True/false quiz on corporate social responsibility

Rose-Marie Almond, Cobourg, Ontario, CYBF Young Entrepreneur & Mentor

Test your knowledge of corporate social responsibility! Are the following statements true or false?

Core values are important.

True! Your business’ core values are important and to incorporate CSR into your business successfully, your CSR efforts should tie in with your organizational values. CSR as an afterthought may as well be forgotten. If you don’t mean it, people won’t believe it!

People trust businesses that give money to charity.

Okay, that’s sort of true. But people may also be skeptical if they think you’re just making donations as a marketing ploy. If making charitable donations is the whole of your CSR policy, then it is probably worth reassessing since it may appear only skin deep. A good first step to deepening your commitment to CSR policies is to commit staff time to helping the chosen charity. This in turn will help boost morale and spread positive change throughout the business.

CSR costs a lot of money.

False. If done right, CSR could save you money. Try looking inwards instead of outwards. Making sure your employees are happy, you are being friendly to the environment and you are building a better corporate culture. These are all crucial parts of a good CSR policy!