What is your responsibility as a global citizen regarding CSR?
One key player in CSR is the corporation. The other key player is you. Our goal is for you to better understand your role in corporate social responsibility so that you can make informed choices. Here are 10 tips to be a more conscious and critical global citizen.
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Remember, C in CSR stands for corporate, as in corporation. Corporations are for-profit, meaning that their ultimate goal is to make money! So, they are trying to get you to spend your money on them. Try your best not to fall into their marketing traps.
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Notice if the company’s CSR is voluntary or involuntary. Does it matter to you if all intentions are altruistic?
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Even as an individual, you have a small amount of control over the corporation and their decisions. Of course, one tweet will not do away with all bad working conditions, but it’s a start and every little bit counts.
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CSR is revolutionizing business strategies across the world’s largest industries. Pay attention to times in which you are personally targeted by ads promoting a company’s CSR. What actions do these ads provoke? Is CSR a new form of marketing?
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There is some significance to when a company's CSR begins. Usually, large-scale CSR follows a dip in the company’s reputation (e.g. BP oil spill). Pay attention to dates, as tedious and boring as that sounds!
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Pay close attention to what and who the companies are helping as part of their CSR initiatives. The “issues” these companies identify may or may not be pressing issues. Also, question if the efforts are local or global.
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Question the truth in the statements that companies are making about their CSR actions. Are they following through with their CSR promises or are they doing more harm than good?
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Community reaction is a huge part of CSR. While there is no set institution that regulates and judges the CSR of corporations, how people react to their working conditions or external volunteer services are a key indicator of how well the corporations are adapting to the needs of the people.
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There are so many definitions of CSR floating around the web. Each corporation has a different interpretation of CSR. While we have delineated a definition of CSR on this website, you should interpret CSR in whatever way you deem best.
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Lastly, it’s okay to like a product from a company that doesn’t have an award-worthy CSR policy! We just want you to be more socially aware of companies that have different CSR policies so you can gauge for yourself where the line is/should be drawn.