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Social Corporate Responsibility – A New Trend in Job Security

By Debra Yergen

We all want to make a difference. To most, that means sharing some combination of their time, talent and financial resources. During the global economic crisis of 2008, a lot of people didn’t have the financial resources to continue to give to their families, friends, and the worthy foundations and causes they valued. So choices had to be made.

People still wanted to give – they just had to find creative ways to do it. In lieu of candles or coffee, Alison, a marketing director in Pittsburgh, opted to make a donation to a local pet shelter in honor of her sister. In Chicago, the adult members of the Bergh family drew names for their annual Christmas exchange. Only instead of physical gifts this year, they each made donations to non-profit organizations near and dear to the heart of the person’s name they drew. Gail, a development director in Yakima, Wash., adds money to the Salvation Army bell ring buckets and adds meal coupons for the Union Gospel Mission to her grocery bill when she checks out.

All of these people make a difference in their own way. But none of them stop there. They also look to spend their consumer dollars at companies dedicated to corporate social responsibility. Understanding this, today, multinational corporations — while still in business for profit — are adopting new corporate social responsibility [CSR] initiatives that are changing the way organizations of all sizes do business. CSR is not a widely-used term yet. Give it time.

The premise of CSR is that when an organization makes money in a community, they reinvest a portion of profits in that community and/or other global regions in need. That investment can come as a combination of money, employee volunteer time or products, such as pharmaceutical giant Merck which donates a drug to cure river-blindness, a dreadful disease which affects tens of millions of the world’s poorest people.

Even in a down economy — or perhaps enhanced by an economy in turmoil — consumers and businesses alike are prioritizing CSR. So much so, in fact, that CSR is emerging as a new trend in job security with companies adding entire departments dedicated to designing and implementing CSR initiatives.

Many Fortune 500 companies have committed their resources to CSR, in many cases budgeting for entire departments dedicated to setting and implementing their CSR strategy. It’s a job industry that will grow tremendously in the next decade as Internet retail gives consumers worldwide a greater choice of where to buy the products they need and want.

London-based Acre is a staffing organization dedicated exclusively to CSR/SRI [social responsibility investment] positions. At ethicalperformace.com visitors can search global listings of CSR and SRI professional services organizations, as well as learn more about events and training associated with this emerging trend.

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