Corporate responsibility programs can be integrated into every area of an organization or as a separate unit. The triple bottom line – people, planet, and profit – should be considered in decision-making. Annual reviews and separate reports document progress. Some companies use sustainability as a marketing tool.
Each organization can implement its own corporate responsibility program in the way that best fits the goals and objectives of the organization. Some organizations have integrated corporate social responsibility into every area of the organization. Other organizations include sustainability as a separate organizational area. Most organizations use sustainability as a marketing tool.
Corporate responsibility programs aim to include what is called the triple bottom line in an organization’s decision-making process. People, planet and profit are the triple bottom line elements. Each of these elements should be included in the company’s sustainability efforts. When these elements are integrated into the organization’s core business, the company may learn that sustainability helps increase its profit margin.
Some organizations have implemented sustainability programs strictly within each area of the organization. These corporate responsibility practices require that every area of the business include its stakeholders, the planet, and projected profits as part of the decision-making process. These companies are sometimes considered more sustainable than others because they have built sustainability into the organization rather than as an afterthought.
Some companies have a specific sustainability group as part of the organization. This form of corporate responsibility could have this separate group working as internal consultants within the company. The group can work with each business unit to incorporate aspects of sustainability into their work process. Many times this form of organizational structure is the first step towards integrating sustainability practices throughout the organization.
Many organizations have implemented an annual review process to document how the company is doing regarding corporate responsibility. Some companies include the results of this review process as part of their regular annual report. Other companies create a completely separate report to document the details of how they’ve incorporated corporate social responsibility into their organization. Stakeholders can use this information to determine how they choose to interact with a particular organization.
Using corporate responsibility as a marketing tool is something many of the biggest companies and brands are doing on a large scale. Big brands are spending time and money advising the public on what the company is doing on sustainability on an ongoing basis. These companies provide the information as part of their regular advertising campaigns. This allows them to inform a wider group of stakeholders about their corporate social responsibility efforts than an annual review or reporting process.
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