1.3 The practice of developing a new CSR strategy
Porter and Kramer's practical tool to developing a new CSR strategy encompasses the following steps:
Choosing which social issues to address. "The essential test that should guide CSR is not whether the cause is worthy, but whether it presents an opportunity to create shared value - that is, a meaningful benefit for society that is also meaningful to the business". Porter and Kramer argue that companies should sort social issues into three categories - (i) generic social issues which affect all companies; (ii) value chain social impacts which have a direct affect on the company's ordinary course of business; and (iii) social dimensions of competitive context which significantly affect the underlying drivers of a company's competitiveness in a specific location. Once the social issues have been categorised they should be ranked, i.e. prioritised, for action