The definition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is running a business in a manner that adheres to ethical, legal, commercial, and public expectations that society has of businesses.
It’s all about giving back to the society by making positive contributions to the health & welfare of the whole community, operating transparently and ethically. CSR is often carried out through a number of philanthropic activities, such as donating money to causes or offer the business’s expertise free of charge.
There are many reasons why your business should embrace CSR or better and embed it into your business model for the long term.
Here are the top 3 Reasons Why You Should:
1) Reduce Costs
Practice CSR means that your business will have to reduce resource use, waste, and emissions that are bad for the environment. Not only is this good news for the environment, it’s also good news for your business because you will save money from doing so!
2) Boost Reputation
Being a responsible business owner is the kind of publicity you want for your business. Investors and consumers alike often show more favour for firms who carry responsible policies. Some consumers even went so far as to insisting that they only deal with companies who practice CSR.
Socially responsible activities that involves giving back to the community can also generate positive press coverage and help to improve a business’s relationship with local authorities, which will make doing business much easier.
Good reputation can also make it easier for your business to attract & recruit higher quality candidates on the job market. Most job-seekers these days are looking for workplaces that promote socially responsible practices, community mindedness, and sound ethics.
3) More Chances for Growth
By organising socially responsible activities that your staffs can participate in, your business is providing them with opportunities for growth, both personally and professionally. By taking part in activities outside of their usual work routines, your employees will have the chance to enrich their own perspectives, contribute to what they are passionate about, and possibly obtain new skills that could be useful to them in the workplace. If your employees feel motivated, their productivity will increase accordingly, and it will also make it easier for you to retain them, further reducing the costs of recruitment and training.
There are tons more advantages that your business can receive when practicing CSR.
One thing to keep in mind is that, being socially responsible is not something that you can do on a whim for more attention.
If you don’t want to receive negative results when doing CSR activities, committ to doing it on a regular basis or better, as I said above, embedded it into the business model for the long term.