What are Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards Society

Corporate social responsibility is a mutual way for companies to benefit the society while benefiting them in the process. We cannot expect CSR to eliminate the world’s problem at once because practically that’s too much to expect but it can definitely do countless good to the community in which the company is operating. What are Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards Society

When a company is adopting CSR it is important to let its consumers know about it. CSR initiatives become pointless if you don’t get consumer acknowledgement. In this case Walmart has done it all right. Walmart has established itself as a leader on environmental efforts and for the past few years it has successfully maintained its leadership role in this particular field. Walmart was careful to inform the consumers about its CSR efforts. In 2008 Walmart ran an ad campaign designed to raise awareness about the environment.

CSR is the best way to connect with the consumers and keep them engaged with your brand because through CSR campaigns you are talking about something good which will benefit everyone.

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Benefits of CSR towards Society

CSR is the way to show the human face of your business. Businesses deal with humans so you can only connect with them through human language by showing some humanity. For most businesses, it makes sense to get involved in progression of the community solely, depending on CSR initiatives related to your product or service.

CSR initiatives can be the best way to contribute to the society and its people. Through local or national charitable contributions businesses can help the society. Businesses can get involved in the society and help it to progress by taking social initiatives on behalf of the company such as investing in education programs for the poor and street children and homeless care activities for homeless people or refugees. They can support a local charity making financial contributions in effective charitable projects. If you are a restaurant owner you may provide food to local homeless groups or to orphanages free of cost.

Businesses can pay attention to material recyclability, develop better product durability and functionality and use more renewable resources at lesser costs to keep the environment as clean as possible and contribute to the ecology of the country. 

When businesses decide to make positive contributions to the society they are actually benefitting the company in the process. The companies benefit through lower operating costs, increased sales and customer loyalty, greater productivity, gaining ability to attract and keep skilled employees, getting access to more capital through more willing investors etc.

CSR is the thoughtful and practical way to give back to the society. When businesses are walking extra miles to do good to the people, do good to the environment and society .  

CSR has strong and direct impact on business performances as well. According to, CSR RepTrak® studies, if businesses improve their CSR perception ;chances are higher that consumer recommendation will go up to 9% for the company.

Contributing to social value has become the first and foremost condition to creating a successful business. Companies need to establish themselves as socially responsible and good corporate citizens to add greater value to their business.  

Conclusion

Today almost all businesses are incorporating CSR initiatives in their business strategies to benefit the company, increase its sales and create a brand more appealing and friendly to the consumers by contributing to the society. 

Nestle can be a great example in this context. Nestle has a great and positive tagline which completely upholds the brand’s motto- “Good food. Good Life.” This is not a mere tagline just used for promoting the brand. It actually summarizes their CSR initiatives and shows their commitment to the betterment of public health.

Nestle has made 41 public commitments to enhance the quality of life and ensure a healthier future for all. These commitments contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The details of Nestlé’s progressive CSR initiatives are published in their Annual Review of the company almost every year.

Nestle has struck the right balance between sustainable growth and efficiency, and creating long term value for the shareholders and society on the whole. In 2016 Nestle made operating profit up to 16% which increased to 17.5% in the following years and now they are committed to expand the trading operating profit margin to 18.5% by 2020.

At present CSR holds no separate department at corporate houses and CSR professionals are housed in communications and PR departments which is an inappropriate practice. CSR experts suggest that it should be incorporated into every department of the company starting from supply chain, procurement, innovation, manufacturing, to HR so that company can reap a good harvest from the investments that it makes.