Corporate Social Responsibility. What even is CSR?

Ethical corporation. Is that even a thing? 

Corporations are often seen as the bad guys–stepping on the mom and pop businesses, polluting the river in the small town, cracking down on labor organizations–right? 

What if we said - corporations (or big business in general) don’t have to be the villains in our lives. 

An increasing movement for corporate responsibility and accountability has developed in the past 20 years. More and more companies are realizing that being ethically and socially conscious is good for business. And many business founders are happy to be able to speak openly about their values. 

To that end, companies are implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a business model that prioritizes ethical behavior over traditional profit-first thinking. 

While there isn’t one “right” way to practice CSR, there are some generally agreed-upon best practices and areas of business that should be focused on. 

  • Legal–This one seems pretty obvious! 

    Making sure you’re following all laws and regulations surrounding business practices, taxes, waste management and anything else that pertains to your company is the bare minimum implementation of CSR. 

    True corporate responsibility goes far beyond following the law, but it’s a good place to start. Making sure your policies are in line with regulatory standards gives you a baseline to work up from.

  • Ethical–Your policies may be legal, but are they ethical? 

    This is where a company truly starts practicing Corporate Social Responsibility. 

    Look at your hiring practices, your benefits and your company culture. How are you supporting your employees? Are you being mindful of diversity and inclusion? Do you make an effort to foster a welcoming environment?

    Paid maternity leave, dedicated breastfeeding spaces, and childcare flexibility will support those with children. 

    Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training help BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and differently-abled employees feel seen and heard. DEI is often lumped together with CSR, and it is part of it, but DEI work is ideally a separate position. If your CSR team is also your DEI team, how do you measure the effectiveness of both? 

    Fostering an ethical workplace even comes down to your office space–not only is it wheelchair accessible–is the office furniture appropriate for bodies of all sizes? 

    Treating your employees with compassion, empathy, and respect, and as more than just their work, actually increases productivity and reduces burnout.

  • Environmental–While the global “Green Movement” has been around for many years, the focus on corporate sustainability was slower to gain traction. But, in the last 20 years, more people are looking at sustainability when deciding which brands to support. 

    It’s no secret that the overwhelming majority of pollution comes from big companies, not individual consumers, and companies are increasingly being asked to do better. 

    Think about the environmental impacts of your business and how you can lessen them.  Whether it’s sourcing sustainable materials or reducing your carbon footprint, going green is a key part of CSR. 

    Even if the sustainability measures you’re considering aren’t legally required, being proactive builds your reputation as a sustainable business and sets the bar higher for other companies to follow. 

  • Economic–It’s true, corporations need to make money. 

    But there is a way to be profitable and ethical–by paying employees a living wage, eliminating wage gaps, and investing in employee savings plans. 

    Creating economic security for your employees also improves the economies of the communities they live in. By subsidizing education or repayment of student loans you help employees become more skilled and earn more. You’re benefiting from those new skills as employees become better at their jobs. 

    Economic responsibility also applies to your supply chain. Are you paying fair trade prices for goods and services? Do you buy from businesses that have ethical labor practices? Your business is part of a system and CSR means uplifting the entire system, not just your part.

  • Philanthropic–Giving back is often the most visible way a corporation practices CSR. 

    How you do it depends on how big your business is and what kind of resources you have. 

    It can be as easy as simply making a donation, all the way to throwing an opulent fundraising gala! What if you gave employees paid time for volunteering? Or had a vote every month to decide who you donate to?Philanthropy is an important part of Corporate Social Responsibility, but don’t equate it with doing the actual work of change. 

    It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at a cause if you’re not implementing responsible practices in your company. 

    Feel free to talk about your donations, volunteer work, or other philanthropic activities. Just make sure you’re “showing your receipts” and not bragging. 

    Beware of virtue signaling and performative allyship. If you don’t truly support a cause or aren’t going to put in the work to make a change, you don’t need to be shouting about it on social media.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an international corporation with huge amounts of money to throw around or a small 4-person startup. Corporate Social Responsibility can (and should) be implemented at every level. 

Focusing on how you can contribute positively to society while running your business is the key. 

Engaging with your customers is a great way to keep yourself on track. Paying attention to what they’re saying, what their concerns are, and what they want from you gives you real-time information and actions. 

Public opinion can make or break a company, so building a positive image and making a name for yourself as a socially conscious company goes a long way to building trust in your brand.

If you have the budget, hire a CSR director to keep you on track and accountable. Having a dedicated person to coordinate your CSR implementation will not only make sure you’re following best practices, they’ll be able to help you troubleshoot issues and head off problems before they start.  

In any case, involve your employees in the process and be transparent. Be mindful that CSR needs to be led from the top. It’s often the first program to be cut due to budget. If you, as a business owner, commit to CSR practices it needs to be clear they are here to stay. 

Employees have better morale and job satisfaction when they trust the company they work for. Especially in the last year, employees are demanding better working conditions, benefits, and accountability from their employers. Employees are more likely to seek out jobs with companies that align with their purpose and more likely to leave jobs that don’t. 

More and more people are focusing on a company’s values, not just their products, and buying from businesses that they feel care about the state of the world, not just profit. More importantly, they’re purposely not buying from companies that consumers feel are ignoring or against social issues. 

By practicing Corporate Social Responsibility you’ll not only be participating in positive social and environmental changes, you’ll also be setting a standard for other companies to compete with. 

Investing resources and effort into ethically and socially responsible policies is a win-win situation for your company, your customers and society. 

Resources/Helpful Links