides guidelines for all types of organization that want to maximize their contribution to sustainable development (SD). Since 2012, INRAE Bretagne-Normandie (INRAE-BN) has referred to this standard to develop its sustainable development policy. In 2013, a project was launched to develop a method for evaluating INRAE-BN activities in relation to this standard. A working group made up of actors from research support, research and trade unions worked for more than three years to translate ISO 26000 into INRAE-BN activities. The point of views of many of the INRAE-BN stakeholders were taken into account. In accordance with the expectations of the standard, and as the organizations that refer to it do, the activities taken into account concerned both internal operations and research (missions and core business). This work led to the development of a referential framework that covers 4 areas of issues related to the SR of INRAE-BN, and therefore to the units (laboratories and facilities) that make it up: internal operations, governance of internal operations, missions & core business, governance of missions & core business. As a whole, the work has led to the implementation of a diagnostics method called DiagRS, to help the INRAE units evaluate and develop their SR. DiagRS consists of 4 brainstorming sessions involving a group of agents of the unit and led by the INRAE-BN SD team. Each session is dedicated to one of the 4 issue areas. It allows: [1] to produce a SR profile of the unit, based on the level of contribution of the unit to the issues of the area under consideration, [2] to identify the priorities for action to improve the SR of the laboratory/facility based on the cross-reference between the level of contribution of the unit to each issue and the importance of the issue for the unit, [3] to list the achievements that the unit can claim and the courses of action to improve its contribution. At the end of the process, a summary document that brings together all the information gathered during the 4 sessions is sent to the unit.
For INRAE research unit, DiagRS represents a committing but profitable support. Indeed, by taking a very broad look at its areas of SR, the unit can think about its future and reflect on its priorities in order to take into account or even anticipate societal expectations, seize opportunities and ensure its sustainability by upholding ethics and values. The participatory procedure makes it possible to identify collectively what is going well and what needs to evolve, and contributes to creating a common and shared sense of purpose that can led to a SR action plan that
will constitute a part, or even the common thread, of the Unit project.