Imagine you’re shopping for body cream at a supermarket, and you come across two products with the same ingredients and price.
Let’s call them Product A and Product B.
Product A has raised awareness of its latest sustainability campaign, while Product B has made no such claims.
Which product will you buy?
Probably Product A.
The work that Product A is doing is called Corporate Social Responsibility.
Examples of Corporate Social Responsibility in Action
Taking an ethical stance as a company can manifest in several ways. A food bank donation may have a significant influence on the community, no matter how small the company is.
Issues like diversity, equality, social justice, and climate change are increasingly being included in the business strategy and brand identities of companies, in an effort to make a positive impact on their community.
Here are the most common examples of CSR:
- Lowering one's overall carbon footprint
- Improving labor policies
- Engaging in activities related to fair trade
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion are all very important.
- Donations made to causes all throughout the world
- Volunteer work in the community and online.
- Policies adopted by businesses that are beneficial to the environment
- Investments that are both socially and ecologically responsible
10 Examples Of Companies With Good CSR Communication
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is when companies bring about positive changes to the consumers. These organizations not only add to their bottom line but also build consumer trust.
When making a purchase, consumers would like to feel as though they are contributing to the greater good of society or the environment.
The data doesn’t lie either. 92% of customers would rather purchase a product that helps a good cause than one that doesn't, and 90% of consumers are more inclined to trust and remain loyal to socially responsible businesses
The more a business invests in its community and its customers, the more positive response it will receive from all sides.
To get you inspired to launch your own CSR initiatives, have a look at some of the best strategies put together by some of the bigger players out there.
1. Ben & Jerry’s
The social justice activism of Ben & Jerry's is about as sweet as their ice creams. For example, it makes significant investments in cultivating connections with Black-owned and refugee-hiring suppliers.
From its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day, the company has consistently maintained its brand identity while advocating for a wide range of issues, from the right to vote to climate justice to LGBTQ rights.
Whether it's their "purpose pints," a line of plant-based ice creams developed in conjunction with politically engaged personalities, or their strong remarks on dismantling white supremacy, people believe in their work.
Ben & Jerry's Foundation thinks that people who are directly impacted by a crisis are the ideal people to work with. Small, non-profit grassroots organizations across the United States can apply for grants of up to $30,000 for general operating support for one year under the National Grassroots Organizing Program of Ben & Jerry’s. The funding is for combating the core causes of social and environmental inequality.
2. Microsoft
With its computers and software, Microsoft revolutionized how people work, learn, and play. However, their goals extend beyond the screen.
In 1983, when the company was still in its infancy, founder Bill Gates started a program donating $17,000 to charity from company profits. According to their website, Microsoft's giving program has contributed not only cash but also time (workers in the United States donated more than 590,000 hours for organizations in 2021 alone).
Microsoft Philanthropies collaborates with other private, public, and nonprofit organizations to create "a future where every person has the skills, knowledge, and opportunity to achieve more." Programs include distributing computers to underprivileged students, funding local charities, and collaborating with international groups.
This video is a good corporate social responsibility example. It shows the journey of Mary, who benefited from Microsoft’s Global Give Back Circle program and became the first African student president at the American University of Dubai.
This video campaign is a successful corporate social responsibility example because it tells the story of a real woman who is giving back to her community after benefiting from Microsoft’s Giving program.
3. LEGO
LEGO group is a good example of how to do corporate social responsibility right.
The LEGO Group stated in September 2020 that they would spend $400 million over three years to back up their corporate social responsibility and environmental initiatives. To that end, the company struck a deal to establish its first-ever carbon-neutral facility in Vietnam to achieve carbon neutrality.
The video is an inspiring example of CSR as it motivates people to become more sustainable, and the video also gives us specific numbers and data to support their claims of producing eco-friendly products.
According to the architects' plans, all of the building's electricity would come from solar panels on the roof and a neighboring solar farm. All packaging will be sustainable by the end of 2025 when the corporation plans to phase out single-use plastic boxes.
