CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility. What does Social Responsibility mean? Understanding social responsibility has, for far too long, been subjective. Social responsibility has been a guiding light for some organisations, a tick the box exercise for others, and an “unnecessary expense” for far too many.
Now, as many nations emerge from the confines of COVID-19, many more nations remain under strict restrictions, and the Black Lives Matter movement involves leaders from non-black affiliations speaking up and becoming active, a proportionate amount of organisations are listening and learning more about how to be present in the social aspects of civil society. Now, eyes have been opened and a greater appreciation of social issues appears to be coming to the forefront. However, if an organisation were not responsible before, if they did not understand social issues and challenges, if their culture was not strong enough to do the right thing prior to recent events then how can we be certain that their offering is authentic? We can’t… But, what we can do is welcome them with open arms and assist them with transforming or formulating a corporate culture that resonates and prospers from Social Responsibility.
Many organisations are now asking themselves if they have what it takes to demonstrate an authentic offering? They are wondering if they have the right corporate culture in place to make the necessary changes needed to stay afloat in this fast-changing, long overdue shift in business philosophy? They now realise that CSR is not about ticking a box… it’s about a movement that benefits those less fortunate… It’s about giving back!
So how can companies and organisations start to give back? How can corporates build a sustainable, authentic culture that resonates with their market, their employees, their talent pool, and most importantly the communities from which they operate? There are countless ways… and they all start by listening to voice of the community! Community is where CSR starts and where CSR ends. It’s a cyclical process of listening, understanding, actioning, implementing, evaluating, and back to listening again!
To assist with actioning, implementing, and evaluating fortunately, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exist to give organisations a focal point for their CSR activities. The SDGs enable companies to align themselves with goals and targets that line up with the voice of the community they are working in or serving or want to align their corporate culture too. Thus, the SDGs provide a new guiding light – beyond CSR but dependent on the goodwill and the financial contributions of companies that recognise and appreciate their good fortune and their social responsibility to give back!
The SDGs are also a means to establishing the corporate culture that is required – that will prosper – under this new shift in business philosophy.
To learn more about how your organisation can listen to the voice of the community and implement the SDGs into their corporate culture please email Dr. Marcus Curcija at mc@insightintoimpact.com.au or phone 07 3351 5440 today!
