CSR of Spanish electric cooperatives and Public Relations strategy

Abstract

Electric cooperatives generate, from their activity, internal and external conflicts with their stakeholders arising from their competitiveness and the achievement of their objectives. Responsible relationship management that maintains a balance between organizations and stakeholders should include environmental, social and good governance expectations in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. The involvement of cooperatives in ethical, social, economic and environmental issues derives from the relevance given to sustainable development as a central axis of the cooperative model. In this context of sustainable development, the UN SDGs (2015) provide a roadmap to address major challenges at the global level. Integrating the SDGs into strategic CSR plans not only brings tangible social and environmental benefits, but can also improve transparency and accountability, attract investment, strengthen stakeholder confidence, generate new market opportunities, mitigate risks and ensure greater long-term stability. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) stands as one of the critical public relations vectors that foster the growth of organizations and their reputation. This contribution provides an approach to the management of social responsibility of the 28 Spanish electric cooperatives and its integration into public relations strategies. Through a descriptive and exploratory research, the main objective is to analyze CSR management in this sector based on corporate governance, involvement with the priority SDGs of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, relations with stakeholders, the commitments acquired towards them, the identification of communication channels and the material issues that condition relational management. Based on this objective, a data collection process is carried out by applying the following methodological triangulation based on qualitative and quantitative research techniques: implementation of a semi-structured ad-hoc questionnaire, in-depth interviews with sectoral experts and content analysis of sustainability reports and management reports. The results of the research show that there is little involvement in CSR policies and a lack of significant commitment to the priority SDGs on the part of the electric cooperatives. Most of the organizations analyzed do not facilitate stakeholder engagement processes or integrate their expectations into CSR management. They also do not sufficiently use two-way communication channels. Based on the identification of 17 material issues (economic, social and environmental), a matrix is drawn up that reflects the priority and relevance that these social economy organizations give them in their strategic CSR plans. It is concluded that electric cooperatives should plan public relations strategies that integrate to a greater extent the participation and expectations of their priority stakeholders, as well as establish strategic communication processes for CSR programs and actions. Based on the results, a CSR communication model is designed in which stakeholders are defined and relational management is analyzed to establish an optimal relationship framework. The electric cooperatives develop their materiality matrix as the cornerstone of the CSR Strategic Plan, which they disseminate through their reports and management reports. This matrix is built around two axes: the impact on the cooperative's sustainable development strategy and the priority for stakeholders. It identifies the issues (priority and relevant) through which electric cooperatives face challenges (economic, social and environmental) through corporate commitments. CSR communication, through the channels established with each priority stakeholder group, contributes to strengthening strategic public relations management in the electric cooperative sector.