The Sustainable Materials Programme will move further, with an emphasis on increasing the usage of bio-bricks. Finding durable, high-quality, eco-friendly materials needs intensive research into new, more sustainable polymers from renewable and recycled sources and collaboration with industry professionals.
Beginning in 2021, the company will work with the Forest Stewardship Council to test out paper bags in boxes. This is one of the many CSR strategies that LEGO employs in its company.
4. Marc Jacobs x SATO Project
The international fashion house Marc Jacobs has joined The SATO Project to help relocate dogs left behind in Peru after Hurricane Maria.
These dogs are rescued and adopted into loving families so that the rest of their lives are free of suffering. The mission of the SATO Project is to provide a safe haven for abandoned and mistreated dogs in Puerto Rico. They have saved and rehabilitated over 1,400 dogs and are continuing their efforts on the island to bring about systemic change via education and collaboration.
Their corporate social responsibility film highlighting this is a brief piece of work that relies on images, sounds, and music rather than narration.
The video features a cute dog named Kevin and documents his journey home. This is a great example of companies with good CSR because the film is both understated and elegant.
5. Pfizer
When a disaster hits, emergency medical help is the difference between life and death. Pfizer has a strategy that involves not only donating its medical products but also funding and access to solutions to help in these situations.
Pfizer's Global Medical Grants program contributed $5 million to enhance the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and management of COVID-19. Additionally, Pfizer provided funding to clinics, medical centers, and hospitals to improve the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew and the refugee crisis that has gripped Europe and the Middle East, many nations, such as Haiti, have been awarded financial assistance. This funding is made available in conjunction with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help the greatest number of individuals.
In the Pfizer Foundation’s Global Health Innovation Grants (GHIG) CSR video, Pfizer celebrates the social entrepreneurs and local innovators who revolutionized healthcare services in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The video campaign is especially significant in the wake of the global pandemic.
6. Google
Google isn't just the most popular search engine but also one of the companies with good CSR.
Reaching its goal of using only renewable energy sources in 2017, it is currently the world's largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. Goodwill Industries International, Pratham Books, and the Equal Justice Initiative are a few of Google's philanthropic support recipients.
A company's commitment to social responsibility is essential if we are to build a better world. By planning and constructing its facilities from the bottom up, it could implement sustainable practices and use 50% less energy than typical data centers.
Google's carbon-free future film depicts early humanity using the earth's resources. We slowly damaged the earth, but now we have renewable energy to save it. This tells the story of climate change and the negative impacts of industrialization with a simple video.
Google has been a major player in becoming a company with good corporate social responsibility examples by drastically reducing expenditures, distinguishing itself from less CSR-savvy corporations, and being upfront about its accomplishments.
7. IKEA Foundation
IKEA has a mission statement that encourages and supports one billion people to take action to better their lives and satisfy the needs of a healthy world. An organization like IKEA, which has 474 global retail outlets, must strike a delicate balance between meeting demand and satisfying customers' preferences.
For its vision for 2030, the company identifies three key topics. To make progress, they are concentrating on developing more environmentally friendly ways of life, creating a more circular environment to lessen the impact on the earth, and developing a workforce that emphasizes providing employees with fair and equitable treatment. These proposed changes and improvements will have far-reaching effects.
Using sustainable cotton, wool, and wood is the first step in the company's commitment to social responsibility. By 2030, they hope to have used exclusively plastics made from renewable sources like plants.
The highlights of the F21 report tell of their achievements in a video format so that it is easily digestible by the audience.
The IKEA Foundation helps people escape poverty by giving them the tools they need to start businesses. They provide financial support for initiatives dealing with climate change, alternative energy, agricultural livelihoods, job creation, entrepreneurship, and disaster relief. They collaborate with NGOs and other partners to carry out these initiatives.
