Is your organisation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy to simply donate a few hundred dollars to a local sporting club and add their logo to your website? Are you wanting to do more but limited by time and budgetary constraints? Is there a more effective and fulfilling method to promote CSR and cultivate organisational value from these efforts?
Leaders in their respective industries, Google, Xerox and Target all have very different CSR strategies that don’t necessarily require billion-dollar budgets to implement. These three strategies can all be executed on a smaller scale and still provide you with similar rewards.
In addition to monetary donations, another great CSR strategy is to “Go Green”. This is a strategy adopted by Google and millions of other businesses around the world. Popular and easily replicable, going green can be as simple as recycling, swapping office lighting to energy saving globes and consolidating power where possible through the efficient use of resources. These efforts not only impact the environment but are having a significant impact on Google’s bottom line. Power requirements in Google’s data centres has dropped by an average of 50% which has led to savings that can be redirected to other areas of the business or be utilized as a donation to charity to continue the organisation’s CSR efforts. At SULLIVAN Consulting, we have made a commitment to functioning as a paperless office; it is a simple change but saves both time and money daily.
Learn more about Google’s energy saving CSR efforts.
Target
Target’s CSR philosophy is “supporting communities through giving” which sees them donate 5% of their annual profit to local communities, which translates to millions of dollars being donated each week. Initiatives led by Target donations include education grants, public safety grants and food donations. The resulting benefits to Target have been multifaceted from employee pride and satisfaction through to external suppliers being motivated to support an organisation such as Target and in-turn supporting local communities.
Whilst your organisation may not have millions of dollars to donate each week, it is important to remember that any amount donated is a valuable contribution for charities and community groups.
Learn more about Target’s workplace giving strategy.
Xerox
Printing giant, Xerox, fosters CSR efforts through employee volunteering. Since 1974, more than 500 000 Xerox employees have donated their time and talent to community initiatives. In addition to this, Xerox staff conduct regular science lessons in local schools. The benefits experienced by Xerox include community recognition and employee satisfaction. Interestingly, Xerox employees report that they feel a commitment to Xerox because of employer support for causes about which they are passionate.
A low-risk way to create this program for your organisation is to incorporate billable hours for volunteer service into your next budget. Enjoy the shared benefit of community service and increased employee morale and reap the rewards from increased productivity.
Discover more about Xerox’s commitment to voluntary service.
At SULLIVAN Consulting we are passionate about using our skills and expertise in a way that can directly help others, such as not-for-profit organisations. Our director Andrew Sullivan has always had a strong commitment to assisting these organisations and since forming SULLIVAN Consulting, has made this a strong focus of our business. In 2017, SULLIVAN Consulting has undertaken work for various not-for-profit organisations, offering significantly reduced fees and additional services and support.
SULLIVAN Consulting CSR initiatives:
