Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming more important for businesses in the UK, where there is strong growth in consumer activism thanks to the prevalence of social media and grass roots organisations.
The three main themes for CSR in the UK are work place issues (work life balance, human rights, employment); community contribution (big society/social justice) and the environment (sustainability of resources, etc). The UK has subscribed to the Millennium Goals of the United Nations and many business leaders are actively working towards achieving these. The UK Government supports CSR through tax breaks and the encouragement of charitable giving.
There are several issues that currently represent sensitive topics for UK society. Most notable is the tax avoidance of large online retailers and international chains exposed by the media in 2013. In times of austerity it is seen as distasteful that such profitable companies should be seeking legal loopholes to reduce their tax liabilities when normal people and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet.
Waste management is an important environmental topic, due to unsustainable consumption of natural resources and environmental damage caused by excess waste. The sector is currently undergoing a period of substantial change and extensive discussions are taking place in order to find the best solutions to the problem. The United Kingdom is substantially reducing the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites and increasingly a growing percentage of household waste is being recycled or composted.
Genetically-modified (GM) food has become a major health and environmental issue in the UK. Some authorities argue that people still do not have enough knowledge about the way genes operate to be able to determine the potential long term effects of any modified crops.
The United Kingdom is also concerned with global warming and, as a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, continues to reduce greenhouse gasses. This issue is closely linked to another problematic area, that of transport and its impact on the environment and air quality.