You Have the Power to Make a Difference.
In the world that we live in today, one consensus that can be made is that many places and issues of the world are in dire need for change. By using their resources for good and being truly passionate about the issues currently faced, companies can work together in aiding the changes needed to truly make a difference. This not only helping those around them, but also themselves from an integral and financial standpoint through the promotion of a positive brand identity which is very attractive to many extremely valuable stakeholders.
Today, many companies build on the original idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by creating what is known as a Sustainable Business Strategy. Sustainable Business Strategies can be thought of as a guideline within an original CSR plan, these strategies act and an outline that align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) of the world. This is important to businesses because when it comes to the “triple bottom line”, many firms only focus on one which is profit. While this may be viable for companies whose goals do not include an extended life span, for those desiring more it is important to take the people they interact with and the world around them into account. As mentioned before, stakeholders who are defined as anyone with whom a firm interacts with and those who a company’s action will affect i.e. stockholders, staff, customers, and their communities. All of which are very important and valuable for firms. These individuals are who will inevitably fund a regular market firm’s operation through sales, the purchase of shares and in some cases their time. In today’s age negligent business behaviors do not go unnoticed, if you want to get one the good side of your target market show them that you care, that they can count on you.
Because the people care.
Since we live in such a digitalized world, it is becoming increasingly easier for these stakeholders to access how a firm is doing not only from a financial standpoint but also humanitarian ones. Due to this sort of accessibility to information and contrary to the arguments of this allowing the world becoming numb to what’s going on around it, it is also becoming easier to care. For example, investors are being known to use a third-party measuring tool known as Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) metrics which work to hold businesses accountable in keeping sustainable business practices while generating profits when looking to buy stocks in certain companies (Miller). This is because investors know that the portion of money that a company will contribute to their sustainable practices through the use of CSR contains trillions of dollars’ worth of economic opportunity (Miller). How much a company can see from this, depends on how much they care to contribute.
- Recent studies at Harvard Business School have come up with astounding survey results:
- Seventy-seven percent of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place, while 73 percent of investors state that efforts to improve the environment and society contribute to their investment decisions.
- Ninety-three percent of employees believe companies must lead with purpose.
- Fifty-eight percent of organizations that currently have a strong and clear sense of purpose experienced 10 percent or more growth during the last three years
Working towards sustainable business practices not only assists the firm externally but also internally, it gives people a since that they’re working towards something bigger than themselves. This sort of positive influence can be the difference in coming to work just because you have to and coming in because you want to. Customers can also feel better about how they spend their money, and the overall goodwill and longevity can help shareholders feel better about where they put their investments. People crave these feelings, these little joys that can make a lifelong difference which is why they watch and why we should also care.
Sources:
Miller, Kelsey. “The Triple Bottom Line: What It Is & Why It’s Important.” Business Insights Blog, Harvard Business School Online, 8 Dec. 2020, online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-the-triple-bottom-line.
Stobierski, Tim. “15 Eye-Opening Corporate Social Responsibility Statistics.” Business Insights Blog, Harvard Business School, 15 June 2021, online.hbs.edu/blog/post/corporate-social-responsibility-statistics.
It Takes a Whole Company Effort.
It should be noted that in order to truly benefit society and see the potential long run margins that many firms seek, it is important to view CSR from a holistic standpoint. Those who will find the most success from the use CSR will be the ones who view their goals from the inside-out and then the outside-in, which will allow them to highlight their interdependence within their society (Andrés Latapí Agudelo* et al.). This approach will require time and strategy that will inevitably dip into a company’s resources, therefore taking away from some short-run profits which is why genuine concern from most firms regarding their CSR efforts is not something we often see. However, the effects of neglecting this area due to a lack of care will be something that the world sees.
The year 2015 was arguably the most important year from CSR because this was the year that the Paris Agreement would meet to launch the 2030 Agenda which is essentially as list of SDGs for the world to accomplish by 2030 in order to make the necessary strides to inevitably make it a better place. This particular agenda would release some updated goals which highlighted a company’s CSR performance for the first time since the concept was originally defined by Howard Bowen in 1953 (Andrés Latapí Agudelo* et al.). This goes to show that the importance of CSR is only becoming more noticeable, and the impact of its application is crucial. Just as the SDGs will change and grow, so will our society and its problems and companies will continue to be monitored, which puts a lot of pressure on corporations to keep up with the changes.
The deep and crucial effects from a proper application of CSR require a lot including time, money, planning, people, tracking, monitoring, malleability, and most importantly care. While hitting the firm bottom line is important, the other two are not far behind and having the aspiration to hit them all makes a world of a difference. Corporate revenues come with a corporate stage and the eyes of many, firms can prove that they’re worth the effort they’re putting out through Corporate Social Responsibility.
Sources:
Andrés Latapí Agudelo* , Mauricio, et al. “A Literature Review of the History and Evolution Of …” Agudelo: The History of CSR, International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 22 Jan. 2019, jcsr.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s40991-018-0039-y.pdf.
Some Quotes to Keep in Mind
“A business is successful to the extent that it provides a product or a service that contributes to happiness in all of its forms.”
– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.”
– Henry Ford
“Do nothing that you would not be happy to have an unfriendly but intelligent reporter write about on the front page of a newspaper. Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless”.
– Warren Buffett
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
– Robert Swan
Don’t just take it from us, take it from the combined voices of the world. For centuries similar morals have stood, those who can do good should do good. “With great power comes great responsibility” -Uncle Ben 😉
Sources:
Author Unknown, “99 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Quotes.” Prodigium Pictures: Purpose-Driven Marketing Videos, Prodigum, www.prodigium-pictures.com/blog/csr-quotes. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.