Namely, responsible business conduct may help companies advance their management systems, improve their public image, place companies in a more favourable legal and political environment, and ultimately give them a strategic advantage over competitors in the long-term.

Favourable market forces, the increased demand of customers, and the capacity to anticipate government legislation, also provide additional incentives. If a company is able to take advantage of these new possibilities, it could improve its long-term profitability as well as obtain a greater share of world markets.

To provide some examples, here are some benefits of adopting CR principles according to a survey of several companies that developed and implemented their own business principles:

Legal and political benefits:

• Sets a positive example by encouraging emulation and the spread of best business practice
• Helps anticipate new external pressures from regulatory bodies
• Improves relations with regulatory bodies and is helpful in relation to decisions on operating licences
• Reduces exposure to litigation or criminal and civil sanctions
• Contributes to development of economically efficient solutions, sometimes more so than those arrived at through regulation

Benefits relating to relations with customers, suppliers and the public:

• Helps build customer attraction, satisfaction and loyalty, at a time when customers are increasingly exercising their right to choose
• Reduces risks of negative publicity, boycotts and tarnished public image
• Improves product image, brand name and reputation

Organizational benefits:

• Increases morale, transparency, and trust among company personnel
• Helps diffuse new technologies and best-management practices
• Encourages better supervision of supply-chain management

Economic and financial benefits:

• Reduces operating costs through systematic management of resources
• Reduces cost of doing business and attracts new companies through rigorous business integrity policies
• Increases productivity by means of a motivated workforce
• Attracts a new range of investors
• Offers opportunity for inclusion in socially-responsible investment indices