8. Stripe
One of the most profitable private technology businesses in the world, Stripe, an online payments infrastructure company, released Stripe Climate in 2020. This opens the door for any online company to back carbon-removal methods.
Companies using Stripe can allocate a percentage of their profits toward carbon mitigation, and there are no transaction costs associated with using Stripe Climate. This initiative aims to make Stripe the guaranteed first buyer of novel carbon dioxide removal technology, which will spur more investment and ultimately drive down the price. This will encourage more businesses and governments to adopt these solutions.
Stripe's Head of Climate explains how the company plans to invest in the most promising early-stage technologies and develop the largest carbon removal coalition in the world.
Stripe's early backing has already started turning the sustainability wheels. One of its first purchases, Climeworks has begun building a new factory with 80 times its current capacity. Charm Industrial, which gathers CO2 from the air and submerges it deep below, delivered Stripe's first purchase ahead of schedule.
9. Levi Strauss
Are your jeans causing the water crisis? This isn't a question we have when shopping for clothes, but it's on Levi Strauss’s mind. They pledged to cut back on the water used in manufacturing significantly.
Levi Strauss has embraced the WaterLess® strategy, which calls for all of its major suppliers to achieve the status of "distinguished WaterLess® facilities" by the year 2025.
On their website, Levi Strauss claims to have invited 20 of its rivals to their Eureka Innovation Lab, where it detailed all of its water-saving techniques. Levi Strauss made the source code for their WaterLess® technology to foster growth and innovation freely available to the public. Levi Strauss believes that by working together, the fashion industry can reduce its water consumption and positively affect the world.
Levi’s WaterLess video will ensure that people don’t skip the ad on YouTube when it comes on before a video.
In 2009, the company released a product tag to track a garment’s life. Levi Strauss partners with Blue Jeans Go Green, a division of Cotton Inc., to collect and resell gently worn or antique apparel.
The company has switched to using only paper made from retail waste. Additionally, the company is testing recycled denim coat hangers in a few different locations, and all new mannequins are manufactured from 100% recycled base material.
10. Patagonia
Patagonia is well-known in the outdoor community. Since its inception, Patagonia has always backed local, community-based environmental initiatives. Recent accounting revealed that customers had contributed $20,000,000 to Patagonia Action Works.
Patagonia donates one percent of its annual revenue to international environmental groups. It also has a fantastic blog highlighting some of the most effective environmental projects in some of the most beautiful areas on Earth.
Their corporate social responsibility encompasses a wide range of issues, from grassroots environmental movements to ethical production and fair trade.
Patagonia is committed to ethical labor practices and uses only environmentally friendly and recyclable materials in all of its products. As part of the Buy Less, Demand More initiative, the company now accepts pre-owned garments for sale alongside new ones on its website.
The video focuses on the endurance of the clothes and asks the viewers to buy less but demand more recycling, fair trade, and organic products.
By adding a 'buy used' option to its website in the United States, the corporation encourages customers to purchase a pre-owned rather than a brand-new one. Patagonia's Buy Less, Demand More campaign further illustrates the company's dedication to promoting sustainability in the fashion sector.
Bring About Change with Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
These examples highlight the range and depth of CSR activities done by companies, which are being adopted by an increasing number of businesses as they realize the value of CSR to their worldwide reputation.
The establishment of a foundation, the donation of goods to those in need, and the collection of funds for charitable organizations are all examples of methods in which a company may choose to place emphasis on its social effect. It does wonders for your company's image in the public eye, which in turn helps your business attract both customers and top employees.
Corporate social responsibility examples shared above will inspire businesses around the world to make social progress and focus beyond profits and the bottom line of a company.
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Melissa Francois
Head of Global Content & Comms
With over 10 years of experience in the wild world of SaaS, Melissa cares about building great brand stories and driving community engagement through engaging content. Off the clock, she enjoys long walks and a pint in a cozy country pub.