Corporate digital responsibility

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Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) refers to corporate responsibility in the digital society and can be translated as "corporate digital responsibility". The term means voluntary commitment to the sustainable management of companies, which takes into account the social and economic changes caused by digitization . See CSR-News definition on Corporate Digital Responsibility.

“Corporate digital responsibility is a voluntary commitment. It starts with the need to meet legal requirements and standards - for handling customer data, confidential, intellectual property, etc. - but it also extends to broader ethical considerations and the fundamental values ​​by which a company operates. ”(Global Intelligence for the CIO, own translation)

CDR relates, on the one hand, to the consideration of digital sustainability (i.e. the sustainability of data and algorithms, cf.Stuermer et al. 2017, Smart Data Accompanying Research 2018) and, on the other hand, to consideration of the social, economic and ecological effects of digital corporate action in the world (cf. Esselmann & Brink 2016, Jänig & Mühlner in press, Thorun 2017).

Due to the profound digital change that encompasses all industries, it is not just an area of ​​responsibility of the digital, IT or ICT industry. CDR is important for all companies with a (partially) digital business model.

Relation to corporate responsibility

The term CDR is used in different ways. Its word formation is derived from “ Corporate (Social) Responsibility ” (CR) and has been used since 2016 (cf. Accenture 2016). The existing knowledge, instruments and practical experience of CR management offer a “blueprint” for CDR (cf. Esselmann & Brink 2016). Responsibility for implementation can lie in the area of ​​competence of CR officers or sustainability departments in the company, but has not yet arrived there (see Knaut 2017, Schaltegger & Petersen 2017).

Social relevance

Digitization offers opportunities to accelerate the implementation of the 17 “ Sustainable Development Goals ” (SDG) and thus to sustainable development (cf. BMZ 2017, Global e-Sustainability Initiative 2016). However, it also presents challenges for fair, just and environmentally friendly development (cf. Lange & Santarius 2018). In addition, "digital artifacts" (algorithms and data) now represent the largest part of human knowledge. It is therefore a resource that needs to be designed and used sustainably for the common good today and in the future (" digital sustainability ") ).

Fields of action of corporate digital responsibility

Achieving global sustainability goals using digital technology also offers immense business opportunities: 12 trillion US dollars in sales and cost savings could be achieved in 2030 (see Report Vision 2030). This involves, for example, climate-resilient agriculture using weather sensors, "smart mobility" using autonomous vehicles, or personalized medicine in which " wearables " record relevant medical data and thus enable doctors to accompany patients from a distance.

However, digitization itself has a number of "undesirable side effects" that run counter to the goal of global development and also to fundamental constitutional values ​​such as humanity, solidarity and responsibility. There are already a number of risks that the community and individuals currently have to deal with, e.g. B.

  • the gap in digital skills, e.g. B. today sees a quarter of all Germans - 16 million after all - due to a lack of skills in the "digital offside"
  • the "unethical" use of customer data and corruption of digital self-determination,
  • the ecological footprint of digital technology,
  • the unequal access to digital technology and its advantages and thus the emergence of further social injustices,
  • the pressures on community and wellbeing, e.g. B. by a "collapse of reality" in social media, and
  • a non-transparent digital world whose rules cannot be controlled by the community, e.g. B. the functioning of artificial intelligence (see Lange & Santarius 2018).

So it is equally about taking advantage of opportunities and averting risks.

Socially valuable digitization

The aim of CDR is to generate a so-called "shared value" digital economy for society and companies, i. H. Use the opportunities and reduce the negative effects (cf. Porter & Kramer 2006, Esselmann & Brink 2016). Corresponding added value can only be created in companies if this creates social value through digital technologies and networking.

Voluntary commitments are essential in order to support the responsible implementation of digitization in society, because the regulatory monopoly of the nation states is being called into question by the ever-increasing interdependence of global digital markets. (see Charter of digital networking 2018, Bitkom 2018, Schäuble 2017).

Competitive advantages for companies

For companies, digital change means new competition for innovation and successful digital business models - but above all competition for the trust of customers and the public. With a sustainable digital corporate policy, companies could win the trust of their stakeholders (see Thorun 2017). Companies that recognize stakeholder demands at an early stage and react appropriately have the opportunity to achieve strategic competitive advantages and achieve a unique market position (cf. e.g. Porter & Kramer 2006; Schaltegger et al. 2010)

The task of the CDR is to systematically weigh up social, cultural, ecological and economic interests as early indicators and drivers of business opportunities and risks along the digital value chain (see Schmidtpeter 2017, Thorun 2017).

Current status in Germany

The interest of companies, politics and civil society in the topic is growing (see Deloitte 2018, Dörr 2018, Politik-digital.de 2018).

