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The following is the second guest blog post in a two-part series on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by Jane Meier of Full Circle Partnerships. Jane will be presenting at our upcoming workshop, Doing Well While Doing Good: Demystifying CSR on Tuesday, May 11th. Get details and register at The Enterprising Moms.
Who has time or money for CSR? And what is it anyways? The following are four common myths about CSR – debunked!
Myth #1:
CSR stands for Customer Service Representative
It may, but it also stands for Corporate Social Responsibility — which was defined in the part one of this series. Simply put, it’s integrating your values into business practices.
Myth #2:
CSR takes too much time; I can’t squeeze in one more thing!
We’re all time-starved, but we’re Enterprising Moms and I KNOW if there’s one thing we universally love, it’s EFFICIENCY. Crafting a common-sense approach to sustainability and strategic community partnerships can accomplish many things at once:
- conservation
- marketing
- business development
- brand building & retention
- competitive advantage over other businesses.
Myth #3:
We’re in a recession; people don’t really care if I’m integrating CSR into my business practices.
Oh, really? According to a Working Mother article, “2010 Best Green Companies for America’s Children,” Clorox scarfed up Burt’s Bees & created a new Greenworks green cleaning products line — the result: a 23% increase in sales, in a recession.
A recent Forbes article, “Mandatory Social Responsibility” discusses how social responsibility has become almost mandatory for companies, and that some companies such as Patagonia and The Body Shop actually have an appeal based on their “ethical” appeal to consumers.
Think it’s only for the big guys?
What about some local entrepreneurs: Seth Goldman & Honest Tea, and a couple of folks new on the scene with sustainable products: Lunch Skins, and Cattiwampus (proof that you can make money while investing in sustainability).
Myth #4:
I have to make money, right, before I can give it away?
True, part of businesses contribution to society is to make money, which gives them the resources to then give it away.
This myth perpetuates the belief that the only component of CSR is writing a check. Utilizing CSR can actually make or save you money by:
- forming connections through reduced fee or pro-bono work
- reducing shipping costs by reusing materials
- decreasing business development expenses by marketing through the organizations with whom you partner.
You don’t have to expend financial resources to have some component of CSR, and by integrating it wisely into your business; you can actually help to make or save money!
So, now that you know why CSR is good for business, what should you do about it?
Register today for “Doing Well While Doing Good: Demystifying Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” on Tuesday, May 11, where you’ll leave with concrete guidance on how to do well in your business while doing good in our community.
Jane Meier is marketing consultant who loves helping businesses integrate marketing with Corporate Social Responsibility. Whether seeking to build partnerships with non-profits, developing marketing strategy, or planning or implementing special events, clients hire Jane for her skills in partnership building, her attention to detail and passionate commitment to corporate social responsibility.
As a Enterprising Mom – your time is valuable! After all, you’ve got a busy household to run, meals to cook, kids’ schedules to coordinate, laundry to do, and oh, yeah, a business! Whether you are a sole proprietor, run a franchise or direct selling business, or have a business with employees, entrepreneurial moms have only so many hours in a day, so you need to make the most of them.
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