These days, companies have been showing more interest in exercising their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

CSR is the company’s efforts to engage with and enrich the community by conducting environmental, social and economic activities. It is a means for companies to “give back to the community”.

That being said, CSR does not only benefit the community and society, but also the company. Here are three ways CSR can actually help your company grow.

1. Encourages social responsibility within the organisation

Social responsibility encourages an individual or organisation to become accountable in a way that positively contributes to the development of the environment or surrounding community.

This supports the long-term growth of society.

While the goal of social responsibility is to ensure that an individual or a social organisation benefits society and the community, business corporations can benefit from it as well.

Providing employees with the opportunity to carry out and derive satisfaction from social responsibility activities is an aspect of Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which are the benefits an employee reaps from being employed by a company.

A satisfied employee is an employee who is more likely to have positive thoughts and feelings about their continued employment.

To put CSR into motion, businesses engage in philanthropic activities, volunteer initiatives, environmental protection programs (including the implementation of green business policies), and ethical labour practices (treating employees fairly and ethically).

As a result of this desire to “give back to the community”, businesses demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders, employees, customers, as well as the public.

This creates an environment of collaboration, which nurtures trust and raises both productivity and corporate income.

2. Improves your company brand value

When we think about a company and corporate branding, the first thing that comes to mind is the use of a logo, a tagline, and a name that is exclusive to that organisation.

A company’s brand, according to experts, is its promise. It reflects what the company can offer its consumers in terms of goods and services, as well as what they can expect from those products and services. It sums up their customers’ impressions of them.

There is a relationship between the company branding and the company’s CSR initiatives. With well-placed CSR initiatives which are carried out successfully, a company’s reputation is enhanced — effectively bringing more value to the company’s brand.

On top of that, brilliant CSR initiatives bring positive press for companies, thereby promoting their business.

The right CSR initiative can set a company above a competitor, but only when they can manage the CSR properly.

3. Opens new opportunities

Many companies are now using CSR as a method to gain the confidence of their stakeholders and consumers. This is because CSR is a form of corporate self-regulation.

While businesses do pledge to follow the law and uphold ethical principles in their operations, CSR allows them to put their words into action.

When this action is publicised on a greater scale, this can amplify the number of potential customers for the company.

Simply put, CSR may be used as part of a company’s marketing or social marketing strategy, in particular for activities involving raising funds and awareness for a particular cause.

However, companies should not design CSR specifically to suit the narrow dimensions of marketing and social marketing. While such actions could allow more content to be shared with a wider audience, they end up sounding artificial and insincere.

Focus instead on the value you truly want to and can bring to the environment and surrounding community. Make your intentions transparent.

Conclusion

CSR is a good culture for a company to implement in their system. Through CSR, companies do gain benefits while also giving back to the community. It is definitely a win-win all around for companies to take their CSR initiatives seriously.

This article first appeared in MyPF. Follow MyPF to simplify and grow your personal finances on Facebook and Instagram.