Fires, floods, food insecurity, population displacement… the increasing number and severity of climatic disruptions show just how important environmental and social issues are becoming. Faced with these challenges, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is much more than just a part of corporate life. It is now an essential strategic and ethical requirement.
Committing your company to a CSR approach is no longer just a moral decision, but a necessity that can have a considerable impact on society.
In this article, we’ll take a look at why your company needs to get involved in CSR now, and how it can benefit.
- What is CSR?
According to the European Commission’s definition, CSR is “the voluntary integration by companies of social and environmental concerns into their commercial activities and their relations with stakeholders”.
This means that companies are no longer simply pursuing profitability objectives, but are also seeking to have a positive impact on society and the environment.
In practice, this means taking into account the effects of their activities on the environment, promoting employee well-being, respecting local communities, providing quality products and services, and communicating transparently with stakeholders.
In other words, CSR is a global approach that aims to create value not only for the company itself, but for society as a whole.
So what benefits can a company derive from a well-implemented CSR strategy?
- The benefits of a CSR strategy
A lever for competitiveness, differentiation and innovation
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) encourages companies to innovate in order to fully integrate their employees, minimize their environmental impact and invest responsibly.
Companies that take an innovative approach to CSR can mitigate a range of risks, including reputational, recruitment, waste and accident risks.
CSR is actually a performance driver that promotes more sustainable, healthier development. According to a study by France Stratégie, companies that adopt CSR practices perform 13% better than others. By improving well-being at work, companies can indirectly boost their productivity. Indeed, satisfied employees are more likely to stay with the company in the long term, and to work more efficiently.
Companies that adopt sustainable practices can also make significant savings. For example, adopting cleaner technologies or reducing the consumption of natural resources can lead to significant savings in terms of energy, water and raw materials. However, this improvement in the use of resources can involve a phase of investment (new fleet of clean vehicles, change of electrical installation, sorting garbage cans…) but these are often supported by grants (regional, governmental, private…) and over time can lead to significant savings.
This optimization of resources not only improves operational efficiency, but also reduces the company’s dependence on finite resources, often subject to increasing volatility in the global marketplace.
Furthermore, a well-developed corporate social responsibility strategy enables companies to stand out from their competitors in the marketplace. Consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental and social impact of their purchasing decisions. The ethical reputation of companies is therefore of paramount importance to them, and they often favor those that adopt sustainable practices. In this way, a brand that demonstrates a genuine commitment to corporate social responsibility can stand out from the competition and win the loyalty of customers who are vigilant about social and environmental issues.
In addition, CSR fosters innovation by encouraging companies to rethink their business strategies and design innovative products and services that meet society’s emerging needs. These ambitious, CSR-focused companies stand out for their ability to take the lead in the latest technological advances and explore sustainable solutions. Thanks to their strategic positioning, they are able to anticipate emerging market trends in sustainable development, enabling them to seize lucrative opportunities while asserting their leadership in a sustainable manner.
A major asset for strengthening stakeholder relations
For companies, CSR goes far beyond mere communication or regulatory compliance. It represents an effective way of strengthening ties with stakeholders, both internal and external.
At the heart of corporate strategy, CSR emphasizes dialogue with stakeholders. Thanks to this inclusive approach, it is possible to better understand and meet the expectations of each group:
Our customers
By integrating environmental and social concerns into its products and services, the company meets consumers’ growing expectations in terms of sustainability. By adopting transparent and responsible practices, the company demonstrates its commitment to the well-being of society and the environment. This can translate into increased customer loyalty, improved brand image, and reduced reputational risk.
What’s true in BtoC is also true in BtoB. Purchasing departments are looking more and more closely at a company’s CSR trajectory, and some are even making it a selection criterion in their calls for tender.
Our employees
CSR policies foster commitment and loyalty among employees, who feel more involved in a company aligned with their values. By promoting values such as fairness, respect for human rights and diversity, companies create an environment conducive to employee motivation and fulfillment. As a result, teams are more invested in the company’s success, which translates into higher productivity, greater talent retention, and reduced absenteeism.
Suppliers / partners
Implementing ethical practices in the supply chain can certainly strengthen collaboration and mutual trust.
Companies encourage their suppliers to improve their own environmental and social management practices by demanding high standards from them. This can include elements such as reducing carbon emissions, respecting employee rights, fighting corruption, and promoting safe and fair working conditions. Updating practices has a positive impact across the value chain, fostering more sustainable and equitable development. It can also be customer-driven. Indeed, customers are keen for the entire value chain to be impacted by the CSR approach, and suppliers/partners are an integral part of this value chain.
Local communities (administrations, associations, etc.)
CSR actions can help forge closer ties with the regions in which the company operates.
