Corporate Social Responsibility: Are you Being Responsible Enough?

Accenture’s 2018 report titled the “Accenture Technology Vision 2018” had concluded that ‘’a critical component to the way technology companies do business moving forward is centered around social responsibility and building trust with the general population.”

Companies big and small have started to take more notice to CSR activities and are proactively refocusing efforts on building authentic relationships with their vendors and customers using this route.

Top Reasons Every Company Needs a Strong CSR Culture

• Consumers now pay more close attention to the societal impact of a brand product or service
• The need for authenticity by consumers demands that brands remain socially responsible and conscious
• Employees, especially millenials and the Gen Z workforce are more likely to be influenced by a company based on their CSR initiatives

Why should More Tech Companies Take Up CSR activities?

In the past, it was more common for multi-billion dollar companies with a global presence to implement a range of CSR activities.

But with the tech and startup boom, workplace trends have shifted and employee mindsets have changed. The evolving behaviors of today’s global workforce teamed with the need by individuals to partake in green living activities have led to a growing demand for better CSR initiatives.

While workplace dynamics change, the importance of corporate social responsibility remains the same. While planning and executing a CSR initiative, there is no one-size-fits-all solution

CSR Initiatives Cater to the Millenials and Gen Z Workforce

The millennial and Gen Z workforce have already been known to be two of the most socially conscious generations, with overlaps into how both demand a healthier work life balance while also disregarding potential employers based on their employee engagement or overall human resource and people management process.

Millennials and Generation Z believe companies should be invested in social causes given the implications of recent global issues.

Given the above, showcasing efforts is important to target millennials because these efforts will sway the choices millennials make as consumers and potential employees.

Millennials/Gen Z are more likely to actively participate in such initiatives, doing volunteer work or making donations towards a company’s charitable efforts gives them that sense of giving back.

A few note-worthy  CSR activities undertaken by leading tech companies

IBM

IBM’s citizenship initiatives supports a range of social efforts that allow IBM’s team to apply their core tech and talent to common social issues like disaster relief, diversity and many others.

Cisco

Similarly, Cisco’s range of CSR initiatives ensures that the company’s core capabilities and resources can come to the aid of several social causes to improve education, healthcare, contribute to economic development, etc.

Alphabet (Google)

One of Google’s main CSR initiatives too revolve around using their capabilities to drive societal impact from using data to uncover racial injustice, translating books through an open-sourced platform to improving education…

Apple

The world’s favorite smartphone company does take its Corporate Social Responsibility seriously, their dedicated efforts are planned to help ensure that they minimize the extent of harm and damage they cause the environment, their blog is regular updated sharing news on the various ways they contribute to asking less of the planet. Their easily accessible progress report gives insight into how far their initiatives have come.

Did you know? Apple packaging is now manufactured with 99 percent recycled products!

LinkedIn’s LinkedIn for Good

LinkedIn doesn’t just make for one of the world’s favorite professional networking sites. The brand’s LinkedIn for Good initiative works with the aim of connecting every community to better economic opportunities.

The opening statement on LinkedIn’s LinkedIn for Good Initiative explains it all:

We believe in a future where all job seekers have the resources and networks needed to build meaningful careers

Dell

Dell’s Legacy of Good Plan is their commitment to environmental sustainability. They help address a range of community challenges, from global supply chain responsibility to hiring diversity, and, ultimately, a promise to give back more than they take.

Here’s where you can find out what their social impact plan for 2030 contains

Salesforce

Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce summed up corporate social responsibility quite clearly when he once said “The business of business Is improving the state of the World.”

The company has an integrated approach called the 1-1-1 model. One percent of the company’s equity is set aside as grants in communities where employees live and work, one percent of the company’s profit is donated to non-profit organizations, and one percent of each employee’s time is donated to various other community initiatives. This simple breakdown is easy to understand, implement and execute successfully.

That’s Not All!

More recently, leading tech companies like Microsoft, decided to work on plans to cut its carbon emissions by more than half by 2030 across its supply chain, a leading cloud storage service, pCloud joined the recent Australian Bushfire Relief Efforts , B2C brands like Hilton Grand Vacations eliminated the use of single-use plastic straws from its 34 branded properties.

The more socially responsible a company is, the more support it gets from the community and consumers alike. Besides which, a strong CSR initiative also helps gives companies the competitive edge when it comes to talent acquisition and recruiting.

Bonus: A few initiatives that matter to most people today, to help you frame your next CSR initiative:

• Reducing carbon footprint
• Contributing to improving local and other legal or regulatory policies
• Participating in fair business practices and trade
• Charitable giving
• Volunteering
• Environment-friendly corporate practices
• Environmentally conscious investments and production activities

We’d love to know what some of your preferred choice of CSR activities are!