Week 15 - CSR

According to Nancy Lee and Philip Kotler, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “a commitment to improve community well-being through business practices and contributions of corporate resources.” However it also extends to being: “the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workplace as well as the local community and society at large; a company’s obligation to be accountable to all of its stakeholders in all its operations and activities (including financial stakeholders as well as suppliers, customers, and employees) with the aim of achieving sustainable development not only in the economic dimension but also in the social and environmental dimensions,” Brown, (2009).

One company that demonstrates CSR well is The Body shop, founded by Anita Roddick in 1976. Some ways in which they carry out CSR are as follows: firstly, “the soul of beauty”, meaning that they produce products to make their customers feel good and have a sense of wellbeing. Secondly, “our incredible planet; our commitment to seeking and sustaining natural materials and ingredients, and using all our planet’s resources wisely, guides our approach to business. We set challenging environmental targets, which we detail in our bi-annual Values Reports. We were one of the first to make a stand against animal testing in the cosmetics industry, and through The Body Shop Foundation, we continue to fund organisation’s campaigning to end the needless suffering of animals,” The Body Shop are demonstrating good practice in protecting our environment, with also giving something back to it. Being against animal testing is also very good use of CSR and it keeps a lot of customers happy. The final way in which they use CSR effectively is: “the community of people.” They believe that people are at the heart and soul of their business; therefore they aim to treat everyone fairly and value their integrity. They also have campaigns for human rights, and say that they “are not afraid to champion the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.”

By doing all of these things, The Body Shop are successfully demonstrating CSR, meaning that they are doing well by the environment and giving something back to the community. They are working ethically and fairly towards everyone and are free from discrimination. Carrying out good CSR can have a lot of benefits for a company; it gives them a good reputation therefore increasing customer base and sales. “Some customers don't just prefer to deal with responsible companies, but insist on it” (Anon, 2009); The Co-operative, for instance, place a strong emphasis on its CSR and publishes detailed reports on its performance - from animal welfare to salt levels in its pizzas. By doing this customers feel as though they are more informed and are not being lied to or deceived at all, therefore are more in favour of the company. This, in turn, will all lead to more sales for the company; so the money which is spent on CSR is all worth it.

References

Anon. (2009) [online] Avialable from: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1075408491&type=RESOURCES [Accessed on 04/05/12]

Lee, N. and Kotler, P. (2005) CSR: doing the most good for your company [online] Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ViZ4OHRZULIC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=Corporate+social+responsibility+is+a+%E2%80%98commitment+to+improve+community+well-being+through+business+practices+and+contributions+of+corporate+resources.%E2%80%99+(Philip+Kotler,+Nancy+Lee,+2005).&source=bl&ots=NubGrNozE2&sig=Hniyoi4Dn7nblNWVOJj0XQRZE8w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZcijT43zEe724QT989W8CQ&ved=0CFYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Corporate%20social%20responsibility%20is%20a%20%E2%80%98commitment%20to%20improve%20community%20well-being%20through%20business%20practices%20and%20contributions%20of%20corporate%20resources.%E2%80%99%20(Philip%20Kotler%2C%20Nancy%20Lee%2C%202005).&f=false [Accessed on: 04/05/12]

Brown, F. (2009) Sustainability dictionary [online] Available from: http://www.clevelandcarbonfund.org/resources/sustainability-dictionary/ [accessed on: 04/05/12]

http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/services/aboutus_finances.aspx