Corporate Social Responsibility: Morrisons

Morrisons recently published last April its “Corporate social responsibility report” (CSR report, 2006) for the previous financial year. The report puts high regard on Morrisons’ effort to minimise the impact of its business operations on the environment. Moreover, the report stresses the catering of the interests of its “key” stakeholders, namely its customers, suppliers, colleagues and shareholders. Recalling way back before it completely took over the ownership of Safeway in 8 March 2004, Morrisons expressed its endeavour to recognise its social and environmental responsibilities under the operation of a business ethics working group (Telegraph & Argus, 2003). In this paper, I shall assess the company’s CSR programme in the most comprehensive and balanced way possible against news accounts dating since the Safeway takeover by highlighting the actual business practices of Morrisons with regards to claims contained in its CSR report.

One of the sustainability issues that Morrisons accentuated in its CSR report is its fish procurement policy. Morrisons ensures that it is “buying