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

From the Product to the Employee with Sony

Sony's Social Responsibility

The company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony’s corporate social responsibility activities reflect its philosophy of implementing sound business practices; innovating to realize products, services and content that inspire people; assisting the communities in which the company operates; and helping to shape a better, more sustainable world. Sony believes that these activities both benefit society and enhance corporate value.

Today, Sony promotes CSR initiatives, which sets seven main areas of focus:

• Corporate governance,
• compliance,
• human resources,
• responsible sourcing,
• quality and services,
• environment and
• community engagement

All this with the aim of strengthening its operating foundation and continuously enhancing its corporate value.

Some of the values

Some of the areas mentioned before:

Products responsibility

Responsiveness and Customer Service:

Sony is taking various steps to improve its responsiveness and customer service capabilities in line with its commitment to respect its customers’ viewpoints in striving to deliver product quality and customer service that exceed their expectations.

Accessibility and Usability:

Accessibility and Usability is the key aspect of quality at Sony.

The company creates products and services that more people can use easily.
Sony aims to create products and services that people can use with ease-independent of age and disabilities.

Human resources 

Community engagement

Diversity and Inclusion:

Diversity refers to a variety of characteristics related to race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, beliefs, disabilities, gender, age, birthplace, sexual orientation, viewpoints and work style, and more. Sony promotes diversity thanks to the Sony Group as a key management strategy by ensuring an inclusive work environment and by recruiting, hiring, training and promoting employees from diverse backgrounds.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility in Every Aspect

Timberland's 2013 CSR Report Highlights Continued Environmental, Community Impacts

As many companies and brands we have shown before, Timberland has a great variety of activities and actions taken in order to benefit society and environment. All that can be verified in their different areas of responsible work: services, products, factories and climate. See more below.

Timberland’s commitment to sustainability was born nearly 40 years ago, and it continues today with the same effort, but with new and more initiatives and ideas. This is a core belief that business can create positive impact in the world.

Products and commitment:

Timberland's work in Haiti

According to Emily Alati, director of materials development for Timberland, the company tries to put the most environmentally responsible materials possible during the creation of their products. They have created material options to substitute for virgin raw materials where possible to meet this goal.

Factories and workers:

As part of Timberland’s Sustainable Living Environment (SLE) program, the supplier sustainability team of Timberland use important periods of time in interacting and giving prominence to factory workers and managers to understand if they are able to meet basic needs and if factory employment is helping to improve their lives.

Service:

Timberland's volunteerism

Engaging Communities. Once a modest family business, Timberland has grown into an important big company; and they owe a lot of success to the people and places around the world where they set up a shop. That is why engaging citizens, employees, and consumers through community service have always been a priority for this company.

Three Celebrities with Social Commitment

Not only companies or brands have the possibility of doing something good for the communities, animals, the Planet, etc. Charity campaigns are also in the hands of some of the most known celebrities. Here are 3 charities or foundations created or cofounded by celebrities, both big-name superstars and young entertainers paving their own way. You can also feel free to share any nonprofit organizations you personally like supporting!

Leonardo Dicaprio

Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation – Leonardo Dicaprio

This organization is dedicated to protect Earth’s last wild places and fostering a harmonious relationship between the people and the nature. Since 1998, the Foundation has been working on pressing environmental and humanitarian issues through grant making, campaigning and media projects. They focus on wildlife and habitat preservation, healthy oceans, water access, climate change, among others.

Born This Way Foundation

Born This Way Foundation – Cofounder Lady Gaga with Cynthia Germanotta

Leaded by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Foundation was founded in 2011 to encourage a more accepting society, where differences are always welcome and individuality can be celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to create a safe community that helps connect young people with their skills. All this with the aim of giving opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.

The ONE Campaign – Cofounded by Bono

ONE is a campaigning and advocacy organization that counts with more than 3 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, since the facts show extreme poverty has already been cut in half and can be virtually eliminated by 2030, but only if the society acts with urgency now.

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