CSR and Environmental Sustainability: Best Practices

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) promises big results: improvements in brand perception, customer engagement and operational efficiency, to name a few. Beyond this, many organizations adopt CSR practices simply for the simple joy of adhering to personal values. Simply put, leaders feel compelled to do their part.

No matter the reason, it’s clear CSR is a big deal in today’s market and that it promises to drive huge changes in how we interact with brands. This is evidenced in recent findings highlighted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which reveals that an impressive 80% of Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies issue CSR reports.¹

Research from PwC indicates that this is also a top area of focus among today’s consumers, with 83% of survey respondents indicating that they want the companies they support to actively shape best practices in environmental, social and governance (ESG).²

Specifically, PwC demonstrates that consumers want businesses to “invest in making sustainable improvements to the environment and society, not just comply with regulations.” They are happy to reward businesses that proactively seek out and implement corporate sustainability initiatives.

In addition, many business leaders express a desire to promote corporate social responsibility. Often, however, this becomes more of a talking point than a true source of action. Change begins with not only the wish to promote sustainability but also a strong framework and resources to turn sustainable visions into reality. Business office administration underscores this effort and can amplify CSR practices.

To that end, we have highlighted various CSR practices that today’s organizations can realistically implement. First, we explain what CSR involves, then delve into CSR best practices to uncover just how much of a difference these groundbreaking strategies can make.

What Is CSR and Environmental Sustainability?

Corporate social responsibility is a value-oriented business model that drives accountability. Organizations that adopt this model strive to be more accountable to themselves, to their stakeholders and especially to the community.

Done right, CSR represents an effective form of self-regulation, in which organizations develop initiatives or strategies that align with their core values and those expressed by their target customers or clients.

CSR initiatives can relate to a range of organizational priorities, including everything from human rights to philanthropy and even economic responsibility. Increasingly, though, this concept is referenced in the context of environmental sustainability, which determines how businesses balance their numerous (and often competing) ecological, economic and social goals.

Understanding Sustainability

Sustainability is a complex concept that plays heavily into our current concept of corporate social responsibility. Advocates for corporate sustainability feel that if business practices fall short of environmental benchmarks, they cannot truly be deemed socially responsible.

While the typical perception of sustainability highlights green practices that limit carbon emissions, pollution or natural resource waste, true sustainability goes beyond any singular eco-friendly strategy to encompass a cultural mindset centered around the health of our planet.

The Environment Protection Agency explains, “Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment,” adding that, “to pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations.”³

Key Principles in CSR Within Environmental Contexts

CSR-driven organizations maintain distinct policies and practices that may or may not relate to environmental concerns. However, when sustainability is the focus, this must be supported by core principles that keep organizations accountable.

Essentials include transparency, compliance and respect for stakeholders. Other sustainability-oriented principles are highlighted within the United Nations Global Compact:⁴

• Precautionary approach that anticipates and makes accommodations to reflect environmental challenges
• Developing and encouraging the use of environmentally friendly technologies
• Promoting initiatives that encourage environmental responsibility

How Does It Support Sustainable Business Operations?

Business operations can be deemed sustainable when they limit the negative impact of standard business activities on the environment. However, these practices take considerable effort to develop and implement, and they must also be aligned with the overarching goals and vision of the organization in question.

This is where CSR can come into play. CSR brings a powerful framework to environmental efforts, serving as a blueprint to help organizations determine which changes they want to achieve and how they will promote corporate sustainability.

What Are the 3 Best Practices for Environmental Sustainability Through CSR?

There is no one way to improve corporate sustainability. Rather, this involves a series of commitments and practices that shape how organizations view and interact with the environment and their communities. Still, a few key practices can make a world of difference. The most impactful strategies bring much-needed accountability to sustainable initiatives.

1. Eco-Friendly Policies and Procedures

Eco-friendly policies form a helpful blueprint to ensure that sustainability and other core values are consistently built into organizational initiatives and practices. These are often preceded by environmentally-focused audits, which reveal areas that call for improvement. From there, ambitious yet achievable goals can be established, with policies then set in place to encourage progress towards those goals.

