The Importance of CSR and Why a Company Should Embrace it

Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are practices and policies that corporations undertake as a part of their duties to reflect positive influence of their brand in order to render good for the communities and the society. The idea of Corporate Social Responsibilities features pro-social objectives, in addition to maximizing profits. Environmental protection, sustainable development, promoting volunteerism among company employees, and donating to charity are some of the many prospects that are driven by CSRs. In the words of Bill Fort, the executive chairman of Ford Motor Company- “Creating a strong business and building a better world are not conflicting goals - they are both essential ingredients for long-term success.”

Corporations have increasingly started to view CSR activities as an important part of building their brand image today. They try their best to create a sense of ethics and morality as a part of their company virtues which extends to their products and services too. In this sense, CSR activities can be an important factor that can maximize sales or build better costumer relationships. At the same time, some employers and entrepreneurs are also motivated to engage in CSR due to their personal convictions and the desire to give back. Whatever the reason, being involved in community welfare and development have been time and out proven to benefit companies for the better, increasing consumer's trust in the brand and also generating great network ties and volunteer based activities. Today, people increasingly show interest in being a part of initiatives such as being able to participate in volunteer work or making donations towards a company’s charitable efforts. As the efforts all come with this great benefit of connecting one another in the world, thinking of collective good, people and companies have time and out pooled in efforts to work together towards projects, and to vouch for the good of the big conurbation of the world.

For millennials, socially responsible companies are even more important. The age of digitization and information has changed consumer behaviors as the emphasis of quality, sustainability and competitive advantage has become more in demand than ever before. These netizens can quickly yet aptly be served with all information about a company as soon as they click to read about a brand they wish to purchase from. As the desire to be informed has increased so has the need for brands to establish a positive image. The latter should be invested in improving society and look for solutions that will assist in those improvements. These stories rightly need as much inspiration, goodwill and futuristic views as its profit numbers. Pro-social initiatives are thus a very marked feature in company value propositions for most observers. Showcasing efforts to good causes targets millennials because these efforts hold tremendous persuasion in the choices we make as consumers of services.