The Corporate Sustainability Review - CSR 2015-2016

Catherine Kumar - The switch to CSR

At some time in the 1990s, post-recession, CSR momentum gathered. More companies formalized their social spending with board-approved policies that were likely to endure. “And we moved from the world of philanthropy and donations to CSR,” says Kumar.

(She) contends that intense focus on the bottom line, to the exclusion of all else, leads to shrinking profits. She admits to knowing companies that “shave every little cent” off of costs that aren’t perceived as integral to doing business. But many others aren’t so myopic. “Companies are realizing that the more you focus on other things— bringing good to the society, being there for your employees—your topline will grow, your employees themselves will become more innovative and want to do more for the company, and your bottom line will ultimately grow.”