What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the idea that a business has a responsibility to the society that exists around it.

Firms that embrace corporate social responsibility are typically organised in a manner that empowers them to be and act in a socially responsible way. In many ways it is a method of self-regulation that can be expressed in initiatives or strategies depending on an organisation’s goals. Indeed, with the advent of COVID 19 every company in the world has reviewed its direction placing health & wellbeing at the forefront of drives embracing staff, customers, nature, and sustainability. What goes around comes around for tomorrow to exist.

In terms of the exact meaning of ‘social responsibility’ depends on each business and organisation. Firms are very often guided by the concept of triple bottom line, which dictates that a business should be committed to measuring performance in social and environmental impact, along with its profits. The adage “profit, people, planet” is often used to summarise the driving force behind the triple bottom line.

Corporate Social responsibility is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethically orientated practices, but in the modern world of today and tomorrow, and for tomorrow to even exist, we must embrace corporate social drivers to protect our health and wellbeing of our planet, nature, and our human world.

What is the Purpose of Corporate Social Responsibility?

Corporate Social responsibility is traditionally broken into four categories: environmental, philanthropic, ethical, and economic responsibility.

1. Environmental Responsibility refers to the belief that an organisation should behave in as environmentally friendly way as possible. It’s one of the most positive forms of corporate social responsibility. Companies have embraced the term “nature & environmental stewardship” for strategic initiatives.

Companies invariably will embrace environmental responsibility in a few ways:

• Reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, the use of single-use plastics, water consumption, and general waste.
• Increasing reliance on renewable energy, sustainable resources, and recycled or partially recycled materials.
• Offsetting negative environmental impact; for example, by planting trees, woods, and forests, funding research and donating to related causes, like beavers enhancing and developing waterways, naturally.

2. Ethical Responsibility is concerned with ensuring an organisation is operating in a fair and ethical manner. Organisations that embrace ethical responsibility aim to achieve fair treatment of all stakeholders, including leadership, investors, employees, suppliers, partners, and customers.

• There are different ways that ethical responsibility can be embraced; a business might set its own, higher the minimum wage greater than the National Minimum Wage, with a revised assessment on appropriate or fair living wage. Similarly, a business might require that products, ingredients, materials, or components be sourced according to free trade standards. Free trade, Fair trade and ethical standards are of paramount consideration in global terms now. Diversity and Disability can very often enhance business performance and sensory delivery of values.

3. Philanthropic Responsibility refers to business’s aim to actively make the world and society a better place.

• As well as acting as ethically and environmentally friendly as possible, organisations driven by philanthropic responsibility often dedicate a portion of their earnings. While many firms donate to charities and non-profit organisations that align with their guiding missions, others donate to worthy causes that don’t directly relate to their business. Others might go as far as to create their own charitable trust or organisation to give back.

4. Economic Responsibility is the best practice of a firm backing all its financial decisions in its commitment to principles above. The end goal being not to simply maximise profits, but positively impact the environment, people, and society.

Why is Corporate Social Responsibility Important

Being a socially responsible company can bolster a company’s image and build its brand, with staff, customers, and communities. Social responsibility empowers employees to leverage corporate resources at their disposal to do good. Formal corporate social responsibility programmes can boost morale and lead to greater productivity in the workforce, as well as drive loyalty.

Companies need to continue to build their focus on social responsibility, whether its championing accessibility within recruitment, equality, women’s rights, protecting the environment, or attempting to obliterate poverty on local, national, or a global level. From a vison perspective socially, responsible companies project more attractive images to both customers and shareholders alike, which serves to positively affect their bottom lines, through day-to-day operations and evolving loyalty for multiple purchases and retention and referral. It is the staff and the customers who drive the profitability as well as the belief in the corporate social values nurturing and protecting our one natural and sustainable world.

• Being socially responsible can bolster a company’s image and build its brand.
• Social responsibility empowers employees to leverage the corporate resources at their disposal to do good.
• Formal corporate social responsibility programmes can boost employee morale and lead to greater productivity in the workforce.

How Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect a Business

Embracing socially responsible practices and policies goes a long way to attracting and retaining customers long-term which is essential to company’s success in sales, operational excellence, and profitability. Many customers would pay more for a premium for goods and services knowing that part of the profits will benefit social causes near and dear to them, as world as sustaining and protecting our world.

Socially responsible companies will tend to attract employees who are eager to make a difference in the world-in addition to simply collecting pay or a salary. With large companies there might be strength in numbers where collective efforts can achieve substantial results, which increases workplace morale and boosts productivity. There is also a perception of a more innovative culture that will deliver better service, products, and results that all benefit from, including the world. A feel-good factor drives brand performance and multimedia marketing and social media endorsement.

Community orientated companies often enjoy an advantage to their competitors, as well, thanks to superior brand imaging. The nurturing of the senses drives sales, service and loyalty.

Health & wellbeing minded customers, along with environmentally minded consumers drive sales -as an example Tesla with cutting edge electric-powered cars and green automotive products- the largest automation in the world ever.

Socially responsible companies cultivate positive brand recognition, increase customer loyalty, and attract top talent employees with skills and ambition. These elements are among the keys to achieving increased profitability and long-term financial success.

Innovation embraced through corporate social responsibility is at the cutting edge for tomorrow to exist as a race and in nature whilst also reducing climate erosion for our health and wellbeing.

Kaleidoscope Group & Corporate Social Responsibility

Kaleidoscope Group embrace the employment of disabled talent through corporate social responsibility because it brings benefits in several respects:

• Better brand recognition
• Positive business reputation
• Increased sales and customer loyalty
• Operational costs savings
• Better financial performance
• Greater ability to attract talent and retain staff
• Organisational growth
• Easier access to capital
• Enhanced service through embrace of human senses
• Improved HR, Operations through Social Media representation and messaging
• Innovation and a stronger platform for growth, enhancing the community and the world

Corporate Social Responsibilities and Initiatives can bring innovation and unique powerful marketing perspectives with strong messages, helping a company position itself favourably and positively in the eyes of consumers, customers, investors, and regulators. CSR initiatives can add value to employee engagement retention and longevity bringing greater satisfaction and added value to the community & world.

Without doubt in our new post COVID 19, World Leaders have crafted greater social responsibility initiatives, by their nature and their very impact, best practices have been reviewed in relation to how they hire, and manage employees, source products or components, communicate, service, deliver, and present value to customers.

Corporate Social responsibility inclusion will lead to innovation delivering ground-breaking solutions that help companies in a more socially responsible way increase profits. Re-engineering the manufacturing process so that a company consumes less energy, resources as well as producing less waste allows business to become more environmentally friendly whilst reducing its energy and material costs-value that can be reclaimed and shared with both, suppliers, and customers, plus staff and the world, naturally.

“Ongoing investment in professional networks, educational resources, and accessible work spaces are a priority. This includes providing accessibility to the technologies we build, buy, and deploy. Our inclusive culture enables diverse teams to bring different added value perspectives, innovations, unique points of view, with life enhancing moments, that ultimately result in exceptional service for clients and customers, leading to greater profitability corporately, socially, and for the betterment & survival of the world community.”

Kaleidoscope Group and The Kaleidoscope Foundation is a disability inclusive group & organisation – empowering talent and ambition for ability with disability. We embrace and promote change to enhance life for a significant percentage of the National and Global Population.

• Kr- Kaleidoscope Recruitment empowering talent. A centre of Excellence for recruiting people with disabilities.
• Ki- Kaleidoscope Investment empowering ideas. Invest in business ideas that originate from disabled people and help them become successful.
• Ka- Kaleidoscope Advisory empowering knowledge. Embed and embrace disability inclusion and ability in companies.
• Kf- The Kaleidoscope Foundation empowering lives. Offering grants of up to 10,000 pounds.

At Kaleidoscope Group “Our vision is to help shape a world where we see no difference in ‘different’ and where every disabled person is given a fair opportunity to realise their full potential and find purpose’.