S.O.C.R

The
Sphere of
Corporate Responsibility

A New Era

Ask 50 people and you’re likely to get 75 different answers.

So what is corporate social responsibility anyway? It’s consumers holding corporations accountable for effecting social change with their business beliefs, practices and profits.

What does sustainability mean? It’s a vehicle for transformational change, the center of a rapidly evolving ecosystem, a multidimensional business approach that makes a positive contribution to economic, environmental and social progress. It contributes to a triple-bottom line where all entities benefit.

A New Era

In a world as connected as ours, at a time when trust is pivotal to corporate growth, the sphere of sustainability and corporate social responsibility expands to invite unparalleled opportunity for businesses and society.

Blame it on social media, the digital revolution, or our collective awakening to the needs of today’s global fabric, but sustainability strategies and corporate social responsibility is recalibrating the tenets of business for

executives, employees, and consumers everywhere. We now live in a world where the demand for socially responsible organizations will not go away but rather widen.

We Are Now Living
In A Different Era

Products

1970s

Products & Services

1990s

Customer Centric

2000s

Relationship Centric

Mid 2000’s

Information & Sustainability

Today

The Facts

In the most recent years we found a shift in consumer demands. Mind blowing facts.

2014

The 2014 Nielsen Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility found:

  • 55% of global online consumers across 60 countries say they are willing to pay more for products and services provided by companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.
  • 52% of global consumers (half are Millennials) check product packaging to ensure sustainable impact.

2015

According to the 2015 Nielsen Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility:

  • 60% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands.

Cone Communications/Ebiquity Global CSR Study shows:

  • Nine out of ten consumers say they expect companies to do more than make a profit, they expect them to operate responsibly while addressing social and environmental issues.
  • 84% of global consumers seek out responsible products whenever possible.

2016

It's not just consumers that are latching onto this trend. The 2016 PwC Global CEO Survey found:

  • 64% of CEOs declared that “CSR is core to their business rather than being a stand-alone program.” Why? Because, according to a Harvard Business Review case study, CSR has been shown to improve a company’s social standing by up to 94%, increase employee motivation by 67%, and stimulate revenue by up to 32%, among other far-reaching benefits.

2017

In 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study states, it's the year that CSR was redefined:

  • 63% of Americans are hopeful businesses will take the lead to drive social and environmental change moving forward, in the absence of government regulation.

More focus and emphasis on business transformation comes from The Global Goals for Sustainable Development which were set by the United Nations.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016, has stated that: “We don’t have plan B because there is no planet B.”

We don’t have
plan B because there
is no planet B.

- Ban Ki-moon,
the former United Nations Secretary-General

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, are fluid terms with wide-ranging practices, but its foundation can always be traced to creating shared value: identifying and addressing social, economic, and environmental needs that intersect with business objectives.

It’s complex stuff, but it has clear, boundless potential.

It’s complex stuff,
but it has clear boundless
potential.