Common examples of policies and practices used to promote sustainability include:

• Installation and required use of renewable energy sources
• Development of recycling or composting programs to reduce waste
• Benchmarks for using sustainable materials in construction or renovations

Existing programs such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) can provide valuable support and insight along the way, including opportunities to seek trusted certifications.⁵

2. Get Stakeholders Engaged in Impact

Stakeholders have a critical role to play in sustainability initiatives. CSR needs to be a widespread effort — and though leaders and team members can certainly get the ball rolling with policy development, buy-in from the public will make it a lot easier to stick with sustainability measures when the going gets tough.

Ideally, stakeholder engagement will be a priority at every stage. This means discussing sustainability concerns with stakeholders before any actual initiatives are planned or implemented; the goal is to learn what exactly stakeholders think and which sustainability practices they find most promising.

Once stakeholder needs and expectations are better understood, leaders can develop policies that balance economic and environmental concerns (and communicate that balance with all internal and external stakeholders). With transparency and accountability come greater stakeholder engagement and satisfaction.

3. Leverage Technology

Today’s organizations enjoy access to a wealth of advanced technologies that promise to provide better insight into CSR opportunities while also revealing areas for improvement. Increasingly, this effort relies on data analytics, which can play into complex decision-making processes.

We will take a deeper dive into the specific technologies currently driving progress in corporate sustainability, but for now, it’s important to understand that these solutions must be carefully vetted and implemented to ensure they actually drive progress. Different solutions will appeal to different organizations, but these need to align with overarching values and visions so they can reach their full potential.

Innovations Changing the Impact

Implementing CSR is far from easy, but a variety of new and exciting opportunities promise to streamline this process while boosting consumer and stakeholder engagement every step of the way. An innovative mindset can help enterprises expand their impact and fulfill their visions.

Technological Advancements

The technology that underscores corporate sustainability has seen rapid improvements in the last few years. All signs point to an acceleration of these remarkable developments, with new solutions frequently entering the picture. Areas of interest among tech-driven organizations include:

• Artificial intelligence and data analytics – A wealth of data can help leaders determine which practices are most environmentally promising or damaging. From there, AI can track CSR practices to reveal when they have the intended effect.⁶ AI-driven solutions can boost the power grid, drive ethical sourcing and even optimize supply chains to limit waste in transit.
• New green technologies – Exciting green solutions are frequently released, and a number of these promise to make critical business processes more efficient. From carbon tracking software to supercharged solar cells, there are many ways to boost sustainability in any business environment. While enterprises may need to be selective, embracing targeted technologies can provide a competitive edge.

Financial Incentives for Sustainable Practices

Today’s most admirable business leaders do an amazing job of promoting CSR and sustainable practices, but these will not be adopted on a wide scale unless they are regarded as financially beneficial. To that end, financial incentives may need to be created or, at minimum, made more evident to business leaders and the public.

• Benefits of adopting CSR practices – There is no denying the upfront costs attached to major environmental initiatives, but the return on investment can be impressive. These financial benefits can be determined through forecasting but must also be properly conveyed to stakeholders.
• Sustainable finance models – Any efforts to boost sustainability must be undertaken in a financially responsible manner. This can be a fine line for organizations to navigate. Detailed financial reporting is essential — especially external audits that enhance credibility. Thankfully, despite upfront costs, research indicates that CSR can actually “alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises.”⁷

Make a Future Impact With CSR Practices

Whether you want to be a business owner or work for a business, knowing how to improve is a way to answer the question of, what do you bring to the company? Learn how to make that impact with the Business Office Administration program at SJVC.

Sources:

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Resources on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Freight Sustainability Planning.” https://www.epa.gov/smartway/resources-corporate-social-responsibility-csr-and-freight-sustainability-planning
2. PwC. “Beyond compliance: Consumers and employees want business to do more on ESG.” https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/consumer-and-employee-esg-expectations.html
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Learn About Sustainability.” https://www.epa.gov/sustainability/learn-about-sustainability
4. United Nations Global Compact. “The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.” https://unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles
5. Benjamin, H. “How LEED advances CSR goals.” U.S. Green Building Council. https://www.usgbc.org/articles/how-leed-advances-csr-goals
6. Ammanath, B. “Corporations Can Use Artificial Intelligence To Make Positive Social Change.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/02/15/corporations-can-use-artificial-intelligence-to-make-positive-social-change/?sh=68f40b27e4ae
7. Chen, P. “Corporate social responsibility, financing constraints, and corporate carbon intensity: new evidence from listed Chinese companies.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-023-25176-5