In the previous article, we took a closer look at the notion of Quality as seen by different countries and cultures, and the challenges facing this subject today and in the future are constantly evolving.
With this new article, we focus on one of the challenges facing quality in the future: CSR.
For this major international study in 2023, the AFNOR group questioned over 1,300 corporate quality decision-makers of 37 different nationalities.
How are quality and CSR linked, and how can a chief quality officer fit into the role of chief sustainability officer?
" What links these two spheres are the notions of performance and transparency," sums up Karine Georges, head of research for the AFNOR group. "The notion of quality is strongly determined by customer satisfaction. Nowadays, customers are no longer only satisfied with the product or service they have purchased. They are now also satisfied by the fact that the company reflects its values and behavior in line with its principles, without hiding anything."
The quality manager must therefore integrate these expectations.
"The challenge for quality is that everything we say has to be substantiated. It's not just a question of writing on a jar 'made with milk from our farmers', it has to be the truth, and we have to be able to prove it", says a food industry quality specialist in the study. The quality manager is therefore involved in the adventure as a specialist in proof.
What are the quality issues of today and tomorrow?
As explained above, today' s key challenges are undeniably focused on a customer-centric approach: striving for customer satisfaction, traceability and transparency, and a constant desire to be accountable, to prove.
Tomorrow's challenges focus on two key areas:
- digital technology and data, as tools for getting the job done better, reducing the risks associated with decision-making or simply processes.
- CSR and environmental transition, with a greater focus on the environment: we don't live in a vacuum, quality is also evolving in a world where everyone is experiencing the same impacts of climate change.
So if quality is to regain its transformative value in the future, if it is to be brought closer to strategy, it is clear that at the same time it must be able to grasp these themes, which are fundamental to all organizations.
Internationally, nearly 7 out of 10 quality decision-makers agree or strongly agree that quality helps improve the societal impact of their activities.
The link is therefore clear: quality becomes a tool at the service of CSR.
Quality has a role to play in successfully managing impacts, and even in demonstrating responsibility.
And vice versa! For 66% of those surveyed, i.e. nearly 7 out of 10 quality decision-makers, quality is still more determined by societal dimensions than it used to be. " What quality covers today] social guidelines (priority to safety and quality of life at work), organizational and environmental guidelines, integration of CSR at all levels", illustrates one of the interviewees. The two fields are intertwined and have repercussions on each other.
Worldwide, CSR is impacting the field of quality, both internally and externally.
Beyond the awareness of the interaction between disciplines, we wanted to know whether the subject of CSR was considered as a level of quality in the company.
28% of respondents state that their organization's quality policy takes CSR into account in an advanced way. On the other hand, 44% consider the subject to be immature.
In France, an interviewee explains , "ISO-9001 should totally include the fundamentals of CSR and QWL, so that managers who find it hard to see any point in it (there are still some!) are 'forced' to go for it, with the aim of finding the really good employees, retaining them and better responding to the expectations and challenges of our fast-changing society."
This verbatim explains the conviction of the link between CSR and quality.
Externally, CSR is seen as a quality criterion, regardless of the stakeholder involved at the end of the chain. We can see that it is an essential argument for partners and customers, and a little less essential but still important for suppliers. Whereas in the USA, promoting quality to customers is essential, in Brazil, it's more a criterion to be addressed to partners.
What's certain is that when it comes to addressing consumers, it's essential to show "whitewash" responsibility. "Consumers' expectations are changing, and their level of demand calls for this quest for transparency: it's a key element that we have to integrate (...) The real challenge for quality is that everything we say, we have to be able to justify. It's not just a question of writing on a jar 'made with milk from our farmers', it has to be the truth and we have to be able to prove it", as one European quality decision-maker in the food industry puts it.
CSR: economic and environmental aspects are paramount.
And which dimensions of CSR do our respondents emphasize?
The economic dimension comes first, with the Japanese and Koreans placing even greater emphasis, at over 24%.
The environment and social issues follow in equal proportions, with almost 21%. The environment is slightly more strongly represented by the French, while the social dimension is true for all. Germany stands out for its emphasis on territorial anchorage (14%), while the UK and Brazil each focus on corporate governance (14%) as a potential CSR topic.
Read more
- on ISO 9001 - Quality Management System certification
- on QSE certification - Quality, Safety and Environment
- on the Engagé RSE label according to ISO 26000
- about ISO 9001 - Building your QMS according to the standard
- about our certification offer
- on our training offer
- on the previous article "QUALITY AS SEEN BY 1300 QUALITY DECISION-MAKERS FROM 37 NATIONALITIES - PART 1 OF THE AFNOR GROUP STUDY"
- on our international network.
