Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the idea that a business has a responsibility to the surrounding society, and it can occur in many forms. One of the most common forms of CSR is environmental responsibility (Stobierski, 2021). Environmental responsibility requires companies to act in an environmentally responsible way. Companies can embrace environmental responsibility in several ways. Firstly, it can be done by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and overall pollution, reducing nonwasteful water usage, and avoiding single-use plastic products. Besides, companies can embrace environmental responsibility by relying on recycled or partially recycled products and renewable energy. Companies can also preserve the environment by incurring externalities such as planting trees and financing ecological preservation initiatives.

Another important CSR issue is ethical responsibility. Ethical responsibility is the commitment to operate honestly and fairly. The objective is to attain fair treatment for all organizational stakeholders, such as shareholders, leaders, employees, customers, and business partners (Stobierski, 2021). Companies can exhibit social responsibility in different ways, including setting a minimum wage if the company is convinced the government requirement cannot support a sustainable life. Organizations can also commit to eliminating child labor from their supply chains by committing to free trade standards (Hopkins, 2004). Ethical responsibility came into the limelight when Nike was embroiled in employee exploitation and child labor in its Indonesian factories. The issues led to most companies committing to monitor their supply chains to eliminate child labor and slavery, even though this is a difficult undertaking (Piasecki & Gudowski, 2017).

According to Heyward (2020), environmental responsibility and ethical responsibility are critical social responsibility aspects because they touch on the reputation of companies. Besides, the level of awareness amongst today’s customers is so high that they cannot purchase from companies that violate perceived standards. Businesses have no option but to comply with these standards to survive in today’s business environment.

References

Heyward, C. (2020, November 18). Council Post: The Growing Importance Of Social Responsibility In Business. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/11/18/the-growing-importance-of-social-responsibility-in-business/?sh=73e865e62283

Hopkins, M. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility: An Issues Paper. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.908181

Piasecki, R., & Gudowski, J. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility: the Challenges and Constraints. Comparative Economic Research, 20(4), 143–157. https://doi.org/10.1515/cer-2017-0032

Stobierski, T. (2021, April 8). Types of Corporate Social Responsibility to Be Aware Of. Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/types-of-corporate-social-responsibility

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Corporate Social Responsibility

What do you believe are the two biggest social responsibility issues companies should be addressing today? Discuss why they are the two most important and how addressing these issues would strategically benefit a company. Cite examples. Use outside research from the news and experiences at work.