Being Real Without Seeming Fake: Brand Purpose and Social Responsibility in Marketing

If you aren’t familiar with the term “corporate social responsibility” or its acronym (CSR), then you have been living under a rock. CSR has been on the tongues and minds of business leaders all over the world, with one major lingering question: how can companies incorporate best environmental, social and governance practices and report impact beyond the typical financial results?

Most companies have long practiced some form of corporate social and environmental responsibility with the goal of contributing to the well-being of the stakeholders they impact. However, pressure to dress up these efforts as a business discipline is on the rise, and it is critical to align a company’s activities with its business purpose and values. It’s great if your activities mitigate risks, enhance reputation and contribute to positive business results, but these outcomes should come as added benefits to your company’s CSR plan.

Today, more than 80% of Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies release an annual impact report. In addition, a new survey conducted by business networking platform UpCity found that more than half of small businesses in the U.S. and Canada have social missions they stand by, and almost 30% say that they plan to create more formal CSR plans this year.

There is a lot for a company to consider— no matter their size, industry or niche— when formulating their organization’s concrete commitment to CSR.

1.) First and foremost, your company’s CSR plan needs to come from the heart, be authentic and align with your company’s mission and values. A robust plan goes beyond community involvement— it impacts all stakeholders, the community and the planet. Nothing in a CSR plan should be contrived; rather, every strategy should come naturally when you map out its alignment with your organization’s operations and stakeholders.

2.) Take stock of what your company is already doing and set goals for what you would like to add. Research what other companies are doing, with particular attention to your competitors as well as companies that you admire. For example, global nonprofit network B Lab breaks CSR practices into five areas:

• Community: Practices that promote the health of the communities in which your organization operates.
• Customers: Practices that sustain efforts to provide products and services that positively impact customers.
• Employees: Practices that support a positive and inclusive work environment for all employees.
• Environment: Practices that minimize your organization’s environmental impact and promote sustainability.
• Governance: Practices that take into consideration the impact of decisions on all stakeholders.

One of the best ways to take stock is to take the free B Impact Assessment. It’s a digital tool that can help measure, manage and improve positive impact performance in the aforementioned sectors. Taking this Assessment is also the first step to becoming a B Corp certified company.

Becoming a B Corp certified company has been the single-most important thing Bohlsen Group has done to affirm our commitment to corporate social responsibility. But, I will be the first to say that you do not have to be B Corp certified or a Benefit Corporation to show your commitment to CSR. I just appreciate the B Lab community and resources, and the renewal process every couple of years forces us to more fully review our annual impact. - Vicki Wilson Bohlsen , President and Founder, Bohlsen Group

3.) Create a planning calendar that outlines steps to incorporate your company’s CSR goals. This calendar could span many years and should also assign onboarding steps, regular check-in meetings and which team members would handle each area of impact.

4.) Develop ways to measure each CSR initiative. From tracking volunteer hours and corporate donations to customer data collection and volume of recycling, you’ll want to make sure you have things in order so that you can measure year-over-year impact.

5.) Involve your company’s marketing team early in the process. Your company will want to incorporate your CSR commitment and impact into your organizational strategic communications plan. Most importantly, they’ll want to tell your story in a way that circles back to the heartfelt, authentic creation of and alignment with your company’s mission and values. Make sure that there is context around all mentions of your organization’s commitment to CSR; without it, your sharing could be misconstrued as preachy or self-serving.

6.) Review your impact in all areas annually. Auditing your progress and success over the course of the year will help you to identify areas in which you can make improvements. Add those new goals to your planning calendar and make sure you have outlined a method to measure that new tactic’s impact.

At Bohlsen Group , we strive to contribute to the work of organizations that use business as a force for good. To learn more about our work, visit our website.