Corporate. Social. Responsibility. Name three buzzwords in the business space more polarising. We dare you.
The Identity Marketing team (the IDM team, for those not in the know) recently completed Walk for Epilepsy. Over a 25 day period, our team racked up the dollars and kilometres to help support those who suffer from epilepsy. Participating in fundraising events is something our team gets involved with every one to two years – and for one simple reason: we’re in a position to give back.
Making sure we participate in charity events is a big part of our corporate social responsibility plan. Our team takes pride in the fact they can give back to the community, and management takes pride in knowing this helps the team feel purpose-driven. But when it comes to CSR, we’ve found plans are not always put in place for the right reasons. Often, it’s used as part of a marketing strategy.
Renowned Author and Public Speaker Simon Sinek says the easiest way to tell if a business is using CSR as a marketing tool is check out their website.
“They’ll brag about how much revenue they’ve made this year, how many offices they have around the world… is the one statistic that doesn’t get updated every year, and it’s at the end of the list. As if to be like, selfish, selfish, selfish, selfish – see we’re not so bad!”
And he’s right. It’s not to say that you shouldn’t advertise if (and when) you give back, because consumers identify with a good cause. They’ll respect you for it. But when your strategy is an attempt to offset a bunch of other selfish (usually revenue fueled) business decisions, people will see right through that. And right through you. It’s why in a lot of circles CSR is butt of the joke. A term with no meaning.
However, we’ve been fortunate enough to work with countless businesses who get CSR right. Who have ultimately helped shape the way we go about it in our business. But it’s still a continuous learning process. So how do you actually do CSR in a sustainable, ethical way that aligns with your business and makes it a better place to work? Here’s what we’ve learnt:
Do it from the inside out
People often forget CSR isn’t just about working out which charities to throw your money at. It’s about building a responsible working culture. So if you’re new to implementing a CSR plan, start by looking within. What’s staff morale like? What’s the recycling system like? Do you know where your green bin is (you probably don’t). Get your house in order before you walk out the front door.
At IDM (yeah, you’re in the know now) we’ve spent a considerable amount of time getting everything in order under our own roof before even considering things like fundraising or pro bono work. Our focus was on enriching the lives of our employees. This has led to flexible working conditions, a dog-friendly studio, and a solid waste management program.
Do it without showboating
Okay, yes yes we understand we just listed all the great internal aspects of working in our studio, but it’s only as an example – we promise. You won’t find a huge read on the perks of working at IDM on our website. The systems are in place because they’re the right systems to have, not because they look great for recruitment. If you’re doing CSR for the right reasons, you don’t need to mention it at every chance you get because it’s a fundamental part of your business. You don’t tell everyone you meet about how great you are at breathing. You just do it.
Of course, there are instances where you will want to share what you’re doing. To show that you’re behind a great cause. Maybe you post about your office raising money for Movember to encourage donations (we certainly have), or you want to let your audience know you’re a certified B Corporation on Earth Day. Just make sure it makes contextual sense.
Do it because you care
We’ve spoken before about finding your businesses purpose and how CSR can fit into that. But at the end of the day, doing any CSR work is pointless if you don’t actually care. Part of a good plan is working out what makes sense for your business, where your interests lie, and how to combine the two.
We’re going to not deviate to an example of ourselves for once (shocking). Instead, let’s look at Lego. Since 2020, they’ve been undergoing a five year transition to a more sustainable manufacturing process. And this makes sense for them. They’re one the biggest toy manufacturers on the planet, using primarily plastics, so it only stands to reason that they should want to find a more sustainable approach to an ever-growing empire.
There’s no one size fits all approach to implementing CSR. But if you take just one piece of advice with you, let it be this: just do it with integrity.