Recently, the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become popular. So popular, in fact, that CSR is now almost standard protocol for most companies. For those unfamiliar with CSR, the gist is businesses would embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, and stakeholders. CSR-focused businesses proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public. Essentially, CSR is a triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.

Unlike foundations, companies aren’t legally required to disclose detailed information about their charitable giving. However, failing to maintain a good corporate image may not negatively impact a corporation’s bottom line in the long run, but it will certainly damage the firm’s reputation. The question at hand is: Why is CSR really becoming so popular?

1. Customers Are Fed Up – Large corporations have taken advantage of customers time and time again. Stories of greed, such as Bernie Madoff, are too common yet, in most instances, there are few consequences. The only way customers could be heard was to take their business away from morally corrupt companies and focus on socially responsible businesses. In an attempt to stay afloat, corporations had to listen to their customer’s sentiments or risk being ostracized. The Internet has provided customers with a window into the inner-workings, a voice, and more control. By using social media, the general public is essentially in charge of dictating a company’s giving.
2. The Domino Effect – If you can’t beat them, join them. As more companies adopt a CSR strategy, a company’s reputation could be damaged if they don’t have a similar strategy. In a peer-pressure-style environment, companies are backed into a corner and have no choice. However, it’s important to recognize that aren’t truly “victims” in this situation. There are plenty of benefits, financially and reputation-wise, that make CSR mutually beneficial for the company and the public.
3. It’s An Ethical Obligation – It’s possible that things have gotten so bad, genuine empathy is driving the CSR trend. Such a wide spectrum of people have been effected by an economic depression, natural disaster, or another event equally devastating. It’s possible the trend isn’t corporate, but personal. The senior executives see the despair and the lack of relief – or are experiencing it themselves – and decided to step up to plate. Of course, this probably isn’t the case but as younger generations become senior executives, it may not be that outrageous.

What do you think is creating this influx in corporate philanthropy?

Do you think it will last?

What’s next?

Related articles

• Making the Case for Corporate Social Human Resources: Are You Prepared for HR 3.0? (blogs.forbes.com)
• Corporate Altruism: The Blurring of the Lines Between CSR and Cause Marketing (bethkanter.org)
• Business approach to CSR: An interview with PwC’s Jeff Senne (triplepundit.com)

Tags: campaign, Corporate social responsibility, Internet, marketing, Philanthropy, PR Scoup, public relations, Social Responsibility, Triple bottom line, Trust

This entry was posted on July 16, 2010 at 11:53 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility Internet Public Relations Social Responsibility by Gabe Chesman 6 Comments