1) Vision and Mission of the social program

While framing social objectives, it is important to consider social and environmental aspirations of the firm. These may have roots in the personal desires and wishes of the owner/top management of the organization i.e. safeguard local biodiversity, combat poverty etc. These will be incorporated as part of the Vision and Mission statement of the social program.

2) Organizational contextual assessment

Strategic objectives can also be derived from organizational contextual assessment. Organizational contextual assessment enables firms to identify social dimensions where they may already be active participants. These programs need to be included and improved upon.

3) ISO self assessment

A big part of social objectives will be derived from ISO self audit. If this process has not been performed, it is strongly recommended to perform the self assessment first. The aim of this project is to leverage ISO 26000 guidance on social responsibility and the self audit process is a crucial first in the process.

4) Value chain analysis

The value chain analysis enables firms to identify how activities in their value chain impact various social dimensions. It is strongly recommended that this process should be performed, if not done so already.

The output of the above exercises will yield relevant social and environmental areas of concerns for the firm. These focus areas may not be directly linked with business objectives and goals and hence must be aligned with business objectives of the firm.

These social objectives must meet the SMART criteria, that is, they must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound .