By: Rashmi Chainani
On one side, chasing the odds of a market seems like the only objective to be achieved by the fast-paced, oblivious, ignorant corporate giants. While on the other side, passionate activists fight for the sustainability of the environment.
It is heart wrenching to see large corporations destroying the only home human beings have. People have always questioned how heartless can these individuals be to destroy such beauty right? How is it possible to give in to such greed for money while the world crumbles? Well, another question holds, will there ever be a crossroad where these two will meet?
Before we dive deeper into this, what does sustainability actually mean? Sustainability is the ability to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers, while still allowing future generations the ability to meet their own needs and wants later on.
Sustainability is made up of three aspects: the economy, society, and environment. The idea of sustainability encourages big organizations or companies to be more mindful of their actions and their use of resources. As times are evolving, people are quickly grasping the idea of sustainability and are trying to incorporate it into their workspaces.
Large business corporations hold the power of not being held accountable due to their ability to wave off allegations through the use of money. Money is their savior and their source of power, especially during legal battles. But as the times change and more people see the importance of holding these companies answerable, there has been a shift in how corporate institutions are operating during this day and age.
Now, business and sustainability will intersect at a point in the form of a concept known as corporate social responsibility. The concept of corporate social responsibility refers to businesses making an effort to integrate environmental and social aspects in their operations and interactions with stakeholders.
Through corporate social responsibility, businesses can be held accountable for their actions. In addition to this, the idea of this concept is to make sure that businesses positively contribute to the economy, environment, and the public.
There are several types of corporate social responsibility which include: environmental responsibility, ethical responsibility, philanthropic responsibility, and economic responsibility. Environmental responsibility involves organizations that should carry out their operations in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Ethical responsibility refers to the concern if the organization is operating in an ethical way. Philanthropic responsibility refers to the activities of a business to make society a better place. And last but not least, economic responsibility refers to the business supporting all of its financial decisions in order to achieve all the other above responsibilities.
Besides all this information, what are the benefits of businesses practicing corporate social responsibility? Businesses can create a better brand image for themselves and it allows customers to trust these businesses even more. Another benefit to this is that it motivates and boosts the morale of employees. For employees, it provides another incentive to work harder and to have a sense of accomplishment in the work that they do.
How can more businesses integrate the concept of corporate social responsibility in their operations? First of all, businesses should create an environment that allows employees to express their passion for initiatives, for example, their passion for the environment. By involving the employees and by providing resources to fulfill these initiatives, businesses are creating a change and striving to be more responsible. Some examples of companies that incorporate corporate social responsibility include Lego, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, and Google.
Sources:
● https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sustainability.asp
● https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/100515/three-pillars-corporate-
sustainability.asp
● https://youmatter.world/en/definition/definitions-sustainability-definition-examples-
principles/
● https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html
● https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/corporate-social-
responsibility-csr/
● https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/types-of-corporate-social-responsibility
● https://michiganross.umich.edu/rtia-articles/business-and-environment-50-years-after-first-earth-day-what-s-changed-what-hasn-t-and