By Ian Mason
One of the buzz words in public relations these days is ‘corporate social responsibility’ or CSR.
CSR is not a new concept but it seems to have gained momentum in the past decade to counter sustained criticism of corporate greed. As a public relations activity, corporate companies can point to their community efforts to show they are not the ‘bad guys’.
In many philanthropic regions, CSR is a vital part of a company’s DNA. Businesses want to be seen as an integral part of the local community, or even the global community, and CSR is viewed as a legitimate public relations activity.
Some critics argue that CSR is not a course that companies should embark upon as it does not have a direct bearing on profits. However, I would argue that profit should not always be the end-game. Trust and respect are critical success factors for many companies and the goodwill that CSR creates goes a long way to establishing these highly-desired traits. When economic and financial times are tough, consumers turn to brands they trust and respect, and should a catastrophic event affect your company, the goodwill you have generated through CSR will help enormously to withstand customer backlash.
When considering CSR as part of your public relations strategy, it is important to ensure that the CSR is not a token effort. The public is not easily fooled. CSR is like branding – it needs to be lived and breathed right through the organisation over a sustained period and embraced by the staff and Board alike. It should be an ethos, not a one-off activity. It is even better if you can allocate a staff member to be responsible for CSR programs.
CSR should be a sustained program of initiatives with a clearly identified theme. It is critical to get employee buy-in so your staff become ambassadors for the activities and contribute in a meaningful way. The CSR program should also be externally promoted, not in a selfish way, but to encourage wider participation in the activities and to gently remind people of your community efforts.
CSR activities can be cause-related and ideally they should relate to the company’s industry sector in order to derive long-term goodwill benefit. Internationally, Ben and Jerry’s, the famous USA-based ice cream maker, has been donating 7.5% of their profits to community programs since the 1980s, including dollar-for-dollar matching for all funds raised by staff initiatives. The Body Shop is another global company that has built a highly-reputable brand based on its extensive CSR efforts.
In the UAE, there are many corporations embracing CSR and it is great to see many of them appointing dedicated CSR Managers to coordinate and activate their community programs. For example, I know of logistics companies in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi that offer free or cost-price freighting of emergency aid to disaster relief areas.
However, all CSR activities don’t need to be on such a scale. The wonderful eatery Slices in Abu Dhabi’s Al Mamoura building donates all unused food at the end of each day to local workers camps and other community initiatives. Simple but what a great impact this has. CSR programs can be as creative or as basic as your budget and resources allow.
If you are not inspired by the outstanding efforts of the community heroes in this issue of Tempo, then, quite frankly, you don’t have a heart. CSR is all about getting out there and lending a hand, no matter how big or small. If your company hasn’t yet contributed, perhaps it’s time to remember what CSR stands for: corporate social responsibility. Are you playing your part?
