You’ve been working in CSR for a while. How do you know if you’re making a difference?

1 Define your goals

Before you start any CSR project, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and why. What are the specific social or environmental issues that you want to address? How do they align with your business strategy and values? How do they relate to the expectations and interests of your stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and communities? Having SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) will help you plan, monitor, and report your CSR activities.

2 Choose your indicators

Once you have your goals, you need to decide how you will measure your progress and outcomes. What are the key indicators that reflect your CSR performance and impact? How will you collect, analyze, and verify the data? How will you compare your results with your baseline, targets, and benchmarks? You can use a variety of indicators, such as inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Inputs are the resources that you invest in your CSR project, such as money, time, and materials. Outputs are the direct results of your CSR project, such as the number of products donated, trees planted, or people trained. Outcomes are the changes that your CSR project creates for your beneficiaries, such as improved health, education, or income. Impacts are the long-term effects of your CSR project on the wider society and environment, such as reduced poverty, inequality, or emissions.

3 Use a framework

To make your CSR evaluation more systematic and credible, you can use a recognized framework or standard that guides you through the process and provides you with best practices and tools. There are many frameworks available, depending on your sector, scope, and objectives. Some of the most widely used ones are the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), and the Social Return on Investment (SROI). These frameworks help you identify your material issues, stakeholder expectations, reporting principles, and indicators.

5 Communicate your results

The final step of CSR evaluation is to communicate your results to your internal and external audiences. How will you present and share your CSR performance and impact? What are the key messages and stories that you want to convey? What are the best formats and channels to reach your audiences? You can use different types of communication tools, such as reports, newsletters, websites, social media, videos, or events. The main purpose of communication is to inform, inspire, and influence your audiences to support your CSR project and goals.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?