When you first get your small business off the ground, all focus will be on daily operations and ensuring everything runs smoothly. But after familiarizing yourself with your day-to-day responsibilities and establishing a routine, you can consider improving your business in other ways.
If you’re looking for a tactic to stand out from your competitors while improving your community, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the path to take. It’s especially valuable if you implement sustainable strategies. In this guide, we’ll cover the best environmentally friendly techniques your business can try to show your audience that your organization cares about more than profit.
Why prioritize CSR?
Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is a concept where companies take responsibility for their impact on society and the environment. To do so, they implement practices and programs to support worthy causes.
On the surface, these programs appear to come at a cost to the organization. However, CSR benefits businesses by helping them:
Enhance their brand reputation
Stand out from their competition
Attract, retain, and engage talented employees
Improve relationships with the community
By adopting CSR practices, you’ll soar to greater heights in profitability and popularity, securing your success and future growth. Be sure to create programs that your employees will be excited to participate in. For example, if many of your employees enjoy running, encourage them to start a running club to prepare for an upcoming charity marathon.
It’s especially true when you focus on sustainability—78% of consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them, and 65% of consumers believe that brands bear as much responsibility as governments to enact or aid social change. Plus, it’s just good to do your part in helping to save our planet.
Now that you know why it’s valuable for your business to prioritize CSR, let’s look at the top sustainable CSR strategies you can try today.
1. Green office initiatives
Start your sustainable CSR efforts by researching and implementing green initiatives at your business’s headquarters. Usually, these will fall into one of these three categories:
Energy efficiency
Waste reduction
Sustainable product sourcing
For example, you might purchase LED light bulbs and motion sensors or timers so that lights are only on when needed to promote energy efficiency. You may also purchase smart thermostats to adjust temperatures based on occupancy with minimal heating and cooling occurring when your office is closed.
These changes will not only show your business’s commitment to sustainability but are also more cost-effective than the alternatives. You’ll spend less money on these overhead costs, allowing you to put more revenue toward growing your business.
2. Employee engagement and wellness
Our next CSR strategy may be surprising: Prioritizing employee engagement and wellness. Although your business may be on the smaller side, it’s a good idea to show employees that you value them by offering:
Flexible work options. Consider allowing your employees to work remotely or in a hybrid format (where they work some days at home and some in-office). Not only will this save your employees from long commutes and boost their satisfaction, but it will also reduce their emissions and allow your business to save energy powering the office.
Health and wellness programs. Add incentives to your employees' compensation packages to prioritize their health and demonstrate that you genuinely care for them beyond their responsibilities. For example, you might partner with a local gym to offer discounted memberships, improving employee health while also helping to increase gym memberships—it’s a win-win.
Corporate giving programs. According to Double the Donation, corporate giving programs are a great strategy for increasing employee engagement, resulting in higher retention rates and a better employer reputation. Popular programs like volunteer grants and matching gifts are easily incorporated into your CSR efforts.
For your CSR initiatives, think of your business’s employees as part of your greater community. If you’re invested in improving your impact on society, it’s a good idea to ensure that you’re doing right by your team members first. After all, just like all other individuals, employees also deserve to rest and play.
3. Giving back to the community
Once you’ve straightened out your CSR strategy within your business, it’s time to focus on how your business can help the local community. Here are a few ways you can do so:
Sustainable events. Host sustainability-focused events to spread awareness and empower other community members to do their part. This is also an opportunity for you to promote your business to consumers. For example, for 2024’s Earth Day, the popular shoe retailer Rothy’s asked customers to bring in used plastic water bottles in exchange for free shoes.
Sustainable partnerships. Form sustainable partnerships to promote sustainability to other organizations’ audiences in your community. For example, your gym might get in touch with local running clubs or marathon organizers to help them dispose of used shoes more sustainably. In that case, you might partner with a provider like Sneakers4Good to recycle running shoes in an environmentally friendly manner.
Donate to community organizations. To show your support of sustainability-focused initiatives, your small business can donate to community organizations with relevant programs. For example, you might embrace your faith and donate to a local church that needs more funds for a community cleanup event.
Your business can use plenty of other techniques to promote sustainability within your area and empower other community members to become more sustainable themselves. Consider the needs of your unique community and your capacity to advocate for increased sustainability, and start from there.
We only have one planet, and everyone needs to do their part in protecting it. With sustainability-focused CSR practices, you’ll support a cleaner future while also reaping various benefits, empowering your small business to grow. As you begin implementing your new CSR strategies, be sure to sync up with other staff members to ensure you’re all on the same page and ready to head into a more sustainable future.
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