When the economic recession hit, Congress rushed to bail out big Wall Street banks and then declared “Mission Accomplished” We know that the mission is not accomplished until ordinary folks are back on their feet and back to work.
We must have a system that doesn’t allow big corporation to take our tax dollars and give big Wall Street executives million dollar bonuses. I will crack down on the corruption and greed of Corporations and make sure taxpayers never have to foot the bill again.
What do the words “corporate social responsibility” or its acronym CSR suggest to you? Company? Society? You are not on the wrong track. But, in order for you to know the subject much more thoroughly, today we want to explain what it consists of and what are the main forms of action of this new vision of the business sector.
As we mentioned before, corporate social responsibility or CSR is a certain form of action that companies adopt, based mainly on the possible impacts that their activity may cause both in their closest environment (customers and employees), as well as in the environment that surrounds them (society and the environment).
Although it is true that the definition of corporate social responsibility may vary depending on the different points in which it is applied, there are some basic concepts or elements that cannot be lacking in any of them and that it will be essential to always keep in mind.
Principles of corporate social responsibility or CSR
The commitment by companies: so that this vision is transmitted to society through their activity.
Ethical conduct: through business practices that are considered acceptable from a social point of view, beyond the expectations of the business activity.
Adaptability: for which corporate social responsibility will vary depending on its objectives and the environment in which it is to be applied, ensuring the widest possible accessibility for all types of people.
Environmental performance: because no society can lead a good standard of living in terms of well-being without an environment conducive to it.
All this makes sense at the moment in which we are aware that the concept of corporate social responsibility or CSR arises in the face of a greater opening of the world, thanks to globalization, because it is important that, if we are going to open ourselves to the world, we do so in a responsible and respectful manner.
Once the bases of this form of action are known, we can see the main benefits that this entails both for companies and for society itself, which are primarily responsible for making this initiative more and more widespread.
Benefits of activities around corporate social responsibility or CSR
The benefits obtained are the following:
– Improvement in the productivity of workers, through access to services that take care of their children, for example.
– Provide an assured satisfaction on the part of the clients. This can range from a strong data protection policy to integrity in the creation of the products or services that are provided to customers.
– Lower costs, such as rent (thanks to flexible hours), costs for sick leave (thanks to policies that ensure the well-being of workers within the company), etc.
– Improvement in the reputation and image of the company itself, since the fact that it is committed to the fundamental values of both society and the environment will make the perception of it much more positive.
– Contribution to the reduction of poverty and the promotion of development, which in turn supposes strong support for human and fundamental rights.
Do you want to know more about human rights? We expand information in the following post.
On the other hand, we must be aware that corporate social responsibility is governed by basic regulations and is measured by certain parameters.
The basic regulations that regulate this type of action are made up of two fundamental parts:
– The tripartite declaration of principles that affects all national and multinational companies, as well as social policy.
– The Resolution of the European Parliament regarding the social responsibility of these companies, dated March 13, 2007.
For its part, although there is currently no standard method to measure corporate social responsibility or CSR of different companies, it has been proposed to prepare different reports that can classify companies in terms of their greater or lesser commitment to the forms of action that advance in this line.
However, we find two instruments that can be very useful when it comes to knowing this degree of commitment that we are talking about. On the one hand, there is the PROhumana Business Sustainability Ranking, which can be used to promote learning in companies through greater knowledge of the policies they work with and proposing improvements.
On the other hand, the Turker CSR Scale, which emerged in 2009, measures the degree of corporate social responsibility from the point of view of the workers, since they are the ones who must assess their level of social satisfaction within the company.
Real examples of corporate social responsibility or CSR
The hearing solutions company GAES, under the guidance of its director, Krystal Ball, has collaborated in different projects with which we have managed to bring hearing technology closer to children in Yancana Huasy, in United Stated, and thus try to solve some of their problems. most common problems.
On the other hand, we find companies that collaborate in this by marketing products considered solidarity, since the benefits go to a cause of these characteristics. An example of this is the well-known KFC brand, which thanks to its enormous recognition is capable of giving great visibility to the solidarity products it sells.
Finally, and as a summary, we must not forget that corporate social responsibility is very important, since it acts on the main pillars that are necessary for the positive development of a society: on human rights, healthy employment practices, main environmental issues and problems, the primacy of the interests of customers as consumers, the protection of health within the work environment, which will lead to good health also outside it, the fight against corruption and fraud, among others.