Media CSR (Corporate and Social Responsibility) Forum

The "Media corporate social responsibility (CSR) forum" is a group of big media companies developing CSR and sustainability practices and understanding for the media sector.

The Forum was established in 2001 following recognition that the practice of CSR and sustainability for media companies has many unique features that sets it apart from traditional industry and other business sectors. Our work includes:

• developing an understanding of the implications of CSR for media members
• identifying areas for prioritisation
• sharing best practices
• engaging with stakeholders
• running collaborative projects on key issues

We meet with stakeholders on a quarterly basis, produce research and host regular public events. To get an overview of some of the issues facing the sector, please have a look at our survey, The Media CSR Forum: Key Issues For The Media Industry.

Our plans for 2012 include the development and publication of two pieces of research:

• One report will look at the ‘brainprint’ of media, i.e. whether and how media companies can align their CR priorities with the content they provide. The objective is to write a report that will stimulate (and help frame) discussion on this emerging topic.
• The other report will revisit the media CR issues we identified in our 2008 survey and rank them according to how material they are to our stakeholders. As many organisations now produce questions and CR assessment frameworks especially for media companies, we consider it important to start a debate on what is important and what is not.