Rafael Nunez Aponte: Social Commitment at Disney

Conservation Fund

The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest and most well-known corporations practicing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) all the way down the line in their business model. As the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, and aside from its constant “Imagineering”, Disney has a tremendous responsibility to give back to those who have helped it become the powerhouse that it is today.

CSR

Volunteerism is a major focus for Disney, offering free tickets to a million people in exchange for a day of volunteer service from an organization of their choice. This encouraged over one million people in the United States to commit to service efforts to volunteer in their communities.

Disney CSR

The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, established on Earth Day in 1995, supports efforts of local and global non-profits who protect wildlife, ecosystems, and make a positive impact on the community. Since its inception, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has helped to support over $20 million in projects in over 112 countries.

The Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment team connects Walt Disney Parks and Resorts guests and cast members with animals, plants and nature and inspires them to positively impact the environment. Team members are responsible for animal care and health, science, and education programs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Seas with Nemo & Friends and The Tri-Circle D Ranch at Walt Disney World Resort; Disney Cruise Line’s private island in The Bahamas Castaway Cay; and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Ko Olina, Hawaii. The Animal Programs team participates in cooperative breeding programs with other zoological facilities at the other theme parks, and offers tours and education programs. 

What You Should Consider For Your CSR Campaign

CSR

A recent survey from insurer Aflac shows us the great importance and impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on the younger generation of people –people who was born in the late 80’s. - Two-thirds of this generation surveyed said that they are likely to invest in a company well-known for its corporate social responsibility program, compared with less than half of adults over 34.

For brands and companies the message is more than clear: If you want to attract Generation Y, build a reputation for supporting social causes and initiatives.

Here we brought you 3 ways brands can build meaningful CSR programs that have a real impact on consumers:

CSR programs

Donating has to be really easy: you do not have idea about how powerful can be a social good campaign based around simple and little actions - sending a text message, for example. – There are donation apps such as The Red Cross'text-to-donate that was created after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which can be taken as a great reference of a good campaign.

You have to promote all the effort: brands, with their big advertising budgets, have a big opportunity to educate consumers about important causes and issues and the nonprofit organizations that are making a difference. The tip for businesses is to distinguish the cause area they are impacting, the charity with which they are collaborating, and the tangible, measurable impact that is being made.

See the concern and turn it into action: we normally see news stories that describe a problem or crisis. We feel compassion, but we have no idea on how to contribute to the solution. This is the moment that brands have a unique opportunity to connect with consumers.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Learn How to Measure Corporate Social Responsibility

B Corp

There are some applications that measure the corporate social responsibility of companies. Some websites crowdsource opinions and facts on companies, while other sites use their own set of metrics to estimate social good. We show you below the tools that stand out among the rest, along with two issue-specific resources that can assist you with purchasing decisions:

B Corp

This tool created a ratings system in 2009 to measure the social and environmental impact of small to medium-sized companies. B Corp helps investors and consumers tell the difference between socially responsible companies and companies with great marketing. Certified B Corporations maintain an in-depth legal structure that expands corporate accountability so they are required to make decisions that are good for society, not just their shareholders, according to the non-profit's website.

JustMeans Insights

JustMeans Insights

JustMeans Insights helps investors, the media, practitioners and consumers measure a company's CSR, environmental impact and sustainability performance against its competitors. This toll provides the data visualization tools to compare these companies. They study the number of standards, dig through thousands of historical reports, and then pull all of that into a data visualization tool normalized to financials, employees, etc. The result is that anyone can then compare companies across industries, sectors, geographies along the same normalized metrics.

In addition to these applications, here are two issue-specific tools that can help you make purchasing decisions.

Eat Well Guide: the Eat Well Guide is an online directory of fresh, local, and sustainable food in the U.S. and Canada including farmers' markets, restaurants, grocery stores, family farms and more.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch: the MBAq sustainable seafood guide lists the most ocean-friendly seafood options by assessing fish populations in conjunction with fishing and fish-farming methods. You can use their online search tool, downloadable pocket guides, or mobile apps.

CSR

What do You Know about Social Commitment?

Is there any information about Social Responsibility you do not know today? This topic is more important than you may think and it is present in almost every committed company or individual with a deep sense and interest on social issues and needs.  

Social responsibility is an ethical framework which suggests that an entity - an organization or individual - has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems.

Social Responsibility

This responsibility can be:

·         Passive: by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts

·         Active: by performing activities that directly advance social goals.

Business and companies. Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. Equally, for example, if a company follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines for emissions on dangerous pollutants and even goes an extra step to get involved in the community and address those concerns that the public might have, they would be less likely to have the EPA investigate them for environmental concerns.

CSR

Social responsibility as a non-binding, or soft law principle has received some normative status in relation to private and public corporations in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights developed by the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee particularly in relation to child and maternal welfare. The International Organization for Standardization will encourage voluntary commitment to social responsibility and will lead to common guidance on concepts, definitions and methods of evaluation. The standard describes itself as a guide for dialogue and language, not a constraining or certifiable management standard.