TOPICAL FOCUS
BUSINESS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL Unpacking the concept of CSR and the benefits of demonstrating a responsible stance for businesses in an era of social and environmental consciousness Writer: Phoebe Harper
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oday, enterprises are keenly expected to have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments firmly embedded into their corporate mandates. Although there is no official US law requiring organizations to allocate a portion of their income to CSR, a plethora of regulations exist that are designed to compel the implementation of such practices; whether that’s adopting a proactive 18 | North America Outlook issue 06
role in social welfare or taking a stance on environmental sustainability. The most pressing CSR issues that organizations and companies are expected to respond to include relations amongst employees and local communities, environmental management, responsible sourcing, labor standards and gender balance, to anti-corruption and human rights to name just a few. In the modern world of business,
value-driven consumers are calling for full transparency, particularly from corporate giants. In 2011, a report published by the Harvard Business School found that less than 20 percent of S&P 500 companies reported on efforts relating to CSR and sustainability. In 2019, that figure jumped to 90 percent. Consequently, those corporate giants and iconic names in industry entail some truly laudable commitments. Google is one of the biggest names in terms of environmental CSR achievements, as last year the tech and software icon successfully neutralized its entire legacy carbon footprint since the company was founded in 1998. This officially made Google the first major organization to achieve carbon neutrality for its whole operational history.
