Corporate social responsibility
Sustainability and social responsibility practices are not a matter of exclusive interest to organizations; it also concerns shareholders, consumers, vendors and workers, as well as regulators and the community. In short, everyone.
There are many reasons to invest in creating a Socially responsible company. Motivations, ranging from altruistic scenarios, to even issues of profitability and sustainability in the markets.
But… What is corporate social responsibility? Corporate or corporate social responsibility CSR is a voluntary way of managing companies where it is possible to create economic value while creating value for society.
We liked the following video that explains it with several examples of corporate social responsibility And how, the company, in addition, does not always look for the good of society …
The objective of CSR is to contribute to a more sustainable, more inclusive, more tolerant, fair society, in short … to improve society!
A concept is closely linked to sustainable development and the activities of the company vis-à-vis its employees, clients, shareholders, the environment, local communities and society in general.
Advantages of betting with Corporate Social Responsibility
1. Compliance with regulations: there is not much range of action in this matter, without a doubt companies must comply with the law. In this sense, the rules and regulations constitute the first stimulus and reason to bet on sustainability, on social responsibility.
2. Competitive advantages: with more informed and demanding clients, the sales pitch goes beyond the simple product or service; Consumers buy quality, but they also buy brands with which they identify.
Good business practices influence reputation, the purchase - sale argument, sales, but, above all, it ends up being a differential factor compared to the competition and the industry.
3. Continual improvement: regardless of what the legislation dictates or what the market or the competition imposes, betting on social responsibility is betting on improving product design, production, and customer service. It is the opportunity to improve processes and achieve greater effectiveness.
4. Economic benefits: Social responsibility is betting on improving processes, on best practices. Not always, as has traditionally been done, is the most effective way for the company, its clients or the environment.
Giving yourself the opportunity to see new alternatives is a good option for lower operating costs, lower administrative costs, lower environmental costs, higher income, the establishment of business values and finally higher profitability.
5. Reputation: Good practices are rewarded, bad practices are sanctioned with public scrutiny, social networks and, ultimately, non-acceptance by customers, suppliers and other actors in the process.
A brand's reputation affects every aspect of a company, from hiring, turnover, retention, pricing, and investor engagement, to its media relations and organizational environment. Betting on social responsibility is betting on the good image and acceptance of the entire chain.
6. Happy customers: a responsible strategy is positive for society, but also for customers. Your customers will be much more satisfied when consuming products, the result of a responsible process, and your company will obtain greater market share.
7. Operating benefits: Sustainable practices in projects can lead to innovative processes, higher productivity and, undoubtedly, better performance of resources.
8. Organizational benefits: Establishing responsible and sustainable processes will allow you not only to comply with regulations, and therefore have less interference from regulators, but also have less risk of operation and happier collaborators.
Reasons for and against CSR
It is evident that working on good relationships with clients, suppliers and society in general constitute a good way to improve the
competitiveness of the organization.
However, despite the advantages of CSR, there are reasons for and against it that help to clarify a complex issue:
| Reasons for CSR | Reasons against CSR |
| Companies are an integral part of society in general | Companies must dedicate themselves to what they know how to do and that is their mission: to produce what people want in the most efficient way possible. |
| Companies should reward not only owners or shareholders, but anyone else involved (customers, consumers, suppliers, employees) | The resources of the company should be directed to achieve the principle of maximum profit |
| CSR is profitable in the medium and long term | Solving society's problems is the responsibility of other bodies and institutions |
| Companies have qualified people and technical means to face a large part of the problems that affect society | Customers would be hurt by a widespread price increase |
| Public interventions would occur to the extent that companies do not assume responsibilities | Companies already have the economic power. If they invade other fields they would end up possessing the social and political |
Where do I start with corporate social responsibility?
First, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a voluntary commitment, and not an obligation. To move forward with consistency, it is necessary to develop an action strategy to assess where you want to influence and its scope.
In this regard, compliance with the ISO 26000 standard is especially important, a set of regulations that have been prepared, audited and certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The ISO portal, for the own ISO 26000, offers us an extensive and detailed social responsibility guide that can be consulted from HERE (It is paid), but the Spanish administration has an extensive portal with a lot of information, which also includes a section on CSR grants and subsidies for SMEs and small companies, very interesting!
One of the best guides in Spanish is the «methodological guide to implement CSR action plans in SMEs»For Navarra. Good diagrams, tables to be filled in and well explained that we can consult from HERE in PDF VERY RECOMMENDED! And the following document on tools for management of social responsibility for SMEs.
And some courses on CSR…
- The UNED university offers a free course on social responsibility from the corporate perspective in open MOOC format that is currently on YouTube from HERE to see the list. Where you can begin to understand its dimensions and objectives (Although it is old, the UNED always offers quality).
- From the MOOCs Coursera platform there is also training in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that we can see from HERE. And this one about new business models in the 21st century that we can see HERE.
Cultivating social responsibility is a continuous process and a vital element in corporate strategy, investment and organizational culture; becoming a factor of success and an important reputational element before collaborators and external interest groups.
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