Useful information for stakeholder engagement: A multivariate proposal of an Industrial Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Index

The aim of this paper is to create an industrial corporate social responsibility practices index (ICSRPI) that allows us to determine the level of sustainable business commitment in the main industries. The ICSRPI allows simplification and quantification of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices; identification of those industries which present greater deficiencies in sustainability systems to facilitate the planning of various improvement actions; and provision of pertinent information on environmental and social issues to guide stakeholders in their decision-making processes. In this sense, empirically, the ICSRPI reveals that companies from more polluting sectors, such as oil and gas, chemical, paper or mining, are perceived as having high environmental risk and are the leaders in sustainable development. Companies from less polluting sectors, such as the media or financial services, have lower CSR scores; however, they present high values in social issues, giving higher priority to business ethics and the rights of employees.