Corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents a change from the old days when companies just made a donation to a local charity and that was that. Today, companies want to see real and meaningful connections with where their CSR money goes and many companies have made CSR a priority. According to Net Impact, 65% of MBAs surveyed say they want to make a social or environmental difference through their jobs. Now that’s great news. However, these companies don’t want a spin exercise. They are looking for meaningful and tangible projects to support. CSR benefits employees. People like to work for companies that have a good reputations and have a good standing in the community. A company with good CSR policies tend to be held in high esteem. A rough suggestion recommends employees spend 1% of their time on CSR, so that’s roughly 2 days a year spent in the community ‘doing good’. One of those days could be for environmental projects (out planting trees for example!) and one could be for working with a charity. Customers are educated and have access to a wealth of information and can see through any spin or ‘green washing’. A random mention on a company’s website stating sound environmental policies is meaningless without real data and examples. Customers don’t want to read about how a company has good values and is sustainable, they want to read stories and see photos. Talking the walk when it comes to CSR doesn’t necessarily translate to walking the talk.

“In the Information Age, customers have more access to information. They’re more educated. They’re no longer hidden from how their food is produced or how their iPods are made. And, because of things like social media, like-minded people more easily find each other, have their say and effect change. There’s a level of transparency that wasn’t there before.”  Robert Grosshandler, CEO of iGive.com

Good companies can incorporate CSR in a way that makes sense for the business, employees, customers, community and the planet. And that my friend can only be a good thing.