CSR: Doing well by doing good

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) began to take hold about 25 years ago and has since gained a firm foothold. It emerged as a notion that doing good things for society might earn a company some media and public approval. This — and more — has happened. Now companies with a recognized CSR posture can take that approval to the bank in the form of measurable profit enhancement.

Two notable surveys published last year demonstrate the profitability of CSR.

Cone Communications, a CSR-oriented subsidiary of public-relations conglomerate Porter Novelli (which in turn is a subsidiary of media giant Omnicom Group), publishes an annual CSR study. The 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study found that 70 percent of Americans believe companies have an obligation to act on issues that may not be relevant to their everyday business. Social-justice issues are important to 78 percent of Americans overall, and to 90 percent of African-Americans.

“Hot-button issues†that Americans expect companies to support include domestic job growth (94 percent), racial equality (87 percent), women’s rights (84 percent), the cost of higher education (81 percent), immigration (78 percent), climate change (76 percent), gun control (65 percent), and LGBTQ rights (64 percent).

Eighty-seven percent of Americans say they would reward a company for a CSR stance with which they approve by purchasing its products, while 73 percent would punish a company with a contrary perspective by refusing to buy its products or services.

Visit an infographic summarizing the study’s results.

IO Sustainability, LLC — an international research and management consulting firm – published a study that analyzed the return on investment in CSR programs at eight companies, including Kellogg, KPMG, Novo Nordisk, Southwest Airlines, and Symantec.

The study — The Business ROI of Social Investments — demonstrated that companies with a strong CSR program could generate up to a six percent increase in share price, a reputation increase worth up to 11 percent of a company’s market capitalization (the total value of all of a company’s stock shares), a 20 percent increase in sales, a 13 percent increase in productivity, and a 50 percent decrease in employee turnover

This article is from the November 2018 issue of the Timeshare Resort Mangement Newswire. Send an email with your name, resort, and contact information to [email protected] if you’d like to subscribe.