New Era Of Corporate Social Responsibility [Infographic]

Audrey Willis http://graduate.norwich.edu 4m 1,087 #socialresponsibiltiy

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Social Media And Responsibility

As you may know, Google has recently been under fire after mounting claims that Google was not doing enough, or anything at all, to promote gender or racial equality in the workplace. Google’s 19th birthday is tomorrow, celebrating a corporation that has always been on the forefront of business and workplace innovations. For example, Google is seen as the poster child of “millennial workplaces” complete with ping pong tables and yoga classes, but is Google using this reputation to influence society for good? It is for this reason I wanted to see if you would be interested in publishing a visual resource created by Norwich University that provides valuable information on corporate social responsibility, how it can be incorporated into a business model and its impact on consumers and society.

Corporate social responsibility is a corporation’s initiatives to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on environmental and social wellbeing. To learn more about corporate social responsibility, view the full infographic below.

This infographic is free to publish and share.

Click to open / Right-click for save options

Text-Friendly Version

Corporate social responsibility

Consumers are more passionate about global social issues than ever, and their expectation for companies to address these issues and their own business initiatives continues to grow. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer just an option if a company wants to be perceived favorably by consumers but instead of necessity, especially with Millennials. As CSR continues to evolve, companies should explore new ways of Performing and communicating their CSR initiatives to Consumers.

The empowered consumer

According to the 2015 cone Communications/ebiquity Global CSR study, Global consumers want companies to act responsibly about addressing critical social and environmental issues

Nine out of 10 consumers have come to expect that companies will aim to do more than just make a profit

84% of global consumers actively seek out responsible products

How US consumers are engaging in CSR

He 5% would stop purchasing a company’s products if they learned of its irresponsible or deceptive business practices

60% will consider a company CSR efforts before choosing which stocks or mutual funds to invest in

72% would spread the word about company CSR efforts to their families and friends a paragraph

85% would like more information on a company CSR efforts

A millennial driven trend

How does CSR affect us Millennials loyalty to an employer?

76% would consider a company social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work

62% would accept a lower salary to work at a socially responsible company in paragraph how Millennials are engaging in CSR

About 66% of Millennials use social media to engage in CSR

One third of Millennials use social media to learn more about Brands and Issues

26% use social media to share negative information about companies in this year’s

70% would choose to donate to a charity based on their personal passions

74% would volunteer for a cause supported by a company they trust

How to integrate CSR into a business model

64% of CEOs in 2016 noted that CSR is being treated as a core aspect of business as opposed to a stand-alone side Channel

The Harvard Business Review has outline three approaches to engaging in CSR

Engage in Philanthropy

These efforts are not intended to profits are directly improve business performance

Example:  donating money or equipment to a Civic organization

Improve a company’s operational effectiveness

These efforts function within existing business models to deliver social or environmental benefits that may end up supporting a company’s operations

Example: sustainability initiatives that reduce resource use, waste or emissions, and in turn reduce costs

Transform the business model

These efforts create new forms of business to specifically address social or environmental issues that help improve business performance

Example: hiring local citizens to help in the distribution of products, rather than Outsourcing to another company, which can help the community and local economy and could lower-cost

The approaches can influence our complement and other approach

For example, engaging in philanthropy can boost a brand image and directly increase sales

A CSR program requires

Coherence
every CSR program must align with the company’s vision, goals, and values

Metrics
success needs to be clearly defined not only in financial measures

Inclusiveness
all programs should coordinate across the company’s various CSR methods

Different initiatives used to promote a company’s CSR efforts include:

Working for specific cause
what kind of philanthropy is complementary to the company’s mission or target market

Using CSR as a recruitment tactic
create a position whose role would be consistent with the company’s CSR efforts

Providing employees time off to volunteer
give the company’s workforce in allotted amount of time to volunteer and give back to their own communities or organizations that are important to them

Measuring the impact
quantifiable proof of positive impact is the most effective way to illustrate the benefits of a CSR campaign

Being environmentally conscious
reducing the company’s environmental footprint and making environmentally thoughtful decisions are good for the company and the community

Corporations Leading The Way

Benefits of CSR

A study conducted by the society for human resource management found that businesses with prominent CSR programme saw:

Stronger employee loyalty 38%

Stronger Public Image and improved efficiency across business processes 43%

More positive company morale 55%

According to the Republican Institute Global CSR RepTrak ranking, the following companies were perceived to be the most socially responsible in 2016:

Google

Google for Education and google.Org are supporting Innovative education nonprofits with a 50 million dollar Global initiative

Google realize the biggest hurdle and education was getting kids into the classroom. They believe that with the help of technology and trusted nonprofits, they will help close the world wide gap in learning

Walt Disney

Aims to reduce emissions by 50%

Plans to divert 60% of waste from landfills and incinerators.

Intends on developing water conservation plans for new locations

Disney conservation fund strives to help protect the planet and help kids develop life on conservation values

BMW

The BMW group focuses on three areas:

Products and Services
Reducing resource consumption

Employees and Society
promoting employee diversity

Production and Value Creation
increasing transparency and improving efficiency across its supply chain

The highest level of corporate social responsibility and environmental awareness blend seamlessly into a company’s business plan. As research has pointed out, companies that make an effort to leave the way and take a global approach can be richly rewarded  by consumer loyalty and increased brand awareness. The key is to increase transparency, collaboration, and storytelling in order to reap the full benefits of being socially responsible.

Norwich University Online
graduate.norwich.edu/mba

(