Companies can partner with local associations and NGOs to support specific social and environmental causes. The closer they are, the more sense it makes. By working closely with local players, companies have the opportunity to participate in projects that affect them and the direct ecosystem. CSR then becomes concrete, not just an intangible vision. These partnerships also help optimize the impact of CSR initiatives by bringing together diverse resources and skills within the organization.
A powerful lever for improving reputation and brand image
A clearly defined and implemented corporate social responsibility policy can change the public perception of a company, boost consumer and stakeholder confidence, and ultimately lead to greater loyalty and attractiveness. Take Crédit Mutuel, for example. The bank is a true CSR success story, forming a veritable backbone for this financial institution. As proof of this, the bank is regularly ranked first in the sector (Yougov barometer) for companies with a high CSR value.
According to a European study on sustainable consumption carried out by Oney in 2020/2021, 90% of consumers expect brands to be committed to helping them consume better. By meeting these expectations, a company can not only enhance its reputation, but also position itself as a leader in its sector.
Consumer loyalty to a brand that shares their values and demonstrates a concrete commitment to societal and environmental causes is often higher. According to Edelman’s Earned Brand 2018 study, 65% of French people opt to buy (or boycott) a brand based on its position. By incorporating corporate social responsibility measures into its strategy, a company can not only attract new customers, but also strengthen the loyalty of its existing customer base. Loyal customers become brand ambassadors, leading to an enhanced reputation and greater visibility.
A powerful tool for attracting talent
Employer brand is the perception that employees and candidates have of a company. It covers all the values, corporate culture and career development opportunities a company offers its employees. It is of vital importance in attracting and retaining talent, as well as strengthening employee commitment. CSR can play a key role in creating this image.
According to a 2023 OpinionWay study, 77% of employees and 83% of HR managers consider that a company’s CSR commitments play in favor of its attractiveness. This trend is confirmed by the fact that 76% of HR managers and 69% of employees see CSR policy as a criterion for applying for a job or staying with the company.
This growing preoccupation with CSR is particularly marked among the younger generations, especially Millennials and Generation Z, who attach great importance to the values and societal impact of the companies in which they wish to work.
Candidates are looking to strike a balance between their personal values and those of their employer. A company that adopts a sincere and ambitious CSR approach fosters this alignment of values by responding to this quest for meaning at work and the desire to make a positive contribution to society.
However, despite these growing expectations, 47% of human resources managers admit that they do not highlight their corporate social responsibility policy in their job advertisements, which represents a missed opportunity.
In the end, a good employer brand and a coherent CSR policy will help you stand out from other companies, but it’s important to really embody these commitments and involve employees in all stages of the development of the company’s CSR strategy.
Despite its many benefits, implementing a CSR strategy is not without its challenges, requiring a proactive approach to ensure effective and sustainable integration into the company’s operations.
- CSR challenges: How to overcome them to succeed?
Implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach can pose significant challenges. These include changing mindsets within the company, mobilizing financial and human resources, and ensuring full transparency. An organized, proactive approach is essential to overcoming these obstacles.
a. Raising awareness and training
Employees can be reluctant to adopt new practices, especially if they involve significant changes to their daily routines. Awareness-raising and training play a central role in the success of this transition. Through employee involvement and training, it is possible to develop a corporate culture based on values of responsibility and sustainability. Whether this takes the form of workshops, seminars or communication campaigns, it’s important to adopt a pragmatic approach that fits in with your company’s culture, otherwise you risk giving the impression of “greenwashing”.
Employees may also lack the skills needed to implement CSR initiatives effectively. Offering ongoing training programs helps to develop the skills needed to implement CSR initiatives. Such training can cover topics such as waste management, energy efficiency, ethical working practices… More specific training can also be offered to managers to help them integrate CSR into their management practices.
It is equally important to set an example at management level. It is essential that senior managers embody the company’s CSR values and encourage their teams to adopt this approach.
b. Set clear, measurable objectives
Defining clear, measurable objectives is one of the key elements in implementing a CSR strategy. Not only does it give direction to the company’s actions, but it also enables progress to be monitored and a clear direction to be followed based on the results obtained. Poorly defined objectives can make it difficult to assess progress and achieve the desired results.
Objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). For example, instead of setting a general target such as “reduce carbon emissions”, a SMART target would be “reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2025 compared to 2020 levels”.
Secondly, they must also be aligned with the company’s commercial and strategic objectives, to ensure their effective integration into the company’s overall strategy and to guarantee their relevance and real impact.
CSR objectives must reflect the expectations and concerns of all internal and external stakeholders.
