8/3/2019 Why Companies Invest on Csr

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FIVE FAST FACTS:

Why Corporations Investin Corporate SocialResponsibility

ONE OF THE REAL PASSIONS OF THE WEBER SHANDWICK

SOCIAL IMPACT TEAM IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE RAPIDLY

EVOLVING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LANDSCAPE

CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CLIENTS TO DRIVE

ENGAGEMENT AND ADVANCE SOCIAL GOOD.

In October 2010, in partnership with KRC Research, we surveyed morethan 200 executives in large-sized companies with responsibility orphilanthropy, social responsibility and community relations. Our goal wasto understand the primary reasons why corporations invest in CSR today,as well as key success actors and lessons learned rom recent eorts.

What we ound is that having an impact on critical issues is the primaryreason that corporations invest in pro-social or CSR programs, moreso than to build loyalty among customers or to dierentiate romcompetitors. In a political and economic environment in the U.S. wheretheres an urgent need or action on myriad issues rom education, healthand wellness, economic development, environmental sustainability andmore, this is encouraging news. Key fndings are below, along with noteson the strategic implications they oer or corporations and nonprofts.

To learn more, visit our Social Impact blog at:impact.webershandwick.com

1 Making an impact on issues matters most or corporate executives.The primary reason (30%) companies invest in CSR is to make an impact on critical issues.

Asimilarlyhighpercentage(25%)saytheprimaryreasonistodemonstrateacompanysvaluesinaction.

Interestingly,only15%ofexecutivesseecustomerloyaltyastheprimarydriverofCSR,andasmallernumber(4%),citeemployeeretentionandrecruitmentasthetopfactor.

IMPLICATION:Corporations want to be active, substantive partners in addressing social issues. Nonprofts,consumers and advocates have an opportunity to leverage and help direct signifcant resources and expertise rom thecorporate sector to make a meaningul impact.

METHODOLOGYKRCResearchsurveyed216executivesinFortune200companieswhohaveresponsibilityforphilanthropic,socialresponsibilityorcommunityoutreachwithintheirorganizations.ThesurveywaconductedviaphonebetweenOctober6andOctober22,2010.Themarginoferroris+/-6.8percentagepointsatthe9percentcondencelevel.

ABOUT WEBER SHANDWICK

SOCIAL IMPACT

WeberShandwicksSocialImpactpracticebuildsinsight-drivencommunicationsprogramstodriveengagementon

pressingsocialissues.Wepartnerwithcorporations,nonprotsandfoundationsdevelopstrategicplatformsandcampaigthatreachkeyaudienceswithresonantandactionablemessagesoncorporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)andissuesspanningglobaldevelopment,educationsustainability,humanrightsandmore.Wearestorytellers,contentcreatorsandadvocates.TheteamcombinesthestrengthofWeberShandwickspublicaffairs,corporate,consumeranddigitalpractices.

FOR MORE INFORMATION,

PLEASE CONTACT:

PAULMASSEY,202.585.2799pmassey@webershandwick.com

STEPHANIEBLUMA,202.585.2755sbluma@webershandwick.com

COLINMOFFETT,202.585.2045cmoffett@webershandwick.com

JULIEHURBANIS,952.346.6277jhurbanis@webershandwick.com

JONATHANBENTLEY,202.585.2732jbentley@krcresearch.com

Five Fast Facts on CSR

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Nonproft partners are vital to the success o CSR.

Senior leadership support drives CSR success.

Most companies tackle multiple issues through CSR programs.

Community engagement and communications work best together.

Eighty-three percent o executives report that nonproft partners with expertise and credibility are importantto the success o CSR. Seventy-nine percent say that nonprofts are valuable partners in their CSR eorts.

Most(59%)executivessaytheyfundnonprotorganizationstoadvancetheircompanysCSRorpro-socialefforts.

Amajority(73%)agreethatnonprotsbringexpertisethathelpCSRprogramstothrive,withanidenticalnumberndingthatnonprotsprovidethefoundationandinfrastructureforeffectiveCSRprograms.

Many(72%)executivessaythatfundingnonprotparnersmakesorganizationsmoreeffectiveintheirCSRefforts.

IMPLICATION: Nonprofts will be vital to CSR in the years ahead, particularly as corporations seek to intensiy theirCSR eorts on social issues. The real opportunity or both sectors is to build partnerships that create knowledge thatcan be shared across industry to maximize the impact o CSR.

Ninety-our percent o respondents say that strong and vocal support rom senior management is importantto successul CSR programs.

Mostexecutives(91%)saywell-denedobjectivesandclearoutcomesareimportant.

Asizablemajority(80%)agreethatafocusonaspecicissueorareaisimportant.

IMPLICATION: To acilitate long-term success, corporate teams should engage senior executives early and oten and tackle the tough questions together on objectives and scope. Senior management can help sharpen the ocusand desired impact o CSR programs.

A signifcant number o executives (26%) say that the primary ocus o their CSR is multi-issue, spanningenvironmental sustainability, education, global development and more.

Themostcitedsingle-issuefocusforCSRwasenvironmentalsustainability,reportedby22%ofexecutives.

Threeotherprioritieseconomicdevelopment,educationandglobaldevelopmentwereeachhighlightedby

10%ofexecutivesastheprimaryfocusoftheircompanysCSR. Othertopprioritiesincludechildrenandfamilyissues(9%),healthandnutrition(7%),andartsandculture(4%).

IMPLICATION: It matters less whether a company ocuses on a single issue or a broader portolio o issues, andmore whether companies have designed programs to oster genuine change and maximize their impact. The bestCSR outcomes result rom well-ocused eorts that are aligned with a companys core competencies and businessstrategy.

CSR programs have multiple internal and externalstakeholders. Among executives, 86% cite employee

engagement as an important part o the success o CSR, and80% point to customer participation.

ForourSocialImpactteam,thispromptsotherkeyquestions:WhatarethemosteffectivechannelsfordrivingparticipationinCSR?And,whatroledoescrowdsourcingandsocialmediaplay?Inearly2011,wellreleasenewsurveyndingsthatspeaktothesequestionsandofferinsightsintotheroleofcrowdsourcingandsocialmediainfosteringengagementinCSR.

V I S I T O U R B L O G A T I M P A C T. W E B E R S H A N D W I C K . C O M

Wehavelearnedhowmuchalittlehelpcanimpactthecommunitiesthatweworkin.Additionally,thatpeopleappreciatewhenlargecorporationsshowtheirhumanside. -SurveyRespondent

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