The Business Blog
Would you be surprised to know that your favorite brands are contributing to 2.2 trillion dollars of environmental damage?
In a world where consumers are gaining awareness, corporate social responsibility has become an integrated part of a company's success
How to establish a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative at your company
By: Hawa Kaba
Know how you are contributing to the problem
There are many ways you can indirectly infringe your social responsibility to a consumer as a company. Respecting privacy, the environment and social issues are examples of issues you need to be conscious of. Often times as a company we create and modify the ways in which we persuade a consumer to interact with the good or service we provide, however we overlook a consumers basic needs.
It begins with you
Being socially responsible begins with how you treat and manage the people that work for you. Corporate social responsibility can be linked to the ethical decisions a company engages and how they respond to challenges. However, this all begins with the culture of the company and the ways in employees are encouraged to be socially responsible. Often times we operate in function of what will bring in the most amount of revenue, however we omit the fact that consumers will often time base a purchase on not only the good or service, but also the experience they receive as well as how closely related a company shares their values. Therefore, encouraging good practices within the company will positively impact the external environment.
Align your CSR with your values
In developing your CSR strategy it is important not to stray too far away from the values on which your company were built on. Adapting and reformulating your strategy to changes is a necessary step in running a successful business, however, the objective is not to change and accommodate every issue so as to completely change the mission, vision and values of your company. For instance, as a clothing company you may opt for creating an organic line in which you incorporate pieces made with organic cotton; you don't however want to completely change the way you manufacture your clothing.
Keeping open dialogue
CSR requires communication. Communication within the company and communication with the consumers. You may already be aware of your markets likes and dislikes but allowing open dialogue and communication between you and your customer provides comfort, trust and understanding. Allowing someone to have a voice is an important tool for continually having a socially responsible company as topics and issues vary, and what may be important to your consumers may not be important to your competitors'
In this dynamic market you will be subjected to change, you have the power to decide whether it will be positive or negative.