When you think about the business world, the first thing that probably comes to mind is profits. And while there’s nothing wrong with a profitable business — employees need to be paid and shareholders need to be rewarded for their investment — problems start to occur when a business puts its focus on profits at the expense of everything else. In recent years there has been a growing demand, both from shareholders and the general public, for businesses to behave in a more socially and environmentally responsible way. Now corporate social responsibility has snowballed into a global movement – more and more businesses are making an effort to incorporate ethics and sustainability into their practices (and have received a lot of good PR in doing so). Here are some of the emerging corporate social responsibility (CSR) trends which are gaining traction as of 2014:
1) Climate change & supply chain resiliency
While the debate rages on about the validity of global warming theories, businesses are certainly waking up to the fact that climate change could impact their supply chains, since environmental disasters and other extreme weather conditions are already causing disruptions. The coffee industry is very aware that climate change, coupled with a growing middle class of consumers in BRIC countries, may ultimately lead to an excess of demand for luxury commodities such as coffee – meaning that a price increase is inevitable. Initiatives such as Adapt Now have been designed to benefit smallholder communities in the developing world, ensuring workers stay protected and the supply of commodities continues unabated. For instance, farmers in the Rwenzori region of Uganda are currently using unsustainable practices which has led to vast amounts of soil erosion – Adapt Now is implementing initiatives to increase soil fertility, plant trees and improve education in the region.
2) New materials
With the frighteningly rapid depletion of earth’s natural resources at hand, businesses are now launching R&D initiatives to replace the materials used in their products for new ones which are more sustainable. Nike is a trendsetter in this area, having developed an environmentally-friendly new manufacturing process known as Flyknit. Launched in 2013, the Flyknit Lunar 1+ running shoe reduced material wastage by over 80% compared to conventional manufacturing methodologies. The overall amount of material saved was approximately 66,000k – the same amount as 12 adult male African elephants! More information about Nike’s sustainability strategy can be found here.
3) Transparency
Thanks to technological advances, barriers to information are continuing to drop. Coupled with the more stringent regulations regarding fair practice and a lust for knowledge from the ever-inquisitive public – transparency has become a common theme in the CSR realm. Clothing manufacturer Timberland have launched a subsection of their site dedicated to responsibility, publishing an abundance of data pertaining to its business strategy, including: eco-conscious materials, sustainable working environments, product recycling and more! Since it’s clear that Timberland understands that better information leads to more informed choices for the consumer; more businesses are sure to follow suit.
4) Microvolunteering
In 2008, Microvoluntarious set up a website where non-profits could request help from professional people for tasks which would take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Since then, the concept has been duplicated by a host of companies and has been described as 1 of 3 fast growing trends in the global volunteering arena. Microvolunteering is an ingenious invention since it appeals to people’s good will and allows qualified professionals to offer a small chunk of their time without having to remove themselves from work or disrupt their schedule at home. For more information, check out the Institute of Volunteering Research.
A bright future for CSR
In the past, CSR initiatives were developed to avoid PR scandals and mitigate the damage of environmental disasters caused by unsustainable business practices. Fortunately, it seems that times have changed and companies are thinking in terms of responsibility and sustainability not just to avoid negative backlash, but because such practices are required so that profit no longer comes at the expense of local communities and the environment. Thanks to advanced technology, public outcry for accountability in business practices is at an all time high, and this will surely continue with incentives such as the European CSR Award Scheme. As the saying goes: “with great power comes great responsibility”!
Tags: corporate social responsibility, CSR, PR