It is also important to define key performance indicators (KPIs) for each CSR objective. These KPIs must be quantifiable and enable progress to be monitored on a regular basis. For example, for a waste reduction objective, a relevant KPI could be the percentage of waste recycled in relation to total waste produced.
Finally, don’t forget to set up regular monitoring and transparent, widely-shared reporting on progress, to maintain commitment and demonstrate progress.
c. Transparent and regular communication
Poor communication, or the absence of it, can be detrimental to the perception of and support for company initiatives. It is therefore essential to maintain clear and consistent communication. This involves openly sharing the successes, challenges and progress of CSR actions through a variety of channels.
Using channels such as annual reports, websites, social networks and public events, you can reach a wider audience and demonstrate your company’s commitment in a credible and authentic way.
Let’s not forget internal communication, using newsletters, intranets, and team meetings to share the goals, progress and results of CSR initiatives. Communication should be two-way, allowing employees to ask questions and give feedback.
Transparency in dealing with challenges and failures is also crucial. By acknowledging the obstacles encountered and explaining the actions taken to overcome them, the company strengthens its credibility and demonstrates a genuine commitment to continuous improvement.
d. Collaborate with external partners
Companies may not have the funds to hire CSR experts or to finance such projects. Collaborating with non-profit organizations, local stakeholders, NGOs or other companies can enable costs, resources, knowledge and best practices to be shared, while maximizing the impact of CSR initiatives.
Collaboration with external partners facilitates mutual learning, and enables us to benefit from the expertise and support of other organizations engaged in similar initiatives.
These partnerships can take a variety of forms, from co-creation of projects to participation in sectoral initiatives, mentoring programs or exchanges of best practice.
Finally, through external CSR collaboration, companies can go beyond their individual limits and make a significant contribution to wider sustainability goals. As the saying goes, “alone we go faster; together we go further”.
e. Integrating ESG criteria for more robust CSR
ESG is an acronym for (Environmental, Social and Governance). It refers to the non-financial dimensions used to measure and monitor the impact of a company or organization on the environment, the economy and society.
According to the definition of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), these non-financial criteria “make it possible to evaluate an economic player outside the usual financial criteria such as profitability, share price and growth prospects.”
As such, they represent a relevant and effective tool for evaluating companies’ CSR policies, by examining how they integrate sustainable development into their activities and assessing their impact on society.
The integration of ESG criteria represents an important and essential challenge for strengthening and effectively measuring CSR initiatives. This approach makes it possible to move from a qualitative approach to a more quantitative assessment of sustainable development.
The environmental criterion, for example, requires companies to assess their waste management, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. The social criterion involves analyzing respect for employee rights, gender equality, accident prevention and relations with local communities. As for the governance criterion, it encompasses the fight against corruption, the transparency of executive remuneration and the independence of the board of directors.
To meet this challenge, it is essential that companies adopt recognized ESG reporting frameworks, implement robust data collection and analysis systems, train their teams on the importance and application of ESG criteria, and communicate transparently on their results.
f. The challenge of certification
A major challenge for companies committed to CSR is to obtain recognized certifications such as EcoVadis or B Corp.
These rating systems play an essential role in confirming the effective implementation of a corporate social responsibility strategy and providing credible external recognition.
However, the certification process itself is a major challenge. It requires a huge investment of time and resources, extensive data collection and often a reorganization of internal processes to meet the rigorous assessment criteria.
For example, the EcoVadis assessment examines in detail a company’s policies, actions and results in four key areas: environment, social and human rights, ethics and responsible purchasing. Similarly, B Corp certification involves a rigorous assessment of the company’s overall impact on its workers, customers, the community and the environment. To overcome this challenge, companies need to adopt a strategic approach. This starts with a clear understanding of the evaluation criteria specific to each system, then incorporating them into the company’s overall strategy. It is also crucial to put in place a robust data collection and analysis system, while training employees in CSR issues and certification requirements. The use of specialized reporting tools, regular sector benchmarking and the active involvement of senior management are also very important. Finally, transparent communication through detailed sustainability reports and collaboration with external experts are common practices for improving CSR performance and effectively meeting the requirements of recognized rating systems.
In short, involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is no longer an option, but an absolute necessity for any company that wants to prosper in today’s and tomorrow’s world.
Corporate social responsibility is more than a moral decision. It is an essential strategy with significant benefits, such as improving competitiveness and innovation, strengthening stakeholder relations and enhancing the company’s reputation and brand image.
So why wait? The time to act is now. Every step towards a more integrated CSR approach is a step towards a more sustainable and prosperous future. Whether you’re a large company or an SME, the benefits of CSR are within your reach.
Remember: CSR is not a destination, but a continuous journey of improvement and adaptation. By starting today, you’re not only ensuring your company’s longevity, you’re also helping to shape a better world for future generations.
