Smart Corporate Social Responsibility

Hint: it’s not the neo-hippie crap

Image via ngopulse.org

Too often when I see companies boasting their CSR efforts or talk to people in business about CSR, I see the same thought error over and over again. Time to talk about what CSR is about when you want to do it right.

How you can make the world a better place and make money at the same time. And how not every organization on the planet has to become an NGO, tomorrow.

Not the hippie crap

Being responsible in business or as an organization isn’t about what kind of car you drive. Or how much you donate to charity. Or do you or do you not recycle your waste. It’s not about all the neo-hippie tree-hugging la-di-da and can’t we help all the sad puppies and every poor person on the planet.

Although treating your employees, partners and clients fairly, having the cleanest commuting solutions, being climate neutral in your operations and recycling what you can is a good starting point. This is what I call ‘CSR hygiene’.

And no, I’m also not saying you shouldn’t donate to or get hands-on involved with a charity if that makes sense for your business’ identity. By all means, do it and stick to it.

Why CSR is not black and white

A few weeks ago, Ruud Veltenaar, professor at MIT and trendwatcher, gave a presentation at Motion10 that I assisted. It was a thundering story about CSR and why a commercial organization like Motion10 should immediately throw the idea of making a profit out the window - and I exaggerate a bit, but so did Ruud, himself.

But this is exactly what I see happening so often. The same basic objections to smart, strategic CSR plans or ideas that you sometimes hear implicitly, and sometimes explicitly: CSR activities have to be pure, good and charitable, otherwise they are simply not real.

‘Why do we need to do CSR starting from the idea that we can benefit from it ourselves? Why should our CSR activities be linked to a profit-motive?‘

And this, assuming that you’re in fact already convinced that CSR activities can also contribute to your profit.

Why? Because your business, your salary, and our entire economy are still running on adding value in exchange for value. Because you are more likely to make your business more responsible for people and the environment if you can link your CSR initiatives to a healthy financial result. And because CSR activities that are not logically linked to your core business are the first to be truncated at the next austerity round.

Don’t just take this from me. Researchers affiliated with the Boston Consultancy Group explain much better why you need to connect your CSR activities to your core business to make the most positive impact in the long term.

It’s about adding your bonus value

Corporate social responsibility at its core is about what your company at its core is about. What do you care about? What is your basic expertise? What responsibility do you feel you have to the world to begin with? Hint: your mission statement says a lot.

If you’re in the people business, it’s what you can do for people. If you’re in financial services, it’s about how you tackle finance. If you’re in the buses business it’s adding whatever value you add with buses and for whom, but extra and more beautifully in whatever way you can.

Add your bonus value, and get closer to achieving your mission — sometimes even without being paid to do it.

Being real and why it matters

The last thing you want to do in a hyper-connected, uber transparent digital word is to fake shit and get caught. You simply have to stand by whatever you do and whatever you say. Therefore, even thinking of using CSR activities or communications about it as a greenwashing shampoo over your less than perfectly integer core business is a very, very bad idea.

Start from the heart. If the heart is sick, fix that first.

You yourself, your employees, your partners and customers will believe what you do from the heart. And they will trust, love, and advocate your company for it. Being a smart and realistic hippie means more growth and more cashflow in the end. And it’s been proven. Again and again.

Want to start being more ecologically and socially responsible in your business? Be honest with yourself. Regardless if you’re Big Corporate or Small Startup.

Enjoy corporate social responsibility responsibly.