The world is a thriving engine, one that no longer functions as very separate compartments that can be isolated and leveraged off each other, but one that is becoming closer and closer to a large and codependent engine. A world where regions rely on each other, and not just in the unilateral approach we became used to in the 20th century. Today, more than ever, we are a global economy. All of us, as citizens of the world, must do our diligence to preserve the world for the future generations. Included amongst us are the businesses and industry leaders that are considered the core of our global economy; from the mid-sized firm to the global giant, businesses are a large part of our thriving engine. It is only natural that they act as leaders in creating a balanced social ecosystem around the world that they function with. Hence the rise of Social Responsibility, a banal term that is so open ended it could be used by companies to cover virtually anything they work on.

Now the question is why social responsibility? Quite simply put it is the oil to keep our engine thriving. Think of money as the flow of all forms of energy through the system, human capital/technology as the fuel and socially responsible programs as the oil necessary to maintain a healthy system. Without a proper balance we will not have the most efficiently functioning machine. This seems quite obvious considering the analogy, but why then has it taken us centuries to start implementing social responsibility? The answer could be greed, bottom line, short-sightedness or any other negative term, but I think that the solution isn’t as straightforward and easy to implement. Not only this, but it is difficult to see what the direct benefit will be for companies using their assets in a way that doesn’t have a clear quantifiable return; furthermore, try convincing the shareholders to get on board.

So how can we solve this problem? How can we keep our global economy healthy? Industry standardization has always been a good short term solution in the past. Governments and governing organizations set the bar for industry through regulation and incentivization, but this is an inorganic approach and may not be an effective long term solution. What about shared practices, shared knowledge and further education into the benefits of using your company’s assets to maintain our global economy. The truth is, there is not one answer to the problem, just as there is not one clear benefit from the solution; positive media, employee satisfaction and partnership building are just a few. Companies are experimenting on solutions to implementing corporate social responsibility right now and documentation of what works is a step in the right direction to achieving a proper knowledge base for anyone else venturing towards social responsibility.

Through the documentation and study of what is being implemented by social enterprises and socially responsible programs, we can determine effective approaches to using capital to get the best social return on investment while generating sustainable profits. We shouldn’t blindly stab in the dark for a solution to the problem, but use failures and successes to increase the chances of success in the future. The dart board approach to solving poverty, hunger and education hasn’t been working for centuries, it’s time to switch the approach and use methodology based, lean, dynamic programs to build successful opportunities around the world and keep our global economy functioning. Corporations investing in social enterprises would be the most fundamentally simple way to build a network of give and take that is balanced and self sustaining. Furthering that, would be to build socially responsible programs into a company and ingrain it into your corporate culture.

It is a promising future where the world will truly work together to make everyone enjoy a better life.