As the world around us becomes more interconnected and millennials begin to flex their economic muscles through where they choose to spend their money, priorities for businesses are changing. While Corporate Social Responsibility has great benefits to the world at large, when it comes down to it, engaging in a good CSR strategy is above all else just good business.
Being socially responsible is now one of the greatest driving factors for consumers when deciding what businesses they want to support, and luckily for businesses that want to pursue CSR as a strategy, there are new technologies available that make doing so much easier than it once was.
Biotechnologies
Biotechnology provides businesses with an opportunity to make both a wise investment in the future while also engaging in good CSR practices. Innovations in biotech are good for business and the world as well, helping to tackle 21st century problems like hunger, alternative energy, and disease. While much of the growth in biotech is driven by the healthcare industry looking for more effective methods for treating a variety of illnesses, companies from any sector of business can make use of biotechnologies.
For instance, while ethanol and biodiesel certainly made quite the splash several years ago, they are far from the only biofuels available. Where ethanol fails due to the strain it puts on agriculture to provide for both food and fuel, new developments in biotech have paved the way to a more viable biofuel. Newly designed biofuel producing algae that can yield as much as 100 times more fuel per unit area than other biofuel crops have made biofuels a viable option for widespread use at a massive scale. The idea that a business could rely exclusively on biofuels to power their shipping fleets and company vehicles without paying a premium isn’t that far off.
It isn’t only the private sector that has experienced renewed interest in exploring what biotech, and biofuels in particular, have to offer. In 2017 the USDA made nearly $3 million available for biorefinery research with the goal of improving biorefinery technologies. The drive to expand and develop the biofuel and bioproduct industries stems from not only a desire for a more efficient fuel source to drive their supply chains, but also to show that social responsibility is becoming a major priority for both the private and public sectors.
Giving Back
Companies that are looking to build a sustainable CSR program shouldn’t solely focus on initiatives that have a direct, tangible benefit to their business. Not every avenue a business pursues in its CSR strategy needs to have an overt return on investment. In fact, companies should implement programs their customers see as important, even if they doesn’t really matter to the company itself.
Businesses should give back directly to the communities they reside in and are supported by. This not only ingratiates a company with their local community, but gives their employees a chance to participate in programs they are directly invested in and provides the business with the opportunity to weave cause marketing into their promotions. A properly implemented CSR program is mutually beneficial to the company that is using it as well as the communities they interact with.
Companies giving back to communities at all levels, locally to internationally, isn’t exactly a new or radical concept. Corporate powerhouses like Google, Disney, Microsoft, 3M, and even Lego all have great reputations for their philanthropic CSR efforts, and these have been shown to be very good for business. Whether it’s investing in solar technology that benefits the public, or directly funding research to eliminate some of the world’s most stubborn diseases, good CSR does wonders for a company’s image, and technology has helped achieve much of this.
Sustainability
Companies that rely on commercial trucking to keep their businesses operational face a challenge when it comes to sustainability. While yes, biofuels are still being developed and becoming more viable with each passing week, as it stands many of the trucks on the road still need fossil fuels to operate. Businesses that use large commercial trucks can reduce their environmental impact by focusing on improving aerodynamics and rolling resistance to improve overall efficiency. However, true sustainability goes far beyond reducing a company’s carbon footprint on the road.
Long-term sustainability is often cited as one of the most important aspects of a company’s CSR program. Whether a company is looking to invest in biomass systems to generate low-cost renewable energy by processing thousands of tons of forestry waste or even the simple act of replacing plastic straws with cardboard ones, sustainability is one of the more forward-facing aspects of CSR. While reducing a business’s carbon footprint through actions like switching to energy-efficient lighting and other small, practical changes is all well and good, technology can offer up ways to increase a company’s sustainability in a much more impactful way.
For instance, document scanning and digital storage can save a huge amount of physical paper from being used while also helping a company increase its efficiency. Hard-copy storage not only increases a business’s carbon footprint, but is also a slow, cumbersome, and overall outdated method of storing and retrieving information. When businesses convert the bulk of their document storage away from hard-copy, they do themselves and the environment a huge favor.
Technology and CSR are linked, and as technology progresses, CSR initiatives will become more prevalent and successful. This is incredibly important, because while it is certainly good for businesses to engage in CSR programs bolstered by innovative technologies, the world at large is also receiving the benefits. When companies engage in good CSR programs, they are investing in the future of the world.
