Gillian Willis, Small Business Dev Manager, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
The Collins Dictionary defines Corporate Social Responsibility as ‘the incorporation of ethical elements, such as the public interest and environmental concern, into the planning of business strategy’ . (Collins Dictionary, 2020)
How companies engage in corporate social responsibility continues to evolve and become of increasing strategic importance to their organisations. So, as corporate social responsibility continues to expand what are the main areas that companies can get involved in?
Business in the community Ireland defines Corporate Social Responsibility under 5 main pillars. (BITC, 2020)
- Community
- Workplace
- Marketplace
- Governance and communications
- Environment
1. Community
Community relates to how a company can support their local community and people. It not only helps the local community through targeted initiatives, such as local sponsorship and sustainability programmes, but it also leads to benefits within a company. It gives employees the opportunities to get to meet the locals, form new relationships and volunteer as well as increasing brand reputation and awareness.
2. Workplace
The Workplace pillar relates to how a company motivates and engages their employees. Work-life balance is an important element of this and sees companies identifying ways in which they continue to advance this for their employees. Other areas of importance within this pillar include diversity, inclusion and volunteering with an overall target of ensuring employees are motivated and enjoying their work environment.
3. Marketplace
The Marketplace pillar looks at how a company manages its external relationships with customers and suppliers. It shows that a company recognises doing business in an ethical and sustainable way. This ensures that a company respects all of its customers, treats them as valuable partners and has consistent standards.
4. Governance and Communications
The Governance and Communications pillar relates to how businesses manage and support their responsible and sustainable business practices within their organisation. This ensures a company understands how CSR adds value to their organisation, communicates it in a positive way and highlights how it fits in with their strategy.
5. Environment
Environment relates to a company’s impact on the environment. Companies identify how their business activities impact the environment and look to implement more efficient ways of doing business without comprising economic performance. Many companies look at how they can reduce their greenhouse gases, waste and overall company emissions.
Bord Bia’s Consumer Lifestyle Trends highlights the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility within the Responsible Living trend. ‘’ Consumers continue to find their own community solutions and initiatives, but proactive businesses are becoming part of the local, social fabric too’’. (Bord Bia, 2018)
References
- (Collins Dictionary. (2020). Corporate Social Responsibility. [online] Available at: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/corporate-social-responsibility [Accessed 11 Feb. 2020].)
- BITC. (2020). Business in the Community Ireland. [online] Available at: https://www.bitc.ie/about-us/what-is-csr/ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2020].
- Consumer Lifestyle Trends. (2018). Responsible Living. [online] Available at: https://www.bordbiaconsumerlifestyletrends.ie/trends/responsible-living/ [Accessed 11 Feb. 2020].