The CSR’s Journey (Part I)

Creating new CSR programs

Today, many companies are recognizing the need to balance environmental, social, and governmental issues. And, even most of them have begun to implement practices in their day to day operations, demonstrating how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be a fundamental value. Because we know the importance you give to your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility performance, today we decided to guide you through a brief journey through the history of CSR for you to see how it has evolved and changed according to the societies’ needs.

In 1960, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development convention was created to promote policies with the intention to achieve sustainable economic growth and employment.

In 1975, the "Impact and Benefit Agreements" between Canadian Aboriginal groups and extractive sector companies started. This time, the objective was clear: to create commitments by the company for employment, and training about projects constructed near Aboriginal communities.

Year later, the International Union for Conservation of Nature created The World Conservation Strategy, which identified the main responsible actors of habitat destruction such as:

Creating policies to promote great projects

• poverty,
• population pressure,
• social inequity, 
• and the terms of trade.

After that, the UN Earth Summit was held in Brazil, where a new business model, as well as the idea of using sustainable development to a company's competitive advantage was applied.

Later, in 1993, the launch of the Whitehorse Mining Initiative took these initiatives to the signing of the WMI Leadership Council Accord in 1994 in order to achieve a sustainable mining industry within the framework of an evolving and sustainable Canadian society. Five years later, Canada, along with Natural Resources Canada, IDRC, and the leadership of IISD, organized a workshop in Peru. The event brought together 11 countries from Latin America and Canada in order to work towards a sustainable future in the region. 

CSR ideas for the future

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Considerations on CSR Campaigns

Report, communicate, inform

Everyday, we see a lot more mistakes than correct actions when it comes to corporate sustainability communications and campaigns. Today, we have brought for you a list of 3 common mistakes your company might be making with its CSR communications and how to fix them.

1. Communicating separately from operation itself

There is a term for the case where your communication message is not backed up or supported by the actions of other departments: “greenwashing.” When a communications team runs around telling stories about the great things a company does about environment and the planet without really be doing anything real, bad things can happen.

Work for your expectations and communicate your plans

2. When something good is happening and you want to keep it secret

Maybe you do not think about this, but most of times when you run into sustainability professionals and specialists, you probably hear a lot of great and exciting stories about the projects they are working on. People out there will appreciate the transparency. Even if it is not perfect, it is always good to start showing what your company is capable of in terms of CSR.

3. Always avoiding negative aspects?

You do not have idea of how many CSR communications focus on the positive; that is probably great, however, it is also important to be honest when things are not going the way you always wanted. Try reporting your activities, good or bad results, inform the people, otherwise, it is hard to believe you about the good things.

Good tips for your brand

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: Protecting Animal’s Lives in Three Campaigns

According to the Humane Society of the United States six to eight million animals enter shelters in the U.S. each year with only three to four million adopted. Thousands of circuses use them under terrible and illegal conditions around the world. Many of our important environments in the Planet are being negatively affected by the extinction of several animal species every year. Are we doing something for them?

These three campaigns, however, stand out as the most creative and genius ways to find happy homes and possible future life for the thousands of animals in need, defend the lives of these beautiful species and promote their rights.

1.      The Shelter Pet Project

The Shelter Project

The Shelter Pet Project is the collaborative campaign between the Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund and the leading producer of public service advertisements, The Ad Council. The goal of this campaign is to make adopting a pet the first thing people think to do when they decide to bring an animal to their home. The Shelter Pet Project website allows people to easily search for shelters and adoptable pets in their area while learning about the plight of homeless animals.

2.      Animals are not clowns

Animals are not clowns

These advertisements illustrate to the viewer the cruelty behind circuses by placing them on an animal’s point of view and using elements such as tone, mood, and word-phrasing to discourage indifference against the suffering of animals.

3.      Horrifying vs. More Horrifying

Horrifying vs. More Horrifying

The mission of the World Wildlife Fund is to conserve the earth’s biodiversity by protecting its species and their habitats. By emphasizing that, all of earth’s organisms form a complex, interconnected web of habitats that provide its life support system, the campaign communicates that mankind cannot survive without a healthy, sustainable ecosystem.

The approach highlights the threat by taking something perceived as threatening and highlighting how much more threatening it would be if it did not exist. With three simple words and images it captures the essence of the danger.