Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the business practice of pursuing social and environmental gains alongside financial gains. As consumers and the constraints of ever-dwindling natural resources pressure companies to make more responsible choices, more companies are incorporating sustainable strategies and adopting more socially responsible practices.
CSR Trend: Increased Transparency
Companies are sharing more environmental, social, and governance disclosures as part of a business model that embraces corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- Consumers are no longer satisfied with shady business dealings and hidden agendas but are demanding to know more about previously internal matters
CSR Trend: Diversity and Inclusion
Pay equity between males and females, measuring the difference in income between the highest-paid and lowest-paid worker at a company, and ensuring a diverse staff base have become key priorities of the best companies in the world
- CSR initiatives such as intentionally recruiting candidates from difficult economic or educational backgrounds ultimately empower local talent, bring diverse voices to the table, and are a trend that’s here to stay
CSR Trend: Green Technology
Gone are the days of rampant resource usage without any accountability or thought toward replenishment.
- As available natural resources are rapidly depleted and our world reaches a tipping point of a 2-degree rise in average temperature, socially responsible companies are investing in green technologies, reducing their reliance on nonrenewable resources and looking to more sustainable inputs to do business.
CSR Trend: Global Companies Acting Locally
Even companies that operate on a global level are recognizing the value of local markets and supply chains.
- Increasingly, corporations interested in CSR are donating to local nonprofits, funding the construction of things like schools in lower-income neighborhoods, and becoming engaged with civic issues that affect where they do business.