The “Digital Networking Charter”, which emerged from an IT summit, offers companies in Germany a platform for voluntary self-commitment. So far, around 80 companies and organizations have signed the Charter with ten principles. However, the principles are corporate policy statements; they do not offer any action-oriented approaches for practical management implementation.

Since the beginning of 2018, the competence platform for sustainability and digitization in small and medium-sized companies "sustainable.digital" has existed. It offers the opportunity to develop practical, cross-industry competence in CDR. The first conference in Germany on the topics of digitization and sustainability, the "Bits & Trees", is planned for November 2018. There are also some sessions on CDR offered in the track "Alternative Economics".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Corporate Digital Responsibility | CSR NEWS - The news portal on corporate social responsibility. Retrieved October 27, 2018 (German).
  2. ↑ The rise of corporate digital responsibility | I-CIO. Retrieved October 27, 2018 (UK English).
  3. ↑ M. Stuermer, G. Abu-Tayeh and T. Myrach: Digital sustainability: basic conditions for sustainable digital artifacts and their ecosystems. In: Sustainability Science. Volume 12, 2017, pp. 247-262.
  4. ↑ Smart data accompanying research: Corporate Digital Responsibility. Section Economic Potential & Social Acceptance. 2018, https://www.digitale-technologien.de/DT/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/Publikation/2018_02_smartdata_corporate_digital_responsibility.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8 (accessed on June 15, 2018)
  5. ↑ a b c F. Esselmann and A. Brink: Corporate Digital Responsibility: Successfully shaping the digital transformation of companies and society. In: spectrum. Volume 12, No. 1, 2016, pp. 38-41.
  6. ↑ J.-R. Jänig and J. Mühlner: Corporate Digital Responsibility: Responsibility in the digital society. Frankfurter Allgemeine Buch, Frankfurt in press.
  7. ↑ a b c C. Thorun: Corporate Digital Responsibility: Corporate responsibility in the digital world. In: C. Gärtner, C. Heinrich (Ed.): Case studies for digital transformation. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden 2018, https://www.springerprofessional.de/corporate-digital-responsibility-unternehmerische-verendung-/15214480
  8. ↑ Accenture (2016): The Corporate Digital Responsibility Gap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0phpVXSbxL0 (accessed June 15, 2018)
  9. ↑ Knaut. A. (2017): "Corporate Social Responsibility misses digitalization", in: Hildebrandt, A. & Landhäußer, W. (Ed.): CSR & Digitization. Berlin: Springer, 51–59.
  10. ↑ Schaltegger, S. & Petersen, H. (2017): The role of sustainability management in digitization. BAUM eV Yearbook 2017 Digitization and Sustainability. Pp. 17-20.
  11. ↑ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ: Using technologies for sustainable development . In: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development . ( bmz.de [accessed October 27, 2018]).
  12. ↑ #SystemTransformation. Retrieved October 27, 2018 (American English).
  13. ↑ a b Tilman Santarius: Smart green world? Digitization between surveillance, consumption and sustainability . Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-96238-020-5 .
  14. ↑ Introducing 2030Vision - Technology partnerships for the Global Goals | 2030Vision. Retrieved October 27, 2018 (UK English).
  15. ^ A b M. Porter and MR Kramer: Strategy & Society. The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. In: Harvard Business Review. 12, 2006.
  16. ↑ The full text of the Charter - Digital Networking Charter . In: Charter of digital networking . ( charta-digitale-vernetzung.de [accessed October 27, 2018]).
  17. ↑ Bitkom: Recommendations for the responsible use of AI and automated decisions. Corporate Digital Responsibility and Decision Making. 2018, https://www.bitkom.org/noindex/Publikationen/2018/Leitfaeden/180202-Empfehlungskatalog-online-2.pdf (accessed on June 10, 2018)
  18. ^ W. Schäuble: Greeting. In: A. Hildebrandt and W. Landhäußer (eds.): CSR & Digitization. Springer, Berlin 2017, pp. XXV – XXVIII
  19. ↑ S. Schaltegger, SE Windolph and D. Harms: Corporate Sustainability barometer. How sustainable are companies in Germany? PricewaterhouseCoopers AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (Ed.), 2010.
  20. ↑ R. Schmidtpeter: Digitization - managing the creative force of destruction with responsibility. In: A. Hildebrandt and W. Landhäußer (eds.): CSR & Digitization. Springer, Berlin 2017, pp. 595–602.
  21. ↑ Deloitte Germany: Corporate Digital Responsibility. October 9, 2018, accessed October 27, 2018 .
  22. ↑ From the “Wild West” to digitalization with responsibility | tbd.community. Retrieved October 27, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Corporate Digital Responsibility: Creating trust, but what does that actually mean? Retrieved October 27, 2018 (German).