With all the problems that we face in the world today, such as climate change and homelessness, how can corporations give back to the people?
It’s no secret that businesses can make a lot of money. But giving back is beginning to be, and should be, a part of every businesses strategy. Not only can it improve the company’s reputation and likeability amongst consumers, it can help improve the world we live in.
Here are the four main types of corporate social responsibility;
Environmental
We all know that climate change is a problem, if you don’t you’re probably Donald Trump, and who wants to be that guy? One of the ways companies can take on an environmental stance is by reducing their carbon footprint. This can be easily done by means such as; making sure everything is switched off in the office before they leave for the night. Switching to renewable energy sources can also be extremely beneficial to the environment.
Fiscal
After the economic crash in 2008, businesses are now taking it upon themselves to ensure correct and ethical financial records are kept. All bookkeeping must be transparent as a preventative measure of the catastrophe that tore through the country and was felt by almost everyone.
Ethical Labour/Human Rights
The treatment of employees is more scrutinised today than ever before. Globalisation has put corporations in an extremely precarious position regarding human rights when hiring labour or having parts shipped from overseas.
Compared to other parts of the world, here in the UK, we have it pretty good when it comes to human rights. But even companies who make all their products in the UK may still have to have parts shipped from overseas. These can be from countries where human rights are lacking, child labour is still around and safely measures are well below sub-par. This continues to cause controversy amongst many big brands who use labour from these places and claim to be unaware of these problems when it gets brought to the public’s attention.
Ethical labour involves ensuring companies are able to track where their products are coming from if they are made overseas, and to ensure the adults making them are getting paid fairly, and have expectable working conditions.
Philanthropic Works
Companies are becoming increasingly more interested in philanthropic work, there are many unique ways that businesses can give back to the community. Some businesses are even set up and run purely based on corporate social responsibility. Take Social Bite, for example, they are a company that works for the people. When you go into Social Bite you get the option to buy a sandwich for a homeless person, along with your own. One in four of their employees are formally homeless, and 100% of their profits go to charity. They have even organised “Sleep in the Park” which is an event that will be hosted in George Square this year to raise awareness and money for the homelessness issue in Glasgow. Business can take a philanthropic approach to their running by sampling donating to charity – because does that CEO really need ANOTHER bonus?
