Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a business initiative designed to meet specific goals related to ethics, sustainability and social impact. When executed well, it can enhance how your business is viewed and approached, helping to share your company’s broader mission with the world.
In the past few decades, however, more business leaders have recognized that they have a responsibility to do more than simply maximize profits for shareholders and executives. Rather, they have a social responsibility to do what’s best not just for their companies, but people, the planet, and society at large.
We’ll be discussing the four main types of corporate social responsibility in this article:
- Environmental social responsibility
- Ethical/human rights social responsibility
- Philanthropic corporate responsibility
- Economic corporate responsibility
1. Environmental corporate responsibility
Environmental responsibility refers to the organization’s commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly operations.
Every year, more companies are prioritizing sustainable practices, pledging to consider their environmental impact at every stage of business.
This can mean reducing the company’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions, opting for sustainable resources by avoiding single-use plastics and keeping environmental aspects at the heart of all operations.
2. Ethical/human rights social responsibility
Ethical responsibility refers to a company’s commitment to operate their business in an ethical manner that upholds human rights principles, such as fair treatment of all stakeholders, fair trade practices and equal pay.
To champion ethical responsibility, many businesses will speak up in the name of human rights injustices such as child labor, racial or gender discrimination and the fight for a higher minimum wage.
Much like with responsibility to the environment, there are ways to endorse ethics at your company by involving employees in the process.
3. Philanthropic corporate responsibility
Philanthropic responsibility refers to a corporation’s aims, goals and objectives for actively bettering society as a whole. One huge aspect of corporate philanthropy is donating money from company earnings to worthy causes within the local community — often in the form of a trust or foundation.
These kinds of philanthropic efforts speak volumes to your public image as a business leader, which is crucial in today’s world. There are several ways in which businesses can incorporate CSR in the form of philanthropy while engaging employees, including giving schemes with the potential for donation matching.
4. Economic corporate responsibility
Economic responsibility refers to the practice of making financial decisions based on a commitment to doing good.
Some common examples of economic responsibility include investing in alternative energy sources, putting more money into education programs and funding local charities as a way of bolstering their mission.
To uphold economic responsibility, business leaders are challenged to think past operational cost savings and instead put their obligation to corporate citizenship at the heart of all financial decisions.
Regardless of the type of CSR, consider how you’ll measure your program’s performance and impact. Watch The Social Impact Show to explore how.
