Driving Impact: Does your company have a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been around for decades but in the last few years it has really taken off. For people with experience in CSR, it's been a mad scramble educating stakeholders in so many organisations as to why CSR matters, what the best approach is and what it even means. I can guarantee you that there are still many people who don't even know what the acronym stands for. I dare you to test this out. 

A common misconception is that  CSR is  only about philanthropy but it's so much more than that. It's about integrating social (my expertise) and environmental concerns into the core business operation and creating a shared value for your company and society. 

When companies invest in a coordinated and integrated CSR strategy they benefit in many ways including:

. Enhanced reputation

. Employee engagement 

. Customer loyalty

. Competitive advantage 

. Risk Management 

. Social license to operate (SLO)

Involve your people the right way:

Most employees  have good intentions. They care about society at large, their community and the environment and just want to contribute. During my time working  across CSR for B2B organsations it was clear that so many of our employees truly cared. In fact  some employees cared so much that they would sign the business up to projects or causes they were emotionally connected to as opposed to what made sense for the company, the community in which we operated and most critically, the organisations business strategy. It is always easier to have these discussions if there is a clear strategy and governance in place. 

To build and sustain brands people love and trust, one must focus-not only on today but also on tomorrow. It's not easy...but balancing the short and long term is key to delivering sustainable, profitable growth-growth that is good for our shareholders but also good for our consumers, our employees, our business partners, the communities where we live and work, and the planet we inhabit - Irene Rosenfeld.

Next steps to discuss when you meet your leadership team:

. What are we as a business currently doing in the CSR space?

. What are our objectives and how do they align to the bigger picture? 

. Who are we targeting? 

. What are our competitors doing?

. Is there an opportunity for us to be more strategic with our support?

. Who is best in the organisation to manage the CSR portfolio?

Integrating CSR into Marketing

. Integrate CSR into the overall marketing strategy and brand messaging.

. Engage with stakeholders to communicate CSR efforts and demonstrate impact.

. Use storytelling, digital/social media, and partnerships to amplify CSR messages.

. Measure and report on the impact of CSR programs to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.

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