Socially Responsible Business

What it is and where to find it.

 

Social responsibility is an important part of most organizations. Consumers have pushed companies to think about more than just the bottom line and business has responded. Companies can make money while investing in their communities, contributing to a cleaner environment, and taking care of their employees needs.

WHAT IS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?

Social responsibility involves considering ethical, environmental, and humanitarian issues in business decisions.

  • Ethical Action: Social responsibility at its most basic involves ascribing to a set of ethical principles. These principles vary depending on the business and the culture of the corporation and may include anything from employee benefits and rights to environmentally sound practices.
  • Philanthropic Endeavors: The next level of social responsibility involves financial support of social and/or cultural programs.
  • Socially Responsible Corporations: The most socially responsible corporations are those that consistently take social issues into consideration. These employers give employees paid time to volunteer, push to reduce emissions below legal regulations, fund large-scale community programs, etc.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Being knowledgeable about the level of social responsibility of the companies that you apply for, work for, and patronize is the first step to supporting a more socially responsible business world.

Ask Questions:
In addition to a knowledge of an organization's social responsibility practices, a knowledge of your own ethical sensibilities is important. What social issues are important to you? In an ideal situation, how would you like to see these issues dealt with by businesses?

  1. What are the social responsibility standards of the organization? How are they measured within the organization? What specific issues are important to the company (human rights, child labor laws, employee benefits, community development, environmental protection)?
  2. In what ways does the company carry out it's standards of social responsibility?
  3. How does the company communicate it's social responsibility standards to its employees, suppliers, and customers?
  4. Does the company have contracts obligating the organizations with which it does business to be socially responsible?

There are many dimensions to social responsibility. Here are a few to consider: community investment and participation, diversity policies and programs, environmental responsibility, ethics, financial investment integrity, human rights activism, safety investments.

Research Companies and Social Responsibility Practices:
Check out the resources provided by the following organizations dedicated to compiling and analyzing information on corporate social responsibility practices.

Websites:

  1. The Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender equal rights.
  2. Black Enterprise, www.blackenterprise.com: Analyzes and disseminates information that is helpful to, and provides a forum for the ideas, ambitions and expressions of African American business people.
  3. Fortune Magazine, www.fortune.com: In addition to chronicling the "true drama of business", Fortune provides information and lists of socially responsible corporations.
  4. Business for Social Responsibility, www.bsr.org: This comprehensive website includes everything from the latest issues in and definitions of corporate social responsibility to an advisory service.
  5. Sustainable Business, www.sustainablebusiness.com: This site provides links and job listings for hundreds of organizations that work to promote green design, sustainable development, and socially responsible investing.
  6. The Rocky Mountain Institute, www.rmi.org: This organization works with businesses for market-based solutions for to all of today's social and environmental problems.
  7. Business Ethics, www.business-ethics.com: Business Ethics is an online magazine that provides additional links and resources to interested readers.
  8. Corporate Social Responsibility, www.mallenbaker.net/csr: This organization provides a free online newsletter and useful links.
  9. Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, www.iccr.org: This organization is dedicated to faith-based investment in environmental and social issues.
  10. Renew America, solstice.crest.org/environment/renew_america: Environmental success indexes for Amerian businesses.
  11. Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, www.cpsr.org: "Technology is driving the future, it's up to us to do the steering."
  12. Council of Ethical Organizations, www.corporateethics.com: Provides specific ethical information for healthcare corporations.

Reading List:

  1. Corporate Social Responsibility : Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause by Philip Kotler, Nancy Lee
  2. What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business Is Listening by Jeffrey Hollender, Stephen Fenichell
  3. Corporate Social Responsibility - Making Money By Doing The Right Thing -- a DECENT PROFIT (Digital-see Amazon.com) by John Nirenberg
  4. Making a Living while Making a Difference by Melissa Everett

Take Opportunities Offered At Career Development:

  • Apply to be a StartingBloc Fellow-Watch for the announcement in the OCD newsletter and check out their website. The fellows program is a training program that works with future business people (including those interested in non-profits) to increase awareness about social responsibility.
  • TEIP Entrepreneurship Program-This program funds students doing internships in an entrepreneurial setting or with an individual; this can be a good opportunity to learn more about social responsibility first hand.
    Check out the OCD website for more information: www.barnard.edu/ocd


Fact Sheet developed by Hannah Roth '06 and Kathleen Kallstrom '07.
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