My thoughts exactly

by Gregg M Steinberg

Include corporate philanthropy as part of your corporate strategy. Both the company and the community win.

It has been proven time and time again companies that practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gain tremendously. Gain in the community, gain with employees, gain on the bottom line, and gain in their whole value proposition.

Businesses today operate in an interdependent environment with multiple stakeholders that include owners, customers, staff and the community, who all require that their needs and concerns be addressed. As such, the rules of engagement in business are changing and there is no doubt that CSR has a major role to play in maintaining current success and in building the sustainable businesses of the future.

CSR is not charity or philanthropy. It is a business driven philosophy that makes business sense whilst at the same time maximizing the potential to make a difference within the communities in which a business operates.

Business can be a force for positive change in the world.

By integrating CSR into your businesses strategy and by being engaged in and committed to CSR, businesses can make an important and relevant contribution towards building a sustainable future for society.

Success and significance can go hand in hand

It is not only possible in today’s world, it is necessary that both ownership and the business make a difference whilst achieving one’s goals—you don’t have to wait until you are retired to give something back and make a difference personally.

Given the growing importance of CSR and the fact that this is a new area of learning, there is tremendous value in sharing knowledge and information on the subject and learning from those that have already successfully integrated CSR into their businesses. There are various local and national organizations that can provide this networking benefit. Two such national/global organizations are the Business Civic Leadership Centre headed by Stephen Jordan, one of this countries preeminent CSR luminaries, and secondly the Young President’s Organization CSR Network, headed by global members of YPO who are committed to inspiring business leaders to leverage their personal success and to integrate CSR into their businesses and in the process, build stronger businesses and bring about meaningful sustainable social change. Their vision: better leaders for a better world.

Through bringing CSR to the strategic forefront of your planning process, you too can share in this vision. Make the commitment today to change your world tomorrow.