A Chartered Institute of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is urgently needed to help legitimise the role of the CSR managers and encourage firms to better integrate environmental sustainability into long-term strategies.

That is the message from a group of CSR managers who met in London today at an event hosted by recruitment firm Acre Resources and analyst Verdantix to discuss the future of the role.

The formation of a chartered body would help firms understand the core competencies of CSR professionals, and would enable CSR managers to share best practice across the sectors without compromising competitive advantage, according to Ernst and Young climate change and sustainability services director Doug Johnston.

He argued that CSR managers from different firms can share experiences, despite the fact that different industries face different sustainability challenges.

"This whole area needs to be professionalised, and part of that is about building an understanding of what the core competencies are for these individuals and drawing on the experience of a wide variety of different sectors," he said.

It emerged that a handful of CSR managers have already taken steps towards professionalising the role, and have set up a new body known as the Global Association for Corporate Sustainability Officers.

"The profession itself hasn't organised itself, isn't chartered, it doesn't have its own trade association," said CSR advisor Alan Knight.

He added that the role was now well established and could support the formation of a professional body that would promote best practices and help new entrants to the sector.

"There are people now who have got 20 years experience of the role," he said. "That is 1,000 year’s experience that’s very easy to have accessible, so I think the next stage is for that profession to get organised and that's what we're trying to do."