Implementing CSR initiatives in the workplace is intricate, and decisions must be made with a purpose. When implementing initiatives, organization leaders often select a couple of goals and create departments that will address these goals. However, research has shown that this method of implementing CSR initiatives could be more effective because these departments are often disconnected. To effectively implement CSR initiatives, organizations must focus on three “theaters”:
- Philanthropy involves donating money, equipment, or other resources to civic organizations. This theater of CSR usually generates little profit, but businesses must still participate in it to positively impact society.
- Operational improvements involve reducing resource waste, reducing emissions, or finding another way to switch to sustainable practices. This will often result in increased revenue because practices such as reducing resource waste will lead to cutting costs, allowing businesses to keep more money in their pockets.
- Business model transformation involves changing business practices to better address environmental or social challenges of the business or organization’s operations.
When incorporating these theaters into an organization’s CSR initiatives, it is crucial to establish interconnectedness rather than isolating each theater as a separate department. For instance, consider a technology company aiming to source rare earth materials sustainably for its products. To effectively realize this organizational objective, a strategic approach involves donating to nonprofits addressing this concern in the regions where the company conducts rare earth mining. Following this, the company can implement mining restrictions, leveraging machine learning to forecast and extract only the necessary amount of metals precisely. Finally, instituting recycling programs for obsolete devices ensures the recovery and reuse of metals, ultimately working towards discontinuing mineral mining altogether.
References
“The Truth About CSR.” Harvard Business Review, January 2015, hbr.org/2015/01/the-truth-about-csr.
How have businesses implemented CSR practices?
Lego is the first, and only, toy company to be named a World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers Partner, marking its pledge to reduce its carbon impact. By 2030, Lego plans to use environmentally friendly materials to produce all of its core products and packaging. The company committed to removing all single-use plastic packaging from its materials by 2025.
Ben & Jerry’s is a certified B Corporation, a business that balances purpose and profit by meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. The ice cream maker established the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation in 1985, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots movements that drive social change.
In 1991, the brand created its Terms of Engagement (pdf), which established its global code of conduct regarding its supply chain and set standards for workers’ rights, a safe work environment, and an environmentally friendly production process. In 2011, Levi’s announced its Worker Well-being initiative to implement further programs focused on the health and well-being of supply chain workers. In 2016, the brand vowed to expand the program to more than 300,000 workers and produce more than 80 percent of its products in Worker Well-being factories by 2025.
References
Gavin, Matt. “5 Corporate Social Responsibility Examples That Were Successful | HBS Online.” Harvard Business School, 6 June 2019, online.hbs.edu/blog/post/corporate-social-responsibility-examples.