Corporate Social Responsibility Program of Trade Nigeria and Globe chamber of Commerce |
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is when an Organization operates in an ethical
and sustainable way and deals with its environmental and social impacts. This
means a careful consideration of human rights, the community, environment, and
society in which it operates.
It’s incredibly important that an organization operates
in a way that demonstrates social responsibility. Although it’s not a legal
requirement, it’s seen as good practice for an organization to take into
account social and environmental issues.
Corporate Social Responsibility also means that a company takes steps to
ensure there are positive social and environmental effects associated with the
way the business operates. Not only do active involvements in CSR increase
business and revenue, they promote change and progress throughout the world,
which often involves helping people with few or no resources.
CSR is viewed as different from philanthropy. When
properly implemented, it should become ingrained in the values and culture of a
company, and positively affect the way the company does business. CSR should
become inherent in the mission and message of an organization, and also hold a
strong place in marketing and advertising. Companies should be aware that
promoting their CSR model only benefits the company if they are already acting
on their plan. Otherwise, falsely claiming to bring social change to those in
need could lead to bad publicity.
Business organizations that ignore corporate social
responsibility run a risk to their bottom line and their brand. Having a bad
reputation socially and environmentally can create serious negative effects on
the overall profitability and success of a company, as nowadays consumers want
to spend their money on products and services that they believe in, and engage
with companies that follow ethical practices that meet their own beliefs.
Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility
The benefits of CSR speak volumes
about how important it is and why business organization should make an effort
to adopt it.
Some clear benefits of corporate
social responsibility are:
- Improved public image. This
is crucial, as consumers assess your public image when deciding whether to
buy from you. Something simple, like staff members volunteering an hour a
week at a charity, shows that you’re a brand committed to helping others.
As a result, you’ll appear much more favourable to consumers.
- Increased brand awareness and recognition. If
you’re committed to ethical practices, this news will spread. More people
will therefore hear about your brand, which creates increased brand
awareness.
- Cost savings. Many
simple changes in favour of sustainability, such as using less packaging,
will help to decrease your production costs.
- An advantage over competitors. By
embracing CSR, you stand out from competitors in your industry. You
establish yourself as a company committed to going one step further by
considering social and environmental factors.
- Increased customer engagement. If
you’re using sustainable systems, you should shout it from the rooftops.
Post it on your social media channels and create a story out of your
efforts. Furthermore, you should show your efforts to local media outlets
in the hope they’ll give it some coverage. Customers will follow this and
engage with your brand and operations.
- Greater employee engagement. Similar
to customer engagement, you also need to ensure that your employees know
your CSR strategies. It’s proven that employees enjoy working more for a
company that has a good public image than one that doesn’t. Furthermore,
by showing that you’re committed to things like human rights, you’re much
more likely to attract and retain the top candidates.
- More benefits for employees. There are also a range of benefits for your employees when you embrace CSR. Your workplace will be a more positive and productive place to work, and by promoting things like volunteering, you encourage personal and professional growth.
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