Do companies in 2021 talk about CSR and sustainability just to get more sales by Manan Ambani
Do companies in 2021 talk about CSR and sustainability just to get more sales
By Manan Ambani
I think the answer is yes. But I also think that it's not just about sales, but about a change in mindset.
The reasons why companies talk about sustainability is because
They want to be seen as good corporate citizens.
They want to use their brands as an instrument for social change and make sure that people know what they are doing.
The new generation of consumers who care more and more about these issues, and these companies have realised that this group of consumers will become bigger in the future so if you do not adapt yourself now then you will lose out on them later on when it comes to buying your products or services.
It's really important for companies to understand how important it is to integrate sustainable development into their business strategy if they want long term survival in the marketplace today and tomorrow. It's crucial for them to realise how much value there is in becoming a leader rather than a follower when it comes to embracing sustainability within their organisations, which means having a different kind of mindset from traditional businesses where everything was driven by short-term profits alone with no concern whatsoever towards environmental impacts or social concerns such as human rights violations or child labour etcetera... This type of business model doesn't work anymore today since we live in an interconnected world where we all share responsibility for each others' actions whether we like it or not! Therefore thinking only short-term profit oriented strategies does not work anymore since many stakeholders including governments around the world are asking corporations (and especially multinational corporations) questions like: "What kind of impact did your company have on our society?"; "How much damage did your company cause our environment?"; "How many people were killed due to working conditions at one of your suppliers? How many workers had been injured? What happened with those cases?". And so forth... So I would say that most companies today realise this reality and therefore embrace sustainable development within their organisation through Corporate Social Responsibility programs which usually include initiatives like employee engagement programs, training workshops regarding environmental awareness etcetera... They also see CSR initiatives as being very cost effective because employees who feel valued tend to stay longer with their employer while delivering better performance during work hours! And finally CSR can help attract new customers from different age groups who care deeply about these issues so overall CSR helps strengthen brand loyalty among current customers while attracting new ones at same time!
So what then is true CSR and Sustainability?
CSR is about authenticity, authenticity rooted in a socially committed corporation. This corporate commitment needs to be genuine; it must include the company's definition of sustainability and its vision for sustainable development—and it must be expressed and acted on over time. Commitment becomes relevant where we can demonstrate that business decisions take account of all affected parties who will benefit or endure some kind of cost from them (Jansen, Koehler & Pistorius 2006). So companies with CSR initiatives in relation to people actually "commit" (being beyond a mere communication strategy) resources into this area by hiring staff specialists responsible for sustainability issues within their formal organizational structure. Companies also commit funds when they spend money on follow-up activities such as research or mediation processes for improving working conditions at third-party providers (Klantschnig 1999). CSR requires not only an internal commitment expressed through external communications but also extended responsibilities for supporting general practices deemed necessary by elevated social standards or regulation affecting its most proximal partners involved in current action. For instance, Shell was one of two participants along with Enron that helped develop the estimate credit default swaps market, even though it had promised investors would never have anything more to do with derivatives trading other than exchange normal commodities after divestment of noncore asset.
To ensure that a firm’s activities are actually doing benefit, the project map of any CSR activity should look like this:
The community need assessment should involve an in-depth detailed analysis of “What we want to do, is that even something that the community/world need?”
Most CSR activities fail in concept; as they do not answer this question.
The locus of control: Meaning, Woo is it, that has control over the day-to-day activities and ongoings of the planned CSR activity. This control should ideally in the initial stages of the activity lie within the firm but then should be transferred to parties outside the firm so that the firm can move out of one project but ensure it’s sustenance.
The Loop of Incompletion simply defines the fact that the activity can move on for a long time, and doesn’t have to end with the firm ceasing the activity. Once the Process and model have shown successful implementation and capability or sustainability, the model holds potential to be extrapolated to various housing societies, corporate parks, eventually wards and districts.
The project/ activity taken up by the firm has to be Unnecessary, meaning the activity is not something that is demanded off the firm due to the nature or scope of it’s function - only then is it truly a selfless act; Intimate- to ensure a commitment to the activity by internal stakeholders even when things turn ugly, Incomplete- the activity must remain incomplete so as to ensure that it keeps going on, benefiting the society/group till the group exists; and does not see a definitive end and Ugly - the matter should really have the firm dirty it’s hands in the muck by getting down to grassroots of the problem, and not just a high level interaction and a donation of money.
A Scalability, Sustainability and Selflessness Review committee should exist outside the firm to monitor and hold people accountable if they aren’t doing work according to plan, and also to monitor flays in the firm conforming to the UIUI matrix.
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