You strive to make your business the best it can possibly be. Does corporate social responsibility make its way into your goals? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a way of taking charge of your impact on the world. When you’re a socially responsible company, you work to reduce your environmental impact and make the world better for people and for the environment. These corporate social responsibility examples show how CSR is a way to not only make a positive impact, but to develop your business as well.
Why Pursue Corporate Social Responsibility?
According to Business News Daily, corporate social responsibility can be powerful for your bottom line: “One thing that may tip the scales in your favor is using your profits to do good in the world.” Millennials, in particular, want to visit socially-responsible businesses. According to Inman, “companies who gave 10 percent or more toward philanthropic activities…have seen their median revenue increase by 11 percent, while revenue decreased by 3 percent for all other companies.”
However, the primary reason that companies pursue social responsibility is not to boost the bottom line, it’s to be an important part of developing and sustaining their communities and the world. CSR is not simply a feel-good exercise that builds profits: while it needs to be consciously created and well-managed, CSR that’s done right can have a powerful impact on your local and global communities.
Corporate Social Responsibility Examples
When you’re looking for models of corporate social responsibility, be conscious of the true impact that a CSR initiative has on a community or a place. CSR initiatives should not only try to be helpful, they should be well thought-out to ensure that they’re actually making the impact that they strive to create in the world. For example, tree planting might be beneficial for the environment, but if it’s the wrong species of tree, it can greatly alter the local ecology and the animals that are able to live in that space.
Organizations try to reduce their negative impact and increase their positive one. For example, Google Green is one of Google’s CSR initiatives. Google not only uses half of the energy of the typical data center, it is also a lead purchaser of renewable energy, helping to boost that industry.
LinkedIn focuses on giving back through the tangible efforts of its employees. LinkedIn’s In Days involve education and encourage employees to volunteer their time locally. Many businesses choose corporate volunteerism as a route to incorporate social responsibility. For example, Cisco’s employees donate more than 160,000 hours to charity every year.
Other companies choose to contribute financially to local and global charities. Some take their employees’ lead. For example, Verizon matches employee donations 1:1 if employees volunteer with an organization for 50 hours. This allows employees to choose the cause that truly matters to them and distributes the company’s impact in a community.
Companies like Dell focus on long and short-term CSR initiatives to make the greatest impact. Dell provides educational facilities in 11 countries to promote long-term educational advancement, and it also contributes to disaster relief, donating team members’ expertise, Dell products, and funds to the cause.
Being a socially and environmentally-responsible business is good for the future of your company and the future of the world. Corporate social responsibility examples show that you can bring together good business sense with a social and environmental conscience.