Social Impact Investing

jurisdictions. E.g., some jurisdictions forbid women from driving, while others require
women to be treated equally in employment decisions.
UK Retail Sector
A 2006 study found that the UK retail sector showed the greatest rate of CSR
involvement. Many of the big retail companies in the UK joined the Ethical Trading
Initiative, an association established to improve working conditions and worker health.
Tesco (2013) reported that their 'essentials' are 'Trading responsibility', 'Reducing our
Impact on the Environment', 'Being a Great Employer' and 'Supporting Local
Communities'. J Sainsbury employs the headings 'Best for food and health', 'Sourcing
with integrity', 'Respect for our environment', 'Making a difference to our community',
and 'A great place to work', etc. The four main issues to which UK retail these
companies committed are environment, social welfare, ethical trading and becoming an
attractive workplace.
Top ten UK retail brands in 2013 based on Retail Week reports:
Retailer
Annual Sales £bn
Tesco 42.8
Sainsbury's 22.29
Asda 21.66
Morrisons 17.66
Mark and Spencer 8.87
Co-operative Group 8.18
John Lewis Partnership 7.76
Boots 6.71
Home Retail Group 5.49
King Fisher 4.34
Anselmsson and Johansson (2007) assessed three areas of CSR performance: human
responsibility, product responsibility and environmental responsibility. Martinuzzi et al.
described the terms, writing that human responsibility is "the company deals with
suppliers who adhere to principles of natural and good breeding and farming of animals,
and also maintains fair and positive working conditions and work-place environments for
their own employees. Product responsibility means that all products come with a full and
complete list of content, that country of origin is stated, that the company will uphold its
declarations of intent and assume liability for its products. Environmental responsibility
means that a company is perceived to produce environmental-friendly, ecological, and
non-harmful products". Jones et al. (2005) found that environmental issues are the most
commonly reported CSR programs among top retailers.
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