With society focusing more on building a better future together, corporate social responsibility, often shortened to CSR, is making its way to the forefront of business agendas everywhere. While you’ve likely been doing at least some things to make the world a better place, possibly without that even being the focus of the action, it’s important to solidify plans to meet CSR targets moving forward. Fail to take this critical step, and you may face public ridicule. The good news is that once you know the five things in this article, you’ll be well equipped to reach your goals:
Supporting the Community Is Paramount
Businesses don’t just exist within communities – they’re an integral part of them. However, if you want locals to support you, you must show the same good faith in return. Practicing social procurement is a great way to do this, as it’s a system that allows everyone to win.
Caring for the Environment Is a Key Responsibility
Not only do you need to ensure that you’re operating sustainability in-house, but you also need to continue that same level of responsibility once customers choose your products. There are many ways to do this, but one of the easiest is to partner with the best eCommerce fulfillment companies in the regions in which you operate.
This suggestion may seem strange, but having your goods go directly from the manufacturer to local storage rather than to you and then back out to wherever your customer is in the world, can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your shipping activities.
Keeping Customer Data Safe Is Your Top Priority
With data breaches happening left, right, and center these days, it’s more important than ever to ensure that you have rigorous security and a backup and disaster recovery plan. No matter how much a customer loves your brand, that positive sentiment can quickly dry up if you allow their data to be leaked. Data breaches can also cause a host of internal issues, making prevention far better than any cure.
You Must Remain Transparent
Transparency increases trust in your company while helping ensure that you’re meeting your responsibilities. People are far less likely to cut corners, for example, if they know they’re being watched. While an environment where people only do the right thing because they know there’s an audience is far from ideal and certainly isn’t the goal, having employees know that their activity is tracked can also have a positive impact.
For example, if team members who go above and beyond are recognized and rewarded, this creates a culture of excellence. This ethos can also be applied to companies, as consumers will choose to work with those who exemplify the values they preach.
It Isn’t Just External
CSR isn’t just about forging external connections and caring for customers and the environment. It’s also about how you manage things internally. Having a robust workplace inclusion and diversity policy is an important part of ensuring you’re meeting your responsibilities to your employees. It’s also great for collaboration and morale, so there’s no excuse to let this point slide.
Keeping on top of your corporate social responsibility is vital to running a successful business moving forward. Knowing these five things will help, but you should always strive for constant improvement – it’ll help build a better future and can boost your bottom line, so everyone wins.