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July 31, 2019

How To Propose CSR Benefits to Your Management

CSR Benefits

How to propose CSR benefits to your management team? Corporate and social responsibility is a hot topic with 93% of leaders agreeing that business should have a positive impact on society.

So how do you start the process of incorporating CSR at your workplace? Well, first you have to come up with a pitch and for that you need data.

Collect the Data

It can be difficult to propose CSR benefits to your management team. But nothing paints a better picture than hard facts. Here are a few compelling facts about CSR benefits:

  • 83% of millennials would show more loyalty to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues.
  • 78% of executives believe they are failing at executing their social pledges.
  • Having positive societal influence is 2x more important than any other factor to consumers.
  • CEOs running firms with higher levels of CSR are 84% more likely to be dismissed when financial performance is poor, compared to their counterparts at firms with lower levels of CSR.
  • 76% of consumers will refuse to purchase a company’s products or services upon learning it supported an issue contrary to their beliefs.
  • CSR impacts global consumers as well. 84% of global consumers will place weight on a company’s CSR before doing business with them in their community.
  • CSR initiatives influence 79% of people globally when looking for employment.
  • 67% of people globally consider an organizations CSR before making an investment. 
  • 78% of people wanted companies to address social justice issues.
  • 87% will purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about.
  • 63% of Americans are hopeful businesses will take the lead to drive social and environmental change moving forward, in the absence of government regulation.
  • 52% of consumers assume a company is not acting responsibly until they see or hear evidence to prove otherwise.
  • 76% of Millenials will do research to see if an organizations CSR effort are authentic.
  • More than 90% of business students surveyed said they would be willing to sacrifice some percentage of their future
    salary to work for a responsible CSR employer.

How are You Going to Frame the Value of Having a CSR Initiative to Your Team?

Before you propose CSR benefits to your management team you should consider how you want to frame the narrative. Should you choose to open with consumer-based data? Consider who your audience is. Present information that your management team will be most receptive to. Whether that is financial data or CEO benefits. Ultimately you want to make this pitch easy to understand, so be concise.

Be Purpose Driven

There are four main types of CSR initiatives that you should consider in your pitch. They are as follows:

  • Governance: Holding and adhering to consistent policies; obeying rules and regulations.
  • Community: Making a difference in your part of the world.
  • Diversity/inclusion: Making efforts to employ teams of diverse people and be inclusive.
  • Sustainability: Making a positive impact on the environment.

From these four types of CSR initiatives consider which might resonate the most with your management team and consumer base. Governance can be the most difficult to get your team to buy into so perhaps try pitching a few different ideas.

Laying Out The Pitch

Now that you have sourced some powerful facts, you’ve considered your audience and are versed in the types of CSR you’re ready to layout your pitch. Before we get too far down this path, consider your work culture. Would your management team respond best to this with an email? A chat over coffee? Set yourself up for success and make sure you are constructing a pitch that can be delivered in a way that your management will be most receptive to.

Whether you are presenting your pitch in person or over email, write it out. Start with the reasoning behind why you think your organization should start implementing CSR efforts. Use the data to support your rationale and wrap it up with why CSR matters.

There are huge benefits for establishing a CSR program! If you need more support please feel free to contact us for help or suggestion. Thank you and best of luck!

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