Beyond the values and missions of Surfrider known to the general public, Surfrider Europe is also a place of work and life for employees and volunteers of the NGO. Societal issues and working conditions are an integral part of the NGO’s strategy. For this reason, Surfrider Europe chose the independent French firm Positive Workplace to conduct its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) audit. This audit was carried out with employees, volunteers and partners of the association in order to have a true 360 vision of the organization and the feelings of all employees.
Thank you to the 55 employees, 55 volunteers and 19 partners who took the time to answer the survey, and who enabled us to obtain this label.
5 evaluation criteria taken into consideration
Activity, governance, social, environmental and local impact are the five pillars on which the “Positive Workplace” label is based in order to determine an overall score for the organization. This way, the evaluated organization is able to see its strengths and areas for improvement on the different themes.
In addition to this audit, Surfrider Europe also conducted a carbon footprint, which completed the environmental pillar of the CSR audit.
Surfrider Europe obtained an overall score of 68.95/100 with 2 stars
Knowing that the maximum score of 3 stars is obtained with a score of 70/100, Surfrider Europe is already very proud of the score obtained today! But the objective of this work is indeed the improvement and the progression in the social responsibility of the organization.
If the mission of the NGO is well managed (strategic plan, dedicated objectives, annual reporting of operational actions, etc.), stakeholders expect Surfrider to be exemplary in its internal approaches: gender parity, reduction of environmental impact (waste and carbon), responsible purchasing, improvement of well-being and working hours, enhancement of salaries and professional opportunities.
Surfrider Europe wants to go further!
Following the assessment in October 2021, working groups have been created on each of the themes in order to determine the priorities on which to move forward and what concrete actions to implement.
This audit and labeling is part of a real continuous improvement process. The aim is not to simply obtain the Positive Workplace label, but to identify the organization’s weakest points in order to include employees in internal discussions on how to improve the organization.
Here are some of the recommendations highlighted in the audit by theme:
Theme 1: Activity
– Pursue partnerships to support the NGO’s mission (including research/doctoral students to strengthen expertise)
– Good control of external risks, but need to develop internal risk management
– Define purpose by including stakeholders
Theme 2: Governance
– Make governance more explicit and integrate the entire ecosystem
– Male/female parity on the Board of Directors
– Reflecting on employee benefits, increasing salaries
Theme 3: Social
– Evaluation of workload plans that are often too large
– More diversity in the workforce and making more activities accessible to a variety of audiences (hearing impaired, people in need of integration, disabled, migrants, etc.)
Theme 4: Environment and carbon footprint
– Encourage zero waste
– Display the environmental performance of products sold in the store
– Implement a mobility plan
– Increasing employee awareness of digital eco-gestures
Theme 5: Social
– Draw up an ethical charter that does not currently exist
– Formalize a responsible purchasing policy
– Ecodesign of educational and communication tools
Some areas of improvement were already under consideration, such as the work on the NGO’s salary policy or shared governance. Others have emerged following this audit and will allow us to work in parallel on the 5 fundamental pillars of CSR. Surfrider Europe will of course keep you informed of the changes made within the organization and of the follow-up given to this CSR assessment.
