CSR and why every organisation should embrace it
Social responsibility, diversity & inclusion, sustainability, citizenship – call it what you want Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is here to stay and we all need to play our part.
It can’t be ignored – for many it is part of today’s decision-making process. More and more people are making decisions on what they buy, where they go, who they support based on the behaviour of an organisation.
Some sceptics say that it’s just ‘window dressing’ or ‘greenwashing’ to build a positive brand image with a ‘woke’ generation. However, CSR has been around for decade’s, it’s just that in more recent years it has gained prevalence through issues such as fast fashion, black lives matter and climate change.
Sport and physical activity have a role to play in making a better world. Organisations should ensure diversity of the athletes - inclusion of everyone no matter their background. Sport for development programmes develop essential skills and offer life changing opportunities. These are just two ways sport can drive change, but there are many more.
GTA has been helping some of our clients over the last few months articulate it’s CSR programmes and here’s what we have learnt so far:
Take your time to establish your programme, what your aims are and why. This can’t be rushed as you need to delve into all areas of your business
Engage your wider team. This shouldn’t be a top down directive, it should run through every area of the organisation. Staff involvement = staff engagement.
Be genuine and realistic. Make a commitment that your audiences can relate to and see as relevant to you and your organisation. Pie in the sky will be seen as just that.
Be committed and accountable. Be brave and put in mark in the ground about your commitment and then report annually on your progress to your key audiences. You’re in this for the long term.
Don’t do this because it will make you look good, do it because it’s the right thing to do!
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you on this journey, please get in touch.